THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST.......ESPECIALLY IF MELANIE HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT.......
The USA has been drawn first to go in tomorrow's sixth leg of the Samsung Super League with FEI series at Hickstead, England but Melanie Smith-Taylor, who is deputising in the absence of team manager George Morris, is not concerned. Lying last on the leaderboard the US really needs a good result in order to climb out of the relegation zone, but Melanie has every faith in her squad. "I have a lot of confidence in them and it doesn't matter where we are drawn- we've come here to do a job and I know the riders will give it their best" she said after the order-of-go was decided this afternoon.
The teams will jump in the following order - 1, USA; 2, Great Britain; 3, Belgium; 4, France; 5, The Netherlands; 6, Sweden; 7, Germany; 8, Switzerland.
The American Chef d'Equipe last jumped at Hickstead herself in 1982 during her sparkling career with the great Calypso, so she knows what her riders face when they go out into the vastness of the Sussex arena which, despite immense pessimism following the much-publicised flooding in Britain in recent weeks, is in excellent order. However she wasn't giving anything away about the precise line-up of her team for tomorrow during today's press conference - "I have not spoken with my riders yet, we've got five riders here and I have to talk with them before I can say who will be jumping" she pointed out.
The other team managers however were prepared to list their teams, and Derek Ricketts confirmed that he will be sending out Nick Skelton with Russell, Ellen Whitaker with Locarno, William Funnell with Mondriaan and Michael Whitaker with Suncal Portofino to defend the title which, last year, the home side claimed for the 35th time in the century-old history of the Royal International Horse Show.
The Swiss are in the happy position of going last tomorrow, and Rolf Grass sends Daniel Etter into the ring as pathfinder followed by Hansueli Sprunger, Paul Estermann and Pius Schwizer while Dominique Hendrickx will be first to go for Belgium ahead of Jan Motmans, Jerome Guery and Koen Vereecke.
The Swedish team lies just 3.5 points ahead of the USA at the bottom of the leaderboard and team manager Maria Gretzer will be hoping to keep it that way when Erika Lickhammer, Lotta Schultz, Frederik Gustafsson and Peter Eriksson take their turn, while Dutch Chef d'Equipe Rob Ehrens has chosen Willem Greve, Wim Schroder, Jochen Munsterhuis and Leopold Van Asten in that order. French Chef d'Equipe Lauren Elias sends in Stephan Lafouge, Aymeric de Ponnat, Jerome Debas Montagner and Christian Hermon and Germany's Sonke Sonksen puts forward a very new German side that includes Florian Meyer zu Hartum, Carsten Averkamp, Annette Hulsmann and Tobias Bachi. How these relatively unknown German riders will cope with the huge challenge that the formidable Hickstead arena always presents will be interesting to see, but with a nine-point lead over the Swiss at the top of the table they can probably afford to take a little gamble and it could be a big day for these riders should things go their way.....
Rob Ehrens suggested that it is the British who might be expected to come out on top again tomorrow and Derek Ricketts agreed that "obviously it would be very nice to do well". But the British team manager pointed out that "the focus for most teams right now is on the European Championships in a few weeks time - all the nations here are fielding the best combinations that they can, but we all have to keep something in reserve for the Europeans so that should make tomorrow's competition all the more interesting" he added.
All the teams that is, of course, except team USA which will be selected from the five-strong squad that includes Laura Kraut, Beezie Madden, Christine McCrea, Georgina Bloomberg and Molly Ashe. They are the ones under real pressure. Melanie Taylor-Smith is standing in for George Morris who is at the Pan-American Games and who then goes on to the Olympic Test Event in Hong Kong leaving his second-in-command in charge of his Samsung Super League with FEI representatives. She would like to give him the result he needs "and I hope everyone will be rooting for us tomorrow because we are lying last at the moment!" she said today. Nothing is given away easily in this toughest of all series however, and the USA will have to be razor-sharp if things are to go their way.....
The rain is starting to come down again, but the team managers were happy with the condition of the ground in the main arena and the FEI's Commercial Director Christoph Troendle congratulated the show organisers for the work they have done to maintain the going in very difficult circumstances. "It is almost a miracle that Hickstead is able to go ahead after the bad weather we have all been hearing about but whether it rains or pours, Samsung is always here for us and we would like to thank them for that" he said.
Samsung UK's Chief Marketing Officer, Anthony Marsella, said that the company is "a very proud sponsor of the Samsung Super League with FEI - we believe that sporting activities engage supporters and involve people". Tomorrow's leg of the eight-round series is certain to do just that.....
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI - LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 5 IN AACHEN:
1. Germany - 35.75
2. Switzerland - 26.75
3. Belgium - 23.75
4. Great Britain - 21.50
5. Netherlands - 17.00
6. France - 15.25
7. Sweden - 13.00
8. USA - 9.50
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE - NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION!
FOR further information on the Samsung Super League with FEI in Hickstead check out WEBSITE www.hickstead.co.uk. Show President is Douglas Bunn, Show Director is Edward Bunne, Show Secretary is Lizzie Bunn - email lizzie@hickstead.co.uk and PRESS OFFICER is Peter Jeffery email - jeffery.communications@btopenworld.com, Tel : +44
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI - 2007 CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
ROUND 1 - La Baule (FRA) Friday 11 May; ROUND 2 - Rome (ITA) Friday 25 May; ROUND 3 - St Gallen (SUI) Friday 1 June; ROUND 4 - Rotterdam (NED) Friday 22 June; ROUND 5 - Aachen (GER) Thursday 5 July; ROUND 6 - Hickstead (GBR) Friday 27 July; ROUND 7 - Dublin (IRL) Friday 10 August; ROUND 8 and FINAL - Barcelona (ESP) Sunday 16 September.
You can access all the latest Samsung Super League with FEI news and information on website www.samsungsuperleague.com.
Want to know more? You can check the comprehensive MEDIA GUIDE for the series, which is available in print and for download at www.samsungsuperleague.com under "Media Guide" heading.
PHOTOGRAPHS - a Photo Gallery of pictures is available on the Samsung Super League with FEI website for use by professional media only. The gallery will be regularly updated with low and high-resolution photographs and is password protected. To obtain a password follow the simple instructions when clicking on the link.
The Samsung Super League with FEI consists of the eight most prestigious horse shows at which the world's eight best national teams compare their merit. The Samsung Super League with FEI is connected to the FEI Nations Cup series through a promotion/relegation system at the end of each season.
Samsung Electronics, one of the world's largest electronics companies, is committed to supporting international sporting events, thereby returning corporate profits to the public and working towards a more harmonious and equitable society.
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