Omaha 2023: A rollercoaster ride of equestrian excellence with a royal finish

King Edward adds more gold to his collection.

For the fifth consecutive time in the history of the FEI World Cup Finals, the Day 1 leader has crowned themselves World Cup Champion on the final day. The reigning World Champions entered the competition on the highest win chance and fulfilled those expectations on Day 1 by taking the lead. A surprising 4 faults on Day 2 saw them drop down to third in the standings going into the final day, all while maintaining the highest win chance of the field, 25%. The favourites rolled another pole out of the cup, but as they waited, watched both leaders fault too. Thanks to a clear in Round II, the pair have now crowned themselves the 2023 World Cup Champions. 

This is the first time in history of the FEI World Cup Finals that a Swedish rider has taken the gold, bronze being the highest finish a Swedish rider had ever achieved, a feat Henrik had already accomplished twice. Thanks to this win, KING EDWARD now sports an Elo of 803. The highest Elo ever achieved in history is 804. Ben Maher’s Explosion W reached that back in 2021, while Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z followed in his footsteps earlier this year. As Explosion W hasn’t been seen on the international scene since July 2022 and it seems Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z is experiencing slight drop in form, could we see King Edward reach that milestone or perhaps break that record this year?

Monaco N.O.P., the perennial runner-up

For the second consecutive year, Harrie Smolders and MONACO N.O.P. won the silver medal at FEI World Cup Finals. The runner-up position is one that is very familiar to this pair. This weekend’s achievement is their 10th second place finish at 5* 160 level, still awaiting their big career win. Despite their lack of a victory at that level, Monaco N.O.P. is the sixth highest-rated horse on our Elo-ranking right now, sporting a career high of 771. 

Hometown hero Hunter Holloway brings home the bronze

Hunter Holloway and PEPITA CON SPITA tackled their second FEI World Cup Finals this weekend in Omaha, after debuting in Leipzig last year. Both horse and rider came out fighting from Day 1 and despite only being predicted a 2% chance at the win at the start of the competition, produced a splendid performance on home soil and took a spot on the podium. Pepita Con Spita entered the FEI World Cup Finals on an Elo 663 and have grown their Elo by 43 points, now entering the 700’s on 704.

Bittersweet outcome for Brooklyn Heights

The importance of being competitive on Day 1 has been highlighted through the performances of BROOKLYN HEIGHTS and Denis Lynch. Despite being the only horse to not have knocked more than one rail throughout the entire championship, the pair miss out on a medal due to their slower clear on Day 1, which put them in 18th position going into the rest of the competition. Although bittersweet, they will not leave Omaha empty-handed as being the only combination to stay double clear on the final day will get them a nice premium. The chestnut gelding also sees an 11 point raise in his Elo, now standing at 735.