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Brazil capped an unforgettable two weeks at the Pan American Games 2019 with a convincing gold medal for its jumping squad at the Army Equitation School at La Molina in Lima, Peru, qualifying them for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
The medal marked the third in as many equestrian events in Lima, after bronze medals in both dressage and eventing assured Brazil’s Olympic qualification in those respective disciplines last week.
The four-rider squad of Marlon Modolo Zanotelli (Sirene de la Motte), Eduardo Menezes (H5 Chaganus), Rodrigo Lambre (Chacciama) and Pedro Veniss (Quabri de L Isle) finished on a team total score of 12.39 points. It was a tight battle for silver, with Mexico ultimately claiming runner-up honors and the second of three available Olympic qualification slots on a 22.97-point score. The Americans, already qualified for Tokyo due to their gold medal at the 2018 World Equestrian Games (USA) last September, finished with the bronze medal on a team total of 23.09 points, while fourth-placed Canada secured the final Olympic qualification on a 30.21-point team total.
“We came here to qualify for Tokyo; that was the main goal and, of course, to chase this gold medal,” Menezes said. “It was a long journey to get here. It was an amazing journey together with these guys. This medal just gives the perfect end to it.”
Course designer Guilherme Jorge’s (BRA) track saw rails fall throughout, with the ever-crucial anchor riders proving to be the deciding scores. Veniss delivered on all fronts, jumping clear in the first round and recording just a single time fault as the final rider to compete. As Veniss rode his mount back toward the ingate, he repeatedly punched his fist in the air with elation, waving his arms at the crowd, who erupted and waved their Brazilian flags proudly in response.
“It was a really special day,” he said. “I think we have an amazing team. It’s really, really nice to have that medal with these guys.”
Teams entered Wednesday’s competition carrying scores from Tuesday’s faults-converted speed competition, which also served as the first individual qualifier and determined the order of go for the first round of the team final. The U.S. squad took over an early lead following clear rounds from each of its riders on Tuesday, but Brazil entered the day hot on their heels. After Wednesday’s first round, Brazil emerged as the clear leaders, and it was down to the U.S. and Mexico to battle it out for the remaining podium placings. While Mexico’s anchor Patricio Pasquel (Babel) rebounded from an 8-fault first round to produce a crucial clear for his team, the U.S.’s Beezie Madden (Breitling LS) fared oppositely, pulling two rails for an 8-fault score after jumping cleanly in the first round.
“This medal is very important to Mexico. I think it’s a culmination of three years of trying to take the sport in Mexico to a new level,” said Eugenio Garza Perez, who also delivered a second-round career for Mexico aboard Armani Sl Z. “We’ve really done everything together, and I think that showed in the ring. When one had to pull for the other or the other had to pull for that one, we really pulled it off together. I’m just honored to be a part of this team with such amazing teammates. We’ve dreamed about this a long time.”
The margin between silver and bronze was just 0.12 points.
“We came here for a medal. That’s what you always do in a championship,” said U.S. Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland. “We went away with a medal. We’re a little disappointed. We were in the fight for the gold until the end, and then the silver, and it slipped away. What I’m most proud of, is that all four of them were an essential part of the team yesterday and today as well.”
Veniss and the 15-year-old Selle Francais stallion Quabri de L Isle have skyrocketed to the top of the leaderboard heading into Friday’s individual final. Brazilian riders, in fact, currently hold two of the top three individual placings, as Lambre sits third. Both gave credit to their chef d’equipe, Philippe Guerdat, for their team’s cumulative success.
“He was the key to the gold medal,” the Brazilian teammates chimed in together. “He’s the one that brought all the techniques and also the spirit of the team. We have everything to thank him [for]. The details in right moments, and the experience he has, [were the keys] to this. We can say he’s the gold trainer!”
Results here
The KWPN stallion Jovian claimed the 5-Year-Old title, the Oldenburg stallion Zucchero topped the 6-year-Old division and the Hannoverian stallion d’Avie returned from his 2018 triumph to star once again as a 7-Year-Old at the Longines FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Ermelo (NED) at the weekend. This was the fourth time for the event to be held at the Dutch venue, and next year it will return to Verden in Germany where it was previously staged over a period of 15 years.
It has become a superb testing ground for future champions as horses compete against their peers born in the same year, firstly in a qualifier from which the top 12 qualify directly for the Final while the rest go into a small final from which the top three also make the cut.
5-Year-Olds: An historic number of 10s
Denmark’s Andreas Helgstrand had a glorious weekend when taking gold and bronze in this division. In Saturday’s finale he first competed Queenparks Wendy, a mare by three-time World Breeding Chamionship winner Sezuan, and in a solid test she showed lovely relaxed walk and a canter so uphill it earned a 10 and the temporary lead in the class on a total of 9.42 points.
The sensational breeding stallion Secret, another son of Sezuan, won the qualifier for Sweden’s Jessica Lynn Thomas and was a big audience favourite. But they had to settle for silver when Helgstrand returned to squeeze past them and post the winning score of 9.66 with Jovian. “The trot had so much spring, so much suspension, front and hind matching well”, said judge Maria Schwennesen from Australia.
“We had such a strong group of 5-Year-Olds from our stable that it was hard to say which would do best!” said Helgstrand. “I am very happy for my two horses doing clean tests. Jovian has been the easiest horse to ride from the first day he entered our stables. I also want to compliment the jury, and especially their explanatory statement to the audience: critical yet positive, it was perfect!” he pointed out.
6-Year-Olds: A final with sugar-coating as Zucchero comes out on top
The test for the 6-Year-Old final demands a heightened degree of difficulty, so it sifts out the real potential stars who may well be the Grand Prix horses at the Olympic Games in 2024.
