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For the fifth year in a row all electricity used at the Helsinki International Horse Show, which hosted yesterday’s Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping qualifier, was generated entirely from horse manure. Over 150 megawatt hours of energy was created from the 100 tons of manure collected from competing horses during the four-day event in the Finnish capital.
The manure-to-energy system developed by Fortum, an international company specialising in electricity generation, heat production and waste recycling, met all the equestrian event’s electricity needs, including lighting, scoreboards and cell phone charging stations. The surplus energy that was generated went back into the national grid to heat homes in the Helsinki area.
What started off as a desk project in 2014 is now a resounding endorsement of the power of horse manure as a reliable source of renewable energy, not just at equestrian competitions but also for local communities.
“The manure-to-energy system holds immense potential for countries with large horse populations and has shown that out-of-the-box solutions are needed if we are to move away from our reliance on fossil fuels,” Fortum HorsePower Vice President Anssi Paalanen said.
“It’s possible to charge a phone with only 0.2 decilitres of horse manure and the manure produced daily by two horses can generate heat for a single family home for a year.”
Electricity generated from horse manure is just one of the many initiatives under the ‘Helsinki Jumps Green’ environmental concept that aims to make the event the most ecological horse show in the world. The Jumps Green concept also includes recycling and paper reduction initiatives, the use of environmentally friendly procurement practices and sustainable food consumption at the event.
“As event organisers it’s our responsibility to create partnerships with local industry to make sustainable sporting events a real possibility and not just a nice-to-have,” Helsinki International Horse Show Event Director Tom Gordin said.
“Our vision is to become the worldwide leader for sustainability in equestrian events. We know from first-hand experience that this takes commitment and dedication, but the end results are so worth it. We are proud to work with Fortum and to be part of the renewable energy solution.”
The manure-to-energy system has also provided a way of dealing with the waste disposal issue for stables in a country with stringent controls on the use of horse manure as a fertiliser and the disposal of manure in landfill sites.
Fortum provides stables with horse bedding made out of sustainable wood shavings generated by Finland’s forest industry. The manure that is collected from the stables is then delivered to plants around Finland, where it is used as raw material to produce clean, renewable and eco-friendly local energy.
Approximately 70,000 tons of manure have been collected from horses stabled around Finland since the manure-to-energy system started in 2015. The power and heat plant in Järvenpää located just outside Helsinki, provides heat to 1,250 customers in the area and electricity to the national power grid.
The system partly replaces the reliance on fossil fuels in energy production and helps lessen the impact of climate change. When horse manure replaces other biomass in power and heat production it reduces carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 200 kilos per ton of manure. And if horse manure replaces fossil fuels like coal the benefits are even greater.
“The manure-to-energy system has demonstrated that ideas for alternate energy solutions can come from the most unexpected places,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “The Helsinki initiatives make a tremendous contribution, not just in terms of the value they deliver to equestrian sport, but also for the wider implications they have for local and regional communities. It clearly shows that the equestrian community is serious about its responsibility to preserve the environment.”
With environmental sustainability a priority for the FEI, the international governing body has worked towards the implementation of equestrian-specific reporting indexes and the creation of a comprehensive guide book for event organisers world-wide.
The FEI Sustainability Handbook for Event Organisers was published in 2014 to encourage event organisers to implement sustainability initiatives that help reduce the negative environmental impact of their events and create a positive social and economic legacy.
The FEI is also a signatory of the United Nations Climate Change Sports for Climate Action Framework which calls for parties to “undertake systematic efforts to promote greater environmental responsibility”.
In addition, the FEI has adopted a number of sustainability initiatives at its Headquarters in the Olympic Capital of Lausanne (SUI). The FEI head office is recognised as a "Minergie" certified building, a Swiss standard indicating low energy use, with a reduced energy consumption of 25 per cent. When the Headquarters were refurbished in 2011, only two per cent of renovated buildings in Switzerland met these standards. Increased recycling and staff training have also featured in the FEI's Green Office project.
Britain’s Robert Whitaker posted a sensational victory in the second leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ 2019/2020 Western European League at Helsinki in Finland today with his long-time ride, Catwalk IV.
In a competition that had spectators on the edges of their seats from start to finish, the pair pinned Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya and his super-talented young horse Jet Run into second place while Belgium’s Celine Schoonbroodt de Azevedo (Cheppetta) and Germany’s Christian Kukuk (Quintino) lined up in third and fourth.
