Dutch Do It Again in Lucerne

The Dutch masters did it again today when sweeping to a decisive second successive victory in the 2004 Samsung Super League in Lucerne and now stand top of the leaderboard going into the midway stage of the series which moves to their home ground in Rotterdam in two weeks time. In a complete reversal of the inconsistent run of form they displayed during the inaugural 2003 series the Dutch riders looked confident and determined and Chef d’Equipe Bert Romp remarked afterwards "we learned a lot from our Super League experience last year and today with four good riders and horses we enjoyed another wonderful result". The German squad had been hotly-tipped by their opposition to run away with the Swiss Nations Cup trophy but German Chef d’Equipe Kurt Gravemeier selected The Netherlands as the ones to beat – and he was right. While the German team of Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (Shutterfly), Marco Kutscher (Montender), Lars Nieberg (Lucie) and Ludger Beerbaum (Goldfever) might just as easily been their Olympic selection they still were not strong enough to hold off the powerful Dutch challenge, and Germany had to settle for runner-up position which they shared with the ever-improving Belgians and the French. Holland already held the lead at the end of the first round following clears from brothers Wim Schroder (Eurocommerce Montreal) and Gerco Schroder (Eurocommerce Monaco) and just a single time fault for Jan Tops with VDL Groep Grand Dame while Leopold Van Asten provided the discount score with a single rail down with VDL Groep Flash Rouge. Germany, Britain, Italy and Switzerland were close behind with just four faults each at the halfway stage while USA, France and Belgium were joint-sixth ahead of the ever-struggling Irish with 12. Round two brought a real turnaround for the Belgians and French. Dirk Demeersman (Clinton) and Stanny van Paesschen (O de Pomme) turned in double-clear performances while Ludo Philippaerts and Parco, who had two fences down first time out, left them all standing at their second attempt, so with nothing further to add to their first-round effort the the Belgians shot up the leaderboard. Likewise, clears from Florian Angot (First de Launay), a double-clear from Gilles Bertrand de Ballanda (Crocus Graverie) and a faultless second round from new FEI World Cup champions Broucqsault and Dileme de Cephe who made a single error first time out left the French with nothing to add, but Germany collected four extra faults. Meredith and Shutterfly were foot-perfect all day, but Marco’s Montender dropped a pole in the second round while Ludger added four further faults to the eight collected by Goldfever in round one so, despite a second-round clear for Lars and Lucie the German squad finished on level-pegging with the Belgians and French in second place with a total of eight faults. The American all-girl squad continue to impress, Kimberley Frey and Marlou in particular apparently taking a real liking to the sport at this level and their respectable 16-fault result was good enough to slot them into fifth ahead of the British who, despite a great start, this time lost their grip in the closing stages to drop to sixth when completing with 17 faults on the board. If the British weakened however the Italians collapsed, finishing last with 21 faults despite an excellent early effort and, now seventh on the Samsung Super League leaderboard, Duccio Bartalucci’s team will be hoping that they will not find themselves battling to stay in Super League contention for the second year in succession at the end of this season. Behind them and now in last place on the league table however are the Irish who are in all sorts of trouble. Marion Hughes and the stallion Heritage Fortunus produced the only Irish clear in the first round while Cian O’Connor and his new ride Irish Independent Annabella followed suit in round two but a finishing score of 20 is never going to be good enough to stay in the Super League game. The host nation of Switzerland joined the Irish in seventh spot when, despite first-round clears from Christina Liebherr (LB No Mercy) and Markus Fuchs (Tinka’s Boy) they failed to follow through in round two