Phillip Dutton (USA), last year’s FEI World Cup™ rankings leader, left his 2007 victory until the very last minute, at the final, northernmost qualifier at Mansfield, Ontario, which brought this FEI World Cup™ season to a close.

It was Canada’s first FEI World Cup™ qualifier, held at Wits End Farm and run by Jo Young and Bill McKean with the aim of providing Canadian riders with international experience.

The win moves Dutton, a former dual Olympic gold medallist for Australia but now representing America, from 15th to second place on 194 points in the rankings leaderboard, ending a series which has seen more than 200 riders from 24 countries participate in 16 FEI World Cup™ qualifiers held in 11 countries and three continents.

Dutton, runner-up back in March at Talahassee (USA), lay third after dressage on Woodburn but, typically, posted the fastest cross-country time for 18 penalties and that was good enough to hand him the lead, which he held with just 4 stadium penalties on the last day.

Will Coleman (USA) held second place, 2.1 penalties in arrears, on Kiki du Manoir, and the dressage leader Darren Chiacchia (USA) finished eventual third on the German-bred stallion Windfall, adding 24 cross-country time penalties and two stadium rails down to his first-phase score of 43.4.

There were 13 cross-country clears from the 24 starters over former Olympic champion David O’ Connor’s track, including one from the first Ecuadorean rider to compete in the 2007 FEI World Cup™ series, Ronald Zabal Goetschal, who finished 12th on Mr Wiseguy.

Previously, Nicolas Touzaint (FRA), the reigning FEI World Cup™ Champion and new European Champion, had set up an unassailable lead in the rankings on 230 points with his record two victories, at Fontainebleau (FRA) and Martinvast (FRA).

Oliver Townend (GBR), who was first at Burnham Market (GBR) and second at Chatsworth (GBR), is third on 176 points. The Kalispell (USA) and Minsk (BLR) winners, Kelly Prather (USA) and Viachaslau Poita (BLR), are joint fourth on 160, with Talahassee winner Jonathan Holling (USA) sixth on 138.

Continuing the geographical spread of leading riders, Frank Ostholt (GER), who won Strzegom (POL) on the eight-year-old Mister Medicott, is seventh on 136; Mary King (GBR), the Chatsworth (GBR) winner and reigning European silver medallist is, at 46, the senior rider in the top 10, in eighth place on 118; and Bonn-Rodderburg (GER) victor Peter Thomsen (GER) is eighth on 105. Six riders share equal 10th position on 100 points.

Touzaint, for whom it has been a brilliant season, has therefore justified earning the right to pole position when he defends his title at what promises to be a brilliant final, which will be held in 2008 at a European venue to be announced.

Full results on www.horsesport.org