It’s not often that a single fence plays such a major role in the outcome of any competition, but today the big blue wall presented by Brazilian course designer, Guilherme Jorge, proved pivotal. The tenth obstacle on the 13-fence track, it was built on a curving line and approached off a tight left-hand turn, and in both rounds it put paid to the chances of some of the best horse-and-rider combinations in the business. Not the 36-year-old Briton and his feisty 16-year-old gelding however. They took it on with gusto both times out to give Whitaker a career-defining first-ever World Cup win.
The close confines of the Ice Hall in Helsinki wouldn’t be to every horse’s liking, but Catwalk, it seems, is in his element there. “He just likes arenas like this - he has a lot of power and he can easily jump big fences off a turn, although today to be honest he was unbelievable!” said the son of the legendary John Whitaker who was a back-to-back winner of the coveted FEI World Cup™ trophy with the great Milton back in 1990 and 1991.
One of the most surprising victims of the wall in the first round was World No. 1, Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat partnering Alamo, the horse with which he claimed his third Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ title last April. The 11-year-old gelding seemed totally taken aback when seeing the big blue edifice as he swung around to it, and he ducked out to the left, jumping it at the second time of asking but collecting five faults which left this duo out of contention. And another rock-solid citizen, Francois Mathy Jr’s Uno de le Roque, also made a big mistake here and then stopped at the next for elimination.
However a total of nine made it through to the jump-off in which Irishman Eoin McMahon was pathfinder, clipping the top of the wall which was now three from home to set the target at four faults in 40.97 seconds. Next in however, Spain’s Moya and his fabulous nine-year-old Jet Run, heroes of the host nation’s victory in the Challenge Cup at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final in Barcelona (ESP) earlier this month, really put it up to the rest of them with a blistering run that saw them through the timers to take the lead in 39.81 seconds.
Schoonbroodt de Azevedo wasn’t intimidated however, throwing down a great run in 40.09, and although the phenomenal Swede, Peder Fredricson, broke the beam in 37.96 there were eight faults on the board when he galloped through the finish with H&M Christian K who was brave to continue after a big mistake at the wall. Whitaker and Catwalk were foot-perfect however, looking full of confidence as they galloped home in 38.13 seconds to reset the target and really pile on the pressure. But they weren’t quite home and dried yet, because Frenchman Kevin Staut was yet to go and he’s always to be feared against the clock.
But once again it all went wrong at the wall, Staut parting company with For Joy van’t Zorgvliet HDC when they got into a scramble to gasps of disbelief of the crowd. So when Kukuk opted for a safe clear then he was guaranteed fourth place and it was Whitaker’s moment to shine.
Whitaker and Catwalk finished 19th at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Paris in 2018 and the pair were in flying form in Helsinki all of this weekend, winning yesterday’s Grand Prix before coming out today to steal all the glory once again. “He hasn’t been over-jumped recently so he was fit enough to go well in both classes here - I just think when he jumps good he’s as good as any!” said the rider who now has his sights set on the 2020 Longines Final in Las Vegas (USA) next April.
So does Alvarez Moya who was delighted with his second-place finish with the nine-year-old Jet Run, a horse he has only had for four months and which he has only competed at 10 shows so far. “I didn’t expect him to be as good and as quick today!” he said. “The more he jumps the better he gets - I would like to go to Stuttgart and try to qualify for the Final before Christmas” he pointed out.
That’s everyone’s target, and they all have another chance to pick up those valuable qualifying points when the third round of the 14-leg Western European League gets underway in Lyon, France next Sunday.
Result here
Standings here
Laura Kraut (USA) is an Olympic gold medalist, a World Equestrian Games Champion and a fixture in U.S. show jumping, but until Saturday night in downtown, D.C. (USA) she hadn’t won a World Cup in Washington.
Kraut won the $136,300 CSI4*-W Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Washington for the first time in her decorated career, topping a two-horse match race of a jump-off over Olaf Petersen, Jr.’s (GER) shortened course. Her winning mount was a relatively new partner, the 10-year-old mare, Fleurette; they finished the jump-off with 4 faults in 40.99 seconds. Andrew Welles (USA) and Primo Troy, pathfinders in the jump-off, finished second with 12 faults and a 45.69-second time. Brianne Goutal-Marteau (USA) completed an all-USA podium with a third-place finish aboard Viva Columbia. That duo had just a single time fault in the first round.
