September 21, 2026 
By his own admission, Beat Mändli was not supposed to win the opening leg of the 2026/27 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League during this year’s American Gold Cup in Traverse City, MI.
The Swiss rider’s horse, Qoachella, is 10 years old, jumping her first-ever FEI World Cup qualifier, and her biggest class to date since Mändli took over the reins in March of 2025. Qoachella was also jumping just her second 1.60m Grand Prix since her victorious 4* debut in Wellington last March—meaning the mare is now two for two at this height.
“She surprises me every time she goes [in] to a bigger class,” Mändli said. “She just does it, and she’s just a super intelligent horse.
“I was definitely not thinking about the win today. I wanted a good round and to give my horse more confidence and more mileage over this height, but she was incredible,” added Mändli, who was the only rider on the startlist of 37 to earn double-clear efforts on Course Designer Alan Wade’s (IRL) challenging track.
“Sometimes, it works out, and it did today for me, and for my horse, and for the whole team. I’m obviously very happy.”
Wade’s tight time allowed of 78 seconds proved highly influential in the first round, where top combinations including Kent Farrington (USA) and Greya and McLain Ward (USA) and Jordan Molga M were caught out by a single time fault. Five riders punched their tickets to the second round, with Charlotte Jacobs (USA) and Playboy JT Z electing to withdraw before the jump-off.
That left Mark Bluman (ISR) and Genial de B’Neville, Christian Kukuk (GER) and Akarad Tivoli Z and—the presumed favorite—Shane Sweetnam (IRL) and his Paris Olympic partner, James Kann Cruz, who won the 5* American Gold Cup back in 2024.
As pathfinder, Mändli hoped to maintain the Belgian mare’s confidence while notching a conservative clear in the jump-off. “With [Sweetnam and Kukuk] behind me, there was no way I could have been fast enough [if I went in to win],” he said. “At this point, and this stage of Qoachella’s career, in her first 5* show, I thought I’d do a nice clear round—let go a little bit but keep it safe.”
Mändli did just that, earning a second clear on a time of 38.03 seconds, and forcing the hand of the next three competitors—all of whom pulled rails in their attempt to catch him. Sweetnam, on four faults, took second on 35.61 seconds; Kukuk—who tried to leave out a stride to the penultimate line—also dropped a pole, taking third on 37.68 seconds.
“I got greedy in the jump-off, and you always pay your bill when you get greedy in the end,” Kukuk reflected. “We learned something today, but obviously, I’m super proud of my horse. I really believe in him and have a lot of hope for the future with [Akarad Tivoli Z].”
According to Mändli, this is only the second or third 5* Grand Prix victory of his career, achieved on a horse who was initially meant for his student, Katie Dinan (USA). “Katie said, ‘Why don’t you ride her? She seems to like you, and you get on very well with her,” Mändli explained of the transition.
“[Qoachella] takes her time with everything, and she’s very intelligent. She just looks around and measures everything out, what’s going on. You cannot have a better character in the stable,” he added. “She’s super easy to handle, and there are no quirks with her.”
With this win, Mändli earns 20 points to take the early league in the North American League standings. The Swiss rider last competed an FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in 2019, and was the World Cup Finals Champion back in 2007 aboard Idéo du Thot.