Germany’s Helen Langehanenberg and the Danish Warmblood, Straighthorse Ascenzione, kicked off yesterday morning with a score of 8.94 before The Netherlands’ Bart Veeze and the KWPN stallion Imposantos nearly scored a 10 for walk to total on 9.8. The first to challenge his lead was Helgstrand, this time partnering Zhaplin Langholt which is owned by American Grand Prix rider Charlotte Jorst. The pair were clapped down their final centreline before their mark of 9.34 went up on the leaderboard. And then the Danish rider returned to go even better with his 5-Year-Old champion from last year, Revolution. The arena was hushed as this pair showed superb rhythm and a breath-taking, ground-covering uphill canter, and the trot was rewarded with a 10 for a total final score of 9.44.
However the spectators showed who their favourite was when they cheered Germany’s Frederic Wandres and Zucchero OLD all the way from their final corner to their final halt. “This horse excelled in the flying changes and lateral work, he was the closest to perfection! His future as a dressage horse is bright!” commented the judges after they posted the winning mark of 9.66.
“I have competed here every year, come close twice with fourth place so this is very special!” said Wandres afterwards. “It is a very difficult test, almost a small St Georg and and I knew I had to have the horse really supple and that we must trust each other. I have a strong relationship with Zucchero” added the newly-crowned champion.
7-Year-Olds: D’Avie is champion once again
The 7-Year-Olds have to deliver a combination of excellent gaits and precision, with technical scores awarded by two judges along with the conventional five-score assessment of Trot, Walk, Canter, Submission and future Perspective.
If any horse has a stellar pedigree it is Total Hope OLD, a son of Isabell Werth’s super-mare Weihegold OLD and world champion Totilas. An approved stallion ridden by Norway’s Isabel Freese who has been working for Paul Schockemohle in Germany for many years, the black stallion went into the lead on a score of 84.250.
However the pair were overtaken by Denmark’s Jan Moller Christensen and Hesselhoj Donkey Boy who previously took a bronze as a five-year-old. Rewarded a 10 for a huge walk and another for potential, they went out in front when posting 85.02. But last year’s 6-Year-Old champion D’Avie presented a performance that made the audience burst into applause well before the end, and this son of Don Juan de Hus snatched the gold by a whisker when putting 85.107 on the board.
“Of course I felt pressure defending the title, especially when the competition comes so close!” said rider Severo Jurado Lopez, a man who has made something of a habit of great results at these championships down the years. “My dream is to continue with the education of D’Avie and to keep riding him to the highest level, like I do with Fiontini” explained the Spanish star, referring to the mare with which he won at each level in these Championships and who now looks set for stardom on the big stage.
Full results here
USA and Brazil booked their tickets to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics when taking gold and silver respectively in Eventing at the Pan American Games 2019 which is taking place at the Army Equitation School at La Molina in Lima, Peru
America’s Boyd Martin riding Tsetserleg and Lynn Symansky partnering RF Cool Play claimed individual gold and silver when finishing on their Dressage marks, while Brazil’s Carlos Parro added just 6.8 cross-country time penalties to his first-phase scoreline with Qualkin Qurious to bag the bronze. But none of these medals were easily won.
The Americans snatched the lead in the opening Dressage phase when Tamra Smith and Mai Baum topped the leaderboard ahead of Martin in second, Doug Payne and Starr Witness in seventh and Symansky in ninth. But they were only 4.9 penalty points ahead of Canada’s Karl Slezak (Fernhill Wishes), Dana Cooke (Mississippi), Colleen Loach (Fe Golden Eye) and Jessica Phoenix (Pavarotti), while Carlos Parro and his Brazilian team-mates Ruy Fonseca (Ballypatrick SRS), Rafael Mamprin Losano (Fuiloda G), Marcelo Tosi (Starbucks) were less than four penalty points further adrift.
Brazil’s chances were shaken by a nasty fall for Fonseca in Saturday’s cross-country test however. From a start-list of 42 horse-and-rider combinations from 12 nations only 25 finished the difficult course designed by Argentina’s Jose Ortelli. But despite the loss of their most experienced team-member, the Brazilians dug deep to produce brilliant performances and move up to silver medal spot ahead of the Canadians going into today’s final Jumping phase.
Talking about his dramatic fall at the seventh fence, the Lake Titicaca combination, Fonseca said from his hospital bed yesterday, “we were just unlucky, I’ve fractured my left shoulder and a couple of ribs. The horse is ok and I’m ok, everything is fine. All the medical team, the organisers and the Brazilian Olympic Committee doctor did a really great job. The (Brazilian) team did a really great job and I wish I could be with them tomorrow!”
And they did him proud, anchoring their final score on 122.1 to take the silver today while the Canadians, also reduced to a three-member side in the final Jumping test after the withdrawal of Dana Cooke’s Mississippi who scraped an elbow on a fence yesterday, completed on 183.7 for the bronze.
The Americans were the clear winners on a score of 91.2. Despite a big score for Smith who plummeted down the leaderboard after a glance-off at fence 16 and an additional 20 penalties for crossing their own track at fence 23, the US went into the final day with a commanding lead after Martin and Symansky produced the only two double-clear cross-country rounds and Payne added just 8.4 time faults to his tally. And when all three stayed clean and clear today the gold was in the bag. But no-one was saying it was easy, it was quite the opposite.
This was America’s 10th victory in Eventing at the Pan Ams, the first posted in Sao Paolo (BRA) back in 1963. “It was much harder than I expected” said 39-year-old double-Olympian Martin. “We came here and we were under the gun a bit, but we all stepped up and tried our hardest and like Eric (Duvander, team coach) said we’ve got good horses, great riders, the best coach in the world, great farriers, brilliant vets….there was no stone left unturned. Now we have to keep up the momentum, using every day we’ve got until Tokyo to keep improving… and then we’ll find out on the day, because competition is competition!”
