FEI World Cup™ Jumping: Geneva (SUI)

It was a double-celebration for Switzerland today when 24 year old Steve Guerdat claimed the honours in the fifth leg of the 2006/2007 FEI World Cup™ Jumping series in Geneva while his senior colleague, Beat Mandli, rocketed up to the top of the leaderboard when finishing third.

In an emotional post-competition press conference Guerdat praised the spectacular talent of his new ride Jalisca Solier and talked about the tough year he has experienced both personally and professionally. "It's been a really difficult time, but my family and friends have been there to support me and I am now so lucky to have this wonderful new horse" he said. Germany's Christian Ahlmann slotted into second but admitted afterwards that Guerdat's target was just too good for the rest of them - "Steve was amazing today, he couldn't be beaten" he said.

Course designers Heiner Fischer and Rolf Ludi set a 13-fence track that produced 11 clear rounds but Saturday's night's Top Ten Final winner, Germany's Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, failed to make the cut when Checkmate, looking a little too fresh and keen, joined 13 others on a four-fault result after hitting the second fence. However it was the vertical with a water tray at fence four, located going away from the collecting ring, that proved one of the two bogeys of the afternoon, the other being the vertical at fence eight which came quickly after a big oxer and situated on the corner before the strong triple that caught out many more.

The first to find the key was home runner Gregoire Oberson riding Oleandre but, pathfinders against the clock, this partnership lowered the second fence. Next to go was Germany's Marcus Ehning and Gitania who looked much happier than they had been in the previous day's Top Ten class but when the turn did not come up right between the second and third fences the latter hit the floor, and when the grey clipped the penultimate stile gate their tally of eight was never going to leave them in the reckoning.

Cameron Hanley found himself in the line-up when Ludger Beerbaum withdrew after the heavy fall he sustained in Saturday night's feature event but the Irishman failed to capitalise on his clear first-round effort when SIEC Hippica Kerman hit the second element of the double at the halfway stage on the jump-off track and then slammed on the brakes at the final oxer. Guerdat however was in a league of his own as his nine year old mare never flinched when asked to give it her all. Setting off at full tilt they snaked their way through the S-bend line of the first three fences and when Jalisca found herself deep at the front bar of the imposing double that came up next she just snapped up her front end and kept running. However it was the break-neck run from the penultimate stile to the final oxer that clinched it - the spectators held their breath as their hero galloped flat out to break the beam in 38.78 seconds and then erupted with a roar that nearly lifted the roof off the Palexpo arena.

An eight-fault result for Germany's Heinrich Hermann Engemann and Aboyeur, Brazil's Bernardo Alves and Canturo, Frenchman Simon Delestre with Inedite de Balme and Australia's Edwina Alexander with Isovlas Pialotta kept them all down the line but FEI World Equestrian Games gold medallist Albert Zoer from The Netherlands steered the high-stepping Okidoki home and clear in 41.39 seconds to slot, temporarily, into second. Christian Ahlmann and Coster were almost a second quicker but were still almost two seconds off the target time so that left just Guerdat's fellow-countryman Beat Mandli to de-throne him. And Mandli looked like he might do just that when making a completely new line from the vertical third fence to the double. "But I made a mistake" he said afterwards. "I thought I had picked up enough time with that turn and I went a bit too slowly at the end - I was wrong and I am a bit disappointed with myself about that" he said.

There was no disappointment on Guerdat's face however, just an expression of near-disbelief because, after a year which saw him lose his job at Jan Tops super-successful stables at Valkenswaard in Holland and consequently the rides on a string of wonderful horses he was back in business and life looks like taking a whole new turn. It was during a chance conversation Lutta Gian Battista last August that the Swiss horse dealer asked the young rider if he would like to try a mare he had in his yard that was proving difficult. "It was the Tuesday of the World Equestrian Games in Aachen and I said OK and took her two days later, then brought her to a national show where she won the Grand Prix. From the minute I rode her I knew she was special and I am very grateful to Mr Piaget who has bought her for me to ride" Guerdat explained.

He then started jumping the horse internationally - "mostly we had a clear and one down and I took her to her first World Cup in Verona and she had two down there because I didn't ride well but she was brilliant in Paris" he pointed out. "She has her own way of going between the fences but when you sit on her you just know that nothing bad can happen - she's exceptional" he added.

There was no doubting his pride in his success today but he pointed out that it means all the more to him because, after a period of disagreement with his father, he has re-established that relationship - "I have a lot of confidence in him now, when I had no-one else to talk to he was there for me - I have learned a lot in the last few months and I know I owe this victory today to my father and to the other people around me" he said emotionally.

Both second-place Ahlmann and third-placed Mandli agreed that today was Guerdat's day - "if I had taken out a stride in the jump-off I still couldn't have beaten him" Ahlmanns said but although they didn't win they have both now earned enough qualifying points to earn their place at the FEI World Cup™ Jumping final. Mandli tops the league table with 49 points and Ahlmann lies second with 47 - "yes, I'm going to Las Vegas so I am happy" Mandli said with a grin. For those still seeking those tantalising points however their next stopping off point is Olympia in London where the international action gets underway next Thursday.

