Samsung Super League Update

The British recorded their second victory of the 2005 Samsung Super League Series when claiming the Aga Khan Cup in Dublin today and moved into second place on the leaderboard which is still headed by Germany.

A last-place finish for the Dutch however allowed the Irish to claw their way up from the bottom of the league table and it is The Netherlands that is now looking most vulnerable going into the penultimate leg of the series at Aachen later this month.

The much-fancied American side was badly shaken by elimination for Kimberley Prince and the normally reliable Marlou in the first round when the chestnut mare stopped at the second of the double of ditches at fence three and then refused again at the triple bar at fence nine, and although the partnership composed themselves to return a foot-perfect second round, the US total of 24 faults was only good enough to share third position with the Belgians.

The Irish love their horses and the packed stadium of spectators were wowed by the spectacular jumping of Jos Lansink's Cavalor Cumano whose first-round clear for Belgium was sensational, but it was two costly time penalties that prevented the home side from joining the US and Belgium in third place as they finished with a score of 26.

The French were hampered by the first-round elimination of Jean-Marc Nicolas who exited after two stops from JPC Modesto Equifoam at the double of ditches but despite the second-round elimination of Philippe Rozier and Haritiere D'Adrier they shared sixth spot with the Swiss while the Dutch brought up the rear.

The British were already well in command after first-round clears from Nick Skelton, William Funnell and Michael Whitaker. Skelton's Arko had looked somewhat jaded at the European Championships in Italy recently but he was right back on sparkling form today to deliver the only double-clear performance of the competition and his rider explained "The horse was just tired in Italy, he'd been jumping a lot and had just come back from Calgary but he's rested now so he was much better today".

John Whitaker provided the discount score for his team in both rounds but was still smiling at the end of the day when the assembled press-pack sang a loud "Happy Birthday" to the veteran British rider who was celebrating his 50th birthday.

Frederic Cottier got the course-building just right according to William Funnell. "It looked quite simple when we were walking it but there were faults everywhere and plenty of problems for everyone" he pointed out while his Chef d'Equipe, Derek Ricketts, agreed.

The double of ditches with white rails at fence three caused plenty of excitement while the line from the triple bar at nine to the following tight-distance treble - vertical to oxer to vertical - tested impulsion and control. Having cleared the course to there however many riders fell victim to the penultimate oxer and the final vertical while the FEI oxer at fence five also claimed plenty of scalps.

The Germans, winners just one week ago at Hickstead, were carrying nine faults and lying second at the end of round one when the Swiss, Americans and Belgians tied on 12 faults, the Irish carried 16, the Dutch had 20 and the French were struggling with 24 on the board.

Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst and Diamonds Daylight picked up just one time fault in round one and were clear second time out to help Germany to secure another nine-fault score in round two but the Swiss fell away when adding 20 more to their tally while the US held firm with another 12-fault result.

The Belgians did likewise, but the Irish improved with a 10-fault score this time thanks to a second-round clear from 2005 Aga Khan Cup hero Billy Twomey.

Gerco Schroder and Eurocommerce Milano returned a clean sheet in round two, but 12-fault rounds from both Wim Schroder (Eurocommerce Vancouver) and Harry Smolders (Oliver) added to a single error from Mathijs Van Asten (VDL GrKwidanta VD Laarseheide) put paid to the Dutch while, despite Rozier's elimination, the French rallied superbly when Pierry Jarry was clear and Nicolas made a marvellous recovery to steer his horse home without penalty to add just the four faults collected by Stefan Lafouge to the French total.

As the closing stages unfolded the British began to crumble and it was looking as if the Germans might overtake them. John Whitaker's 16 faults with Exploit du Roulade and 12 from Funnell and Cortaflex Mondriaan meant that Michael Whitaker had only one fence in hand as he came into the arena for the second time and last to go. His performances with Portofino this season have been consistently brilliant but he had a nervy moment at the tail-end of the track - "I lost my stirrups coming out of the combination and I had to jump the last two fences without them" he said, perhaps explaining why his horse clipped the final rail for just four faults. However with a single time-penalty also added this left the British just one fault ahead of the Germans in second place but still in pole position.

Team-mate Funnell quipped that Michael was "just showing off" when riding the last few fences without his irons and Whitaker said that he felt "quite relaxed" throughout the round the jumping even though he knew the competition was in the balance as he went into the ring. "All jumping rounds are hard when you have to go clear to win, but today I had a bit of leeway even though I used it up - I didn't think I had a time fault" he said.

The British continue to rely on their tried and tested team of riders whose maturity was underlined when Funnell pointed out that "I'm the baby of the team at 39!" and Chef d'Equipe Derek Ricketts said that the demands of the show jumping calendar are difficult to cope with, especially for countries with a limited number of horse and rider partnerships, but today maturity won through in considerable style to give the British their 22nd victory since the Dublin records began back in 1926.

RESULTS:
1. GREAT BRITAIN - 17 faults - Arko (Nick Skelton) 0/0, Exploit du Roulard (John Whitaker) 5/16, Cortaflex Mondriaan (William Funnell) 0/12, Portofino (Michael Whitaker) 0/5.
2. GERMANY - 18 faults - Diamonds Daylight (Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst) 1/0, Asti Spumante (Thomas Muhlbauer) 4/8, Carino (Ulrich Kirchhoff) 4/1, Farina (Rene Tebbel) 17/13. Equal 3. BELGIUM - 24 faults - Osta Rugs Quintus (Jean-Claude Vangeenberghe) 8/15, Mozart des Hayettes (Gregory Wathelet) 4/4, Clinton (Dirk Demeersman) 12/4, Cavalor Cumano (Jos Lansink) 0/4. Equal 3. USA - 24 faults - Armani (Jeffrey Welles) 4/8, Marlou (Kimberley Prince) Elim/0, Miss Independent (Laura Kraut) 8/8, Authentic (Beezie Madden) 0/4.
5. IRELAND - 26 faults - Waterford Crystal (Cian O'Connor) 4/5, Gelvin Clover (Clem McMahon) 12/12, Killossery (Capt Shane Carey) 8/5, Anastasia (Billy Twomey) 4/0.
Equal 6. FRANCE - 32 faults - Hazelle Dampierre (Pierre Jarry) 4/0, Heritiere D'Adrier (Philippe Rozier) 12/Elim, Gabelou des Ores (Stefan Lafouge) 12/4, JPC Modesto Equifoam (Jean-Marc Nicolas) Elim/0. Equal 6. SWITZERLAND - 32 faults - Ideo du Thot (B Mandli) 4/12, Cantus (N Schurtenberger) 0/8, Rubens du Ry D'Asse (Hansueli Sprunger) 8/4, Unique X CH (Pius Schwizer) 24/8.
8. THE NETHERLANDS - 36 faults - Eurocommerce Vancouver (Wim Schroder) 13/12, Oliver (Harry Smolders) 4/12, Eurocommerce Milano (Gerco Schroder) 8/0, VDL GR. Kwidanta VD Laarseheide (Mathijs Van Asten) 8/4.

SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE LEADERBOARD (after Round 6 in Dublin):
1. Germany - 38
2. Geat Britain - 33.5
3. USA – 33
4. Switzerland - 24.5
5. France - 21.5
6. Belgium – 17
7. Ireland -14.5
8. The Netherlands - 12.5.

SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE - NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION!

For further information about the sixth leg of the 2005 Samsung Super League in Dublin contact Press Officer Fiona Sheridan - email fiona.sheridan@rds.ie, website www.dublinhorseshow.com or telephone Fiona on mobile ++353879901029, landline ++35312407392.