With a performance of cool quality, Ireland’s 19-year-old show jumping star Bertram Allen slotted in to an almost unbelievably close third place behind Olympic champion and winner Steve Guerdat of Switzerland and Penelope Leprevost of France, in an utterly exciting and nail-biting Longines World Cup Final in Las Vegas last Sunday. Bertram and the Kannan mare Molly Molone jumped a clear and three fours over the three legs of the top class competition, to end on nine penalties, just one behind the overall winner.

Bertram had told us that in order to be in with a shout of an overall win, he had to go well in Thursday’s opening speed leg. That he did in absolute style. From his 32nd out of 40 draw he produced a peach of a round on Molly Molone in 65.45, to shave a full second from the time of France’s Patrice Delaveau, who had led from the very start.

The pure panache of this cool 19-year-old brought an eruption of cheers from the 7,000 crowd as they brought the Thomas and Mark Centre alive to the tune of Good Golly Miss Molly.

Only the 2012 champion Irish stallion Flexible and Rich Fellers came close to him after that. They were around in 66.11 to slot in to overnight second.

Jump-off

It was then on to US course builder Anthoney D’Ambrosio’s hugely testing 13-fence track for Friday’s very big jump-off second leg. This included a massively testing oxer to an upright treble at the second last facing into a tight corner. The field, which had been cut to 35 overnight, struggled to cope and by the time Allen went, only six had managed to go clear. In what has to be seen as a very brave and wise move, Bertram opted for a double gamble at the treble. Most had come to it on six strides from 11. But he went in five. He knew that Molly could have trouble at the big and wide middle oxer, so he drove on at speed in the hope that she would also clear the upright third element. In the event she had that down, but she had also produced the fastest four to have Bertram place seventh and stay in contention on just one penalty going into Sunday’s final two round leg.

In the meantime, Flexible had come up with a double clear and went into joint leadership with Olympic champion Steve Guerdat of Switzerland on Albfuehren’s Paille, that like Molly Molone is another good Kannan mare.

In a very tense first of the overall final two rounds on Sunday, a very stiff course again allowed just six clears. Some of the 29 still in the competition came back with up to five down.

At the fifth rustic oxer Molly Molone just backed off a little bit to have a rail down. They collected well to go nicely clear after that.

But there was still drama to come. Next in, joint leader Guerdat produced the most brilliant of clears to retain his place at the top of the leaderboard. To a hushed, expectant arena, USA’s joint leader Rich Fellers was last to go. They were clear to the third last, but the planks fell there and then the last as well.

This meant that Bertram Allen moved up a place into joint second, along with top French rider Penelope Leprevost on Vagabond de la Pomme, by World Champion Vigo d’Arsouilles, with five penalties each behind Steve Guerdat, still on zero. So it was still all to play for in the second round.

Not a single one of the 20 remaining contestants went clear on this final 12-fence track. Bertram had just the second oxer down, Penelope Leprevost also had one down.

Nail-biting finale

So it was all down to a nail-biting final round by Steve Guerdat. He had two on the floor, but that was still just enough to take the trophy. He was just quarter of a second within the time. Otherwise there would have been a three-way jump-off. (One I feel Bertram would have won.)

Although tied with Allen for second on nine overall penalties each, Leprevost was just half a second faster in that second round to take the second place.

Afterwards, Bertram said: “I knew I was in with a reasonable chance this week. Thankfully, it went really well to plan and it’s great to be on the podium today. In the first round I made a mistake, but felt Molly jumped quite well, but the second round was a bad round – I got much too close to fence two. But I’m very happy to be here. I’ve had a great week and feel honoured to be sitting up her with these riders at this young age.”

World cup champion Steve Guerdat said after his win: “I’ve been trying a long time to win this and I’ve come close many times. It’s the third time I was in the lead going into the final competition and today I nearly messed it up again. I didn’t expect the first mistake, those four strides (from fence four to 5fa) turned out to be very, very long and that triple combination wasn’t good for me at all, but once we were past that I thought now stay calm.

“But coming to the last I knew the time was tight. I could hear Martin Fuchs outside the arena saying: ‘Go, go!’, and I don’t know what I did. I just went as fast as I could to the finish line, but unfortunately there was a big fence in the way,” he said, laughing. CL