Chris Surbey of Calgary, AB finished as the top Canadian in the 2017 Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final, taking 18th place overall after three rounds of competition aboard Chalacorada. Photo by Grayt Designs
Chris Surbey of Calgary, AB and Keean White of Rockwood, ON, did the maple leaf proud during the highly-anticipated Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final, held in Omaha, NE from March 29 to April 2, 2017. Both riders finished among the top 20 after four rounds of intense competition held over three exciting days.
The competition was fierce right out of the gate, with 37 of the world’s best riders squaring off during the opening speed round on March 30. Making his World Cup Final debut, Surbey started off on a strong note with Chalacorada (Chalan x Corrado I), a 15-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Linda Southern-Heathcott and Spruce Meadows Ltd. The pair stopped the clock in 65.09 seconds, but a rail added four time penalties, bringing their final time to 69.09 seconds to end day one in 23rd place.
White, 34, had two rails down with For Freedom Z (For Pleasure x Baloubet du Rouet), a 12-year-old Zangersheide gelding owned by Angelstone Partners. Their combined time, including the eight time penalties for the fallen rails, was 72.05 seconds, which was good enough to finish 27th. Omaha represented White’s second appearance at the FEI World Cup Jumping Final, having previously finished 24th overall in 2009 in Las Vegas, NV with Celena Z.
The following day, both canucks moved up the standings with impressive rides during the second leg of competition, which featured an initial round followed by a jump-off for clear performers. Crossing the timers just over the time allowed, White and For Freedom Z left all the rails up, but incurred a single time fault to keep them out of the jump-off, putting them into ninth place for the day.
Keean White of Rockwood, ON completed the second FEI World Cup Final appearance of his career in 20th place overall aboard For Freedom Z. Photo by Grayt Designs
“I thought my horse jumped really well; I was really happy with him,” White said of his leg two performance with For Freedom Z. “It’s his first major championship and I would have liked to have been clear for sure, but he gave a great effort and tried really hard.”
Surbey and Chalacorada claimed 16th with a single rail down and a time of 71.74 seconds. At the end of round two, White was holding 20th place overall, with Surbey right behind in 21st, securing their invitation to move forward as part of the top 30 into the two-part final on April 2 – an ideal birthday present for Surbey, who was celebrating his 30th birthday on March 31.
After lowering just one rail in each leg of the final on April 2, Surbey finished the day in a tie for 11th with Chalacorada. His combined three-day score of 27 landed him 18th in the overall standings, making him the top-placed Canadian in his World Cup Final debut.
“I’m really happy with our performances throughout the week,” said Surbey, who was supported by friends, family and colleagues from Spruce Meadows – all in attendance to cheer him on. “The course designing was top class, and large crowds each day provided the competition with a lot of atmosphere.”
Reflecting on his inaugural World Cup Final experience, Surbey said, “The overall experience of the week was great. I would say there was a little extra pressure, but I think it all came from within myself. I was determined to show that my horse and I have what it takes to compete at the championship level.”
White and For Freedom Z pulled off their top-20 finish on a combined score of 31. After incurring two rails and a time fault in round one of the final, they returned to the second round to lower just one rail and finish inside the time for 20th place in the third round. This also put their final placing at 20th.
American, McLain Ward took home the World Cup Final title after winning all three legs aboard HH Azur. Second went to Romain Duguet of Switzerland and Twentytwo des Biches, while Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden rounded out the top three with Mary Lou.
For more information and full results from the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final, visit www.omahaworldcup2017.com
More from Horse Sport:
