SAMSUNG SUPERLEAGUE WITH FEI 2008 - ALL READY TO GO IN RAINY ROME.......

ALL READY TO GO IN RAINY ROME.......

A relentless downpour disrupted the programme of competitions at the Piazza di Siena in Rome this afternoon, but spirits remained high amongst the teams preparing for tomorrow's second leg of the 2008 Samsung Super League with FEI series in which the Swedish side will be pathfinders.

The draw for the competition which begins at 16.15 local time is as follows:
1. Sweden
2. Switzerland
3. USA
4. The Netherlands
5. Germany
6. Belgium
7. Great Britain
8. Ireland
9. Italy

EARLY INDICATIONS.....

Early indications are that this is going to be a tough leg, but the Belgians, winners of the opening round in La Baule two weeks ago, have come prepared with a strong line-up that includes Dirk Demeersman, Pieter Devos, Jos Lansink, Ludo Philippaerts and Peter Postelmans.

The British were the winners at the Italian fixture 12 months ago and 2007 team member John Whitaker, who went on to scoop the Rome Grand Prix honours with Peppermill, is back in town along with brother Michael, Nick Skelton, Robert Smith, and Tim Stockdale. Having finished seventh of the nine starting teams in the first leg of the 2008 series, British Chef d'Equipe Derek Ricketts will be looking for a better result this time out.

Germany finished second-last in La Baule, but the 2006 and 2007 Samsung Super League with FEI champions are coming out with all guns blazing this week. World No. 1 and newly-crowned Rolex FEI World Cup champion Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum is joined by brother-in-law Ludger Beerbaum, Christian Ahlmann, Heinrich-Hermann Engemann and Marco Kutscher so Kurt Gravemeier's side clearly mean business.

NO SECRET.....

The Irish are making no secret of their delight in having World No. 2 Jessica Kuerten in their side and she is joined in Robert Splaine's squad by Cian O'Connor, Marie Burke, Denis Lynch and Edward Doyle.

Ireland, Switzerland and the USA all shared runner-up spot in La Baule but the Swiss will be hoping to look more impressive this time around having struggled in the opening stages at the French fixture before making a dramatic recovery. Beat Mandli, Daniel Etter, Theo Muff, Werner Muff and Niklaus Schurtenberger have been called up, and Chef d'Equipe Rolf Grass will be expecting a good deal more consistency.

George Morris's American line-up is exactly the same as last time, including Charlie Jayne, Anne Kursinski, Kate Levy, Nicole Shahinian-Simpson and Will Simpson. It is three years since the USA took the title in their runaway 2005 season and they are right in the game once again.

Despite a solid all-round performance The Netherlands had to settle for fifth place last time out so Chef d'Equipe Rob Ehrens will be carefully choosing his team from the five-strong group of Marc Houtzager, Wim Schroder, Harry Smolders, Leopold Van Asten and Vincent Voorn who won today's opening competition.

UNDER PRESSURE.....

It is the Swedish team however that comes to Rome under the most pressure and being drawn first to go tomorrow is an added disadvantage. The 2007 Samsung Super League with FEI season was a very difficult one for them and they then started the 2008 series with a rock-bottom placing so they really need to pull something special out of the bag to give them some stability. Rolf-Goran Bengtsson, Peter Eriksson, Peder Fredricson and Helena Lundback will be under no illusions about what team manager Maria Gretzer and the huge show-jumping fan-base in Sweden expect of them.

The Italian team completes the start-list and of course although Italy is no longer a Samsung Super League with FEI contender since relegated after the second season in 2004 the home riders will be wanting to "wow" the home crowd. Chef d'Equipe, Roberto Arioldi, has five to choose from and, no doubt, all five - Emilio Bicocchi, Omar Bonomelli, Piergiorgio Bucci, Natale Chiaudani and Giulia Martinengo - will be hoping to get their chance to do just that.

PREDICTIONS.....

When it came to predicting tomorrow's winning side, Dutch manager Rob Ehrens joked that since no-one tipped The Netherlands then it was quite likely that they would come out on top, but in fact all were in agreement that the powerful German squad would be the ones to beat. Kurt Gravemeier insisted that all the teams taking part in the Samsung Super League with FEI series are formidable opponents but few doubt that his side will be well to the fore as the action gets underway, in hopefully more pleasant weather conditions, tomorrow......

For further details about the second leg of the 2008 Samsung Super League with FEI at the Piazza di Siena in Rome, Italy on Friday 23 May check out WEBSITE www.fise.it. Show President at the French fixture is Cesare Croce, Show Director is Marco Danese and Press Officer is Maria Calabretta - Email m.calabretta_3@libero.it

SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI 2008 - LEADERBOARD AFTER FIRST LEG AT LA BAULE:

1. Belgium - 10 points
2. Switzerland, Ireland, USA - 5.33
5. The Netherlands - 3
6. Great Britain - 2
7. Germany - 1
8. Sweden - 0.5.

FEI TELEVISION - BROADCAST INFORMATION - ROUND TWO IN ROME :
Live/Delayed Live
RAI (Italy) - Friday 23 May - check local listings
Equidia (France) - Friday 23 May 18.00, Sunday 25 May 21.45
TV4 (Sweden) - Friday 23 May 17.10

Highlights
CNBC Asia - Saturday 7 June 15.00
CNBC Europe - Saturday 7 June 17.00
ESPN Brazil - Check local listings
ESPN Star - Check local listings
Eurosport (Europe) - Wednesday 4 June 20.40, Thursday 5 June 09.00
Eurosport (Asia) - Thursday 12 June 10.00
Finnish Sport TV - Check local listings
Fox Middle East - Friday 6 June 16.00, Monday 9 June 03.00, 08.00, Monday 9 June 15.00
SuperSport (Africa) - Thursday 12 June 17.30, Friday 13 June 02.00, 06.00, Saturday 14 June 09.00, Sunday 15 June 11.00,
Monday 16 June 15.00, Tuesday 17 June 17.00, Wednesday 25 June 00.30
Sport Plus (France) - Monday 2 June 23.15
Sport TV (Portugal) - Check local listings
TVE (Spain) - Check local listings
WCSN (USA) - Check local listings

SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE - NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION!

SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI - 2008 CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

ROUND 1 - La Baule (FRA) 5-11 May; ROUND 2 - Rome (ITA) 22-25 May; ROUND 3 - St Gallen (SUI) 29 May - 1 June: ROUND 4 - Rotterdam (NED) 18-22 June; ROUND 5 - Aachen (GER) 1-6 July; ROUND 6 - Hickstead (GBR) 24-27 July; ROUND 7 - Dublin (IRL) 8-10 August; ROUND 8 and FINAL - Barcelona (ESP) 18-21 September.

You can access all the latest Samsung Super League with FEI news and information on website www.samsungsuperleague.com

Want to know more? Check out the comprehensive MEDIA GUIDE for the series, available in print (contact: olivia.robinson@fei.org)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.