Quelle Surpise! Almost Unknown Angot Steals The Show in Vigo

Eugenie Angot, sister-in-law of WEG team gold medallist Reynald Angot, created a real sensation when winning tonight's FEI World Cup qualifier in Vigo, Spain.

The French lady rider had the best of the draw in the eight-horse jump-off and used it to full advantage when steering the 13 year old mare Cigale du Tallis across the line more than one second ahead of Brazil's Bernardo Alves who had to settle for runner-up spot with Canturo.

It was a class full of drama with two competitors eliminated and another four choosing to retire as Spanish course-designer Avelino Miravales' track took its toll. Reynald Angot and Tlaloc M were one of the eliminated partnerships and Eugenie said "the triple bar was very difficult, lots of horses did not jump it well and I found it difficult too. I also jumped in Bordeaux but I think the track today was bigger than it was there and longer, with difficult distances, so I knew that the only way to go was to keep the horse quiet and ride with my head".

The 33 year old Frenchwoman, who won the European Young Rider Championship back in 1989, certainly kept a cool head in the jump-off. "My horse is especially fast but I was afraid of Toni Hassmann who was fourth to go. Meurer's Le Patron is normally so quick, but they had a refusal and the next few riders just kept going faster and faster" she said.

Belgium's Jean-Claude Vangeenberghe was sixth into the ring and set a scorching target in 36.60 seconds with Osta Rugs Richebourg but Brazil's Bernardo Alves shaved almost a full second off that in a thrilling round from Canturo, and it was a time of 35.71 seconds or better that Eugenie was chasing when she came into the ring, last to go.

"I knew Bernardo had gone crazy-fast and that if I went the same way I might not win but I had walked the course with Jean-Maurice Bonneau who told me to look at the jump-off course in case I was clear and now I am very glad that I did! We saw a right turn to the combination that nobody else did and when I rode into the ring I thought - I must do what I can to win it" she said.

Married to Reynald Angot's older brother Cedric, Eugenie has been competing for many years but took time out for the birth of her two children at different stages of her career. "One of my children is nine years old and the other is just two so I have had some good horses but had to take a break every now and then" she said. "I competed in two World Cup shows in 1996 but this is my first time to come back onto the World Cup circuit and I'm really thrilled with my mare Cigale du Tallis. She started to go well in November and was good at Vangeenberghe's show and then at La Coruna but I never expected that she would have improved to this level already" Eugenie added.

With 30 points on the FEI World Cup leaderboard, after just two outings, she now stands a good chance of making it to the Final in Milan if she can produce another good result at the last three legs of the series and, since she had already planned to jump in Paris in three weeks' time, she is surprised at the position in which she finds herself. "It would be unbelievable if I could make it to the final" she said.

Tonight's result has elevated Toni Hassmann from ninth to joint-fourth with Thomas Velin on the leaderboard which is still headed by Jos Lansink and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum while Helena Weinberg lies in third spot.

At the 12th and third-last qualifying leg of the 2003/2004 FEI World Cup series in the French capital on March 6th however all eyes will be on the new home-side heroine Eugenie Angot who, tonight, once more proved just how unpredictable the sport of show jumping can be.

RESULT: 1, Cigale du Tallis (Eugenie Angot) Fra 0/0 34.63; 2, Canturo (Bernardo Alves) Bra 0/0 35.71; 3, Osta Rugs Richebourg (Jean-Claude Vangeengerghe) Bel 0/0 36.60; 4, Qualite (Robert Whitaker) GB 0/0 36.86; 5, Pro Pilot 11 (Edouard Couperie) Fra 0/0 37.73; 6, ET Royal Volo (Tony Andre Hansen) Nor 0/0 40.07; 7, Meurer's Le Patron (Toni Hassmann) Ger 0/8 43.25; 8, Carlot 111 (Maria Sundberg) Swe 0/8 44.61; 9, Espoir de la Haye (Jesus Garmendia) Esp 1 fault; equal 10, Platina Van de Cumul (Dirk Demeersman) Bel, Meautry's Locarno (Luciana Diniz-Knippling) Bra, Kalusha (Robert Smith) GB, Kira 111 (Ludo Philippaerts) Bel, Goldfever (Ludger Beerbaum) Ger, Hofgut Liederbach's Ingmar (Pia-Luise Aufrecht) Ger, Portofino (Michael Whitaker) GB, VDL Groep Innovation (Steve Guerdat) Sui 4 faults; equal 18, Cavali del Sole Fidelio (Pilar Cordon Muro) Esp, Verelst Roxanne (Marc Van Dijck) Bel 5 faults; equal 20, Van Schijndels Now or Never (Piet Raymakers) Ned, Lord Z (John Whitaker) GB, Audi's Jikke (Eric Van der Vleuten) Ned 8 faults.

FEI WORLD CUP JUMPING LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 11 IN VIGO:

Jos Lansink and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum - 57.
3. Helena Weinberg - 53
4. Thomas Velin and Toni Hassmann - 52
6. Eric Van der Vleuten - 51
Marco Kutscher - 50
Michael Whitaker - 49
Ludo Philippaerts and Rolf Goran Bengtsson - 46
Hubert Bourdy - 39
Peter Wylde and Rodrigo Pessoa - 38.