When Zazou Hoffman (USA) was asked whether the Longines watch that sat before her was her first, her initial response was a dead giveaway: “I get to keep the watch?”

Hoffman, 26, topped the $100,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Del Mar with Samson II, besting a compact yet furiously competitive jump-off field of four. Jumping cleanly over Marina Azevedo’s (BRA) jump-off track, the duo crossed the timers in 41.68 seconds.

Eduardo Menezes (BRA) & Quintol

Olympians Eduardo Menezes (BRA) and Quintol finished second as the leadoff pair due to a penalty-free jump-off performance in 42.64 seconds.

Georgina Bloomberg (USA) & 

Georgina Bloomberg (USA) and Chameur finishede third, the only difference being their time of 44.73 seconds. Last to go, Nicole Shahinian-Simpson (USA) and Akuna Mattata posted the winning time (41.15 seconds) but fell to fourth after they pulled the rail at the final fence.

“Tonight was super exciting for me,” Hoffman said. “I have a lot of amazing things to say about my horse and how lucky I am to have him. “[In the] jump-off, he was incredible. Everything came up kind of just [by] moving forward.”

Zazou Hoffman (USA) & Samson II

Clear rounds were hard to come by in the first round. In fact, the first faultless performance did not come until Menezes and Quintol jumped at 22nd in the order. The pair, veterans of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games used their experience to their advantage and put the pressure on when first to go in the jump-off, and Hoffman formulated her plan based off their smooth execution. She followed up Menezes’ round with a confident, flowing ride of her own, which was highlighted by a tidy turn back to the jump-off’s third fence and a bold, time-shaving angle to the wall that came two fences later.

Zazou Hoffman (USA) & Samson II during the awards ceremony

“I think I based my plan off of watching Eduardo,” she said. “I hadn’t really considered how fast or not I was going to go. After watching him, I realized I was going to have to be quite quick. I’ve ridden a lot of jump-offs this year on Samson with 4 penalty-points, and I know that I can trust him and go fast, but it’s just that fine line of risking too much. I did one extra stride than Eduardo to first line, and then my turn backs were quite tight. I took a little bit of a risk to the wall, and that’s where I think I saved a little bit of time.”

Results:

1. Zazou Hoffman (USA) & Samson II – 0/0 41.68

2. Eduardo Menezes (BRA) & Quintol – 0/0 42.64

3. Georgina Bloomberg (USA) & Charmeur 0/0 44.73

4. Nicole Shahinian-Simpson (USA) & Akuna Mattata – 0/0 41.15

5. Francie Nilforushan (USA) & Clarinius – 1 / 79.60

6. Richard Spooner (USA) & Quirado RC – 4 / 72.77

7. Lane Clarke (AUS) & Hooverphinc Odeveld – 4 / 73.62

8. Jamie Barge (USA) & Luebbo – 4 / 73.99

9. Jennifer Gates (USA) & Pumped Up Kicks – 4 / 74.16

10. Eve Jobs (USA) & Venue d’Fees des Hazalles – 4 / 74.37

For full results, please click here.

Source: Press release by Catie Staszak for FEI – Fédération Equestre Internationale

Photos: © FEI / McCool Photography / Lindsey Long