Swiss rider wins, U.S. mounts strong effort at equestrian jumping final

Quick, name the only sport where the winner always has a long face. Give up? Equestrian.

Now that the comedy portion of our show is over, let’s get to the results of Friday night’s Longines FEI World Cup Jumping final II at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

The top six horses of the 35 that competed Friday moved into a jump-off and it looked good for the red, white and blue with four riders among the six. But Steve Guerdat of Switzerland and his horse, Albfuehren’s Paille (try saying that three times fast), disappointed the home fans by riding the course in 32.87 seconds for the victory.

Elizabeth Madden of the U.S. and her horse, Simon, finished second in a time of 33.31 and Lucy Davis of the U.S. and her horse, Barron, had the fastest time of 32.53, but a penalty for a knocked-over barrier dropped them to third.

Rounding out the top six were Richard Fellers of the U.S. and his horse, Flexible; Geir Gulliksen of Norway, riding Edesa S Banjan; and McLain Ward of the U.S., on Rothchild.

The third and final round of the jumping competition will be Sunday.