Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates.
SPONSORS
PARTNERS
ECM Blogs
Dutch deliver in St Gallen
Saturday, May 31st, 2008
The Netherlands won through in style at the third leg of the 2008 Samsung Super
League with FEI in St Gallen, Switzerland this afternoon with a superior show of
strength and a lot of class. They took control in the first round with three
clear performances and proved unshakeable, while the Swiss and German teams
rallied brilliantly to finish joint-second ahead of the USA in fourth. The
British slotted into fifth ahead of Belgium in sixth but it was a disappointing
day for the Irish who had to settle for second-last place while, for the third
consecutive time, Sweden finished bottom of the order. It is not looking at all
good for the Scandinavian side who are trailing the leaderboard a full eight
points behind the Irish, and almost 15 points behind the leading Dutch going
into the half-way stage at Rotterdam in three weeks' time.
"All four
horses went well in the first round, but it could have been a three-way jump-off
with Switzerland and Germany after the second round except that I asked Gerco to
do something about that for me and, as usual, he obliged!" said the very pleased
Dutch Chef d'Equipe Rob Ehrens afterwards. Schroder's two rounds with
Eurocommerce Berlin oozed quality and energy and The Netherlands are looking
really strong as they progress through this Olympic summer....
THE
COURSE....
The time proved influential over Rolf Ludi's course but, as
Ehrens pointed out, "if riders kept their rhythm and jumped it as it should be
jumped then it was fine". In order to stay within the time limit it was
essential to make a short right-hand turn to the open water at fence four, but
the following vertical of narrow planks, jumped off a dog-leg line, claimed
quite a number of victims as did the triple combination two fences later. Riders
had plenty of space to prepare for this but it was a short single stride from
the opening vertical to the middle vertical and short again to the final oxer -
"if you had a big horse it was tight but if you came in slowly then it was nice"
explained Dutch team-member Vincent Voorn who, with Audi's Alpapillon-Armanie,
produced one of just two double-clear performances on the day.
Those who
struggled with the combination often found themselves having to ride strongly to
the following oxer five strides away, while the final line - a massive vertical
to a strong double - also proved influential.
ROUND ONE.....
When
Voorn's clear was mirrored by both Piet Raymakers (Van Schijndel's Rascin) and
Schroder (Eurocommerce Berlin) the Dutch could drop Angelique Hoorn's single
error with Blauwendraad's O'Brien to hold a zero score at the halfway point but
it was a close-run thing at this stage. The Belgians were hot on their heels
carrying just the single time faults picked up by both Patrick McEntee (Every
Mury Marais Z) and Judy-Ann Melchior (Aktion Pur Z) when Jos Lansink was clear
with Valentina van 't Heike allowing them to discard the single error from
competition pathfinder Philippe Le Jeune riding Vigo d'Arsouilles. The American
team was carrying just the four faults picked up by anchorman Will Simpson (El
Campeon's Carlsson Vom Dach) after clears from Charlie Jayne (Urbanus) and
Nicole Shahinian-Simpson (Dragonfly). Anne Kursinski's Holsteiner stallion Champ
hit the planks after the water, the first element of the triple combination and
the following oxer and also added a time fault for the drop-score
here.
The British finished the opening round with five on the board - Tim
Stockdale (Fresh Direct Corlato) and Ben Maher (Rolette) both unlucky to lower
the second element of the final double in otherwise copybook rounds and Peter
Charles picking up just a single time penalty with Murkas Rubert R. This was the
former Irish rider's first major team outing since returning to ride under the
British flag and he looked very much at home in the arena where, back in 1995,
he clinched the individual European title for Ireland with La Ina. John Whitaker
produced a lovely clear round from Peppermill to complete the British
first-round effort.
The Irish meanwhile were still well in the picture at
this stage, lying just a single fault behind the British after pathfinder Edward
Doyle, a real asset to his side this season, collected just two time faults,
Marie Burke (Chippison) lowered only those tricky planks, and Denis Lynch went
clear with Lantinus allowing them to drop Cian O'Connor's eight faults with
Complete. Germany and Switzerland however could not manage a fault-free round
between them, both teams having to count three four-fault results to share
second-last position going into round two. Swedish hearts were already heavy as
they clocked up 19, and it was always going to be an uphill battle for them from
there....
ROUND TWO....
When Peter Eriksson (Jaguar Mail) added 12
more to the 13 he had earned in the first round the writing was on the wall for
the Swedes, and after Linda Heed (Columbus H) matched her first-round tally of
eight and then Lotta Schultz (Calibra) put 12 more on the board, team manager
Maria Gretzer could see no point in sending Helena Lundback into the ring again
with Bukowskis Conan so they called it a day with 51 faults.
The Swiss
and Germans however suddenly got their acts together - Christina Liebherr (No
Mercy), Niklaus Schurtenberger (Cantus) and Pius Schwizer (Nobless M) all
keeping a clean sheet this time out while Steve Guerdat (Jalisca Solier)
collected only a single time fault, anchorman Schwizer's pressure round greeted
with roars of approval from the home supporters. Not to be outdone however
Christian Ahlmann (Lorenzo), Marco Kutscher (Montender) and Carsten-Otto Nagel
(Corradina) followed suit and so Ludger Beerbaum did not need to go back into
the ring with All Inclusive NRW as the two sides stayed tied with 12 faults
each.
