October 30, 2022 
“[Count Me In] has really changed my career, and he’s brought me to a lot of places I’ve never been and has been very successful doing it,” said Irish rider Conor Swail (IRL).
After winning the opening leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League (NAL) in Sacramento with Vital Chance de la Roque, Swail defended his prime real estate at the top of the NAL leader board on Saturday by making it two for two at the Washington International Horse Show (WIHS). This time he was partnered with 15-year-old gelding Count Me In.
You might imagine that there are few places the world number five rider has yet to go, but he still has a few firsts left on his list. Saturday marks his first 5* Grand Prix win with the gelding better known as “Crosby” since acquiring the ride in 2021 from Canada’s Beth Underhill.
“He’s been just incredible for me since I got him. This is his first 5* Grand Prix win with me. I’m just so thrilled for him…I feel like now I know he’s capable, and [World Cup Finals] is something that I’m looking forward to doing with him,” said Swail.
Perhaps it is Crosby’s first 5* Grand Prix win with Swail, but he’s well proven his capability in numerous other high stakes classes and conquests in recent history. In June, the pair helped the Irish team to the win in the CSIO5* Nations Cup of Canada. In August, they did it again on home soil in Dublin for the distinguished Aga Khan Trophy. For a moment Crosby even found his way atop the Longines FEI world ranking list as the number one horse in the world.
Yet with Swail’s sights set on winning the Finals in Omaha, Nebraska, even the most successful horses in his string have to prove they’re up for the challenge. No matter which he decides to saddle up in April, Saturday was about celebrating Crosby’s masterful effort over the Bernardo Cabral (POR) designed course.
“It’s obviously been a fantastic start for me, winning two out of two [qualifiers] with two different horses, but tonight really it’s about Crosby,” said Swail.
“Bernardo did a great job, and there were good jumps. The horses are very comfortable here. There’s a lot of space, which is very nice for them, so they’re relaxed going into the ring in a good frame of mind.”
Building the course so that there is ample galloping space throughout the indoor track is one thing, trying to match Swail’s blistering time of 35.76 seconds is another, and so the Irishman’s sense of relaxation was likely singular. For the nine out of 30 starters who progressed to the jump-off the pressure was on.
“I think if you want to beat Conor Swail right now, you can’t make any mistakes,” said runner-up Daniel Bluman (ISR) aboard 11-year-old mare Gemma W.
Bluman’s “mistakes” are nearly impossible to catch with the naked eye, because the winning margins in indoors like the Show Place Arena are often remarkably tight, but nothing gets by the clock.
“It doesn’t sound like much but at the end of the day, it is. It’s a split second that is really separating all of us. I didn’t get to see his jump-off, but I knew if I performed the way that I wanted and rode my plan that I had a pretty good chance to beat it. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in one of the bending lines from the oxer to the liverpool,” said Bluman, who finished not even a heartbeat behind Swail in 36 seconds.
If any combination had a shot of shaving Swail’s time, it was Bluman and Gemma. The pair has had great success along the Major League Show Jumping (MLSJ) tour, especially the Ontario leg in August where they won two CSI5* classes, one being the Grand Prix. The Israeli rider’s expectations for Gemma might be rising, but there was no disappointment on Saturday.
“[Gemma] is a really special mare. She always wants to play the game. She enjoys it, and I’m very pleased with the way she performed this week,” said Bluman.
Brian Moggre (USA) followed suit, the ultra competitive rider finishing third in 36.74 seconds with the 13-year-old gelding MTM Vivre Le Reve.
“The past few shows haven’t really been our best results, so I didn’t have many expectations other than knowing he was going to try his hardest,” Moggre confessed.
“I maybe didn’t take as much risk as I normally would, but he jumped amazing and I’m super happy with the result.”
Moggre won his first 5* World Cup Qualifier with MTM Vive Le Reve in 2019 at Live Oak International, and despite his struggle to find their footing atop podiums this year, history speaks for itself and it’s no doubt they are finding synergy once again.
“It’s always great to have a nice result with the horse that you’ve had for so long. So to have Vivre le Reve back here still jumping top sport after seven years of partnership, every time I get to go in the ring with him is a blessing,” said Moggre.
With six World Cup qualifiers still to to be seen, Swail remains is in the enviable position on top of the leaderboard. As the times get tighter, and horses like Gemma and MTM Vivre Le Rive clip his heels, Swail will have to add a little extra leg if he wants to stay ahead.
