Salvador Onate (MEX) did what no one else could in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Leon (MEX). He secured a victory aboard Beautiful Red with a single time fault, as no other rider could leave all of the jumps up over Anderson Lima’s (BRA) challenging track.
No jump-off was needed to determine a winner. Onate and his mount finished on a first-round score of 1 and a time of 83.88 seconds, less than a second over the 83-second time allowed. Arturo Parada Vallejo (MEX) was the fastest rider on the day, finishing second with 4 faults in 78.72 seconds. Juan Jose Zendejas Salgado (MEX) finished third with Just Nice van het Indihoff; that duo also had a 4-fault score, but their time was slightly slower (79.40 seconds).
“As soon as I walked the course, I knew there would only be maybe one or two clear rounds. In the ring, I knew I had to take my time and that it would be better for me to take my time and maybe have a time fault, and I had to gamble a bit with that,” said Onate. “There were some pretty amazing riders [behind me], and I thought there would be at least one clear,” he added. “It all worked out in the end.”