“This has been a class I’ve wanted to win for many, many years,” Kraut said. “I’ve had quite a few seconds, thirds and fourths, but a win always seemed to elude me. At the beginning of the week, I said, ‘This is going to be my week.’ I felt good about it. [Fleurette] jumped really well [all week]. It’s very special.”
The packed crowd on hand was forced to wait in hopeful anticipation for a jump-off to be guaranteed. Welles posted his first round clear before the competition’s halfway point, and Kraut didn’t replicate his performance until the bitter end. She was the last to jump in the first round.
“I didn’t change my strategy [in the first round], but I watched [Welles] go,” Kraut said. “When he came out, I said to him, ‘You rode that perfectly.’ He rode it right on. He and I had sort of walked the course at the same time and talked about it. That was the plan we had. I just thought I would do that. [Fleurette] lets you ride her, and she’s really good at letting you place her to the jumps. It was just a matter of making sure I stuck to it!”
In the jump-off, Welles started with a bold pace, but a refusal at the second fence led to his 12 faults. That took the pressure off Kraut, who clinched the win with a single rail.
“For sure, when you know [your competitor] had 12 faults, it allows you to take a breather, but I didn’t want to muck it up! It’s a bummer that happened for him, but it was good for me!” Kraut exclaimed.
Kraut and Fleurette have only been paired since June, and the mare flew in from Europe specifically to compete in Washington.
“She has so many strengths,” Kraut said. “It’s fantastic. I think she’s got all the jump, all the scope; she’s careful, brave and sensible, and she lets you ride her. The only thing missing is mileage at this level. My goal would be [the Olympic Games in] Tokyo for her.”
At the conclusion of the competition, the east coast sub league standings of the North American League still had a commanding leader in Elizabeth “Beezie” Madden, who boasts 48 points. Welles moved into second in the standings with 26 points, having also posted a top 10 finish in World Cup competition in Vancouver to start the season. Devin Ryan (USA) sits third in the standings with 21 points.
The North American League continues in Lexington, KY (USA) on Saturday, 2 November 2019.
It was a big moment for South African Dressage when qualifying a team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Hippisch Centrum in Exloo, The Netherlands tonight.
The only country to field a side in the Group F (Africa and the Middle East) qualifier incorporated into the CDI 3* Grand Prix at the Dutch fixture, the foursome of Tanya Seymour, Laurienne Dittmann, Gretha Ferreira and Nicole Smith produced solid performances to make it happen.
This was the final Tokyo slot to be filled, bringing the total number of nations that will line out in Japan next summer to 15. The full list of qualified countries in Dressage is now - Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Russia and the USA. Teams in Tokyo will consist of three riders.
All four South Africans who competed this evening are based in Europe, and the most experienced of all is Seymour who lives in Addrup, near Vechta in The Netherlands. The trail-blazing 35-year-old was a member of her country’s first-ever team at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Caen, France, and was also the very first South African athlete to compete in Olympic Dressage when lining out at the Rio 2016 Games.
Seymour finished individually 18th at the FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2019 Final in Gothenburg, Sweden last April and all of her major results have been recorded with the 17-year-old Ramoneur who she steered into ninth position in tonight’s Grand Prix with a score of 67.065. She clearly adores the Oldenburg stallion with which she has achieved so much, and she’s planning his campaign for the coming months very carefully. He’s the one she would like to take to Tokyo.
“If all stays well and if he’s still happy and sound that would be the plan”, she said this evening. “I’ll play it by ear, he loves his job, he’s still bucking and playing and he’s in a great place at the moment. What I’d love to do with him now is to qualify for the World Cup Final in Las Vegas next April and then take him to Tokyo before giving him a very well-earned retirement after that!”
Gretha Ferreira and the 14-year-old mare Lertevangs Lavinia followed Seymour into the ring and posted 63.652 for 21st place in the field of 27 starters. The 30-year-old rider who hails from Johannesburg and is trained by top Danish rider Daniel Bachmann Andersen only started this mare at Grand Prix level in March of last year. So it was some achievement to make it to the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018 in Tryon, USA last September where they finished 66th individually.
First of the South Africans to compete this evening was Laurienne Dittmann with the Hannoverian Don Weltino K. The German-based 48-year-old who was awarded the Golden Rider Badge by the German NF in 2018 posted a score of 62.239 for 23rd place. And last to go was the youngest South African representative, 28-year-old Nicole Smith who looked set to finish inside the top-10 until penalised for a costly mistake in the one-tempi changes with the 12-year-old KWPN mare Chi La Rou which saw them complete in 18th on a mark of 64.913.
