MEREDITH MICHAELS-BEERBAUM MAINTAINS LEAD AT THE ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP JUMPING FINAL IN LAS VEGAS

04/17/2009

Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum on Shutterfly (Photo Credit: Tish Quirk)

Defending champion Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum continues to dominate at the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas after adding victory in the second leg Friday to her top-place finish in the opening speed leg on Thursday.

The Rolex FEI World Cup™ Finals continue at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas through Sunday. The Finals feature World Cup Finals in the two Olympic disciplines of show jumping and dressage.

Last to go in the thrilling 13-horse jump-off, the American-born German rider produced an ice-cool run with the sensational 16-year-old Shutterfly, but it didn't go quite to plan for all the other leading contenders.

Switzerland's Christina Liebherr lost her second-place ranking allowing America's McLain Ward to move up from third into runner-up position, and after US rider Rich Fellars and Denmark's Thomas Velin also faulted, it is The Netherland's Albert Zoer who lies third going into Sunday's finale.

With the results of the first two days' competition now recalculated into points, Michaels-Beerbaum carries a zero score going into the last of the three final classes but has only a two-point advantage over Ward while Zoer is a further two points behind followed closely by Fellers. There is no room for error at the top end, and the leader knows it. "I never quite understand the scoring system for the World Cup but it definitely makes for excitement right to the end!" Michaels-Beerbaum said.

A total of 13 horse and rider combinations found the key to another masterful track from course-designer Anthony D'Ambrosio who admitted, however, that he got more clears in the first round than he had expected. "I may have been a bit conservative tonight, because I was thinking ahead to Sunday" he explained, but Michaels-Beerbaum was not complaining.

Sweden's Helena Lundback and Madick produced the first jump-off clear before America's Richard Spooner and Cristallo shaved almost three seconds off their target time but, fourth into the timed round, Beezie Madden was even faster again for the host country with a great ride on the novice nine-year-old Danny Boy. Another three horses came in the ring before Zoer set off with Oki Doki who reset the parameters when breaking the beam w