American rider Uma O’Neill ran away with the victory in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Qualifier at Langley’s Thunderbird Show Park on Sunday.
O’Neill rode a flawless course with no faults, and did it as one of the first of 30 competitors taking to the field.
“I just went out and gave it everything could today, and asked a little bit extra of myself and my horse, and it paid off,” O’Neill said after the event.
She credited her horse Clockwise – or CW, as he’s called – with a lot of her first win at the world cup level.
“He is such a good stallion,” she said.
After O’Neill’s faultless ride, the crowd groaned audibly at every rail knocked down for the remainder of the event – and every rider managed to knock down at least one.
With 20 points, O’Neill now leads the west coast league in the FEI jumping standings.
Second place finisher Conor Swail competes in the east coast sub league, and his points have put him on top there.
“I was very pleased with his performance today, he jumped a beautiful round,” Swail said of his horse Rubens. The Irish rider was the defending champion from last year’s cup at tbird.
In third was Juan Jose Zendejas Salgado on Tino la Chapelle.
“The course was very touchy,” said Zendejas. He and O’Neill each owed their positions to the fact that they only accumulated four faults each, and managed to finish under the time limit.
“I always think of the time, but my horse is very fast naturally,” said Zendejas.
Tbird president Jane Tidball noted after the event wrapped that this year marks the 45th anniversary of the show park, founded by her parents George and Diane Tidball. Jane said she was sure they would be incredibly pleased to have a world cup event at Thunderbird.
Several Canadians took part in the cup, including Langley’s Laura Jane Tidball. She had a good ride, but though only O’Neill managed a perfect ride, the top dozen riders had just four or five faults each, with position based on time.
