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Historic victory for the Dutch in Rome

Media updates
28 May 2004 Author: webmaster
The Netherlands win in Rome and are now 2nd of the standings behind Germany 
 
The formbook was turned on its head at the second leg of the 2004 Samsung Super League series in Rome today with a win for Holland ahead of Great Britain in second and Italy in third. For the home side it was a truly nail-biting finish as their last man into the ring, Roberto Arioldi with Loro Piana Lemato, could have secured a two-way jump-off with the Dutch if he could stay clear but in a drama-filled second round of jumping the Italian rider collected five faults and this left Italy on a total of 13 faults behind the British with 12 and the winners who completed with a total of eight. The Italians looked strong from the outset and were joint-leaders with the German squad at the end of round one when both teams finished on a zero score. The Dutch were lying third at this stage, counting just a single mistake from Jeroen Dubbeldam and De Sjiem after both Eric Van der Vleuten and his reliable mare Audi’s Jikke and Gert-Jan Bruggink and Joel left all the fences standing. The much-fancied French were hampered by four-fault performances from Michel Robert, Laurent Goffinet and Michel Hecart – Christian Hermon providing them with their only first-round clear – so the defending champions were lying equal-fourth with the USA going into the second round. The Irish and British shared sixth spot at this stage with 12 faults apiece while the Belgians were already seriously struggling at the bottom of the order after a fall for Jean-Claude Vangeenberghe and 16 faults from Ludo Philippaerts left them extremely vulnerable indeed. The German effort fell apart in the second round with mistakes from all four riders – Pia Luise Aufrecht and Hofgut Liederbach’s Abrisca and Heinrich-Hermann Engemann and Aboyeur making a single error while both Mylene Diederichsmeier (Countess G) and Eva Maria Bitter (Argelith Stakkato) collected eight faults each, and this was to drop them to eventual fourth place. Fourth was to prove a popular finishing spot as they were joined by both the French and Americans who also completed with 16 faults while the Irish continued their unimpressive run of form to slot into seventh despite a superb double-clear from Cian O’Connor and Waterford Crystal. Just four riders managed to complete both rounds without penalty but Stanny Van Paesschen’s fault-free afternoon with O de Pomme could still not rescue the Belgians from the bottom of the order. On the other hand Nick Skelton’s convincing double-clear with Arko contributed significantly to an amazing recovery for the British who, with three clear rounds second time out – from Skelton, Michael Whitaker (Portofino) and Robert Smith (Mr Springfield) – rocketed up the leaderboard to take runner-spot in the final analysis. This was the first-ever Dutch victory in the Piazza di Siena and a delighted Jeroen Dubbeldam said afterwards "it has been a special day for us. All our horses jumped well in the first round but they improved even more next time out. The course was not crazy difficult or too big but the last line was tough enough and the double-verticals after the water were tricky but you can see it was a good course because there were plenty of clear rounds". Talking about his team’s performance he added "we won today because we were sharp. We have been getting a lot of criticism at home over the last few weeks – the fact is that we have good riders with good horses but somehow we have not been coming up with the results so today there was a lot of pressure and we showed what we can really do – the pressure made us hot today!". Jeroen was fulsome in his praise of fellow team-member Eric Van der Vleuten’s double-clear performance with Audi’s Jikke – "Eric and the mare were fantastic – they never looked like touching even one pole" he said and with Olympic selection just around the corner the Dutch squad must be feeling a good deal more comfortable, having defied their critics with today’s surprise success. The Olympic Games in Athens was in everyone’s minds at this latest leg of the Samsung Super League 2004 series and Carlo Ponzelli, President of Samsung Italy, commented during yesterday’s press conference to announce the draw for the order-of-go that "Samsung is proud of its long-standing association with the prestigious Piazza di Siena show. This Olympic year is a special one for us, given Samsung’s support of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Torch