Longtime partners, and perennial crowd favorites, Rich Fellers (USA) and Flexible yesterday topped a field of 25 to claim the victory of the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping North American League class at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, British Columbia.

Sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted a record-breaking number of spectators to the beautiful, green show grounds, where the sport’s top athletes attempted to clear the first round of 13 obstacles with 16 jumping attempts. A variety of rails dropped throughout the 1.60-meter track, indicating a well designed course. And multiple riders accrued faults at the triple combination that followed the sliced turns from the jump-eight oxer.

The questions asked by course designer Alan Wade (IRL) proved difficult for the inexperienced and the experienced pairs alike. Just a few months after appearing at the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in Las Vegas, Vinton Karrasch (USA) and Coral Reef Follow Me II were eliminated after two refusals. Two additional horse-and-rider teams did not finish the round.

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