Symansky described the result as “redemption, especially from last year at WEG when we came just a little bit short of taking our Tokyo qualification. Boyd and I were both there, and we’re much happier with our performances here this weekend”, said the 36-year-old who was also a team gold medallist at the 2011 Pan-American Games in Guadalajara (MEX).
Despite the disappointment of not bringing home one of the coveted Olympic qualifying spots, Canada’s Jessica Phoenix expressed her delight with the last week of sport. “I think Peru put on an incredible competition - the hospitality was insane! This is an incredible country and they made us feel so welcome. The venue is beautiful and it was a super, super Pan Am Games” she said.
The door is not completely closed to Canadian qualification, but for now it’s the USA and Brazil who will join the host nation of Japan, Great Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, China and Thailand in Eventing at Tokyo in 12 months time.
The Brazilians are not quite ready to celebrate just yet, because Ruy Fonseca is still in hospital - “we’re waiting for him to get out to come drinking with us!” said Carlos Parro today.
And America’s Boyd Martin described the outcome of these Pan Ams as “a relief, for coach Eric who moved country to help us, relief for the owners, the grooms that work so hard, the wives that put up with us, just the whole thing. It’s so much work - we get to wear the fancy medal, but really it’s a massive effort from a lot of people”, he pointed out with gratitude.
Results here
It was Team USA on the top step of the podium today when Sarah Lockman steered the lovely chestnut stallion, First Apple, to clinch Individual Dressage gold at the Pan American Games 2019 taking place at the Army Equitation School at La Molina in Lima, Peru. A superb score of 78.980 in the Intermediate l Freestyle clinched it for the 30-year-old who pipped Canada’s Tina Irwin and Laurencio by just over a single percentage point, while Lockman’s team-mate, Jennifer Baumert, claimed the bronze with her gelding Handsome.
This was America’s ninth individual Dressage title in the history of equestrian sport at the Pan American Games, which dates back to Buenos Aires (ARG) in 1951. And Lockman made it a US three-in-a-row as compatriot, Steffen Peters, posted a consecutive double at Guadalajara (MEX) in 2011 and Toronto (CAN) in 2015.
Both Small Tour and Big Tour combinations compete at the Pan Ams, and the Small Tour riders were first to battle it out in the Intermediate l Freestyle today. Just four horse-and-rider partnerships contested the higher-level Big Tour class that followed, but the medals were decided by the biggest scores on the day, regardless of the category, and it was Small Tour contenders Lockman, Irwin and Baumert who posted those to claim the top three steps of the podium.
The USA was never eligible for one of the two Olympic team qualifying spots on offer because they sent just three Small Tour riders to Lima. They already had their Tokyo ticket in the bag after claiming silver at last year’s FEI World Equestrian Games™ on home soil in Tryon (USA) and were quite happy to settle for silver in the team competition won by Canada on Monday.
But today they were gunning for the gold and they got it, thanks to a stunning performance from team debutante Lockman and her sensational nine-year-old Dutch stallion which is owned by Gerry Ibanez. Judges Thomas Kessler (GER), Mary Seefried (AUS), Eduard De Wolff Van Westerrode (NED) and Janet Lee Foy (USA) all put the American first, while Canada’s Brenda Minor placed her second, and the winner achieved high marks for Degree of Difficulty from all five judges, including a nine from Kessler.
“I’m over the moon excited about it!” Lockman said. “It’s everything I ever dreamed of and wanted, and I’m so proud of my horse and grateful to everybody who helped me get here and the whole support staff that have been here helping me at my first ever Games experience - it’s been truly unforgettable!”
Irwin and Laurencio, members of Canada’s gold-medal-winning team on Monday, put a strong 77.780 on the board to hold second spot, and when Baumert and Handsome slotted into third on 75.755 then all three medal contenders had an anxious wait while the Big Tour foursome strutted their stuff in the Grand Prix Freestyle. And Dominican Republic’s Yvonne Losos De Muñiz put in a strong challenge here with her 14-year-old mare, Aquamarijn, but when the scoreboard showed 75.430 then she just missed out on the podium and the top three wouldn’t change.
US Chef d’Equipe, Debbie McDonald, who with the great mare Brentina was double-gold medallist at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg (CAN) in 1999, couldn’t hold back her tears of delight. Lockman described the motivation her team leader has been providing throughout these Games.
“Debbie has been sending us some really amazing quotes and I think I’m going to have to have one put up in my barn and on my mirror…. she told us ‘you are what you believe, and preparation is everything and you can really do it, and to work to the very last moment for it’. I’m so thankful to her for the leadership, and to my coach Scott Hassler for his encouraging words leading up to this which have helped me handle the pressure and figure my way through my first Games!” said the new Pan-American individual Dressage champion.
Results here
Caption: On the Individual Dressage podium at the Pan American Games 2019 taking place at the Army Equitation School at La Molina in Lima, Peru today - (L to R) - silver medallist Tina Irwin (CAN), gold medallist Sarah Lockman (USA) and bronze medallist Jennifer Baumert (USA). (FEI/Daniel Apuy, Getty images)
Team Germany almost completely dominated the FEI Dressage European Championship 2019 for U25, Young Riders, Juniors and Children staged at the fabulous Horses Riviera Resort at San Giovanni in Marignano, near Rimini in Italy (23-28 July).