Tonight’s Grand Prix was won by The Netherlands’ Jeanine Nieuwenhuis partnering TC Athene, with Sweden’s Michelle Hagman Hassink placing second and another of the Dutch contingent, Lynne Maas, slotting into third with Eastpoint.
Full results here
WSI Cooley Lancer tops 6-year-olds, KWPN Happy Boy wins 7-year-old category
The Selle Français Studbook won the overall title at the FEI WBFSH World Breeding Eventing Championships for Young Horses 2019 which drew to a close at the Haras National at l‘Isle de Briand in Le Lion d’Angers (FRA) yesterday.
The title is decided by the best three scores of each Studbook in both categories. So when Dartagnan de Beliard ridden by Thomas Carlile and Demoiselle Platine HDC partnered by fellow-countryman Nicolas Touzaint from France finished second and fourth respectively in the 6-year-old division, and then last year’s 6-year-old champion Cristal Fontaine lined up sixth for Britain’s Kitty King in the 7-year-old division, that clinched it. The combined total scores came to 93.8, but it was a narrow win over the Irish Sport Horse Studbook with their total of 95.1, while the Dutch KWPN was close behind in third with 97.7.
6-year-olds
Great Britain’s Piggy French steered her eventual champion, Cooley Lancer, into third in the opening Dressage phase with a score of 26.7. It was Norway’s Yasmin Nathalie Sanderson and the KWPN Inchello DHI who took the early lead on a mark of 26.3 ahead of Germany’s Sophie Leube and the Trekehner, Sweetwaters Ziethen, who were just fractionally behind on 26.6. And lining up in fourth, fifth and sixth were Germany’s Kai-Steffen Meier with the Rheinlander QC Rock and Roll (27.1), Australia’s Samantha Birch with the SHBGB Faerie Magnifico (27.6) and Carlile with the French-bred Dartagnan (28.3).
A total of 42 horse-and-rider combinations from 19 countries started in Dressage and 38 completed Saturday’s cross-country phase, 23 going clear within the optimum time of 8 minutes 48 seconds. And with all of the leading group keeping a clean sheet over Pierre Michelet’s beautifully-designed course, there was only 2.0 points separating the top six going into the final Jumping phase so there was absolutely no room for error.
Mistakes by the leading two riders proved very costly, a pole down dropping Sanderson from gold medal position to bronze and 5.6 faults demoting Leube from silver to fifth place. This allowed Touzaint to climb from eighth to fourth with Demoiselle Platine HDC, and Carlile to improve from sixth to silver medal spot with the stallion Dartagnan de Beliard.
French, winner at Badminton (GBR), second at Burghley (GBR), first and third at Blenheim (GBR) and a member of Great Britain’s silver medal-winning team at the Longines FEI European Championships in Luhmuehlen (GER) has already enjoyed an incredible year, and added yet another accolade with a foot-perfect run that moved her up from bronze to gold.
Her new champion, Cooley Lancer, is registered with the Warmblood Studbook of Ireland and is a son of Coeur de Nobless M, bred by Eliano Meroni and owned by Cooley Farm.
7-year-olds
It was a very different story in the 7-year-old category in which New Zealand’s Tim Price rocketed up from 13th after Dressage to seal the title with the Dutch-bred Happy Boy when both of the jumping phases proved highly influential. This was the biggest leap up the leaderboard in the history of these Young Horse Championships, and the soft ground conditions yesterday appeared to be very much to the liking of this black horse who has a strong showjumping pedigree.
Germany’s Josephine Schnaufer held the lead after Dressage on a score of 26.7 with the Westphalian Viktor 107 ahead of Great Britain’s Tom McEwen and the ISH Brookfield Benjamin B in second (27.2) and Australia’s Christopher Burton in third (27.4) with the Selle Français Coup de Coeur Dudevin. Another Irish Sport Horse, Miss Cooley, claimed fourth spot (27.7) at this early stage for another Briton, Oliver Townend, while The Netherlands’ Tim Lips and the KWPN Herby slotted into fifth (28.0) and Frenchman Astier Nicolas was in sixth (28.5) with the ZFDP Lumberton.