Doyle kicked off the Irish second-round effort with just a pole off
the front element of the triple combination but when Burke collected a whopping
21 faults they began to look very shaky. O'Connor made it all the way to final
fence only to lower the second element there and when Lynch's Lantinus hit the
planks and then, running too strong down the last line, lowered both parts of
the double the Irish total soared to 26 faults to send them plummeting down the
order.
A clear from Stockdale steadied British resolve and despite eight
from Maher, again a victim of the final double, and five from Charles they
completed on a total of 14 after Whitaker lowered only the oxer at six. Jayne
hit that same fence while Kursinski this time hit only the planks and when
Simpson stayed clear they could drop the nine picked up by Shahinian-Simpson.
But Will Simpson first had to overcome a terrifying moment when a fence steward
stepped right into his path at the second fence just as his gelding was mid-air
- the 12 year old horse however just about as cool as his rider as he simply
went a little higher to ensure he wouldn't hit the unsuspecting official.
Belgian fortunes deteriorated rapidly when McEntee picked up 16 faults
after a pole down at the end of the triple combination was followed by a stop at
the very last fence and when Melchior picked up twelve then Le Jeune's single
mistake had to be taken into account despite a second fabulous clear from
Lansink and they plunged down the leaderboard with a total of 18.
As
Schroder returned to the ring for the second time the Dutch score-sheet showed
four for Hoorn, a second clear from Voorn and eight from Raymakers. A fence down
now would see them into a three-way decider with the Swiss and Germans but
Eurocommerce Berlin seemed to have wings as he soared home so very easily to
collect just a single time penalty to leave them on a final tally of five
faults. There would be no jump-off as they secured maximum points.
AND
THEY SAID..
"I didn't think too much about the time" Gerco said
afterwards. "I gave Berlin a big break over the winter and we've been out just a
few times now but today I could feel we were really getting back into our
rhythm" he pointed out.
Raymakers and Rascin were experiencing only their
fifth show together and the rider said "he's getting better and better" although
he admitted he did get worried when he double-faulted in the second round. "I
was too slow to the combination and had one down there and then got worried
about the time and had another one but I knew that I could rely on Gerco to do
the rest!" he said.
Hoorn was very happy with her performance while Voorn
said "I had a good feeling coming here - in the first round I felt really safe
and the second round was even better!". Rob Ehrens will now choose his Olympic
side after the Samsung Super League with FEI visits Aachen next
month.
The Games are in everyone's thoughts these days and for Swiss Chef
d'Equipe, Rolf Grass, today's performance when his side rose from the lower
echelons to share second with Germany was very satisfying indeed. "I like to
judge our performances against those of the Germans and this season until now
were finished ahead of or alongside them three times - if it stays like that
until the end of the season then we will be in a very good position" he pointed
out. He came to St Gallen looking for a good result but also, as he said earlier
in the week, to evaluate the kind of team spirit his riders were prepared to
show and he was pleased with what he found. "We went out together last night and
today we came together to discuss things at the half-way point and I was happy
with how things went" he explained - whatever words that were passed between
them obviously inspiring them all to raise their game in the second half.
"On June 24th we will be selecting our team for the Olympic Games" Mr
Grass explained, "but it won't be easy. We have six great riders and their
horses including these riders here and Daniel Etter and Beat Mandli and someone
will be disappointed. The riders and horses have to stay healthy but I believe
that if we choose well we have a good chance at the Games" he pointed
out.
The 2008 Samsung Super League with FEI series goes to Rotterdam with
the Dutch in the driving seat, the Americans hot on their heels and the British
holding off the Belgians but, as American Chef d'Equipe George Morris said
yesterday, the series has never been closer-fought and only 2.5 points separate
the top four teams - its a red-hot season of great team jumping, and everything
is still to play for.....