They claimed nine of the 11 gold medal placings on offer, with only a Dutch double standing in the way of a total German whitewash. High temperatures in the early part of the week were followed by rain on the final day, but nothing could get in the way of sparkling sport filled with great promise for the future in this demanding equestrian discipline.
With its six floodlit arenas, top-class stabling and extensive hospitality areas the venue, which lies on the Adriatic Sea, was something of a paradise for the record number of young athletes from 26 countries who turned up with their support teams, families and friends. As Maria Schierholter Otte, team leader of the German Junior and Young Rider squads said, “it is essential for the teams to be able to compete in all four categories in the same place so, from this point of view, San Giovanni is the ideal solution!”
Juniors
It was triple-gold for Jana Schrödter and her stallion Der Erbe who, along with her German team-mate Anna Middelberg partnering Blickfang, posted the two leading scores on the opening day of the Junior team test last Wednesday. When compatriot Valentina Pistner posted the biggest mark of the entire competition with Flamboyant the following day, then the Junior Team title was in German hands. Henriette Schmidt and Rocky’s Sunshine were the fourth combination in the winning side, and such was the quality of the German performances that her strong score of 74.182 was the discard.
The final leaderboard showed the gold medallists on a team total of 76.081, with The Netherlands’ Pam Verbeek (Fernando Torres), Annemijn Boogaard (Fullspeed TC), Sanne van der Pols (Excellentie) and Marten Luiten (Fynons) in silver medal spot on 73.485. Denmark took the bronze when the average score for Sofie Hansen (Dieu D’Amour 3), Frederikke Gram Jacobsen (Ryvangs Zafina), Maria Mejlgaard jensen (Uno lV) and Sara Aagaard Hyrm was 71.959.
Awarded a massive 77.971, 18-year-old Schrödter then went on to win the Individual title ahead of The Netherlands’ Luiten in silver on a mark of 75.588 and Schrödter’s team-mate Pistner in bronze (74.794). And these three horse-and-rider combinations remained on precisely the same steps of the podium when the Freestyle medals were awarded on Sunday. It was an extraordinary series of results for the new triple champion who was originally a reserve for her team but who was called into action at the last moment to substitute for Lucie-Anouk Baumgurtel.
A total of 78 athletes and teams from 19 countries contested the Junior medals.
Young Riders
The Netherlands’ Daphne van Peperstraten and Greenpoint’s Cupido topped the Young Riders team scoreboard with a mark of 74.265 after the first day, but Germany’s Semmieke Rothenberger demoted her to runner-up spot when the second tranche took their turn the following day and, like her Junior squad-mate, went on to score a hat-trick of victories.
Rothenberger’s strong score of 77.559 with Dissertation was backed up by Paulina Holzknecht (Wells Fargo), Alexa Westendorp (Four Seasons) and Lia Welschof (Linus K) to ensure the German average mark of 74.745 for the gold. Once again the Dutch had to settle for silver when Paperstraten, Kimberly Pap (Vloet Victory), Thalia Rockx (Verdi de la Fazenda) and Esme Donkers (Chaina) rounded up their results to an average of 73.030. Sweden’s Linnea Williamson (Tabasco), Elin Mattsson (Beckham), Cecilia Bergakra Berglund (Primavera) an Evelina Doerstrom (Weihenstephaner) claimed team bronze on 69.687.
In the Young Riders Individual, Rothenberger’s impressive mark of 78.941 pinned The Netherlands’ Pap into silver and her German team-mate Welschof into bronze. It was closer in the Freestyle, with just over half a percentage point separating her from team silver medallist Donkers, and the Dutch were particularly strong here, Pap clinching the bronze just ahead of van Paperstraten.
Success is no stranger to Rothenberger whose family are steeped in Dressage history. She already had eight European gold medals in the bag by the end of her career in ponies, highlighted by brilliant partnerships with both the wonderful Golden Girl and the delightful Deinhard B. She won three more at Junior level with Geisha and Dissertation, and although she has claimed two Young Rider golds with Geisha in recent years, she pulled out Dissertation, who helped her become double Junior champion at Oliva (ESP) three years ago, to do the hat-trick this time around.
“It couldn’t have been better - I am particularly proud of these results obtained against very strong opponents. And I really like the system here, this is a perfect place to both train and compete!” said the 19-year-old triple champion.
A total of 57 horse-and-rider combinations battled for the Young Riders medals, and 13 countries were represented in the team competition.
Children
Allegra Schmitz-Morkramer’s big score of 78.385 with Lavissaro led Germany to the Children’s team title. Clara Paschertz (Belvedere), Kenya Schwierking (Dinos Boy) and Lisa Steisslinger (Havanna Negra) helped secure the winning average of 74.667 and The Netherlands’ Maura Knipscheer (Amaretto), Senna Evers (Happy Feet), Lara van Nek (Fariska) and Anniek van Dulst (Isala’s Arielle) took the silver with 73.833. Russia’s Arina Makhileve (Titanie), Stefania Mechetina (San Calida), Yanina Frantsuzova (Flitslampje) and Karina Zakhrabekova (Ein Stern) pushed Team Belgium off the podium for the bronze when putting 69.859 on the board.
And continuing the overwhelming German theme, 13-year-old Schmitz-Morkramer went on to scoop the Children’s Individual title. An impressive score of 78.607 clinched it, and it was Dutch girl Lara van Nek who earned the silver with a great score of 75.786 while Denmark got onto the podium when Annabelle Rehn and Aros A Fenris posted 74.893.
Double-gold medallist Schmitz-Morkramer put in excellent preparation for this year’s Championship with a series of great results at the Olympic test event in Hagen (GER) where she pinned team-mate Steisslinger into second and van Neck into third in the Children’s Individual competition.
