All Hail Harry! Charles fights back to be in World Cup Contention
Friday 07 April 2023
On a night of sensational sport at the Longines FEI World Cup Final in Omaha, USA, Harry Charles overcame the disappointment of four faults on the first night with Ann Thompson’s Balou Du Reventon to roar back into the frame with second place in leg two. He bounced up the order by ten places and is now ranked seventh as he heads into Saturday’s third and final leg.
“If only I’d done that yesterday!” said Harry, highest ranked Under 25 rider and currently 15th in the latest world rankings. “He’s not really a horse, he’s a Pegasus! He’s just shown again what an amazing horse he is – he’s one of the best in the world and he feels like he could just cruise round that. I’m so lucky to be sat on such a horse.”
Thirty-nine riders set out to tackle the 14-fence first round course set by Portugal’s Bernardo Costa Cabral which tested from the off to the very last, with the oxer at fence ten proving particularly influential. Just nine found the key to return for a thrilling jump-off.
Norway’s Victoria Gulliksen set the target from second draw on Equine America Papa Roach but her lead was cut short by Harry as he forged ahead on ‘Balou’ with well over three seconds in hand.
“The course made you ride for it, it wasn’t easy – I hoped it wouldn’t be because I’ve got some catching up to do. It was fantastic, I didn’t think it was too big but it rode really difficult and we got a great result,” added Harry. “A lot of good guys from yesterday didn’t quite have the result they wanted today which was good for me! It has made it a really exciting competition.”
Harry was full of praise for his horse: “I’ve had some spectacular young horses but he is, and has been for the past few years, one of the best in the world. He’s 17 and I don’t think there’s another horse who’s done what he’s done over the years with so many different riders. I’ve been watching him since I was growing up and it’s an honour and a privilege to be sat on him. I love every minute of every time I get to go in the ring with him.”
They didn’t stay at the top for long as Germany’s Richard Vogel edged ahead on the big-striding stallion United Touch S by 0.14 sec to relegate Harry to second place.
A heartbreaking round for Scott and Hello Jefferson saw three fences fall in the latter stages of round one and dropped them from second to equal ninth in the rankings.
The first two round scores have now been turned into penalty points with the leader on zero. A fence down on King Edward for early leader Henrik Von Eckermann (Sweden) puts them in third. Good rounds in leg two puts Denmark’s Andreas Schou (third on Darc De Lux) and Switzerland’s Pius Schwizer (fourth with Vancouver De Lanlore) at the top of the leaderboard on zero penalties. Harry heads into the Final in equal seventh place on five penalties while Scott is equal ninth on ten.
It is still all to play for and while the horses have a break until Saturday’s final, the tension builds.
You can watch all three rounds of the final live on FEI.TV - you’ll need a subscription to tune in. Some highlights will also be available on the FEI YouTube channel. All the information about the FEI Jumping World Cup Final, including a list of participants can be found here.
Image: FEI/Richard Julliart
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