RESULT: 1. The Netherlands 5 flts -
Blauwendraad's O'Brien (Angelique Hoorn) 4/4, Audi's Alpapillon-Armanie (Vincent
Voorn) 0/0, Van Schijndel's Rascin (Piet Raymakers) 0/8, Eurocommerce Berlin
(Gerco Schroder) 0/1. Equal 2. Switzerland 12 flts - LB No Mercy (Christina
Liebherr) 4/0, Cantus (Niklaus Schurtenberger) 4/0, Jalisca Solier (Steve
Guerdat) 5/1, Nobless M (Pius Schqizer) 4/0. Equal 2. Germany 12 flts -
Lorenzo (Christian Ahlmann) 4/0, Montender (Marco Kutscher) 4/0, Corradina
(Carsten-Otto Nagel) 4/0, All Inclusive NRW (Ludger Beerbaum) 5/NS. 4. USA 13
flts - Urbanus (Charlie Jayne) 0/4, Champ (Anne Kursinski) 13/5, SRF Dragonfly
(Nicole Shahinian-Simpson) 0/9, El Campeon's Carlsson Vom Dach (Will Simpson)
4/0. 5. Great Britain 14 flts - Fresh Direct Corlato (Tim Stockdale) 4/0,
Rolette (Ben Maher) 4/8, Murka's Rupert R (P Charles) 1/5, Peppermill (John
Shitaker) 0/4. 6. Belgium 18 flts - 1, Vigo D'Arsouilles (Philippe Le Jeune)
4/4, Sherry Mury Marais Z (Patrick McEntee) 1/16, Aktion Pur Z (Judy-Ann
Melchior) 1/12, Valentina van 't Heike (Jos Lansink) 0/0. 7. Ireland 26 flts
- Sequoyah Farms Utopia (Edward Doyle) 2/4, Chippison (Marie Burke) 4/21,
Complete (Cian O'Connor) 8/4, Lantinus (Denis Lynch) 0/12. 8. Sweden 51 flts
- Jaguar Mail (Peter Eriksson) 13/12, Columbus H (Linda Heed) 8/8, Calibra
(Lotta Schultz) 5/12, Bukowskis Conan (Helena Lundback0 6/NS.
SAMSUNG
SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI 2008 - LEADERBOARD AFTER THIRD LEG IN ST.
GALLEN:
1. The Netherlands - 16.50 2. USA - 16.33 3. Great Britain
- 15.00 4. Belgium - 14.00 5. Switzerland - 12.08 6. Germany -
12.00 7. Ireland - 9.83 8. Sweden - 1.75
For information on the
Samsung Super League with FEI at St Gallen, Switzerland on Friday 30 May check
out WEBSITE www.csio.ch. Show President is Peter Stoessel, Show Director is Urs
Schiendorfer, Show Secretary is Silvia Gonzalez and Press Officer is Peter
Wyrsch - Email peter.wyrsch@sportinformation.ch.
The fourth leg of the
series takes place in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on Friday 20 June. Show
President is Frans Lavooy, Show Director is Emile Hendrix, Show Secretary is
Joyce Lebon and Press Officer is Anita Lussenburg - Email
anita.lussenburg@ingram.nl. WEBSITE www.chio.nl
FEI TELEVISION -
BROADCAST INFORMATION - ROUND TWO IN ROME : Live/Delayed Live SF
(Switzerland) - Friday 30 May 14.00 RAI (Italy) - Friday 30 May - check local
listings Equidia (France) - Friday 30 May 18.00 TV4 (Sweden) - Friday 30
May 15.20
Highlights CNBC Asia - Saturday 14 June 15.00 CNBC Europe
- Saturday 14 June 17.00 ESPN Brazil - Check local listings ESPN Star -
Check local listings Eurosport (Europe) - Wednesday 4 June 21.55, Thursday 5
June 10.00 Eurosport (Asia) - Thursday 12 June 11.00 Finnish Sport TV -
Check local listings Fox Middle East - Friday 13 June 16.00, Sunday 15 June
16.00, Thursday 19 June 10.00 Setanta Sports (Ireland) - Saturday 7 June
20.00 SuperSport (Africa) - Thursday 19 June 19.00, Friday 20 June 06.00,
Saturday 21 June 09.00, Sunday 22 June 12.00, Monday 23 June 15.00, Tuesday
24 June 13.30, Thursday 26 June 02.00 Sport Plus (France) - Monday 9 June
21.00 Sport TV (Portugal) - Check local listings TG4 (Ireland) - Check
local listings TVE (Spain) - Check local listings WCSN (USA) - Check local
listings
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE - NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL
PASSION!
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI - 2008 CALENDAR OF
EVENTS:
Want to know
more? Check out the comprehensive MEDIA GUIDE for the series, available in print and for download at www.samsungsuperleague.com
under "Media Guide" heading.
The Samsung Super League with FEI
consists of the eight most prestigious horse shows at which the world's eight
best national teams compare their merit. The Samsung Super League with FEI is
connected to the FEI Nations Cup series through a promotion/relegation system at
the end of each season.
Samsung Electronics, one of the world's largest
electronics companies, is committed to supporting international sporting events,
thereby returning corporate profits to the public and working towards a more
harmonious and equitable society.
The Netherlands won through in style at the third leg of the 2008 Samsung Super
League with FEI in St Gallen, Switzerland this afternoon with a superior show of
strength and a lot of class. They took control in the first round with three
clear performances and proved unshakeable, while the Swiss and German teams
rallied brilliantly to finish joint-second ahead of the USA in fourth. The
British slotted into fifth ahead of Belgium in sixth but it was a disappointing
day for the Irish who had to settle for second-last place while, for the third
consecutive time, Sweden finished bottom of the order. It is not looking at all
good for the Scandinavian side who are trailing the leaderboard a full eight
points behind the Irish, and almost 15 points behind the leading Dutch going
into the half-way stage at Rotterdam in three weeks' time.