Thirty-two riders started on a clean slate in the Individual Jumping Final in Lima over a colourful first-round course designed by Guilherme Jorge (BRA) that featured a tough line from the water to a pair of skinny verticals (11 AB) which betrayed a lot of riders, including Canadians Mario Deslauriers, Nicole Walker and Erynn Ballard. Only four clear rounds emerged, with Mexican Eugenio Garza Perez and Armani Sl Z topping the leaderboard at the break.
Mario Deslauriers was looking for vengeance after a disappointing number of rails in the Team Final on Wednesday aboard Amsterdam 27, a nine-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Wishing Well Farm LLC and Luga LLC. Unfortunately, with the bogey fence 11A down as well as the last, his score of eight put him in 14th place. “That was a tricky line,” he admitted. “It’s two tall verticals and we’re going downhill a little bit and they’re skinnier than the other rails. It’s always a hard test for a horse to make him add a stride. My horse jumped a good water, the distance was not terrible, but his head was up and he didn’t focus. But I’m happy with him.”
He added, “The last fence was a bummer, but my horse jumped well. I think he’s learning a lot here – that’s a lot to throw at a nine-year-old.”