OCALA, Fla.--Mimi Gochman on Iron Maiden won the $300,000 1.60m CSI5*-W Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Ocala at the World Equestrian Festival on Saturday evening, Feb. 14, and the win qualified her for the finals to be held in Fort Worth, Texas in April.

Mimi Gochman on Iron Maiden (Photo by Andrew Ryback)For Gochman, 22, that was her first five-star and first World Cup victory, and she beat Olympians Eduardo Pereira de Menezes of Brazil and Cian O’Connor of Ireland.

There were 14 Olympians of 11 countries in the class of 38 that competed over the course set by Bernardo Costa Cobral of Portugal, and only four went clean to advance to the jump-off.

Of those four, only Gochman went clean again.

Gochman was first to go in the jump-off, and despite a problem at the fifth jump where Iron Maiden made a huge effort to stay clear, she finished clean in 41.79 seconds.

 "I'm so honored," said Gochman. "I'm super, super proud of my horse. This is what I've been working towards, and what my team has been working towards.

"Iron Maiden is a horse that is not the most experienced going quick in jump-offs, especially with me," she said. "The partnership isn't as developed as maybe it is with my other horses. He can sometimes get a bit stressed out in jump-offs, almost anxious. I just wanted to keep it really smooth with him. He kind of saved me a little bit at one of the jumps, and he really gave me a good effort, so I was very happy. He really stepped up and gave me so many nice jumps, and he really tried so hard. Double-clear was really the goal there."

 

"I ALWAYS felt like he had the capability and scope. He's super brave, and he can jump mountains," Gochman said. "For the last couple months, we've just worked on being consistent. This week, we decided to try to step him up even a little bit more, and he answered all of the questions, and he's really impressed us."

Cian OConnor on Kentucky TN (Photo by Andrew Ryback)Gochman started riding Iron Maiden, whose barn name is “Bruce” after the lead singer Bruce Dickinson of the band Iron Maiden, last summer.

"I sat down in the beginning of last year in January and said that I really wanted to go to World Cup Finals this year. I have two fantastic horses that are ready to go, and I want to test myself in a championship format. I think it's important."

“I’m super excited,” she said. “I wasn't expecting to win, and I'm very proud of my team and grateful to my parents and everyone at Baxter Hill and Oakland. It's been a huge team effort, and it's something I've been working toward for a long time, so I'm super, super happy.”

Pereira de Menezes of Brazil on H5 Ozzy vd Bisschop had four faults in 42.65 seconds to place second.

“He was jumping up to 1.30m, 1.40m, not so long ago, so I'm delighted that he gave that effort,” said de Menezes of . “He's not the fastest horse, so I was already really proud that I was able to get inside the time allowed in the first round. We did our best in the jump-off. If I was clear, I couldn't catch Mimi. I'm happy to be second.”

O’Connor on Kentucky TN, the winner of this class in 2025  had four faults in 43.36 seconds to be third.

O'Connor has ridden the quirky Kentucky TN for eight months. 

“I really had to meet him halfway,” he said. “He was very sensitive. Bit by bit, the horse trusted me. This is the first five-star we have done, so I couldn't be happier with him. It's just all progression.”

Hilary Scott of Australia on Oaks Milky Way, had the fastest of time of 41.52 seconds, but with eight faults, which left her fourth.

This was the final qualifying opportunity for riders for the 2026 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 8-12.

The final qualified riders from the North American League for the East Coast are:

Kent Farrington

Mimi Gochman

Laura Kraut

McLain Ward

Aaron Vale

Katherine Dinan

Jacob Pope

The final qualified riders from the North American League for the West Coast are:

Skylar Wireman

Karl Cook

Kyle King

Also qualifying for the Final from Mexico are Luis Alejandro Plascencia O. and Jose Antonio Chedraui Eguia and from Canada are Nikki Walker and Erynn Ballard.

Four foreign riders who competed in the North American League qualified from their leagues;  Irelands' Conor Swail and Daniel Coyle, Rene Dittmer of Germany and Daniel Bluman of Israel.