ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING 2007/2008 - PRESS RELEASE NO. 9

LUDGER'S NEW STAR SHINES IN GENEVA.....

Germany's Ludger Beerbaum steered his spectacular new ride, All Inclusive NRW, to victory at the fifth leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Western European League in Geneva, Switzerland this afternoon where his sister-in-law Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum shared runner-up spot with Ireland's Jessica Kuerten.

Spectators at the Palexpo Arena were treated to a feast of jumping action over this weekend when Kuerten claimed the honours in the thrilling IJRC Top-10 on Saturday night, and FEI World Cup Director, John Roche, described the 2007 fixture as "the best show to date".

Course designer Rolf Ludi, who will also build for the season's finale in Gothenburg next April, knows how to maximise the tension on the big occasions with tracks that look a lot more simple than they actually are, and today's jump-off was the perfect curtain closer with white-knuckle rides from the 11 through to the jump-off against the clock.

First in was Rodrigo Pessoa with his promising nine year old Rufus and a wonderfully fluid tour of the track saw the careful stallion and his skillful rider set the target with a clear round in 40.61 seconds.

The Brazilian partnership covered the first distance between the opening vertical and following oxer in eight strides but Sweden's Helena Lundback added a few there to return two seconds slower while, third into the ring, Switzerland's Niklaus Schurtenberger had to drive the big grey, Cantus, with all his might to stop the clock on 40.63.

Sweden's Malin Baryard-Johnsson ratcheted it all up a gear however with a brilliant run from the 16 year old Butterfly Flip, a winner in this class six years ago, who crossed the line in 39.04 after a massive stand-off at the last but the excitement was really only beginning.

Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum followed with a breath-taking tour with Shutterfly, accelerating dramatically in the middle of the course and then taking on the tricky double of liverpools, just two fences from home, in dare-devil style. Home in 38.45 seconds she had now re-set the standard and Portugal's Luciana Diniz and Son of Marco posed no threat when dropping both elements of the penultimate double when they got into a muddle.

There was nothing muddled about the French duo of Michel Hecart and Itot du Chateau however, the game little gelding oblivious to the fact that his smaller stature might make it unlikely that he could cover the ground with the same degree of ease as the bigger boys as he galloped home just a second off the leader's pace.

With just four left to go Ludger Beerbaum then took centre stage, and from the moment he set off there was a sense that something special was happening. Ludger looks at ease on this horse in a way that is reminiscent of some of his great rides, and the commentator roared "Extraordinaire! Quelle spectacle!" as the prolific medal-winning 44 year old cruised home to break the beam in 38.40 seconds and take over the top of the order.

Swiss supporters were right behind their own man, Steve Guerdat, as he got down to business with Jalisca Solier but although he produced a foot-perfect run his time of 39.66 seconds was not going to make a big enough impression and then it was down to the final two.

Anyone watching Jessica Kuerten jump over the past few days knew that she could not be discounted. Castle Forbes Libertina was in a class of her own when heading up Saturday's Top-10 and, never short of energy, was as fresh as ever as she set off again, full of her trade-mark courage and enthusiasm. A risky turn to the oxer three from home paid off and the Irish rider looked well in touch when chancing it again at the following double but despite a brilliant effort the clock showed the Irish partnership precisely matching the time recorded by Michaels-Beerbaum and Shutterfly. And when, last into the ring, Australia's Edwina Alexander and Isovlas Socrates left three on the floor Ludger was confirmed as clear winner with the two ladies tied for second place.

Baryard-Johnsson slotted into fourth ahead of Hecart in fifth and Guerdat in sixth.

Ludger was extremely reticent about enthusing too much about his new find however. Talking about All Inclusive he said guardedly "I think he is a super horse and it is an absolute pleasure to ride him but I don't like to go crazy talking about him because it puts too much pressure on him". However he betrayed the fact that, deep down, he thinks he's got a real winner here. "Maybe he will be a horse for the Olympics" he muttered as if he was hoping nobody could hear.....

"I've had him in my stable for two and half years. He came from a local rider who bred and rode him himself. He was a bit too sharp and he asked me to try him and since then he has been with us. I have been riding him for a year, before that Hendrick, one of the boys in my stable, rode him and his first big class was in Wiesbaden where he won and was second and then he was fourth in Maastricht and Sao Paolo and sixth in Stuttgart before winning today. He is only eight years old so now I will give him a break, I will not go to Zurich with him, he needs a rest and then I will look to bring him out for the outdoor season with a hope of taking him to the Olympics" the rider explained.

