Germany scored a convincing victory at the seventh leg of the 2006 Samsung Super League with FEI series in Dublin, Ireland today where the two countries fighting for survival in the premier Nations Cup league rose to the occasion to finish second and third.
However although the Dutch have moved up one place to sixth on the leaderboard after taking runner-up spot when collecting just four faults, the Irish remain bottom of the table despite an impressive six-fault performance today, and it is Sweden who will be their main opponents in the battle to avoid relegation when the final kicks off in Barcelona in five weeks time.
Course designer Brian Henry presented them with what seemed like a straight-forward test over 12 fences including the traditional double of dry ditches at fence three, but it was the penultimate triple combination that proved most influential as horses struggled with the short distance between the first two elements.
Dutch Chef d'Equipe, Rob Ehrens, predicted on Thursday evening that although his side would be first into the ring in round one due to the luck of the draw, they would be last into the ring in round two because they would be in the lead at the halfway stage - and he was almost right because they shared the lead with Germany as round one concluded.
By then the Swiss were already lying last after both Markus Fuchs and Daniel Etter each had four fences down and Theo Muff added 12 more to Celine Stauffer's eight faults, and it was another horror-story of an afternoon for Chef d'Equipe Rolf Grass who saw his side that picked up a colossal 66 faults in Hickstead two weeks ago, completing at the bottom of the line again with 65 faults this time around.
Sweden went into round two carrying 23 faults while Great Britain had 20, and the USA and France were tied on fourth place at the halfway point with eight while Ireland carried four. The Dutch and Germans shared the lead after fault-free performances from Holland's Piet Raymakers, Jeroen Dubbeldam and Gerco Schroder and Germany's Thomas Voss, Ulrich Kirchhoff and Heinrich Hermann Engemann and it was to be Engemann who would clinch it for his country at the end of the day.
Despite a second-round clear from Fuchs and La Toya the Swiss were unable to stage any kind of recovery when Etter's Peu a Peu returned a 17-fault second-round effort, Stauffer and Daloubet D'Evordes collected eight and Muff retired toward the end of the course. The Swedes did not fare much better, Peder Fredricson and H&M Magic Bengtsson and Linda Heed with Columbus H both adding 12 to their tally and Svante Johansson and the handsome Nostradamus picking up eight so that Jens Fredricson's clear with Diorissimo counted for little.
The British found clear rounds difficult to get and Michael Whitaker was the only one who succeeded when bringing Portofino home without incident in round two while Robert Smith added five more to the four he picked up first time out with Marius Claudius, Tim Gredley collected 13 over the two rounds and John Whitaker's Peppermill seemed unsettled when clocking up a total of 16.
The French were badly hampered by the elimination of Jacques Bonnet and Gracieux Ardent in both rounds, the horse travelling all the way to the penultimate triple combination before throwing in the towel there in round one and then refusing to take on the second fence which went away
from the entry gate next time out. Stephan Lafouge was extremely lucky at the combination in both rounds when Gabelou des Ores rattled the timber all the way through but still left it standing, but his double-clear could not prevent the addition of 16 more faults to the French tally when Pierre Jarry (Haxelle Dampierre) followed a first-round clear with eight faults and Julien Epaillard (Icare du Manet) double-faulted both times out.
The American squad of Anne Kursinki (Roxana), Candice King (Coco Cabana), Molly Ashe (Neuville) and Christine McCrea (Vegas) did not seem to be firing on all cylinders, Kursinki going clear at her second attempt having clipped only the middle element of the combination in round one with Roxana but King collecting a total of 19 faults and Ashe picking up nine while McCrea and Vegas did appear to be en route for a double-clear until lowering the middle of that dreaded treble too.
