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WASHINGTON, Oct. 28-- Beat Mandli of Switzerland edged past world number two McLain Ward of the United States to win the FEI World Cup jumping title on Saturday. Mandli and his Dsarie were one of 11 teams to go clear through the first round of Alan Wade's course at the Capital One Arena and put up with a clear jump off in 32.07 seconds to finish first ahead of Ward's second place time of 32.30 seconds. "I feel great," Mandli said. "Everything worked out better than I was thinking at the start of the week. I'm just super happy for the horse and for the whole team. It was great night for me." Mandli has ridden on the 9-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare for the past year and the victory in Washington was their biggest win to date. Mandli admitted that part of their success was due to a lucky congruence between the course design and Dsarie's strength. "For me the course was perfect. I knew that she could do the five to last fence. I know she's a very good turner on the rollback. It just suited my horse very well. Every jump is a risk when you try to go fast. One or two I tried to go fast, she gave me such a good feeling," said Mandli, who conquered a field of 26 star riders here in Washington. Next up for Mandli and Dsarie is the National Horse Show, and from there his sights are set on the 2018 World Equestrian Games. Ward has just retired veteran partner Carlos on Friday, and is hopeful that his new partner Callas will step up for more success. | 
