ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING 2007/2008 - PRESS RELEASE NO. 3

GET TO GRIPS WITH YOUR ROLEX GUIDE......

Have you ever wondered who was the youngest rider ever to win the FEI World Cup™ Jumping title or how long the champion horses lived after this pinnacle in their careers? Or ever wondered how many times a particular rider has made it to the Final and where they finished every time, or which was the youngest horse to come out on top?

The new-look Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Media Guide has all the answers and a great deal more, with enhanced statistics and results and interesting facts and figures to help you get to grips with the series as never before.

It contains a full list of qualifiers in all 15 regions, while the record of winning riders now includes their dates of birth and the age they were when they held the coveted trophy aloft.

The list of winning horses includes their breeding, their age on retirement and, for those now no longer with us, the year they died. This section is particularly fascinating because it underlines the hardiness of so many of the former champions. Did you know for instance that Jet Run, who won the title for America's Michael Matz in 1981, lived for another 15 years to the ripe old age of 28 while Melanie Smith's Calypso who headed up the posse in 1982 died aged 29 - and what about Norman Dello Joio's 1983 champion I Love You? Born in 1974 the French-bred stallion won the title as a nine year old but lived on for another 22 years to the incredible age of 31!

The Americans really have left their mark on this series despite their absence for the top of the line-up in recent years but it is Canada's Mario Deslauriers who holds the record as youngest champion. He was just 19 years of age when claiming the honours with Aramis in Gothenburg in 1984, pinning Dello Joio and Brazil's Nelson Pessoa into joint runner-up spot. And how about winning a title of this magnitude on a seven year old horse? Well that's what age Aramis was when producing that stunning result......

The medal winners at each of the 29 finals, highlights including course designers, numbers of riders and nations and special features, an alphabetical list of finalists from the very start of the series back in 1979 and details of the winners of every league series along with the winners of all the Western European League qualifying legs ever held - the guide is bursting with useful information and is a "must-have" for everyone following the 2007/2008 action.

You can download your free copy from the FEI website www.horsesport.org>Media Centre>Media Guides or, for a hard copy booklet email Olivia Robinson at FEI Communications - o.robinson@fei.org - provide your details, and we will send it out to you right away.