FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING 2006/2007 - FINAL LAS VEGAS (USA)

Malin Baryard-Johnsson received the perfect birthday surprise yesterday when she learned that she will compete at the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in Las Vegas next week.

The Swedish rider, who celebrated her 32nd birthday yesterday, was lying second on the reserve list after the final qualifying leg in s'Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands last month but a call from FEI headquarters confirmed that she was now being offered a place at the 2006/2007 FEI World Cup™ season-closer and she jumped at the opportunity.

"I was very happy to be asked" Malin said this afternoon. "I've had some success in Las Vegas before with Butterfly Flip and she is in good form right now so I am really looking forward to it" she added.

The mare will join many of the other European horses being shipped out of Amsterdam airport on Saturday, and riders will be seen exercising in the ring beside the Thomas & Mack Centre in Las Vegas over the weekend in preparation for next week's crowd-puller which sees 43 of the world's best show jumping competitors lining out under the spotlights.

Malin is one of 18 riders qualified from the Western European League. There are eight Germans included in this group including league winner Christian Ahlmann, World No. 1 Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and her husband Markus Beerbaum, Marco Kutscher, Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst, Rene Tebbel, Daniel Deusser and of course the defending champion, Marcus Ehning. Albert Zoer, Leopold Van Asten and Gerco Schroder represent The Netherlands while Judy-Ann Melchior and Patrick McEntee will line out for Belgium, and Switzerland is also double-handed with Beat Mandli and Steve Guerdat in action. Britain's Michael Whitaker, French-woman Eugenie Angot and Tony-Andre Hansen from Norway complete the Western European League listing.

Flying the Australian flag will be Edwina Alexander and Gavin Chester, while the South American League representative will be Denis Gouvea. Mexico's Santiago Lambre and Alberto Michan, Japan's Taizo Sugitani, Poland's Krzysztof Ludwiczak and Lukasz Jonczyk and A. Bin Metab Al Saud from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will add even more of an international flavour along with Canada's John Pearce and Jill Henselwood.

The host country sends out a star-studded cast including Beezie Madden, McLain Ward, Lauren Hough, Margie Goldstein-Engle, Schuyler Riley, Molly Ashe and Christine Tribble-McCrea. West Coast riders Jill Humphrey, Richard Spooner and Rich Fellers will also take their chances along with USA Wild-Card winners Kate Levy and Mandy Porter but the man who they may all have to look out for is the FEI Wild-Card choice, Rodrigo Pessoa from Brazil, whose record of three consecutive World Cup victories between 1998 and 2000 with the great Baloubet du Rouet stands out as a truly unique achievement.

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The Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final takes place in Las Vegas, USA from 19-22 April 2007. For further information check out WEBSITE www.worldcuplasvegas.com or contact Press Officer Marty Baumann, Tel: +1 508 6986819, Email marty.classic@verizon.net. Show President for CSI-W Las Vegas is Pat Christenson, Show Director is Robert Ridland and Show Secretary is Stephanie Wheeler - Email showpark@aol.com.

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE RULES FOR THE FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING RIDERS FROM FEI WEBSITE www.feiworldcup.org

FEI World Cup™ Jumping has entered its 29th season. The series, created in 1978, today comprises 14 leagues on all continents. The best riders from 132 preliminary competitions will qualify for the final in Las Vegas, USA which takes place from 19 to 22 April 2007. The title-holder is Germany's Marcus Ehning.

The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), founded in 1921, is the international body governing equestrian sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and includes 133 National Federations.

Equestrian sport has been on the Olympic programme since 1912 with three disciplines - Jumping, Dressage and Eventing. It is one of the very few sports in which men and women compete on equal terms It is also the only sport which involves two athletes - horse and rider. The FEI has relentlessly concerned itself with the welfare of the horse, which is paramount and must never be subordinated to competitive or commercial influences.

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