Beat Mändli Wins an Unusual World Cup Ski Jumping Event in Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Right after the course walk for the first round of the 2026/27 US World Cup show jumping season in Traverse City, Swiss-born Beat Mändli remarked: “Anyone who stays clear here has a horse for the final.” A good two hours later, Beat Mändli can now say: His ten-year-old Moskito van het Hellehof daughter, Qoachella, is definitely a horse for the final! Not only was she the only horse to complete two clear rounds, but she also left the reigning World Cup champions—Kent Farrington and Greya—behind.

They also had a time penalty in the first round, as did McLain Ward and Jordan Molga M, who posted identical times down to the hundredth of a second. That wasn’t the only curious incident in this World Cup show jumping event.

The Jump-Off

Five pairs had qualified for

the jump-off

, but Charlotte Jacobs withdrew her horse, Playboy JT Z, leaving four. Beat Mändli and Qoachella (whose dam, by the way, is by Ferro) kicked things off. Mändli said later that it had been clear to him that it wouldn’t make sense to ride the mare—who is only ten years old—faster than everyone else, especially given the field in the jump-off, which included Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz, as well as Olympic champion Christian Kukuk on his German champion Akarad Tivoli Z. But even they have to ride first, as today’s events showed.

Mändli approached the course swiftly but thoughtfully, and Qoachella played along perfectly. A flawless round to start things off, 38.03 seconds—a time that was definitely beatable. Next up were Christian Kukuk and Akarad Tivoli Z. The Zangersheider gelding, also just ten years old, doesn’t have much experience with fast jumping yet. Kukuk gave it a try anyway and paid for his willingness to take a risk with a clear fault. He was faster, though: 37.68 seconds.

Then came Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz. On paper, the Falsterbo winners and championship partners were the clear favorites, and they lived up to that role right up to the last jump. Here, however, the Irish rider completely messed up and took the jump head-on; even his time of 35.61 seconds wasn’t enough. Still, that was enough to secure him second place.

Only Israel’s Mark Bluman and the Selle Français stallion Genial de B’Neville by Kapitol d’Argonne now stood between Mändli and the World Cup victory. But they made not just one mistake, but two.

Switzerland’s national anthem? Let’s have to look it up first…

With that, Beat Mändli was declared the first winner of a World Cup stage in the 2026/27 season. Shane Sweetnam, who kept shaking his head in disbelief and trying to calm his excited gray horse, finished second, with Kukuk coming in third.

At the awards ceremony, the usual announcement was made: “We’ll honor the winner with the national anthem, and we ask that you please stand if possible.” The audience had to stand for quite a while, because apparently no one in Traverse City had expected a Swiss winner. It took several minutes, and restlessness slowly began to spread. But finally, the familiar strains rang out in honor of Mändli and Qoachella. The two have now secured their first 20 points on the road to the 2027 World Cup Final.

You can find all the results here.