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BRITISH BULLDOGS WIN THE DAY AT HICKSTEAD

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25 July 2004 Author: webmaster
A great second-round recovery by the home team 
 
A great second-round recovery by the home team, with particularly brilliant performances from Athens-bound Nick Skelton and Robert Smith, saw the British win the sixth leg of the 2004 Samsung Super League Nations Cup series in Hickstead today. Lying equal-third with 16 faults along with the strong favourites from France, the USA and Belgium at the halfway stage they added just a single time fault to complete with 17 while the French slotted into runner-up spot with 20 ahead of the ever-impressive Belgians in third. Hickstead’s unique derby-style fences are always guaranteed to create problems for horses that have not jumped at this venue before and this year was no exception. At 4.3 metres wide the water jump asks for a big jumping effort and course-designer Bob Ellis left riders with a tough battle to regain control as they faced into the 1.60m rustic derby rail which followed. This line claimed a good number of victims but poles fell all around the track and, to their initial delight, it was the Irish who led the way at the end of round one on a four-fault score. Despite only getting his first Nations Cup run of the season with Luidam, the stallion which has been selected as reserve for the Irish Olympic squad, Billy Twomey kicked off with a clear round and Marion Hughes’ five faults with Heritage Transmission could be discounted when Captain Shane Carey and Killossery lowered just the derby rail and Kevin Babington and Carling King jumped clear. The Dutch slotted into second with eight faults at this stage followed by the British, Americans, French and Belgians all sharing a score of 16 but the Italians were already in trouble with 27 faults on the board while the Germans were even further adrift in last place with 28. The British rallied strongly second time out however as Robert Smith and Mr Springfield completed the only double-clear performance of the entire competition and when Richard Davenport and Luc, who had collected eight faults at their first effort, were fault-free they were looking like real contenders. Robert Whitaker and Qualite had also dropped two fences in round one but the mare did not seem at all happy at her second attempt and, in a round that appeared to become increasingly confused, the 21 year old son of British legend John Whitaker made the mature decision to pull up and retire. Now things were not looking so promising because the Dutch were threatening after Mathijs Van Asten and VDL Groep Kwidanta matched their first-round score of four faults while Roelof Bril and Billy Orange followed their opening clear with just a single error. So if Peter Geerink’s three mistakes in round two could be discarded by a clear from Wout Jan Van der Schans then a jump-off against the British might be on the cards. First however Nick Skelton needed to keep the British in the frame and he knew he had a big job to do because he had retired in the first round after a fall from Russel who suddenly decided not to take off at the triple bar at fence eight, putting down again after take-off and sending his rider shooting over his head. Following last year’s British victory the crowd were really hoping for a repeat and Skelton was left with a very difficult task. His top horse Arko had initially been earmarked for this Super League outing but was coughing on Thursday and, following a veterinary check, was diagnosed with a lung infection. "He jumped well yesterday" Skelton said today, "but I knew he wasn’t right and the vet said that if he is rested for seven days or so he’ll be fine for Dublin so I had to change horses". Russel however was clearly overwhelmed by the occasion and when asked how he felt about returning to the ring with such huge expectations from the spectators he said "I was praying I wouldn’t have to go in again! He didn’t make it too easy for me…". That was an understatement as the grey shied away from almost every fence and would not go on the bridle but Skelton showed the classic horsemanship which has gained him such huge respect throughout his career to nurse the horse home without a pole down and with just a single time penalty to add to the British score. That put the pressure on Van der Schans and after Broere VDL Atlantic had a foot in the water the Dutch rider’s round fell apart and he retired to leave his side with a total of 28 faults. Despite their strong first-round lead the Irish effort collapsed in round two and Chef d’Equipe Col Ned Campion and Trainer, Eddie Macken, were left to ponder what might have been. The water and derby rail put paid to both Twomey and Carey while Hughes’s Transmission, who had been frightened at the water first time around, managed to clear it this time but was clearly lacking in confidence as he collected 12 faults. Babington has been Ireland’s great hope of an Olympic medal but had failed to shine so far this season until putting in his opening clear round today but Carling King is simply not showing the