IT'S RIGHT DOWN THE WIRE.....
Germany will be first into the ring for the 2007 Samsung Super League with FEI Final at the Real Club de Polo in Barcelona, Spain tomorrow afternoon but with a 15-point lead over Switzerland on the series table Kurt Gravemeier's team has little to worry about. The draw for order-of-go in the final competition took place today and the teams will enter the ring as follows:
1, Germany; 2, Great Britain; 3, The Netherlands; 4, France; 5, Sweden; 6, Belgium; 7, Spain; 8, Switzerland; 9, USA.
Gravemeier joked that he was glad the Nations Cup had not taken place in Barcelona on Friday - "yesterday I was counting our faults and we had 63 altogether so I'm very happy that the Samsung Super League is happening tomorrow and that it wasn't yesterday!" he pointed out. He named Christian Ahlmann, Marco Kutscher, Thomas Muhlbauer and Marcus Ehning in his side - the latter riding Sandro Boy - but forecast that The Netherlands would win.
The Dutch are certainly in flying form, and four of Rob Ehren's men qualified but for Friday night's Longines Grand Prix jump-off but had to settle for the minor places as Spain's Ricardo Jurado and Procasa Julia des Brumes claimed the €30,000 winners purse. Dutchman Jeroen Dubbeldam slotted into second with BMC Up and Down however while Gerco Schroder finished fourth with Eurocommerce Berlin, Albert Zoer was fifth with Okidoki and Ben Schroder finished tenth with BMC Rupert R. Ehrens pointed out today that he had not finalised arrangements with his squad but that both Zoer and Gerco Schroder have permanent places and that he expected to send Dubbeldam in first ahead of Ben Schroder.
Belgian Chef d'Equipe, Lucien Somers, was pleased with the drawn order for once - "until now we have almost always been first or second to go, so sixth is good with me" he pointed out and he will be sending Philippe Lejeune, Niels Bruynseels, Mark Van Djick and Jos Lansink to fly the flag. "I hope we are in the middle of the rankings so that we stay in the Super League" he said, but there seems little danger out there for his side that has accumulated 27.5 points to date. The Swiss team was not named because Rolf Grass did not attend the draw.
Derek Ricketts was not prepared to divulge his selection but Great Britain is strongly poised in third place at present so he seems to have little to fear even with the double-points up for grabs in tomorrow's finale. For the last four teams however the extra points could prove pivotal and the USA's George Morris could be forgiven for feeling a little apprehensive. US performances in last night's Grand Prix were somewhat unconvincing, new man Ken Berkley providing the best result when picking up just four faults in the first round with Carlos Boy while Beezie Madden, Christine McCrea and Todd Minikus all collected eight and Laura Kraut's Anthem collected 14 in a lacklustre run that included a stop at the water-tray vertical final element of the triple combination at the end of the track. Morris however has opted for those who have been most tried and tested this season, therefore leaving Berkley on the sidelines, but with his team drawn last to go he said "it's a great position to be in as long as it is not an omen for the future".....Lying fifth they should be feeling comfortable, but with the sixth-placed Dutch generally believed to be the favourites to top this last leg, the Americans need to ensure they stay ahead of France and Sweden who lie seventh and eighth respectively.
Gilles Bertran de Balanda sends out Florian Angot, Aymeric de Ponnat, Kevin Staut and Olivier Guillon for France and he was not going to be intimidated by his side's precarious position at this stage in the series. "Tomorrow" he said, "we are going out to win".
Sweden's Maria Gretzer was in bullish form too, and she has good reason. "There is a really good feeling amongst the Swedish team" she said today. "They really want to stay in the Super League and we have improved greatly during this season. You could see that by our result at the European Championships in Mannheim. Without the Super League I do not believe we would have qualified for the Olympic Games because early on we were having time faults and horses were putting their foot in the water and faults were a problem for us, but the Super League brings up the level for horses and riders so we were ready when we got to Mannheim last month" she pointed out. "If we stay in the Super League this year and if we have the same number of horses for next year we will hopefully be in a position to fight to stay in again, because we have a lot of good young horses coming along that will be ready for the following years - we are very hopeful, but anyway, whatever happens, we will give it our very best shot tomorrow" she added. Few would doubt that they will give it all they've got because they had to work very hard to regain entry to the series after being relegated in the opening season back in 2003. It took a two-year slog before they made a welcome return in 2006 and their sporting attitude always make them popular with Samsung Super League with FEI series followers. Gretzer has been hit by injury to Malin Baryard-Johnsson's top ride Butterfly Flip but Malin will, instead, ride H&M Esprit and will be joined by Helena Lundback, Royne Zetterman and Rolf-Goran Bengtsson - the latter finished third in last night's Grand Prix with Ninja la Silla.