It was to be left to the Irish, Dutch and Germans to decide the top placings and for the home side it marked somewhat of a revival. The Irish have been dogged by misfortune and inconsistency this season but, despite losing their top team candidate Marion Hughes after her horse Heritage Transmission was declared unsound after twisting a leg while turned out last Saturday, they showed remarkable resolve today. Capt Shane Carey and the diminutive gelding Killossery whose heart is as big as his jump made it all the way to the very last fence before coming to grief in the first round and that front pole on the floor may well have resulted from the huge roar that erupted from the crowd when he cleared the previous treble. Shane Breen, only drafted into action after Hughes' withdrawal at the weekend, was the star turn when double-clear with World Cruise and Cian O'Connor bounced back from a run-out at the second element of the double of ditches in round one to collect a single time fault in round two with Irish Independent Echo Beach. This was questionable as the clock froze on 84 seconds as the mare hovered over the final oxer and as team manager Robert Splaine said afterwards "it was impossible that it would have taken him two more seconds to make it across the finish line" in order to stay inside the 86 second time-allowed. Cameron Hanley's SIEC Hippica Kerman provided a lovely first round clear and the German-based Irishman retired after hitting the fourth in round two because by then he could not improve on the final scoreline which also included a single second-round time fault for Carey.
The Dutch had come to Dublin filled with determination and armed to the teeth with good jumping horses and Piet Raymakers, veteran Olympian and horseman, did the business with a double-clear from Van Schijndel's Curtis while Sydney Olympic champion Jeroen Dubbeldam followed suit with considerable style partnering BMC Up and Down. Wim Schroder's Eurocommerce Vancouver was putting in a classy first-round run until it all went wrong at the treble for 12 faults but faulted only at the water at fence seven next time out while his brother, Gerco, riding the impressive grey Eurocommerce Berlin, jumped a spectacular opening clear. This partnership looked a certain bet for a repeat performance but a single error proved costly when The Netherlands was forced to add one of the Schroder four-fault results.
In a way it was Rene Tebbel who saved the day for Germany when improving from a nine-fault score with Team Harmony Coupe de Coeur in round one to collect just one time fault at his second attempt. That negated the single error from Thomas Voss and Leonardo B at the bogey treble because both Ulrich Kirchhoff and Carino and Heinrich Hermann Engemann with Aboyeur W went clear but it was last-man-in Engemann who rode the pressure round knowing that any mistake could be a very costly one. He proved well up to the task and his Chef d'Equipe Sonke Sonksen was more than pleased when his country claimed the prestigious Aga Khan Cup for the first time in 25 years.
"Last year we finished second behind the British by one point so I'm very pleased to come back this year and win. My heart is always with Ireland because it was here I bought my Olympic horse Kwept who did so much for me. This is a special place and it is special to win here. I didn't expect that my team would be so strong today, they did a fantastic job and most importantly they are friends together so they fight together, this is so very important in our sport today" he pointed out.
"At one time Ulrich Kirchhoff had a problem with time faults but now he has got it right and I was very pleased with him - as for Engemann, I didn't say to him "you have to go clear" but he had a lot of pressure on him and he did well. Last year I was very angry because we lost by time faults. Before the competition the riders were laughing, but they were not laughing any longer when they lost because of such a mistake. Today I was very happy with them" he explained.
This afternoon's result promotes Germany to an even stronger position at the head of the Samsung Super League with FEI 2006 table but Mr Sonksen is not over-confident that the nine-point gap between his country at the head of affairs and the USA in second place will guarantee a series victory. Double-points could make a significant difference, both to the teams at the top and those at the bottom of the table, when the final takes place in Barcelona. "We are lucky because we have so many riders in Germany but there is a team going to WEG and another team going to Calgary and then there is a big show at Donaueschingen that clashes with the Super League final in Spain. I hope we can send our WEG team to Barcelona, but for now I am not sure what will happen" he said.
As for the Irish, still trailing the field by two points despite a great performance today, their spirit is far from broken. "We would prefer to be battling it out with the Swedes than the Dutch and today was really encouraging" said team manager Robert Splaine. "Up until now we have been lacking consistency but in Hickstead two weeks ago we made a great comeback in the second round and I have no doubt after today that we can overtake both Sweden and The Netherlands in Barcelona" he added.
RESULT:
1. Germany 1 fault: Leonardo B (Thomas Voss) 0/4, Team Harmony Coupe de Coeur (Rene Tebbel) 9/1, Carino (Ulrich Kirchhoff) 0/0, Aboyeur W (Heinrich Hermann Engemann) 0/0.
