August 6, 2022 
Season two, deja vu.
Helios remains securely atop the Major League Show Jumping (MLSJ) team standings with a pair of wins out of the gate in season two. Their closest rival in each: Shane Sweetnam’s rebranded team, Spy Coast Spies.
The two teams have twice faced off in the gold medal match this season and twice Helios has come out on top. Ashlee Bond, Eugenio Garza and Bliss Heers took the win for Helios at MLSJ Vancouver in May. Teammates Karl Cook, Mark Bluman and Simon McCarthy captured the honors at MLSJ Traverse City.
“I felt a lot of pressure,” said McCarthy.
“Not pressure because we don’t think we’re good enough, pressure to do right by our team. When they won in the first leg, I felt like, as Karl said, that there were people out to get us this week, so it’s nice to get it over the line.”
Now two for two in season two, the pressure is only ramping up. Helios is officially the team to beat.
Here’s how it played out in Michigan.
Eye Candy didn’t make the cut
For the second time this season, the 2021 team champions didn’t make the top four to advance to the second round in the MLSJ team competition. Eye Candy fielded one of the strongest teams on paper with world No. 4 Conor Swail on Theo 160, MLSJ 2021 individual champion Paul O’Shea with Squirt Gun and team staple Jacqueline Steffens aboard Freaky. But a single rail from Swail and an uncharacteristic pair of poles for Steffens put them on the bubble as the fastest 12 fault team in round one. Then Crusaders (Nick Dello Joio, Hunter Holloway and Callie Schott) popped it.
Amy Millar has yet to make an appearance for Eye Candy this season. (She’s in Herning for the World Championships.) Is the heart and soul of the team missing, as co-founder Keean White predicted?
Northern Lights land their first podium
ShowPlus Northern Lights exercised the first of two permitted substitutions, bringing in Jim Ifko to ride for Sam Walker in Traverse City. Pegged as the underdogs, the team was ranked a lowly eighth on the power rankings. Their draw order, first to go, did little to improve those odds.
But as Canadian teams often do, Northern Lights exceeded expectations. The team not only qualified in the top four with an eight fault team total in round one by Sean Jobin, Ifko and Juan Ortiz, but posted the fastest jump off time of the day—35.97 seconds by Ifko and his veteran partner Un Diamant des Forets—to win the bronze medal match against Crusaders. Never count the North out.
Cook’s clutch ride
Team manager Bond previously said that Helios’s team strategy is to use their strongest, fastest riders for the second round to get into the gold medal match. In Traverse City, Cook and Bluman did the honors.
“We have probably two of the fastest riders in the tour with Karl and Ashlee. They’re both blazing fast,” said Bluman. “I was looking at Karl’s round today and I said, why is he going so slow? And then he ended up being the second fastest time of the jump off.”
Cook stopped the clock at 36.05. A clear from Bluman in 37.63 secured their spot in the gold medal match against Spy Coast Spies.
“Simon and I didn’t have to do a crazy amount of speed today, so we need to thank Karl. He put on a smashing round in the second round.”
Helios vs Spy Coast Spies: Round 2
In a repeat of stage one at Thunderbird Show Park, Helios and Spy Coast Spies faced off in the gold medal match. Speed specialist Jordan Coyle brought home the win for his team at Traverse City in 2021. Their hopes for a repeat performance ended, however, at the Major League double when Coyle’s mount, Picador, stopped twice and they were eliminated.
A complete round from McCarthy would secure the win for Helios.
“I’ve never been so nervous about not finishing and I’ve got one of the bravest horses here,” laughed McCarthy. “So it was a weird feeling, but it is incredible.”
Nothing but the title will do
McCarthy is celebrating a win in Traverse City, but his sights are locked on the team title—and $500,000 bonus.
“[Earlier this week] Karl said we’d be happy finishing in the top three [overall] and I completely disagree,” said McCarthy. “With the bonus, it’s a massive bonus here for the overall champions and it’s a pretty much if you’re not first, you’re last.”
Helios now leads the team standings with 20 points. Spy Coast Spies is in second with 16 and Eye Candy a distant third on nine points. With eight stages still to come in the 2022 MLSJ season, Helios holds no illusions for the months ahead.
“We were first to Spy Coast Spies both times, so they are still close to us [in the rankings],” said Cook.
“They were great in Thunderbird and if Jordan didn’t have that stop he’s so quick on that horse. His first round time was one of the fastest of any of the team riders. So, we did win, but it’s still hard fighting.”
MLSJ next stops in Toronto August 18–21, before heading to Ottawa August 25–28.