However only 17 of the 68 starters managed to avoid cross-country time penalties as the optimum time of 9 minutes 15 seconds proved difficult for many to get. When Schnaufer collected 3.6 she plummeted from first to 10th, but McEwen, Burton and Townend all kept a clean sheet to take over the top three medal placings going into the final day, while Nicolas leap-frogged Lips to go into fourth when the Dutchman picked up 1.6 for time.
But yesterday only seven of the 56 remaining contenders managed to jump a clear round. There were 15 within four penalty points of McEwen in gold medal position and only two managed to keep a clean sheet. America’s Liz Halliday-Sharp was one of those, partnering the ISH Cooley Moonshine with which she finished third in last year’s 6-year-old category. The pair were lying ninth after Dressage and the addition of 1.6 for time dropped them to 13th after cross-country, but the fault-free run over the coloured poles put them well in contention on their final tally of 30.5.
Price and Happy Boy, which was bred by A Rijma and is owned by Susan Lamb and Therese Miller, had improved from 13th after Dressage to eighth after cross-country. And this son of Indoctro made light work of the final phase so they completed on 30.1 and now it was all down to McEwen for the title. A mistake and it would be the Kiwi rider in gold and the American in silver, and that’s how it turned out when the British rider’s grey clipped a pole down the final line for four additional faults, his final tally of 31.2 however still good enough to clinch the bronze.
Medal winners:
7-year-olds: Gold, Happy Boy KWPN by Indoctro and W. Amelusina 17 by Odermuser; Silver, Cooley Moonshine ISH by Cobra and kilpatrick Duchess by Kings Master; Bronze, Brookfield Benjamin B ISH by Nazar and Ashmore’s Zoe by Grange Bouncer.
6-year-olds: Gold, Cooley Lancer WSI by Coeur de Nobeless M and Tante Catoche du Houssoit by Ogano Sitte; Silver, Dartagnan de Beliard SF by Quite Easy an Royce de Kreisker by Diamant de Semilly; Bronze, Inchelo DHI KWPN by Chello lll VDL and Barbarena OA by Montreal.
Full results here
Denmark’s Cathrin Dufour stole all the limelight when dominating both the Grand Prix and Freestyle at the first leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2019/2020 Western European League on home ground in Herning (DEN) this weekend. Riding her exciting young Westphalian gelding Bohemian, she posted a whopping 83.022 to win yesterday’s Grand Prix. And today she posted the winning Freestyle score of 88.191 which left her well clear of her nearest rivals, Germany’s Benjamin Wendl with Daily Mirror 9 and Helen Langehanenberg with Damsey FRH who slotted into second and third.
“It’s quite incredible!” said Dufour this evening, delighted with the performances of her super-talented and ultra-promising nine-year-old horse. “Yesterday was the highlight because he was super-brave in front of a full-on crowd and everything came together! And today he brought out his “A” game again - imagine what he can do when I start to push him a bit more - he’s going to be unbelievable!” she added.
This first round of the 14-leg league from which nine riders will qualify for the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final 2020 in Las Vegas (USA) next April, attracted a cracking field of 15 combinations from eight countries. And Denmark held the lead at the halfway stage when Agnete Kirk Thinggaard and Jojo AZ posted 77.630. It was a big moment for this pair as they were making their final appearance together at top level, with retirement now beckoning for the 16-year-old horse that represented Denmark at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and helped secure team silver at the FEI European Championships in Gothenburg (SWE) the following year.
Last year’s Oslo winners, Daniel Bachmann Andersen and Blue Hors Zack, went out in front when first to produce a score over 80 percent, but Dufour blew that away when following with a mark of over 88 percent for a test that had the spectators on the edges of their seats. Bohemian finished fourth in the Freestyle and fifth in the Special as well as contributing to Denmark’s second-place finish in the team event at the prestigious German fixture in Aachen this summer. And the crowd rose to their feet again, just as they did yesterday, when the pair drew to a halt in the full knowledge that they had taken a significant lead.
Germany’s Werndl and Daily Mirror put 84.545 on the board before 2013 series champion Helen Langehanenberg posted a mark of 83.360 with Damsey FRH. So when the final partnership of Severo Jurado Lopez and another nine-year-old, Fiontini, finished fractionally further behind on 83.320, then the Spanish pair had to settle for fourth place.