FEI WORLD CUP™ QUALIFIER AT GENEVA presented by ROLEX
RESULT: 1, Jalisca Solier (Steve Guerdat) Sui 0/0 38.78; 2, Coster (Christian Ahlmann) Ger 0/0 40.50; 3, Ideo du Thot (Beat Mandli) Sui 0/0 41.18; 4, Okidoki (Albert Zoer) ned 0/0 41.39; 5, Oleandre (Gregoire Oberson) Sui 0/4 48.72; 6, Gitania (Marcus Ehning) Ger 0/8 39.31; 7, Isovlas Pialotta (Edwina Alexander) Aus 0/8 39.92; 8, Aboyeur W (Heinrich Hermann Engemann) Ger 0/8 40.43; 9, Inedite de Balme (Simon Delestre) Fra 0/8 40.79; 10, Canturo (Bernardo Alves) Bra 0/8 40.97; 11, SIEC Hippica Kerman (Cameron Hanley) Irl 0/8 53.52; 12, Plot Blue (Werner Muff) Sui 4/74.23; 13, Castle Forbes Libertina (Jessica Kuerten) Irl 4/74.72; 14, Checkmate (Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum) Ger 4/75.07; 15, LB No Mercy (Christina Liebherr) Sui 4/75.39; 16, Galet d'Auzay (Michel Robert) Fra 4/75.91; 17, Sundal Colliers Cattani (Geir Gulliksen) Nor 4/76.14; 18, Peppermill (John Whitaker) GBR 4/76.30; 19, Ninja la Silla (Rolf Goran Bengtsson) Swe 4/76.76; 20, Jaina de Barnevil (Rutherford Latham) Esp 4/77.94; 21, Cigale du Taillis (Eugenie Angot) Fra 4/78.62; 22, Icare du Manet (Julien Epaillard) Fra 4/78.79; 23, Butterfly Flip (Malin Baryard-Johnsson) Swe 4/79..02; 24, JPC Modesto (Edwin Smits) Ned 4/79.88; 25, Loro Piana Albin (Juan Carlos Garcia) Ita 4/80.17; 26, Cartier PSG (Stefan Eder) Aut 8/73.06; 27, Nirmette (Markus Fuchs) Sui 8/75.08; 28, Gredo la Daviere (Peter Wylde) USA 8/75.72; 29, Irish Independent Echo Beach (Cian O'Connor) Irl 8/76.16; 30, Cantus (Niklaus Schurtenberger) Sui 8/78.26; 31, Insul Tech Portofino (Michael Whitaker) GBR 8/78.87; 32, Jolly Royal C (Linnea Ericsson) Den 8/81.08; 33, Peu a Peu (Daniel Etter) Sui 12/73.92; 34, Isaac du Jonquet (Mikael Forsten) Fin 12/77.30; 35, Ideal de la Loge (Roger-Yves Bost) Fra 16/77.48; Equal 36, Kalusha (Robert Smith) GBR, Unique X CH (Pius Schwizer) Skui, BMC Octavia (Jurgen Stenfert) Ned, Van Schijndel's Curtis (Piet Raymakers) Ned, Grande Dame Z (Judy-Ann Melchior) Bel Retired.

FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING 2006/2007 - WESTERN EUROPEAN LEAGUE LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 5 AT GENEVA:

1. Beat Mandli - 49
2. Christian Ahlmann - 47
3. Gerco Schroder, Rene Tebbel - 42
5. Michael Whitaker - 39
6. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Albert Zoer - 38
8. Leopold Van Asten - 30
9. Judy-Ann Melchior - 29
10. Edwina Alexander - 23
11. Eugenie Angot - 22
12. Harry Smolders, Steve Guerdat - 20
14. Piet Raymakers, Daniel Deusser - 17
16. Ellen Whitaker, Ludo Philippaerts, Malin Baryard-Johnsson - 15
19. Peter Wylde, Jonella Ligresti, Tony Andre Hansen - 13.

For further information on the FEI World Cup™ at Geneva consult WEBSITE www.concours-hippique.ch. Show Director is Sophie Mottu, Sport Director is Alban Poudret, Show Secretary is Chantal Rothen and Press Officer is Corinne Druey, contact Email: druey@syntagme-lausanne.ch, Tel: (mobile) +41768340771.

The NEXT leg of the series takes place at the London International Horse Show at Olympia on Sunday 17 December. For up-to-date information consult WEBSITE www.olympiahorseshow.com. Show President is Lord Vestey, Show Director is Simon Brooks-Ward LVO OBE TD, Show Secretary is Penny Henderson and Press Officer is Candy Burnyeat, Email: nutter@easynet.co.uk, Tel: (mobile) +441753847900.

2006/2007 FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING SERIES - CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR WESTERN EUROPEAN LEAGUE:
1. Oslo (Norway) 13-15 October: 2, Helsinki (Finland) 19-22 October; 3, Verona (Italy) 10-12 November; 4, Stuttgart (Germany) 15-19 November; 5, Geneva (Switzerland) 7-10 December; 6, London-Olympia (Great Britain) 12-18 December; 7, Mechelen (Belgium) 26-30 December; 8, Leipzig (Germany) 18-21 January; 9, Amsterdam (The Netherlands) 25-28 January; 10, Bordeaux (France) 2-4 February; 11, Vigo (Spain) 8-11 February; 12, Gothenburg (Sweden) 22-25 February; 13, 's-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands) 22-25 March. Final - Las Vegas (USA) 19-22 April.


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.