A total of 50 competitors and nine teams lined out in this division.
U25
The only category in which the Germans were thrown off-course was in the U25 in which The Netherlands’ Jeanine Nieuwenhuis broke their stranglehold. However even though she posted the top score in the Intermediate ll which decided the team medals, it was Germany who claimed the team title here yet again when Jill-Marielle Becks (Damoris Delorange) finished second, Bianca Nowag (Sir Hohenstein) finished third and Raphael Netz filled fifth place. Fourth member of the gold-medal-winning German side was Ann Kathrin Lindner (Gunfire).
Nieuwenhuis had to settle for team silver along with Dutch team-mates Carlijn Huberts (Watoeshi), Jasmien de Koeyer (Esperanza) and Denise Nekeman (Boston STH), while Denmark’s Nana Gajhede (Overgaards Lowell), Emma Skov (Cracker Jack), Soren Wind (Diego) and Josefine Hoffmann (Hoenerups Driver) stood on the third step of the podium.
But 24-year-old Nieuwenhuis and the 14-year-old TC Athene reigned supreme in both Friday’s Grand Prix and Sunday’s Freestyle, pinning Nekeman into silver and Germany’s Becks into bronze in the former, and Germany’s Nowag into silver and Denmark’s Hoffmann into bronze in the latter. She first stood on a Championship podium when helping claim European Junior team gold in Bern (SUI) in 2012, and with TC Athene also won the Young Rider Individual title at Oliva (ESP) in 2016.
A total of 34 horse-and-rider combinations and teams from seven nations lined out in the U25 division.
Full results here
Canada came out on top in a tight battle with the USA when the Team Dressage medals were decided today at the Pan American Games 2019 taking place at the Army Equitation School at La Molina in Lima, Peru. The three-member US side had a fractional advantage after yesterday’s opening competitions, but consistently strong performances from the Canadian crew today saw the defending champions having to settle for silver in the final analysis, while Brazil stood on the third step of the medal podium.
This was Canada’s third time to take the team title in the 68-year history of equestrian sport at the Pan Americans, their first victory posted in Cali, Colombia in 1971 and their second in Havana, Cuba in 1991.
The Pan Am format sees team members compete at both Small Tour and Big Tour level, and Team USA, already qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games following their silver-medal-winning performance at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018 on home ground in Tryon, sent an all-Small-Tour side of just three horse-and-rider combinations. Canada fielded two Small Tour and two Big Tour partnerships, and when Lindsay Kellock (Floratina), Tina Irwin (Laurencio) and Naima Moreira Laliberté (Statesman) all posted scores of 73 percent, their final tally of 440.111 left them 2.32 points ahead of USA in silver and over 31 points clear of the Brazilians in bronze. Fourth team member Jill Irving (Degas 12) provided Canada’s discard score when the top three results for each team were counted.
Canada’s star performer was 22-year-old Moreira Laliberté, daughter of Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, who won both yesterday’s Grand Prix and today’s Grand Prix Special with her 12-year-old Sandro Hit gelding, Statesman. “This is my first year of Grand Prix, my sixth competition at this level and my first major Games” said the talented rider. Irving is also a Big Tour contender, and the 56-year-old steered her WEG 2018 ride, the 17-year-old Hanoverian gelding Degas 12, into third behind her team-mate.
In the Small Tour Intermediate 1 today, Irwin and Kellock finished second and third. This is Irwin’s second Pan Am Games, having helped her country to team silver in Guadalajara (MEX) in 2011. The 38-year-old rider and her 12-year-old gelding Laurencio are Small Tour stars, setting a world record at that level in 2017 before moving up to Big Tour. However they moved back down to Small Tour this year with the specific goal of helping Canada earn their spot at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and it has worked a treat. “The whole team gave it our all today. Yesterday it was close behind the Americans, and today we were on our “A” game!” Irwin said.
Kellock and her 11-year-old Hanoverian, Floratina, are a relatively new combination who clicked from the moment they came together. The mare was bought as a schoolmaster for a friend who couldn’t find the time to ride her as much as she would like, so loaned her to Kellock who got a really high score with her on their first outing and they have blossomed from there. “The next goal in our minds is Tokyo, we all three have horses that are aimed at that!” said the ambitious 29-year-old.
Irwin and Kellock finished second and third on the Individual leaderboard ahead of Wednesday’s Individual Final in which the top 50% in the rankings from both the Big and Small Tour competitions will battle it out in the Grand Prix Freestyle and Intermediate 1 Freestyle for the Individual Pan American Dressage title, and in which everyone starts from scratch.
Team USA’s Sarah Lockman topped the leaderboard tonight with her lovely nine-year-old Dutch-bred stallion, First Apple, who won both yesterday’s Prix St Georges and today’s Intermediate 1. After accepting her team silver medal alongside compatriots Nora Batchelder (Faro SQF) and Jennifer Baumert (Handsome), Lockman said her Pan Am experience so far has given her “a feeling like no other! It’s my first time to represent the US and it’s such a different feeling for us, as sport is for the most part an individual sport. This (the team competition) has brought a different element and I love it, it’s amazing seeing our flag raised, it’s definitely a rush and something I will never forget!” she added proudly.
And the experienced bronze-medal-winning Brazilian side of Joao Paulo Dos Santos (Carthago Comando SN), Joao Victor Marcari Oliva (Biso das Lezirias), Leandro Aparecide Da Silva (Dicaprio) and Pedro Manuel Tavares de Almeida (Aoleo) also have ever reason to be pleased as they, like the winning Canadians, are now Tokyo-bound. Oliva said “we are very happy with this qualification, we came here for this, we trained for this, so thank you to my team mates and to everybody who is behind us. Now we have to celebrate!”