As Dufour returned to the arena for the prize-giving there was a sense that a new champion has been born. The 27-year-old Danish rider’s career highlights have mostly been recorded in her partnership with the fabulous 16-year-old gelding Atterupgaard’s Cassidy who has carried her from Young Rider European gold to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and on to team and Freestyle bronze at the 2017 Senior Europeans and bronze in the Special again at this summer’s European Championships. Bohemian looks like his perfect successor, and Dufour acknowledged that today.
She is much lauded for her effective but hugely sympathetic riding style which allows her horses to develop at their own pace. “They are my team-mates, and I respect them in the ring. If they say they can’t do something then I say ‘maybe next time’. I never push them and that gives them great confidence. I love my ponies, I’m really just a pony girl inside!!”, Dufour said this evening.
She is not going to try to qualify Bohemian for the Las Vegas 2020 Final, because she says it will be too much for him in a short space of time, especially when she has the 2020 Olympic Games in her sights. “I want to have both of them (Cassidy and Bohemian) ready for Tokyo. I’ve taken it quite easy on Bohemian to improve his frame and his strength, I’m just still trying to balance him. But the day I can start really riding him forward - I can only imagine what he can do!”
Result here
It was a really big day for Switzerland’s Bryan Balsiger who galloped to victory with the gallant grey gelding, Clouzot de Lassus, at the first leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ 2019/2020 Western European League in Oslo, Norway today.
In a super-hot 12-horse jump-off, the 22-year-old from Neuchâtel near Lausanne threw down a brilliant round when third to go and, despite their best efforts, the rest of the world-class field couldn’t catch him.
He wasn’t the obvious winner on the start-list for this first leg of the 14-leg league from which 18 riders will qualify for the Longines 2020 Final in Las Vegas (USA) next April. But this is a young man whose star is clearly on an upward trajectory, and he put himself squarely in the limelight when making only his second-ever World Cup start a winning one, pinning Portugal’s Luciana Diniz into runner-up spot while home hero, Geir Gulliksen, finished a crowd-pleasing third.
Balsiger was full of praise for the 11-year-old horse he has been competing now for over three years. “He gives me 200% at every show and together we have won gold at the Young Rider Europeans and at the Swiss Championships, but this is the biggest win of our career! He’s so brave, and he gives his heart for me every time!”, said the delighted young rider.
The time-allowed of 78 seconds proved difficult to get in the first round over the course designed by Italy’s Elio Travagliati, so there was a huge cheer from the home crowd when Gulliksen squeezed through the finish in 77.98 to make the cut into the jump-off with the nippy little VDL Groep Quatro.
Balsiger and Clouzot put it up to the rest of them when setting the target at 40.00 seconds when third to go in the second-round race against the clock. And Gulliksen looked set to challenge that with a great run from Quatro when next into the ring, but the clock stopped on 40.99 seconds so when Diniz steered her 10-year-old gelding, Vertigo du Desert, through the timers in 40.40 then the Norwegian slipped down to third. There was still plenty more excitement to come however.
Brazil’s Marlon Modolo Zanotelli, who claimed both individual and team gold at this summer’s Pan-American Games, set off at a scorching pace but, hampered by a stumble after the third fence, hit the first element of the following double and still managed to clear in the line in 40.26 seconds. And then French rider Olivier Robert, who had already made a miraculous recovery when jumped out of the saddle over the penultimate oxer in the first round, experienced almost exactly the same result over the same fence second time out to come home clear but in a time of 42.64 with Tempo de Paban.
It did seem the leading time was beatable and, third-last into the ring, Sweden’s Peder Fredricson and H&M All In proved it was when breaking the beam in 38.47 seconds. But the 2016 individual Olympic silver and 2017 individual European gold medal winning partnership left the first element of the double on the floor, so when Germany’s Christina Kukuk and Colestus had a stop at the third then there was only one man to challenge Balsiger. His compatriot and world no. 1, Steve Guerdat, partnering the horse with which he won his third Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ title in Gothenburg (SWE) earlier this year.
Setting off at a cracking pace, Guerdat and Alamo looked seriously threatening until finding themselves on a wrong stride to the vertical before the double. So when the poles came tumbling down it was Balsiger’s time to shine.
He reckoned his plan to do seven strides from that vertical to the following double was where he clinched it. “I knew there were a lot of faster riders so I had to take a risk and I’m really happy it worked out for me!” Balsiger said. And he expressed his gratitude to his father, Thomas, who is his trainer. “I can always trust him and all my family and the others around me who help me a lot - they make it happen for me!” he pointed out.
Third-placed Geir Gulliksen was a happy man too. “This has been the best-ever World Cup here in Oslo and it’s the last one in my 50’s, but it’s not the last one I’ll ever do!” said the rider who has been the rock on which the Norwegian team has relied for many years now and who will turn 60 next January.
Result here
Heading into a five-horse jump-off, Ashlee Bond (ISR) didn’t get to watch the riders ahead of her before entering the ring aboard 8-year-old Donatello.
“My mentality these days is just to go do what I feel is right for me and my horse in the moment,” she said. “Tonight, I just felt a little bit more confident.”
Bond executed her plan to perfection, galloping home to a dominant victory in the $100,000 CSI3*-W Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Del Mar (USA). She and her partner of more than two years crossed the timers of Alan Wade’s (IRL) shortened course in 38.82 seconds. Nikolaj Hein Ruus (DEN) and Cadillac claimed second as the only other double-clear performers on the night, finishing in 43.27 seconds. Keri Potter (USA) and Ariell la Sirene finished third in the mare’s World Cup debut; they finished with 4 faults in 44.58 seconds.
“I’m a little speechless,” Bond said. “[Donatello] is really a superstar.”
“Donnie” was making just his second World Cup appearance in Del Mar after debuting at the level in the North American League’s season opener at Vancouver. The quick win reaffirmed Bond’s belief in the gelding, for whom she has both World Cup and Olympic aspirations.
“As a 7-year-old, he really developed quickly,” Bond explained. “Then this year, everything I ask of him—it might take him a round or two to figure it out, but once he does, he logs it into his computer, and then he makes my job easy.”
Karl Cook (USA), who won in World Cup competition at Sacramento just two weeks ago, notched his third top five finish this season to maintain his strong lead in the west coast sub league standings of the North American League. He boasts 49 points. Bond moved into second place in the standings with 31 points, while Zazou Hoffman sits third with 26 points.
“Today, [Donatello] just proved that we’re on the right trajectory,” Bond said.
The North American League continues in Washington, D.C. (USA) on Saturday, 26 October 2019.
Testament to the perennial appeal of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ series, World No. 1, Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat, has signed up for the opening leg of the new Western European League qualifying season which kicks off in Oslo, Norway this weekend. The man who has topped the Longines world rankings since the beginning of 2019 has an extraordinary record in the series, and this season he has history in his sights. He is a three-time winner, and if he can add a fourth victory he will be the first rider ever to do so since FEI World Cup™ Jumping began back in 1978.
As defending champion he is automatically qualified for the 2020 Final which returns to Las Vegas, USA, next April, and this is a place that holds great memories for him. Because it was here, at the Thomas & Mack Centre, that he secured his first title in 2015. Guerdat thrives on the tension and excitement created by the close confines of indoor jumping in which speed, accuracy and a mutual understanding between horse and rider are tested to the limit. So spectators are in for a real treat, as the London 2012 individual Olympic champion has already committed himself to lining out at all of the early-season qualifiers.
Belgium’s Francois Mathy Jr. and the Philippaerts brothers Olivier and Thibault are also travelling north for the Oslo opener at which the host nation’s Gulliksen family of father Geir and son and daughter Johan-Sebastian and Victoria will be flying the Norwegian flag. Heading up a strong Swedish selection will be 2017 European champion Peder Fredricson, along with Henrik von Eckermann who stood on the third step of the podium at the Finals in both Omaha (USA) in 2017 and Paris (FRA) in 2018.
French star, Kevin Staut, is always a consistent campaigner in this series and will be joined by compatriot Olivier Robert while, fresh from the brilliant performance that saw them clinch the Challenge Cup for the hosts from Spain at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final in Barcelona earlier this month, Sergio Alvarez Moya and the exciting Jet Run will also be in action.
A total of 40 horse-and-rider combinations from 18 countries will compete at this first of the 14 legs that will be staged in 11 countries, as riders battle for one of the 18 qualifying spots on offer. It’s a hectic calendar of events, with Helsinki (FIN) hosting the next round a week later and Lyon (FRA), Verona (ITA) and Stuttgart (GER) following in November. Spain then hosts two legs, in Madrid and La Coruna, in early December before the action moves on to London Olympia (GBR) just before Christmas and then to Mechelen (BEL) immediately afterwards.
As the new year begins there will be still five more legs to go, beginning with Basel (SUI), Leipzig (GER) and Amsterdam (NED) in January and then on to Bordeaux (FRA) and finally Gothenburg (SWE) in February. Just over a month later horses will fly out to the USA for the Final which is always guaranteed to be a thriller.
While Guerdat may be the headliner this weekend, his compatriot Martin Fuchs is bound to be a show-stealer when he rocks up the following week. The 27-year-old chased Guerdat all the way to the line when finishing second at the 2019 Final in Gothenburg, and having followed his individual silver medal success at last year’s FEI World Equestrian Games™ with individual gold at this summer’s FEI European Championships, this is a young man on fire.
He has committed himself to competing at Helsinki, Lyon, Verona and Stuttgart, so he also clearly has his sights set on adding his name to the list of legends who have won the indoor trophy they all want to claim - the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup.
Don’t miss a hoofbeat…..
Masterlist for Leg 1, Oslo here
The Egyptian side of Mohamed Taher Zeyada, Nayel Nassar, Abdel Said and Sameh El Dahan won today’s Group F Olympic Jumping qualifier at Rabat in Morocco in the finest style. Completing with just four faults over two tough rounds of Nations Cup competition, they pinned Switzerland into second and Italy into third place. There were six countries from this region - Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - chasing down two available places at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. And it was the Qataris who booked the second slot when finishing eighth of the 14 competing nations.
It was history-making stuff for today’s winners, as the last time an Egyptian showjumping team competed at an Olympic Games was 59 years ago, in Rome in 1960.
“It’s incredible!” said third-line rider Abdel Said who collected just a single time penalty in each round with Venise du Reverdy. “When we came here we knew we had a good chance because our riders are strong and compete all over the world. But not only to qualify for Tokyo but to also win this Nations Cup is a huge boost for us! This has been a target for the last two years. We really wanted to qualify and we took a gamble with the team we sent to Barcelona (for the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final two weeks ago) but it didn’t work out great. But we brought our “A” team here and this has happened - it’s unbelievable!” he added.
They were already in the hunt at the halfway stage, sharing second place with Switzerland when both carried just one time fault. Brazil’s Bernardo Alves (El Torreo de Muze), Felipe Amaral (Quinn 33), Rodrigo Mesquita Marinho (Edesa’s Basantos) and Pedro Veniss (For Felicila) led the way on a zero scoreline while Canada was lying third with five on the board and the Qataris were already in eighth place carrying 10.
But the Brazilians lost their grip on pole position when racking up 14 faults second time out over the course designed by Irishman Alan Wade. And when Andy Kistler’s Swiss side of Elian Baumann (Campari Z), Anthony Bourquard (Tum Play du Jouas), Marc Rothlisberger (Agatha d’Ecaussines) and Alain Jufer (Cornet MM) had to add four more faults to their tally then the door was open for the Egyptians.
Because Zeyada reduced his first-round 12-fault discount score with Vizalaty to just two time faults at his second attempt, so when Nasser and Lucifer V posted a brilliant double-clear and Said registered only his second single time penalty of the day then that would do it. The Swiss were on a final total of five while Egypt had just four on their scoresheet. El Dahan and his super-mare, Suma’s Zorro, looked set to put the icing on the cake by reducing that to just one fault with another double-clear performance, but not even their pole down could spoil the Egyptian celebrations. It was a huge moment for these four men who were putting their country right back on the Olympic Jumping map.
They were bursting with pride, and rightly so. The hard-working Said, who runs his own business in Antwerp, Belgium, sourcing and producing young horses and coaching riders while also competing, described his 10-year-old mare Venise as “a very raw and rough diamond who is only coming together over the last few months, but she is tough and has all the power in the world!” Maybe she will be the one who will take him to Tokyo. “It’s where we all want to get to, I’ve always dreamed of competing at the Olympic Games!“, he said this evening.
Qatar’s 28-fault scoreline was good enough to earn the second Tokyo ticket. Hamad Nasser Al Qadi (SIEC Lonnie) posted 14 faults, Sheikh Ali Al Thani (Sirocco) collected nine, Rashid Towaim Ali Al Marri (Armstrong van de Kapel) picked up 15 faults and Bassem Mohammed (Gunder) produced their best score with a total of five.
“Congratulations to all who helped us make it to the Olympics for a second time. We are very excited about it!”, Bassem Mohammed said. “We competed in Rio (2016 Olympic Games) and now we go to Tokyo. It’s really important for us as riders, for the Federation and for the Olympic Committee of Qatar so we are really looking forward to it”, he added.
Result here
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