Brash brings it home for Great Britain in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Qualifier
Sunday 18 December 2022
Great Britain’s Scott Brash and Hello Jefferson produced a spectacular turn of speed to win the eighth leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ 2022/2023 Western European League in London, pinning Germany’s Daniel Deusser and Killer Queen VDM into runner-up spot.
Brash threw down a super-fast time of 39.67 seconds when third to go in the seven-horse jump-off, and the 2022 FEI Jumping World Championship team bronze medallist, riding Lady Harris and Lady Kirkham’s Hello Jefferson, couldn’t be caught despite a superb effort from Deusser who was only 0.06 seconds off the pace.
Third place went to Great Britain’s rising star, 22-year-old Jodie Hall McAteer whose last-to-go effort with Mandy Hall’s Salt ’n Peppa had the crowd on the edges of their seats before the pair crossed the line in 40.14 seconds.
The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Qualifier saw 38 starters from 14 different nations go head-to-head at The London International Horse Show as they vied for FEI World Cup points to qualify for the Final in Omaha in April 2023.
Renowned Portuguese course designer, Bernardo Costa Cabral, described the highly challenging 13 fence track as the “perfect recipe”, complete with twists, tight turns, and a testing but achievable first round time allowed of 68 seconds. With faults accumulated at every fence throughout the course, just seven combinations made it through to the second round to be in with a chance of claiming the prestigious title.
First to go clear in the jump-off was Maikel van der Vleuten from The Netherlands. As the 2013 winner, he had the experience to keep his round tight, but sensible, producing a tactically flawless performance and the first double clear in a time of 41.21 seconds. Great Britain’s Scott Brash – another previous winner of this class in 2016 – kept his cool, matching van der Vleuten’s accuracy, but taking out a stride to the final Longines oxer to take his place at the top of the leaderboard. The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final winner from 2014, Daniel Deusser, put in a quicker first section, however lost time down the final line to finish 0.06 seconds behind Brash.
World No.1 Henrik von Eckermann from Sweden looked extremely quick, exactly 1.19 seconds quicker at the half time split, but with four faults at the last fence he could only finish fifth. It was left to 22-year-old Jodie Hall McAteer as last to go to make the final challenge on her British teammate. The former two-time Voltaire Design Under 25 British Champion put in a strong performance with the crowd behind her, including an incredibly tight turn to the wall at the midway point to take third – a career personal best.
Scott Brash, who previously won this class in 2016, said: “Hello Jefferson is fantastic, I know how careful he is and I can trust him to ride him fast at the last fence, it actually makes him focus more. It meant I could take a chance to the last and make up a bit of time I lost between one to two. I was tight back to the second from last, he tends to fall in left a bit, but I managed to be tight, and he jumped the vertical well, made me land a touch shorter so the eight strides to the last was a touch more forward than the others.”
The former World No. 1 continued: “I thought it was a tricky course, quite twisty to start with. There were some tall verticals there, so it was delicate. I thought the course designer has done a fantastic job in there today, when fences fall all over the course and not just in one area that’s a sign of a very good course and seven clears is spot on.”
An emotional Jodie Hall-McAteer said: “It was unbelievable out there this afternoon. I’ve grown up coming to The London International Horse Show every year since I was 10-years-old and to come back this year and come third, it’s a dream come true.
The London International Horse Show ambassador went on to say: “The atmosphere was amazing, it was electric. I did not think that I was fast enough or that my time was as close to Scott’s. Obviously, it is hard to tell whilst you are focusing on your performance and are in the zone. As I was coming down the last line, I did hear the crowd screaming which made me think that there was a possibility of me achieving it and I came close. My horse performed amazingly, and I am very proud of him."
This World Cup qualifier result moves Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann into first place on the Western European League’s leaderboard, while Great Britain’s Harry Charles moves up to second place as France’s Kevin Staut drops down to third.
The ninth leg of The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ 22/23 Western European League, will take place in Mechelen (BEL) from 26 – 30 December 2022; the World Cup class takes place on Friday, 30 December. For more details, visit jumping-mechelen.com
Click here to find the full results
Click here to see the current standings
Image: Peter Nixon
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