Las Vegas, NV – April 21, 2007-Michael Whitaker, the Olympic veteran of Great Britain, proved that last was not least when he won the $75,000 Las Vegas Grand Prix at the Rolex FEI World Cup Finals at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Riding Suncal Portofino 63, Whitaker was the last to go in the jump-off of five but managed to put in the fastest clean round in a time of 35.50 seconds.
At first it looked as if John Pearce of Canada had the top prize all sewn up on Urioso. Pearce rode first in the class and first in the jump-off, setting the pace with a faultless performance in a jump-off time of 36.97, which held up for second place. Teammate Jill Henselwood and Black Ice tried to beat their time, but incurred four faults in the process. Belgian rider Patrick McEntee decided to go slower for a clean round on Ever Mury Marais Z, but the strategy failed as they also had a rail down for four faults. Richard Spooner of the US beat Pearce’s time, but also knocked down a rail and finished third with four faults in a time of 36.25 seconds. Whitaker entered his Dutch warmblood mare in the class after being eliminated from the World Cup Finals. The pair had a much better time in this event.
“She was absolutely perfect,” said Whitaker. “I knew I had to go for it because John was pretty quick, but she was bang on today, back to her old self.”
The rematch of the World Champion Hunter Rider World Cup Team Hunter Challenge also took place on Saturday. Four top U.S. hunter riders, namely John French, Scott Stewart, Peter Pletcher and Louise Serio faced four top European jumper riders in two rounds of jumping on top class Hunter horses. In 2005, the US team lost to the Europeans, but this time they were victorious thanks in part to Michael Whitaker. Fresh off his win in the Grand Prix, Whitaker jumped right back on a hunter only to go off course the first time around for a zero score. Louise Serio and John French gave the Europeans a chance when each had a refusal, but then Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil also incurred faults when his horse refused and put the US back in the lead. Teammates, Christian Ahlmann and Marcus Ehning of Germany fared better, but the US lead was too big to overcome. “We’ll beat them next time,” said Ehning.
A total of 28 riders will participate in the marquee event, the Rolex FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final III on Sunday. Points calculated from the combined results of the competition on both Thursday and Friday will set the starting lineup for Sunday’s final which will determine this year’s Rolex FEI World Cup Show Jumping Champion.
Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum of Germany and Shutterfly will try to recreate the magic of 2005 when they were crowned World Cup Champions right here in Las Vegas. Michaels-Beerbaum and Steve Guerdat of Switzerland are tied for the lead heading into the final challenge at the Thomas & Mack, but with two rounds to go, it is still anybody’s championship.
Started in 1979, the FEI World Cup Jumping Final is an annual international showdown among the world’s best show jumping horses and riders. The 2007 event will mark the seventh FEI World Cup Jumping Final to be held in the United States, following Finals in Baltimore in 1980, Tampa, FL in 1989, Del Mar, CA in 1992 and the three in Las Vegas in 2000, 2003 and 2005. In the 28 finals held through 2006, United States riders have emerged with the most titles, having won the championship seven times.
First held in 1986, the FEI World Cup Dressage Final has been held in the U.S. only twice, in 1995 in Los Angeles and 2005 in Las Vegas. The Netherlands has dominated the competition, winning seven times, followed by Germany with six. The United States won its first title in 2003 when Debbie McDonald rode Brentina to the Championship. Brentina is owned by Parry and Peggy Thomas of Las Vegas, for whom the Thomas & Mack Center, the venue for the World Cup Finals, is named.
Las Vegas Events, Inc. (LVE), producer of the 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2007 FEI World Cup Finals, was founded in 1983. LVE has grown with Las Vegas as the city emerged as one of the world’s top special event and resort destinations. A private, not-for-profit organization, LVE is funded by hotel room tax and serves as the exclusive major special events agency for the city. Since 1991, Las Vegas Events has produced, presented or supported more than 390 events, which have driven more than 3.3 million visitors to the area, resulting in an economic impact of more than $2 billion.
Fans wanting to bring home the excitement of every ride of the 2007 Rolex FEI World CupTM Finals will be able to do so with full-coverage DVDs. DVDs of the Dressage and Jumping Finals will be available for each of Friday, Saturday, & Sunday’s Sessions and will include every minute of action from those sessions. The DVDs of each session will be available for sale at the Thomas & Mack Center starting Saturday and will also be available on line.
The Animal Planet television network will televise a special 90-minute broadcast of the 2007 Rolex FEI World CupTM Finals on Saturday, May 12 beginning at 9:00 p.m. (EDT). The telecast will include the Finals in both jumping and dressage.
Las Vegas Grand Prix
International Jumping Competition
FEI Art. 238.2.2
Table A 1m50/1m60 with one jump-off
Saturday, April 21,2025
1 13 SUNCAL PORTOFINO 63 - kwpn Michael WHITAKER (GBR) 22500 0 0 35.5
2 11 URIOSO - bwp John PEARCE (CAN) 16500 0 0 36.97
3 48 ACE - holst Richard SPOONER (USA) 11250 0 4 36.25
4 8 BLACK ICE - kwpn Jill HENSELWOOD (CAN) 7500 0 4 36.52
5 3 EVER MURY MARAIS Z - zang Patrick MC ENTEE (BEL) 5250 0 4 42.93
6 30 RITUS - hann Lukasz JONCZYK (POL) 4500 1 70.68
7 35 COCU - holst Molly ASHE-CAWLEY (USA) 3750 4 64.27
8 66 RAINLAND MEL Audra FLECK-SNIJDERS (USA) 3750 4 64.69
9 63 SAPPHIRE - holst Mark WATRING (PUR) 4 65.64
10 70 V DE POMME - bwp Jenni MARTIN (USA) 4 67.41
11 39 GYRO - kwpn Rich FELLERS (USA) 4 67.8
12 60 CARLSON - holst Guillermo OBLIGADO (ARG) 4 68.14
13 64 ILLION KILEN Ljubov KOCHETOVA (RUS) 4 68.99
14 71 A.W. BUTTERFLY HULA Leslie STEELE (USA) 5 69.48
15 73 CAMARON HILLS SHANROE - ish Molly TALLA (USA) 8 67.12
16 24 CAMPINO - westf Santiago LAMBRE (MEX) 8 68.53
17 65 IDOL DE REVE Misti CASSAR (USA) 12 65.1
17 31 HOF SCHRETSTAKENS QUAMIRO - holst Krzyszlof LUDWICZAK (POL) 12 65.1
19 61 CELLIST II - holst Ali NILFORUSHAN (IRI) 12 67.15
20 41 FELIX 380 - zweib Jill HUMPHREY (USA) 16 66.56 21 69 NOMOGRAAF Allison KROFF (USA) 18 76
22 72 NARANCO - kwpn Francie STEINWEDELL - CARVIN (USA) 20 65.04
23 62 PERNOT - kwpn Romelia CALDERON (MEX) 33 85.62
24 68 DON FRANCISCO Alicia JONSSON (USA) ELM
24 22 CAITANO - holst Taizo SUGITANI (JPN)
24 2 WARLORD II - hann Gavin CHESTER (AUS)
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