but the Swiss are not anyway entitled to Super League points as they did not qualify for the series. When Wim and Jan went clear and Leopold hit just one pole it was not necessary for Gerco to jump a second time as their five-fault total was plenty good enough to leave the Dutch well out in front. Celebrating victory, Jan Tops said "basically we have a team of good jumpers who are in good shape, our horses are in better form this year and we are delighted to have a great new team horse like Flash Rouge. There is real competition between our riders now and that is helping us all to perform better". "There were five double-clears today" he added, "and I should have had one also but the martingale on my horse’s bridle broke at the seventh face and it felt like I was riding with a broken bit! I had to take wider turns after that happened in the first round and so I collected one time fault but we are very happy with how things worked out. I have ridden over courses designed by Rolf Ludi before at indoor shows including Zurich and Geneva and I think he is a smart course-builder – he knows how to get a result without harming horses and he did that today" he said. The footing in Lucerne was completely updated in recent years and, despite several days of very heavy rain the going was excellent. Rotterdam has had its problems in that regard on previous occasions but when the 2004 Samsung Super League moves to the Dutch venue in two weeks time the home side, winners there last year and now apparently on a roll, will be the ones to beat. RESULT: Netherlands – 5 faults: Wim Schroder/Eurocommerce Montreal 0/0, Jan Tops/VDL Groep Grand Dame 1/0, Leopold van Asten/VDL Groep Flash Rouge 4/4, Gerco Schroder/Eurocommerce Monaco 0/DNS. Equal 2. Belgium – 8 faults: Philippe Le Jeune/Cashmere van Schuttershof 8/4, Dirk Demeersman/Clinton 0/0, Stanny van Paesschen/O de Pomme 0/0, Ludo Phillipaerts/Parco 8/0. Equal 2. France – 8 faults: Florian Angot/First de Launay 4/0, Reynald Angot/Tlaloc M 5/8, Gilles Bertrand de Ballanda/Crocus Graverie 0/0, Bruno Broucqsault/Dileme de Cephe 4/0. Equal 2. Germany – 8 faults: Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum/Shutterfly 0/0, Marco Kutscher/Montender 0/4, Lars Nieberg/Lucie 4/0, Ludger Beerbaum/Goldfever 8/4. USA – 16 faults: Kimberly Frey/Marlou 0/4, Candice King/Gosse d’Orion 8/0, Judy Garofalo/Oliver 4/12, Laura Kraut/Anthem 4/4. Great Britain – 17 faults: Robert Smith/Mr Springfield 0/4, Michael Whitaker/Portofino 4/5, Scott Smith/Cabri d’Elle 8/8, Nick Skelton/Arko 0/4. Equal 7. Ireland – 20 faults: Billy Twomey/Winnie Jackson 8/8, Cian O’Connor/Irish Independent Annabella 8/0, Marion Hughes/Heritage Fortunus 0/4, Jessica Kurten/Quibell 4/4. Equal 7. Switzerland – 20 faults: Christophe Barbeau/Qerly Chin 12/4, Christina Liebherr/LB No Mercy 0/8, Steve Guerdat/Isovlas Orchidee 4/8, Markus Fuchs/Tinka’s Boy 0/4. Italy – 21 faults: Giorgio Nuti/Ninja 0/5, Emanuele Fiorelli/Western Union Equinoxe du Morin 8/8, Roberto Christofoletti/Logengrin di Villa Emilia 4/4, Bruno Chimirri/Landknecht 0/8. For full details about the Samsung Super League 2004 in Lucerne on Sunday 6th June you can consult website www.csio.ch or contact: Peter Wyrsch, Bengtalstrasse9, CH-9500, Wil, Switzerland, telephone ++4143960 6670, fax ++41 71911 8230, Natel ++             41 79406 5207      , email wy@da-ats.ch and George Zehnder, Brunnenstrasse 7, CH-8604, Volketswil, Switzerland telephone ++ 41 1908 3131, fax ++41 1908 33130, Natel ++41             79430 4149      , email zehnder@pferdewoche.ch. The next leg takes place in Rotterdam on Friday 18 June. Contact Press Officer Anita Lussenberg, Kralingseweg 120, PO Box 4266, 3006 AG Rotterdam, Netherlands – Telephone Office - ++ 3110 452 6729, Fax Office - ++ 3110 453 1555 or Mobile - ++ 31 621 585878, Email: info@chio.nl or Anita.lussenburg@tiscali.nl. Website address is www.chio.nl. Show Director at Rotterdam is Jan-Willem Korner. SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE 2004 LEADERBOARD (AFTER ROUND 3 IN LUCERNE): The Netherlands – 21.5 points Germany – 18.3 points France – 15.3 points Great Britain – 13.0 points Belgium – 10.8 points 6. USA – 9 points 7. Italy – 6 points Ireland – 3.5 points.