The host country is also represented at the final by Ricardo Jurado, Sergio Alvarez Moya, Manuel Fernando Saro and Gonzalo Testa Ornat.
"It's going to be a close contest between France and Sweden at the bottom and Switzerland and Germany at the top" predicted FEI Jumping Manager John Roche and while Real Club de Polo President, Juan Angel Calzado, said that he wanted everyone to enjoy this fifth Samsung Super League with FEI final in Barcelona and wants everyone to go home with good memories there has to be one loser tomorrow. Winning this series is hugely important but so is survival. The competition begins at 15.30 local time and by 19.00 tomorrow evening there will be one team celebrating while another mourns their exit from the elite Nations Cup series of the world. No team wants that to be their fate. It's right down to the wire.....
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI - LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 7 AT DUBLIN:
1. Germany - 47.75
2. Switzerland - 32.75
3. Great Britain - 30.5
4. Belgium - 27.75
5. USA - 26.5
6. The Netherlands - 25.5
7. France - 20.25
8. Sweden - 16.5
The FINAL of the 2007 Samsung Super League with FEI series takes place in Barcelona, Spain on Sunday September 16. Show President is Joaquin Calvo Jaques, Show Director is Hans Peter Vogelsanger and Press Officer is Isabel Suter - email isuter@rcpolo.com. For further information check out WEBSITE www.csiobarcelona.com.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI - 2007 CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
ROUND 1 - La Baule (FRA) Friday 11 May; ROUND 2 - Rome (ITA) Friday 25 May; ROUND 3 - St Gallen (SUI) Friday 1 June; ROUND 4 - Rotterdam (NED) Friday 22 June; ROUND 5 - Aachen (GER) Thursday 5 July; ROUND 6 - Hickstead (GBR) Friday 27 July; ROUND 7 - Dublin (IRL) Friday 10 August; ROUND 8 and FINAL - Barcelona (ESP) Sunday 16 September.
FEI TELEVISION BROADCAST INFORMATION FOR SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI FINAL AT BARCELONA::
LIVE
RAI (Italy) - Check local service
Equidia (France) - Sunday 16 September 20.45, Monday 17 September 10.00
TV3 (Spain) - Sunday 16 September 19.00, Monday 17 September 10.00
Sport Espressen (Sweden) - Check local service
WCSN (USA) - Sunday 16 September 14.00
HIGHLIGHTS
CBC Country (Canada) - Saturday 22 September 14.00, 20.00, 23.00
CNBC Europe - Sunday 23 September 17.00
CNBC Asia - Saturday 22 September 15.00
ESPN Brazil - Check local service
ESPN Star (Pan Asia) - Check local service
Eurosport - Wednesday 19 September 20.00, Thursday 20 September 08.30
Finnish Sport TV - Saturday 29 September 18.25
Fox Sports (Middle East) - Check local service
M-Net (Pan Africa) - Friday 5 October 20.00, Saturday 6 october 06.30, Sunday 7 October 10.30,
Monday 8 October 09.00, tuesday 9 October 13.00, Wednesday 10 october 15.00
Sport TV (Portugal) - Check local service
Sport + (France) - Monday 24 September 22.15
You can access all the latest Samsung Super League with FEI news and information on website www.samsungsuperleague.com.
Want to know more? You can check the comprehensive MEDIA GUIDE for the series, which is available in print and for download at www.samsungsuperleague.com under "Media Guide" heading.
PHOTOGRAPHS - a Photo Gallery of pictures is available on the Samsung Super League with FEI website for use by professional media only. The gallery will be regularly updated with low and high-resolution photographs and is password protected. To obtain a password follow the simple instructions when clicking on the link.
The Samsung Super League with FEI consists of the eight most prestigious horse shows at which the world's eight best national teams compare their merit. The Samsung Super League with FEI is connected to the FEI Nations Cup series through a promotion/relegation system at the end of each season.
Samsung Electronics, one of the world's largest electronics companies, is committed to supporting international sporting events, thereby returning corporate profits to the public and working towards a more harmonious and equitable society.
-end-
Campus