Team Results here
All results here
Team Norway stormed to a very significant victory in the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Greece staged at the 2004 Olympic venue of Markopoulo in Athens (GRE) today. This final of the 2019 Europe Division 2 series saw eight nations battle it out for the single promotional spot on offer in Division 1 next year, while also up for grabs were two qualifying places at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final 2019 in Barcelona (ESP) next October.
And it was the Norwegian side, consisting of three members of the Gulliksen family along with Hege Tidemandsen, who claimed pole position ahead of Portugal in second while Poland lined up in third.
A move into the super-competitive higher division is a big ask for many of the countries that have a limited pool of horses and riders, so winning Chef d’Equipe, Mikael Kolind, was cautious about his team’s prospects after today’s great result. “We have the ticket for Division 1 now, so we will see if we will use it!” he said this evening. But there’s no doubt about their forthcoming trip to Spain.
“We are very happy to be able to go to Barcelona and hopefully to qualify a team for the Tokyo Olympics!” said Tidemandsen who produced one of the three double-clears that secured the winning zero scoreline. Portugal will join them at the Spanish fixture, putting just four faults on the board to finish a fence ahead of the Polish side who were foot-perfect second time out but who couldn’t improve on their eight-fault first-round tally to just miss out.
It was wide open right to the end however, victory depending on a clear round from the last man into the ring, Geir Gulliksen (59) who is better known to his friends as “Jimmy”. His daughter Victoria (27) racked up 16 faults in the first round and eight in the second with the 10-year-old gelding Papa Roach. So although both Tidemandsen and Victoria’s brother, Johan-Sebastian (22) riding Exit of Ice Z, never put a foot wrong, Norway needed to discard those eight faults to stay out in front.
Hungary and Portugal were lying joint-second with a four-fault tally as the second round began over the course designed by Germany’s Christian Wiegand, and when the Portuguese held firm then a fence down from “Jimmy” would force a two-way jump-off, and any more than that could prove extremely expensive. Staying cool and calm however the Olympian, who has been the rock on which Norwegian showjumping has depended for very many years, steered the 13-year-old Gin Chin van het Lindenhof, a horse he took over from Ireland’s Bertram Allen at the end of last year, to a clean run all the way. And the roars from the Kiss and Cry said it all as he galloped through the finish - it was a Norwegian mission accomplished.
“This was just an amazing experience!” said Tidemandsen. “It’s the first time for me at the Division 2 Final and to go in there and win the whole thing is just super, I’m so proud of what my team-mates and all our horses have achieved today!”
She runs a riding school in Norway along with her mother “a little further north from Gulliksens”, and has been a real self-starter. “I began with ponies and then we always made the horses ourselves because we never had money to buy the good ones, we would only get the horses no-one else wanted and if I was good enough I could improve them. But today I’m very happy because I have a really good horse who jumps his heart out for me” she pointed out.
She was talking about the 13-year-old Carvis who, however, has been a very difficult character along the way. “He was always jumping too big and scaring himself when he was younger, and I was a bit of a chicken so my sister did all the early work with him. He wasn’t easy”, she explained.
Now however he’s a family favourite. “We’ve had him for 10 years and people are always trying to buy him, but my father says we can’t sell a friend!”, she said this evening. She is hoping that she and her friend are on their way to Barcelona where the battle for that last Olympic slot is likely to be hard fought.
The final Europe Division 2 standings, based on today’s result, show Norway and Portugal in first and second places, Poland in third, Hungary in fourth, Greece - represented by a plucky three-member side today - in fifth, Spain in sixth, Bulgaria in seventh and Romania in eighth.
Full result here
Europe Division 2 Final Standings here
Watch highlights here
There was a ring of familiarity about today’s super win by Team Sweden in the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Great Britain at Hickstead (GBR), where Ireland lined up second ahead of Italy in third and the reigning series champions from Belgium had to settle for fourth place. It’s less than two weeks since the Swedes celebrated success at the fifth round of the Europe Division 1 series on home ground at Falsterbo where super-hero, Peder Fredricson, sealed it with a breath-taking double-clear performance in the closing stages.
And he did it again today, but under a lot less pressure, because it was all done and dusted without the help of last-line team member Rolf-Goran Bengtsson. The Swedes are very definitely on a roll right now, and Chef d’Equipe Henrik Ankarcrona was rightly proud as his country lifted the prestigious Edward Prince of Wales Trophy for the very first time in the history of the competition that dates all the way back to 1947.
“It has been a fantastic year in the Nations Cup so far. Geesteren (round 4 in The Netherlands) was not the best for us, but we came back strong in Falsterbo. And I was told yesterday that Sweden has never won here in Hickstead, so I said let’s do it!” pointed out the elated team manager.
They were always on target after establishing the lead at the end of the first round on a zero score, just as they did on home ground a fortnight ago. Fredrik Jonsson (46) and Cold Play kicked off with a clear tour of the formidable Hickstead fences and when Angelie von Essen (40) and Luikan Q, and then Fredricson (47) and his relatively new ride, Zacramento, followed suit then anchorman Rolf-Goran Bengtsson’s (56) help wasn’t needed so he decided to stay on the sidelines with Oak Grove’s Carlyle this time around.
But Ireland and Belgium were in hot pursuit with just four faults apiece as the second round began, and the Italians were also close behind with just five on the board. Team USA carried eight, Brazil carried nine and Germany already had 13 on their scorecard. The masterful Marcus Ehning breezed in with a first-round clear with Comme Il Faut while horseman supreme, double-Olympic Eventing champion Michael Jung, collected just four faults with Fischerchelsea, but despite faultless second efforts from both men the final German tally of 21 left them well out of contention.
