Guilherme Jorge (BRA) laid out the 13-obstacle first round course across the expansive arena, utilizing its size to challenge athletes and their mounts with a triple combination and a winding track that were the source of many rails being tipped out of the cups. The United States’ Alessandra Volpi would produce the first clear of the class aboard Berlinda. Just after Volpi, Nicolas Pizarro (MEX) and Disneyland would force a jump-off after completing the track with no faults to their names. Fourteen others would follow suit to add their names to the jump-off roster, including Kyle King (USA), Heers (USA), Olivia Chowrdy (USA), Ali Ramsay (USA), Erynn Ballard (CAN), Pizzaro on a second mount, Emma Marlowe (USA), Natalie Dean (USA), Shawn Cassady (USA), Nicholas Dello Joio (USA), Ailish Cunniffe (USA), Victoria Heurtematte (PAN), Cathleen Driscoll (USA), and Nikko Ritter (USA).
First in the arena for the tie breaking 8-fence jump-off, Volpi set the standard high with a quick and clear round in 35.29 seconds. Those who followed Volpi experienced difficulty through the track, especially to the single-to-oxer combination set on the rail midway through the course. After a tight rollback through the middle of the arena, many suffered a rail down at the vertical fence after trying to shave time on the course by cutting their track. It was Chowdry who would be the first to skillfully navigate the course fault-free after Volpi, taking over the lead with a fast and clean finish just two-tenths of a second better than Volpi in 35.09 seconds.
Chowdry’s lead would be short-lived as Heers set forth into the arena with her trusted partner Antidote de Mars. Bliss tactfully piloted the 11-year-old Selle Francais stallion, turning and burning her way through the narrow turns to stop the clocks in 34.56 seconds to emerge at the top of the leaderboard. Canada’s Ballard would try her hand at nabbing the leading spot riding The Z Group’s Corner Pocket Z, but would fall just short of Heers’ strong finish to ultimately settle into second place on a time of 34.90 seconds. Chowdry and Balkana du Tillard, owned by Atlas Equine Holdings LLC, would eventually finish the afternoon with third place honors.
