Nassar and Lordan Repeat Longines Victory in Thermal

By Catie Staszak

For the second year in a row—and third overall—Nayel Nassar (EGY) and his indelible mount Lordan led the victory gallop in the $100,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Thermal (USA).

Besting a jump-off field of five, Nassar and his 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding crossed the timers of Marina Azevedo’s (BRA) shortened course in 43.89 seconds. The duo narrowly edged Eve Jobs, who recorded the best World Cup finish of her career with her own Venue d’Fees des Hazalles; their time was 43.97 seconds. Lisa Carlsen (CAN) finished third aboard Parette after recording the winning time but pulling the rail at the final fence.

“I’m just thrilled with my horse and thrilled to be sitting here again,” Nassar said.

Nassar has been partnered with Lordan for more than seven years. In addition to winning last year’s event, the pair also topped the class in 2016. Nassar used his longtime partnership to his advantage, creating his own jump-off plan based off his horse’s quick, yet smaller, stride.

“I tried not to focus too much on what the other riders were doing,” Nassar said. “I know that Lordan is a very different kind of horse with a different kind of stride. I just wanted to know whether my jump-off pace was going to be fast enough or if I needed to take any extra risks.”

The pace proved to be just enough, resulting in a close, eight-hundredths of a second margin of victory.

“It ended up being a lot closer than I expected,” Nassar said, “but luckily we were on the right side of that today.”

Consistency Proves Key

With consistent, points-earning performances in Vancouver (CAN), Columbus (USA), Del Mar (USA) and Thermal, Jobs took over the lead in the west coast sub league standings of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League with 48 points.

Should Jobs qualify to compete at Gothenburg (SWE) in April, it would be her first appearance in a World Cup Final.

“If everything goes as planned, and I can continue to feel comfortable competing at such a high level, I would be honored to go,” she said. “I’m very excited.”

Richard Spooner (USA), a 15-time World Cup Finals veteran, including last season, moved into second in the standings after finishing fourth in Thermal. He has 36 points, four ahead of Zazou Hoffman (USA), who won the World Cup qualifier at Del Mar (USA) in October.

The west coast sub league of the North American League continues in Las Vegas (USA), on 17 November 2018. 

Results

1. Lordan, Nayel Nassar (EGY) 0/0 43.89

2. Venue d’Fees des Hazalles, Eve Jobs (USA) 0/0 43.97

3. Parette, Lisa Carlsen (CAN) 0/4 41.50

4. Quirado RC, Richard Spooner (USA) 0/4 41.99

5. Firestone S, John Pearce (CAN) 4 45.29

6. Boucanier, Theo Genn (USA) 4 74.76

7. Bugatti, Wilhelm Genn (GER) 4 76.16

8. Christian Grey, Tiffany Sullivan (USA) 4 76.23

9. Luebbo, Jamie Barge (USA) 4 76.85

10. Akuna Mattata, Nicole Shahinian-Simpson (USA) 4 77.25

Full results can be viewed here

Nayel Nassar (EGY) – 1^st

“Honestly, I don’t know what’s left to say [about Lordan]. He’s such a trier inside and out. We had a bit of a blunder last week at the last fence [in a jump-off], and I was a little nervous about how he was going to come out and how he was going to handle that, but it’s as if nothing happened.”

Even Jobs (USA) — 2^nd

“My mare is 13 years old, and I’ve had her for just over a year now. She’s a phenomenal horse, and I just started going faster with her this year. Going into the jump-off, I knew no one had really gone clear yet, but Lisa posted a fast time, and I knew I had Nayel coming right behind me. I tried to go as quick as I could and make tight turns. I took a little bit of a risk to the last, and it paid off. I felt really good with where my horse was and how I rode.”

Lisa Carlsen (USA) — 3^rd

“I had nothing to lose. I knew everyone after me would be fast, so I tried to be fast as I could be, and I actually was the fastest, which I still can’t believe! I’m really proud of my horse, and I now I believe I can win classes, which I never would have said until after today.”

Standings: Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League — West Coast

1. Eve Jobs (USA) 48

2. Richard Spooner (USA) 36

3. Zazou Hoffman (USA) 32

4. Jamie Barge (USA) 28

5. Kelli Cruciotti (USA) 27

6. Nayel Nassar (EGY) 26

7. Nicole Shahinian-Simpson (USA) 25

8. Uma O’Neill (USA) 24

9. Eduardo Menezes (BRA) 21

9. Karrie Rufer (USA) 21

11. Eugenio Garza Perez (MEX) 20

Full standings can be viewed here

Standings: Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League — East Coast

1. Molly Ashe Cawley (USA) 55

2. Elizabeth Madden (USA) 46

3. McLain Ward (USA) 45

4. Lucy Davis (USA) 40

5. Wilhelm Genn (USA) 30

6. Georgina Bloomberg (USA) 28

7. Shane Sweetnam (IRL) 28

8. Laura Kraut (USA) 27

9. Mattias Tromp (USA) 27

10. Devin Ryan (USA) 26

Full standings can be viewed here