Guerdat’s Back On Top At World Cup, But Lutz Lights Up U.S. Contingent

by Kat Netzler

Gothenburg, Sweden—March 26

Photo caption: Peter Lutz and Robin de Ponthual had two rails in the jump-off of the second day's class, but they'll start Monday tied for 10th. Photo Credit: Lisa Spade

 The jump-off line-up read like a Who’s Who of Europe’s best show jumpers: Germany’s Christian Ahlmann, Irishman Denis Lynch, Harrie Smolders of the Netherlands, Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat, and German veterans Marcus Ehning and Marco Kutscher.

And if you’d been asked, at the beginning of this week, to guess which U.S. rider would join such heady company with a clear go in the second round of the Longines FEI Show Jumping World Cup Final, it probably wouldn’t have been 42-year-old first-timer Peter Lutz.

“I feel really proud to be in that company; obviously these are the greatest riders, and I’m so happy to be a part of it,” said Lutz, who may be best remembered as a former big eq star—he won the USET Show Jumping Talent Search-East and the ASPCA Maclay Finals back in 1991.

“We’ve worked hard to get here, and it’s my first time, but I felt comfortable,” said Lutz, who’s now based in North Salem, N.Y., and is campaigning the talented 11-year-old Selle Français Robin de Ponthual for Katherine and John Gallagher and Michael Meller.

 “I felt like I could do it,” he said. “I believe in the horse, so I felt good. I felt really good!”

Lutz and Robin de Ponthual ended up pulling two rails in the jump-off, finishing seventh in the class itself, but he was the star of the night for the U.S. contingent, and his performance boosted him to a tie (with Kutscher and Ahlmann) for 10th heading into Monday’s finale (the jump-off didn’t count toward the standings for the final).

“He jumped beautifully yesterday, and I, unfortunately, had the last jump down, which I thought was a little unlucky,” said Lutz. “I’d realized I was going clear, so I slowed down to the last jump. But what I learned is he can jump the height, and he wants to jump clear. He’s an incredible horse, which we knew, but he’s really shown it here.”