2. Netherlands 4 faults: Van Schijndel's Curtis (Piet Raymakers) 0/0, BMC Up and Down (Jeroen Dubbeldam) 0/0, Eurocommerce Vancouver (Wim Schroder), Eurocommerce Berlin (Gerco Schroder) 0/12.
3. Ireland 6 faults: Killossery (Capt Shane Carey) 4/1, World Cruise (Shane Breen) 0/0, Irish Independent Echo Beach (Cian O'Connor) 12/1, SIEC Hippica Kerman (Cameron Hanley) 0/Ret.
4. USA 17 faults: Roxana (Anne Kursinski) 4/0, Coco Cabana (Candice King) 14/5, Neuville (Molly Ashe) 4/5, Vegas (Christine McCrea) 0/4.
5. France 24 faults: Haxelle Dampierre (Pierre Jarry) 0/8, Gracieux Ardent HN (Jacques Bonnet) Elim/Elim, Gabelou des Ores (Stephan Lafouge) 0/0, Icare du Manet (Julien Epaillard) 8/8.
6. Great Britain 29 faults: Marius Claudius (Robert Smith) 4/5, Insul Tech Portofino (Michael Whitaker) 8/0, Omelli (Tim Gredley) 8/5, Peppermill (John Whitaker) 12/4.
7. Sweden 43 faults: H&M Magic Bengtsson (Peder Fredricson) 8/12, Columbus (Linda Heed) 20/12, Diorissimo (Jens Fredricson) 4/0, Nostradamus (Svante Johansson) 11/8.
8. Switzerland 65 faults: La Toya (Markus Fuchs) 20.0, Peu a Peu (Daniel Etter) 20/17, Daloubet D'Evordes (Celine Stauffer) 8/8, Con Spirito (Theo Muff) 12/Ret.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI 2006 - LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 7 AT DUBLIN:
1. Germany - 45.125
2. USA - 36.0
3. France - 34.0
4. Great Britain - 28
5. Switzerland - 27.125
6. Netherlands - 21.125
7. Sweden - 19.125
8. Ireland - 17.0
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE - NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION!
For further information about the seventh leg of the 2006 Samsung Super League with FEI series in Dublin, Ireland on Friday 11 August visit WEBSITE www.rds.ie. Show President is Dr Austin Mescal, Show Director is Gerry McAuliffe, Show Secretary is Brian Reid and Press Officer is Kaleigh Cunningham email kaleigh.cunningham@rds.ie.
The eighth and final leg of the series will take place at the Real Club de Polo Barcelona, Spain from 14 to 17 September. Show President is Joaquin Calvo Jaques, Show Director is Hanspeter Vogelsanger - email hanspeter"@hpwood.com, and Press Officer is Isabel Suter - email isuter@rcpolo.com. WEBSITE www.csiobarcelona.com.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI : 2006 CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
ROUND 1 - La Baule (Fra) 4-7 May; ROUND 2 - Aachen (Ger) 17-21 May; ROUND 3, Rome (Ita) 25-28 May; ROUND 4 - Lucerne (Sui) 1-4 June; ROUND 5 - Rotterdam (Ned) 22-25 June; ROUND 6 - Hickstead (GBR) 26-30 July; ROUND 7 - Dublin (Irl) 9-13 August; ROUND 8 and FINAL - Barcelona (Esp) 14-17 September.
You can access all the latest Samsung Super League news and information on website www.samsungsuperleague.com and don't forget that BIOGRAPHIES on all riders competing in the series are available at http://bios.horsesport.org.
Want to know more? You can check the full RULES for the Samsung Super League series on the FEI website, www.horsesport.org - section jumping/rules.
The Samsung Super league consists of the eight most prestigious horse shows at which the world's eight best national teams compare their merit. The Super League is connected to the Samsung 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.
For more information:
Contact FEI Communications, Malina Gueorguiev, m.gueorguiev@horsesport.org or consult FEI website www.horsesport.org.
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