British chances were dashed at the outset with a fall at the 4m-wide open water for the pathfinding partnership of Amanda Derbyshire and Roulette BH, and the hosts eventually finished last of the eight competing nations. With only the last leg of the Europe Division 1 series left to go, at Dublin (IRL) in two weeks’ time, they now have a lot to do to qualify amongst the top seven nations that will make the cut to the Longines Final in Barcelona (ESP) in October. There was reassuring news about both the British rider and her horse this evening however.
“Amanda is all good, just a superficial injury to her face” said Hickstead’s Edward Bunn. “The horse had an x-ray and nothing special was found and he is now being transported to the closest clinic to be observed” he explained.
Despite a spectacular double-clear from their last-line duo, Yves Vanderhaselt and the lovely mare Jeunesse, the Belgians slipped off the radar in the second round and once Von Essen and Fredricson posted their second clears of the day the Swedes were already in the club-house and it was left to the Irish and Italians to battle it out for runner-up spot in the closing stages.
And double-clears from pathfinder Anthony Condon (Aristio) and anchorman Paul O’Shea (Imerald van’t Voorhof) sealed it for the boys in green who completed on eight faults, while only the single time faults picked up in both rounds by Italian anchor Bruno Chimirri (Tower Mouche) separated the Italians who lined up third on a total of 10.
Fredricson said that it’s the great team spirit in the Swedish side that’s giving them the edge right now and he heaped praise on the British venue this evening. “It’s great to come to a show like this - Hickstead has its own personality and asks it own unique questions that give an extra dimension to our sport, and that makes it very special” he said. He also complimented his team-mates. “Angelie is a super rider and has a new horse, and Fredrik is an old friend of mine - we were both Eventing together long before we started Jumping and I’m really happy for him doing so well now!” he added.
“The team made my day easy today!” said Bengtsson who jumped a few fences and then retired in the second round as his services were not required. “At the moment we really have quite some good combinations of riders and horses and it will not be easy for the Chef d’Equipe to make his selection for the European Championships coming soon!” he pointed out. The Championships in Rotterdam (NED) are indeed only a few short weeks away and on everyone’s mind.
But for tonight it’s party-time again for the Swedes and their supporters. “I feel really proud that the Swedish name will now be on this great trophy!” Fredricson said this evening.
Asked how he so consistently copes with pressure under fire, the world no. 2, Olympic silver medallist and reigning European champion replied, “I just focus on jumping a clear round inside the time! Everybody feels pressure in a team competition, you always want to do well so it’s really important to celebrate the good times and to enjoy a great evening together afterwards - we are going to do that again tonight!”
Result: 1, Sweden 4 faults - Cold Play (Frederik Jonsson) 0/4, Luikan G (Angelie von Essen) 0/0, Zacramento (Peder Fredricson) 0/0, Oak Grove’s Carlyle (Rolf Goran Bengtsson) WD/Ret; 2, Ireland 8 faults - Aristio (Anthony Condon) 0/0, Armik (Capt Brian Cournane) 4/4, Mullaghdrin Touch the Stars (Michael Duffy) 4/4, Imerald va’t Voorhof (Paul O’Shea) 0/0; 3, Italy 10 faults - Lazzaro delle Schiave (Massimo Grossato) 4/0, Chaclot (Riccardo Pisani) 0/4, Driandria (Piergiorgio Bucci) 4/4, Tower Mouche (Bruno Chimirro) 1/1.
Full result here
Standings after Round 6 of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ 2019 Europe Division 1 series:
1. France - 320
2. Belgium - 315
3. Switzerland - 270
4. Sweden - 260
5. Ireland - 250
6. Italy - 250
7. Germany - 245
8. Netherlands - 200
9. Austria - 190
10. Great Britain - 165
Full standings here
Watch highlights here
Next month’s Ready Steady Tokyo equestrian test event, which runs from 12-14 August, boasts a truly world-class field, including reigning Olympic champion and multi-medalled German athlete Michael Jung. The 17 athletes from four nations – Japan, Germany, Australia and Great Britain – have between them amassed an incredible tally of 74 medals at Olympic, world and continental Games and Championships.
Jung (37), the first and so far only Eventing athlete to have held the world, Olympic and European titles at the same time, has won 20 medals of which 12 are gold, including back-to-back Olympic titles and a team gold in London 2012. He is joined by triple Olympic team gold medallist Andrew Hoy (AUS), all four of Japan’s Asian Games 2018 gold medal team among an 11-strong Japanese squad, and five-time Olympian William Fox-Pitt (GBR), who has no less than 23 medals to his name.
The strength of the host nation has been increasingly underlined recently, with Japan taking team and individual gold at the Asian Games in Jakarta (INA), and the team finishing fourth and just out of the medals at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018 in Tryon (USA) last September. And the successes have continued unabated this season, with the team winning the Olympic Groups F and G qualifier at Saumur (FRA) in June, while Japanese athletes have claimed no less than three CCI4* wins.
Kazuma Tomoto (36) topped the leaderboard at the CCI4* events in Chatsworth (GBR) and Ballindenisk (IRL) this spring, while Yoshiaki Oiwa (43) took individual honours in the Polish CCI4* at Strzegom at the end of last month with Bart L, the 13-year-old gelding he steered to double gold at the Asian Games. The Dutch-bred was previously ridden by Frenchman Matthieu Lemoine rode to team gold at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. So the writing is clearly on the wall – Japan is on a medal march in Tokyo next year!
Cross country course designer Derek Di Grazia (USA) has built a special track for the test event and, while athletes, National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Federations (NFs) will have the chance to assess the undulations of the terrain at Sea Forest, Di Grazia will be giving nothing away about his Olympic course for next year’s Games.