Asked if he, and other German riders, have a special gift for picking out good young horses he pointed out that he has many horses in his yard and only takes a few to shows. "In Germany we have many good horses so it it not that difficult to find a good one!" he pointed out. "We have a population of 80 million people, 100,000 new foals are born every year, and there are two million horses in the country but we don't dominate the sport" he insisted. "Even though we are successful we are not European Champions" - at which point Meredith prodded her brother-in-law to remind him that she holds the individual European title.

She wasn't bothered about having to settle for joint-second spot, - "Shutterfly jumped spectacularly in both rounds, and since the European Championships he has been pretty amazing. Today we were only beaten by 500ths of a second and that's not much" she said.

Kuerten too had nothing to complain about after her sensational weekend. "I could be arrogant and say that I wouldn't expect much less from my horse but I'm not like that" she insisted. "I'm super-proud of my horse after yesterday and it was a really fast jump-off today so I had a choice of either going for it or not. I took one stride too many from one to two but was ok on the following turn which is not our best point. I had a hairy turn to the last but my mare was exceptional and I'm very happy to share second with Meredith!" she added.

Today's result sees her rise to fourth on the series leaderboard which continues to be led by Spain's Rutherford Latham with opening-leg winner Helena Lundback in second and Meredith now in third. Ludger's victory has promoted him to sixth spot behind Sweden's Rolf-Goran Bengtsson but with 31 points today's winner still needs more to guarantee his place at the final.

"There are six more events to go" John Roche pointed out, and the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping action will resume at the Christmas spectacular at Olympia in London in two weeks' time while Mechelen in Belgium plays host to the series the following week.

"I'd like to give full credit to the show organisers here in Geneva including Sophie Mottu, Alban Poudret and the entire team. We have enjoyed outstanding sport" he concluded. And no-one could argue with that......

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RESULT: 1, All Inclusive (Ludger Beerbaum) Ger 0/0 38.40; Equal 2, Shutterfly (Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum) Ger, Castle Forbes Libertina (Jessica Kuerten) Irl 0/0 38.45; 4, Butterfly Flip (M Baryard-Johnsson) Swe 0/0 39.04; 5, Itot du Chateau (Michel Hecart) Fra 0/0 39.45; 6, Jalisca Solier (Steve Guerdat) Sui 0/0 39.65; 7, Rufus (Rodrigo Pessoa) Bra 0/0 40.61; 8, Cantus (Niklaus Schurtenberger) Sui 0/0 40.63; 9, Madick (Helena Lundback) Swe 0/0 42.13; 10, Son of Marco (Luciana Diniz) Por 0/8 42.88; 11, Isovlas Socrates (Edwina Alexander) Aus 0/12 42.57; 12, Noltes Kuchengirl (Marcus Ehning) Ger 4/76.25; 13, Isaac du Jonquet (Mikael Forsten) Fin 4/77.01; 14, Okidoki (Albert Zoer) Ned 4/77.75; 15, Cornet Obolensky (Marco Kutscher) Ger 4/79.25; 16, Ilostra Dark (Eugenie Angot) Fra 4/79.32; 17, Sundal Colliers Cattani (Geir Gulliksen) Nor 4/80.68; 18, Jalia de Gaverie (Jane Richard) Sui 4/81.40; 19, Lorenzo (Christian Ahlmann) Ger 4/81.41; 20, Vigo d'Arsouilles (Philippe Lejeune) Bel 5/84.28; 21, Guarana Champeix (Rutherford Latham) Esp 5/85.63; 22, 11th and Bleeker (Gerfried Puck) Aut 8/79.05; 23, Aboyeur (Heinrich Hermann Engemann) Ger 8/79.38; 24, Plot Blue (Werner Muff) Sui 8/79.84; 25, Koro d'Or (Michel Robert) Fra 8/79.88; 26, Ivoire du Rouet (Francois Mathy Jr) Bel 8/82.48; 27, LB Casanova (Christina Liebherr) Sui 8/83.08; 28, Albin (Juan Carlos Garcia) Ita 8/83.22; 30; 29, Eurocommerce Acapulco (Gerco Schroder) Ned 8/83.49; 30, VDL Groep Fleche Rouge (Leopold Van Asten) Ned 12/80.03; 31, Noblesse M (Pius Schwizer) Sui 12/81.19; 32, Insul Tech Mozart des Hayettes (Michael Whitaker) GBR 12/83.13; 33, Con Spirito R (Theo Muff) Sui 12/83.53; 34, Ovation (Markus Fuchs) Sui 17/85.69; Eq 35, Ilton Daye (Hansueli Sprunger) Sui, Elim, Zamiro (Tina Lund) Den, Gestion Priamus Z (Vincent Voorn) Ned, Heritage Transmission (Marion Hughes) Irl, Peppermill (John Whitaker) GBR, Indigo (Beat Mandli) Sui Ret.

ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING 2007/2008 - WESTERN EUROPEAN LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 5 IN GENEVA:

1. Rutherford Latham - 48.0
2. Helena Lundback - 41.0
3. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum- 36.0
4. Jessica Kuerten - 33.0
5. Rolf Goran Bengtsson - 31.0
6. Ludger Beerbaum - 31.0
7. Steve Guerdat - 31.0
8. Albert Zoer - 25.0
9. Michel Hecart - 25.0
10. Heinrich Hermann Engemann- 23.0
11. Piet Raymakers - 21.0
12. Marco Kutscher - 19.0
13. Luciana Diniz - 19.0
14. William Whitaker - 19.0
15. Daniel Deusser - 18.0
15. Juan Carlos Garcia - 18.0
17. Rodrigo Pessoa - 17.0
18. Eugenie Angot - 16.0
19. Markus Fuchs - 16.0
20. Piet Raymakers Jr - 15.0

For further information on the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping qualifer in Geneva check out WEBSITE www.concours-hippique.ch or contact Press Officer Corinne Druey - Tel +41 21312 8222, Mobile +41 79226 7859, Email druey@syntagme-lausanne.ch. Show Director at Geneva is Sophie Mottu, Sport Director is Alban Poudret and Show Secretary is Chantal Rothen.

The next leg of the series take place at Olympia in London from 17 to 22 December. Show President is Lord Vestey, Show Director is Simon Brooks-Ward, Show Secretary is Penny Henderson and Press Officer is Jo Peck - Tel +44 1753 847900, Email info@hpower.co.uk. WEBSITE www.olympiahorseshow.com.

PHOTO CATALOGUE - Photographs of the winning riders in high and low resolution can be downloaded from the FEI online catalogue. To access it, please visit www.horsesport.org>Media Centre>Catalogue. There is no reproduction fee, but please credit photographer (photographer's name will appear under each photo)/FEI. Usage is strictly for editorial purposes.

MEDIA GUIDE - The FEI is pleased to provide you with a Media Guide for the 2007/2008 season. The Guide is filled with useful facts, figures and statistics including the list of winners since the series began in 1978 and contact details to help you access all the information you need. You can download it from the Media Centre on the FEI website www.horsesport.org or order a hard copy from FEI Communication - Email o.robinson@horsesport.org.

2007/2008 ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING SERIES - CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR WESTERN EUROPEAN LEAGUE:
1, Oslo (Norway) 12-14 October; 2, Helsinki (Finland) 18-21 October; 3, Verona (Italy) 8-11 November; 4, Stuttgart (Germany) 14-18 November; 5, Geneva (Switzerland) 6-9 December; 6, London-Olympia (Great Britain) 17-22 December; 7, Mechelen (Belgium) 26-30 December; 8, Leipzig (Germany) 17-20 January; 9, Amsterdam (The Netherlands) 24-27 January; 10, Bordeaux (France) 1-3 February; 11, Vigo (Spain) 8-11 February; 12, 's-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands) 27-30 March; FINAL - Gothenburg (Sweden) 24-27 April.


YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE RULES FOR FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING RIDERS FROM FEI WEBSITE www.feiworldcup.org

FEI World Cup™ Jumping has entered its 30th season. The series, created in 1978, today comprises 14 leagues on all continents. The best riders from 132 preliminary competitions will qualify for the final in Gothenburg, Sweden which takes place from 24-27 April 2008. The title-holder is Switzerland's Beat Mandli.

The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), founded in 1921, is the international body governing equestrian sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and includes 133 National Federations.

Equestrian sport has been on the Olympic programme since 1912 with three disciplines - Jumping, Dressage and Eventing. It is one of the very few sports in which men and women compete on equal terms. It is also the only sport which involves two athletes - horse and rider. The FEI has relentlessly concerned itself with the welfare of the horse, which is paramount and must never be subordinated to competitive or commercial influences.

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