USA Dominates WEF, Guerdat Locks Fort Worth, LGCT Doha Cancelled

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🇫🇮 Helsinki World Cup Finale — Guerdat Gets It Done

The Helsinki International Horse Show returned to the Helsinki Expo Centre for the first time since 1985 this week, hosting the 13th and final leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Western European League — and the new venue absolutely delivered.

The World Cup — Guerdat Secures Fort Worth

Steve Guerdat came to Helsinki with one thing on his mind: qualification points. Sitting 20th on the WEL standings with 29 points, the three-time World Cup champion needed a big result to secure his spot in Fort Worth. He got exactly that.

Guilherme Jorge's 13-obstacle, 16-effort track was a proper test — only seven from 39 starters found a clear path to the jump-off. When the dust settled, it was Guerdat and the outstanding Albfuehren's Iashin Sitte who emerged victorious, stopping the clock at a time that proved untouchable. It's their second World Cup win of the season after Leipzig earlier in the series.

"I really wanted to do well because of the points. We did the whole trip here to Helsinki just to try to gain the last few points that were missing for the Final, so I didn't want to mess it up," Guerdat said afterwards.

Norway's Oda Charlotte Lyngvaer produced a foot-perfect jump-off with Carabella vd Neyen Z to finish just 0.04 seconds behind for second — agonizingly close. Belgium's Viktor Daem completed the podium in third with Kavaliers Blue on his World Cup debut, which is a remarkable result for the young Belgian.

The sold-out Helsinki crowd was electric throughout. With the WEL now wrapped, the final standings see Willem Greve (NED) topping the leaderboard on 81 points, Julien Epaillard (FRA) second on 69, and Daniel Deusser (GER) third on 66. The top 18 now head to Fort Worth (April 8-12) for the Final. Guerdat is one of only five riders to have won the World Cup Final three times — and in 15 Final appearances, he's only twice finished outside the top 10.

>

CSI5-W World Cup Podium:

• 🇨🇭 Steve Guerdat — Albfuehren's Iashin Sitte — 0/0, 38.00s — €62,500

• 🇳🇴 Oda Charlotte Lyngvaer — Carabella vd Neyen Z — 0/0, 38.04s — €50,000

• 🇧🇪 Viktor Daem — Kavaliers Blue — 0/0, 42.49s — €37,500

The Grand Prix — Sato Shines on Saturday Night

Saturday night's CSI5 1.55m Helsinki Grand Prix went to Japan's Eiken Sato and the 15-year-old Chadellano JRA in a quality 13-horse jump-off where nine went double clear. Sato clocked 33.59 seconds to edge out Kevin Staut (FRA) and Kannonqulan, who had looked like the winner for a long time. Giampiero Garofalo (ITA), winner of the Friday qualifier, rounded out the podium with Querido van 't Ruytershof* in 35.54 seconds, while Marc Dilasser (FRA) took fourth and Patrick Stühlmeyer (GER) completed the top five.

CSI5 Helsinki Grand Prix Podium:

• 🇯🇵 Eiken Sato — Chadellano JRA — 0/0, 33.59s

• 🇫🇷 Kevin Staut — Kannonqulan — 0/0

• 🇮🇹 Giampiero Garofalo — Querido van 't Ruytershof — 0/0, 35.54s

Earlier in the week, Friday's CSI5 1.45m went to Denis Lynch (IRL) with Katja, and the 1.50m Finnfoam class was topped by Giampiero Garofalo and Lambrusco, with Robert Whitaker (GBR) second aboard Equine America Gentlemen vh Veldhof*.