Austrian Leads in World Cup : Equestrian: Fruhmann in front with one competition remaining.

Austria’s Thomas Fruhmann might have finished second on opening night, and he might have finished fifth in Friday’s second round, but today he finds himself leading the 1992 Volvo World Cup with one competition remaining.

Fruhmann was one of only eight riders whose horse successfully negotiated the 13-jump course to advance to the jump-offs, and he now is the leading candidate to take home the bulk of the $377,000 in prize winnings.

The victory Friday went to Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum astride Rush On, who won about $18,000 for his first-place finish. He had the only clean ride in the second jump-off.

Switzerland’s Thomas Fuchs, astride Dylano, had one fault in his second-place ride.

Leslie Lenehan of Westport, Conn., astride Pressurized, finished third and Switzerland’s Lesley McNaught-Maendli, astride Moet & Chandon Pirol, took fourth.

Friday’s competition, in front of about 7,000 at Del Mar Fairground’s Equestrian Arena, was for power. The 13-jump, 16-obstacle course featured more--and higher--vertical fences than in Thursday’s speed competition on the 505-meter layout. The round also included two jump-offs, and horse and rider advanced into the jump-offs by negotiating the course in the first round without incurring any faults.

Bernie Traurig (Rancho Santa Fe) tied for fifth Friday, and Laura Kraut (Oconomowoc, Wis.) took seventh. Belgium’s Jean Claude Vangeenberghe was eighth.

After two days of the three-event competition, Fruhmann leads with 87 points, followed by Swiss brothers Markus (81) and Thomas Fuchs (80).

Beerbaum benefited greatly from a ruling by the Appeals Committee that prevented his first-round elimination.

Also benefiting from the ruling was Great Britain’s Tina Cassan, who stirred the crowd on Thursday by not leaving the arena after being eliminated. She and Beerbaum had similar incidents, activating--inadvertently or otherwise--the automatic timer that began their round. The committee said there was an infraction but through a “narrow interpretation of the rules would result in an ‘obvious injustice.’ ”

However, Cassan received a warning for ignoring “the clear and correct instruction of the Ground Jury.”

Notes

Germany’s Otto Becker and Leandra won the Class 7 Power and Speed competition Friday afternoon, pocketing $3,000. Second was Frenchman Roger-Yves Bost, followed by Canadian Jill Henselwood and four Americans, Hap Hansen, Cece Younger, Norman Dello Joio and Rob Gage. . . . Switzerland’s Lesley McNaught-Maendli won the Class 8 Top Score competition astride Forester and won $4,500 prize money. Ireland’s Eddie Macken was second and Austria’s Thomas Fruhmann was third. Highest-placing American was Diann Langer on Cyrano.

McClain Ward rode Palermo to victory in the Class 15 Junior/Amateur Owner Jumpoff. Ward won $900. Rounding ou the Top 5 were Jennifer Miller, Wilder Di Santo, Laura O’Connor and Tara Ardalan. . . . World Cup officials made presentations to various riders. Presented with Volvo automobiles were Rancho Santa Fe’s Bernie Traurig (U.S. West Coast champion), George Lindemann of Greenwich, Conn. (U.S. East Coast), and Canada’s Ian Miller. . . . Jaime Guerra, winner of the Mexican Sub-League, received his World Cup medal, though he was unable to compete with his qualified horse and instead attended as a visitor. . . . The original 46-rider field has shrunk to 39. Among the second-round casualties were Zoltan Rezgo, the first Hungarian to compete in the World Cup. His mount, Poker, refused three times to jump No. 12 and did not complete the course in the allotted 92 seconds. No. 12 also claimed Germany’s Otto Becker, who opened the round in 17th place. . . . West Coast runner-up Candice Schlom of Calabasas voluntarily withdrew after taking a spill into No. 13B.