Relay". The Olympic year is a special one for riders too and French Chef d’Equipe, Jean-Maurice Bonneau, confirmed that the Nations Cup competition in Rome would play an import role as a test for French contenders ahead of the final decision of the selectors. The Irish have already pared their short-list to six – Peter Charles, Jessica Kurten, Cian O’Connor, Robert Splaine, Billy Twomey and Kevin Babington – and Chef d’Equipe Tommy Wade said yesterday "I take one day at a time and Rome may not have any influence on the composition of the Irish Olympic team". He and the Irish selectors certainly have plenty of thinking to do over the next few weeks as it appears the tension in the Irish camp which became evident after the disappointing performance at La Baule is not conducive to good results in the field. Belgium’s Lucien Sommers said "we have seven riders on the long-list for the Olympic Games. The short-list will be determined after Aachen, so Rome is crucial for selection" but he too has been left with plenty to think about. The American Olympic team was already announced earlier this week with Beezie Madden, Peter Wylde, McLain Ward and Chris Kappler named along with substitutes Alison Firestone and Lauren Hough. None of the selected riders lined out in Rome however where US Chef d’Equipe Katie Monahan said yesterday "we are here with a rather inexperienced team and are very proud to be among the world’s best jumping nations and to be part of this show". They acquitted themselves very well indeed today and the USEF must be feeling rather pleased that, in their debut season of Super League competition, the USA is comfortably holding fifth place on the leaderboard at this stage. Germany, winners in the opening leg in La Baule, still hold the advantage with the Dutch now second ahead of the British while France lies fourth ahead of the USA in fifth. Belgium and Italy share sixth spot but the Irish look to be in real trouble, lying eighth with just 2.5 points to their credit after two legs of the 2004 series. They will be hoping for a big change of fortune when lining out in Lucerne for the third leg of the series in nine day’s time. RESULT: 1. Holland – 8 faults: Eric Van der Vleuten/Audi’s Jikke 0+0, Gert-Jan Bruggink/Joel 0+4, Albert Zoer/Lowina 4+0, Jeroen Dubbeldam/De Sjiem 4+Ret. 2. Great Britain - 12 faults: Robert Smith/Mr Springfield 12+0, Michael Whitaker/Portofino 8+0, Scott Smith/Cabri d’Elle 4+20, Arko/Nick Skelton 0+0. 3. Italy - 13 faults: Massimo Grossato/Loro Piana Elkintot 12+0, Emanuele Fiorelli/WU Equinox du Morin 0+8, Juan Carlos Garcia/Albin 0+12, Roberto Arioldi/Loro Piana Lemato 0+5. Equal 4. Germany – 16 faults: Pia-Luise Aufrecht/Hofgut Liederbach’s Abrisca 0+4, Mylene Diederichsmeier/Countess G 0+8, Eva Maria Bitter/Argelith Stakkato 8+8, Heinrich-Hermann Engemann/Aboyeur W 0+4. Equal 4. France - 16 faults: Michel Robert/Galet d’Auzay 4+0, Laurent Goffinet/Flipper d’Elle 4+0, Christian Hermon/Ephebe For Ever 0+12, Michel Hecart/Kannan 4+8. Equal 4. USA - 16 faults: Kimberly Frey/Marylou 12+0, Judy Garofalo/Oliver 4+8, Sheila Burke/Caya 4+0, Laura Kraut/Anthem 0+8. 7. Ireland - faults: Billy Twomey/Anastasia 12+8, Cian O’Connor/Waterford Crystal 0/0, Jessica Kurten/Quibell 4+4, Kevin Babington/Carling King 8+8. 8. Belgium – 32 faults: Jean-Claude Vangeenberghe/Osta Rugs Quintus 36+8, Dirk Demeersman/Clinton 4+4, Stanny Van Paesschen/O de Pomme 0+0, Ludo Philippaerts/Kira 16+12. For further details on CSIO Rome and the second leg of the Samsung Super League 2004 contact Press Officer Caterina Vagnozzi at equiequipe-csio@libero.it or telephone ++39 063218857. Website address is www.piazzadisiena.com. The next leg of the Samsung Super League 2004 series takes place in Lucerne, Switzerland on Sunday 6th June and for full details about the fixture you can contact: Peter Wyrsch, Bengtalstrasse9, CH-9500, Wil, Switzerland, telephone ++4143960 6670, fax ++41 71911 8230, Natel ++             41 79406 5207      , email wy@da-ats.ch or George Zehnder, Brunnenstrasse 7, CH-8604, Volketswil, Switzerland telephone ++ 41 1908 3131, fax ++41 1908 33130, Natel ++41             79430 4149      , email zehnder@pferdewoche.ch. SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE 2004 LEADERBOARD (AFTER ROUND 2 IN ROME): Germany 13 points Holland 11.5 points Great Britain 11 points France 10 points USA 6 points Equal 6. Belgium and Italy 5.5 points 8. Ireland 2.5 points.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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