Setting the stage for top placings, Brazil’s Rodrigo Lambre aboard Chacol (by Chacco-Blue) and Mexico’s Jaime Azcarraga with For Fashion (For Pleasure x Contender) clinched the top two spots in the second class of the day, the $15,000 Guadalajara Cup. The men switched spots in the $35,000 Longines FEI World Cup™ qualifier, with Azcarraga claiming first, riding his longtime partner Anton (Marome Nw x Orville), and Lambre earning second aboard the talented mare Chacciama (Chacco-Blue x Andiamo Z). 

Thirty-seven horse and rider combinations were put to the test by FEI course designer Olaf Petersen, Jr. in today’s qualifier for Saturday’s $100,000 Longines FEI World Cup. Six were fault-free over Petersen Jr.’s stout track with a variety of related lines and a tight time allowed. Over half of the competitors incurred time faults, with places seventh through tenth each finishing with a score of one time penalty. 

Second to jump off and first to finish double-clear, Lambre and Chacciama set the time to beat at a competitive 43.15. Mexico’s Jose Alberto Martinez and No Limit made a gallant effort, stopping the clock a mere tenth of a second slower than Lambre, ultimately placing third. As Azcarraga and Anton picked up their gallop, leaving out strides and making tidy turns, they mastered the shortened course in 42.16, a touch over a second faster than Lambre for the win.

“He’s a real winner, a fighter,” Azcarraga said of his partner of seven years, Anton. “I feel good, I feel in great shape, and I’m ready to go,” he said looking forward to the weekend.

The thirty-two competitors hailing from thirteen countries in the FEI Children’s International Classics Final completed their second qualifying round this afternoon. Out of twelve who qualified for the jump-off, five went double-clear. The top three were all within a second of one another, but Mexico’s Lorenzo Mills Hegewisch aboard Caruschka earned the top spot on the podium.  Coming in a very close second was Canadian Jenna Lee Gottschlich with Carentana, and yesterday’s winner, Jose Maria Quintana, picked up third with Scully. 

Combined with each rider’s score from yesterday, today’s results and other applicable rules determined both the list of the top sixteen competitors and the order of go for the Final Competition as well as the Farewell Competition on Saturday.