“We have a truly star-studded cast for our Ready Steady Tokyo test event next month, when some of the world’s most decorated Eventing athletes and their equine partners will have the opportunity to trial our two fabulous venues and, at the same time, provide a taster of the level of equestrian action that will be on offer at the Games next year”, FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “I can’t remember a time when we had such a high caliber of athletes and horses for the Olympic test event, so it’s going to be really special.
“Equestrian brings together sporting prowess and horsemanship and we are excited that a whole new global audience will have the chance to witness the unique collaboration between horse and human which creates a cocktail of drama and pure magic.”
The test event, which will trial logistics, results, timing and data handling, footing, transport between the two venues, along with multiple other key factors that are crucial for the smooth running of next year’s Games, is a CCI 3* Eventing competition that provides the opportunity to test both equestrian venues – Equestrian Park at Baji Koen and the new Sea Forest cross country venue.
Baji Koen, site of the Olympic equestrian events at the 1964 Tokyo Games, has undergone extensive refurbishment, funded independently by the Japan Racing Association, and will provide an extraordinary legacy for Tokyo inhabitants, along with the park that will be created out of the reclaimed land at Sea Forest, which hosts equestrian cross country, rowing and canoe sprint.
The full list of starters for the Ready Steady Tokyo equestrian test event are available here and will also be available on the dedicated equestrian page of the Ready Steady Tokyo website here shortly.
The test event also provides the opportunity for NOCs and NFs to take part in the official Observers Programme, which includes a session on climate mitigation protocols aimed at minimising the effects of heat and humidity. The FEI is also conducting a study on participants at the test event (human and equine) with the goal of further boosting current research on optimising performance in a challenging climate. Full details of the Observers Programme are available here.
Videos explaining the Tokyo 2020 Olympic formats for Jumping and Dressage, which were trialled at the Future Champions event in Hagen (GER) last month, are available on FEI YouTube here. The Eventing format, which has been run at events in Poland, Ireland, New Zealand and Italy, will be used at the last leg of the FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ in Boekelo (NED) in October, when the final team slot on the Tokyo 2020 startlist will be allocated.
Para Dressage is one of five sports that has been added to the live broadcast schedule for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, marking the first time that equestrian fans the world over will be able to watch daily live coverage of Para Dressage at the Paralympics.
The move comes thanks to increased support from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Tokyo 2020 and Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and the demands of broadcasters, with Para Dressage joining canoe, rowing, archery and shooting to bring the total number of sports with live coverage to a record 21 disciplines from 19 sports.
“We are thrilled to be part of the live broadcast of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and our sport will benefit greatly from this worldwide exposure”, FEI Secretary General and President of the Association of Paralympic Sports Organisations (APSO) Sabrina Ibáñez said.
“The development of Para Dressage is phenomenal, with the number of athletes growing year on year, and being included in the live coverage from Tokyo 2020 will give more parts of the world the chance to discover our amazingly talented Para athletes.”
Para Dressage features from Day 2 to Day 6 at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, which run from 25 August to 6 September.
“Thanks to the growing interest and investment from broadcasters around the world to screen the Paralympic Games we have been able to significantly increase the number of sports to be broadcast live for Tokyo 2020”, IPC Commercial, Broadcasting and Partnerships Director Alexis Schaefer said.
“Our strategy throughout has been to invest all additional revenues generated from TV rights sales back into the broadcasting plan for Tokyo 2020. This is allowing us to broadcast live nine disciplines and seven sports more compared to Rio 2016, a huge leap forward which will benefit broadcasters and the whole Paralympic Movement.
“Without doubt Tokyo 2020 will have the best, most complete and in-depth TV coverage yet for a Paralympic Games. In addition to more live TV coverage, we are also investing into delivering far greater short form content for broadcasters to use in the form of highlights, athletes features and profiles. With such comprehensive coverage in place we are very confident that viewing figures will exceed the record cumulative audience of 4.1 billion people that enjoyed the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.”
“OBS is pleased to deliver extensive broadcast coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and bring even more outstanding, inspirational performances and stories of the Paralympic athletes to millions of viewers around the world”, OBS Chief Executive Officer Yiannis Exarchos said.
FEI.tv will be offering live free-to-air coverage of the Para Dressage competitions at the Longines FEI European Championships in Rotterdam (NED), 19-25 August, one of multiple events where Para athletes can achieve their Minimum Eligibility Requirements for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Dedicated Para athlete profile videos will also be made available on FEI’s digital platforms.
The IPC press release can be viewed here.
Photo caption: International Paralympic Committee has announced today that Para Dressage is one of five sports that has been added to the live broadcast schedule for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, marking the first time that equestrian fans the world over will be able to watch daily live coverage of Para Dressage at the Paralympics. Pictured: Stinna Tange Kaastrup (DEN) and Horsebo Smarties, winners of individual Para Dressage Grade II Freestyle gold at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018. (FEI/Liz Gregg)
About Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) www.fei.org
The FEI is the world governing body for horse sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was founded in 1921. Equestrian sport has been part of the Olympic movement since the 1912 Games in Stockholm.
The FEI became one of the first international sports governing bodies to govern and regulate global para sport alongside its seven able-bodied disciplines when Para Dressage joined its ranks in 2006. The FEI now governs all international competitions for Para Dressage and Para Driving.
The FEI is the sole controlling authority for all international events in the Olympic sports of Jumping, Dressage and Eventing, as well as Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining.
About International Paralympic Committee (IPC) https://www.paralympic.org/
About Association of Paralympic Sports Organisations (APSO) https://www.apsosports.org/
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