Fourteen fences in Lyon. Then three hundredths
Sunday's CSI5*-W 1.60 m Longines FEI Jumping World Cup in Lyon went to a jump-off of fourteen. Santiago Varela (ESP) set 14 obstacles and 17 efforts. Forty started. Julien Epaillard and Le Coultre de Muze came home clear in 38.17 seconds. Richard Vogel and Cloudio were clear in 38.20. Edouard Schmitz and Gamin van't Naastveldhof held third in 38.31.
We had the timetable last week in Sunday in Lyon. Copy the numbers that actually went in the ring.
Friday was 13 fences. Sunday added one
Friday night's Longines Grand Prix was also Varela. Thirteen obstacles, 16 efforts. Twelve of 44 into the jump-off. Henrik von Eckermann and Hylanderhof's Saruschka were the only double clear, in 49.47 seconds.
Sunday he added a fence and an effort. Jumper News, carrying the Equita release, printed 79 seconds on the clock. Fourteen of 40 jumped off. That is more than Friday, on a bigger first round.
Oslo, the first WEL indoor, was nine of 40 over Fredrik Malm's 13 fences and 16 efforts, 72 seconds. Varela's Barcelona League of Nations Final in October was 12 fences, 15 efforts, 71 seconds. Same designer, different job. Outdoor team track tightens the clock. Indoor World Cup first round let fourteen through, then asked them to turn.
Defending champion Olivier Perreau had eight in the first round. Steve Guerdat, individual world champion from Aachen, did not jump off either. Ben Maher and Point Break were last to go in the jump-off and double cleared in 38.63 seconds.
Fourteen into the jump-off
Thibeau Spits and Impress-K van't Kattenheye Z posted the first double clear in 41.50 and finished sixth. Willem Greve and Party In de Hus went 41.30 for fifth. Schmitz broke 40 seconds. Martin Fuchs and Lorde had the CWD oxer, third-last, and finished ninth in 38.48 with that rail.
Epaillard added a stride between fences 1 and 2, and again on the last line. He still won. Vogel, after the double verticals, took eight strides instead of seven. He said before the last fence he would not beat Julien. Three hundredths.
Once fourteen are clear, height is finished. The class is related distances, the turn back to the double, and whether you leave a stride out. Vogel called it the way the sport is going: every small decision shows on the result. If you need a jump-off template for a club indoor, we already have how to design a jump-off course.
World of Showjumping has the league after two legs: Martin Fuchs 23 points, Epaillard and Max Kühner 20 each. Kühner won Oslo. Fuchs did not win Sunday and still leads. Best seven from 13 count.
What to steal for a winter indoor
Keep the shape of that first round and set it on your own course, at a height that suits your horse and rider.
If a first round at your height puts a third of the class into the jump-off, you have not failed. You have a speed class coming. Shorten the jump-off. Keep a turn back to a double. Leave a related where one extra stride costs time, not a crash. Write 350 m/min on the plan, as the World Cup indoor speed already set out.
The FEI calendar puts Verona next: 5 to 8 November, World Cup Sunday 8 November at 14:30. The horses and riders list already has Vogel, Guerdat, Maher, Epaillard, Kühner and Piergiorgio Bucci. We sketched that hall last week in Verona next week.
Open the designer, set the school you actually have, and draw a first round that can let a few through, then a jump-off with one turn that actually costs. Then watch Verona on Sunday at 14:30.
Related: Nine into the jump-off in Verona