kind of form usually expected of him and after hitting the second element of the double at fence three, also got into trouble at the water and was eventually retired. Their score of 36 left the Irish in fifth place behind the Dutch while the Belgians, assisted by an excellent second-round clear from Stanny van Paesschen and O de Pomme, slotted into third. The French squad of Laurent Goffinet (Flipper d’Elle HN), Patrice Deleveau (Envoye Special), Robert Breul (Flushing) and Jean-Marc Nicolas (JPC Modesto Equifoam) were runners-up in the final analysis. They were firm favourites with the bookmakers before the competition began and second-round clears from Goffinet and Nicolas ensured they were never going to be too far off the pace. They have now increased their lead on the league table to 37.3 points – a full seven points ahead of Germany in second while the Dutch are just over one point further behind in third at this stage of the series. Germany and the USA finished equal-sixth today, Eva Bitter and Argelith Stakkato providing the sole German clear of the competition while America’s Sheila Burke and Caya were very unlucky to pick up just four second-round faults after a truly impressive opening effort. Once again the Italians finished last and their fate now looks to be sealed. The Swedes who were forced out in the inaugural Samsung Super League series in 2003 are fighting a tough battle with the Swiss in the hope of promotion once more and with a gap of more than six points between the Italians at the bottom of the table and the Irish who are seventh of the eight teams it seems that only a miracle can save Italy from relegation now. The riders complimented the much-improved footing at Hickstead and wonderful weather did much to add to the atmosphere but it was the home side victory that had the crowd sitting on the edges of their seats and Skelton said today "we’re going to Dublin now with all guns blazing – there’s no point wrapping horses up in cotton wool before the Olympic Games so we’ll be giving it everything we’ve got there". The British may well be the ones to beat at the penultimate leg of the series at the Irish fixture which is the last big clash before all eyes turn to Athens. Result: Great Britain – 17 faults: Robert Smith/Mr Springfield 0/0, Richard Davenport/Luc 8/0, Robert Whitaker/Qualite 8/Rtd, Nick Skelton/Russel Ret/1. France – 20 faults: Laurent Goffinet/Flipper d’Elle HN 4/0, Patrice Deleveau/Envoye Special 4/4, Robert Breul/Flushing 8/4, Jean-Marc Nicolas/JPC Modesto Equifoam 8/0. Belgium – 24 faults: Philippe LeJeune/Karioka 8/4, KoenVereecke/Qualite VD Begijnakker 4/4, Maurice Van Roosbroeck/Calippo 24/12, Stanny Van Paesschen/O de Pomme 4/0. The Netherlands – 28 faults: Peter Geerink/Norit Larino 8/12, Mathijs van Asten/VDL Groep Kwidanta 4/4, Roelof Bril/Billy Orange 0/4, Wout Jan van der Schans/Broere VDL Atlantic 4/Rtd. Ireland – 36 faults: Billy Twomey/Luidam 0/8, Marion Hughes/Heritage Transmission 5/12, Capt Shane Carey/Killossery 4/12, Kevin Babington/Carling King 0/Rtd. Equal 6. USA – 40 faults: Molly Ashe/Cocu 4/8, John French/Millenium 15/DNS, Sheila Burke/Caya 0/4, Lauren Hough/Clasiko 12/12. Germany – 40 faults: Florian Meyer Zu Hartum 24/8, Eva Bitter/Argelith Atakkato 12/0, Rene Tebbel/Farina 12/4, Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst/Diamonds Daylight 4/8. Italy – 61 faults: Arnaldo Bologni/Abeltus Z Santa Monica 8/16, Andrea Bracci/Doublediss 8/10, Francesco Corsi/Quodex VD Laesdijkstee 12/12, Roberto Cristofoletti/Lohengrin di Villa Emilia 11/12. Dublin Horse Show – the seventh leg of the series takes place in Dublin on Friday August 6th. SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE 2004 LEADERBOARD (AFTER ROUND 6 IN HICKSTEAD): France – 37.3 Germany – 30.3 The Netherlands – 29 Great Britain – 28 Belgium – 25.3 USA – 20.5 Ireland – 15.5 Italy – 9. SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE 2004 CALENDAR OF EVENTS: ROUND 1, La Baule (Fra) 6-9 May; ROUND 2, Rome (Ita) 27-30 May; ROUND 3, Lucerne (Sui) 3-6 June: ROUND 4, Rotterdam (Ned) 17-20 June; ROUND 5, Aachen (Ger) 13-18 July; ROUND 6, Hickstead (GBR) 21-25 July; ROUND 7, Dublin (Irl) 4-8 August; ROUND 8 and FINAL, Barcelona (Esp) 16-19 September. YOU CAN SEE IT ON TV: The MBPtv schedule for Hickstead is: British Eurosport - 23 July 22.15hrs RAI (Italy) - Live/Delayed Live RTE (Ireland) - 27 July TVE Teledeporte (Spain) - Live/Delayed Live Equidia (France) - 23 July 18.00 hrs, 25 July 22.00 VRT - Live/Delayed Live Eurosport (Pan Europe)- 28 July 20.00 hrs, 29 July 09.00 hrs. Finnish Sport TV - 2 August 19.00 hrs Sport TV Portugal - Highlights XXP (Germany) - 1 August 19.00 hrs CNBC Europe - 7 August 15.00 hrs Fox World (Middle East)- 19 August 22.00 hrs Horse TV (USA) - 15 August 17.00 hrs, 21 August 17.00 hrs CNBC Asia - 15 August 15.00 hrs ESPN Star Sports - 4 August 18.00 hrs, 5 August 07.00 & 10.00 hrs, 6 August 16.30 hrs, 7 August 07.00 hrs. M-Net (Pan Africa) - 13 August 23.30 hrs. SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE – NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION!
 
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