Rome is the venue for the second leg of the 2005 Samsung Super League series next week and a powerful German selection is expected to make a big impression at the Italian fixture.
It takes little to encourage visitors to the beautiful Italian capital city, and no season of show jumping would ever be complete without the traditional event which takes place in the natural amphitheatre of the Piazza di Siena which is located in the heart of the Villa Borghese, the largest public park in Rome.
Just north of the Spanish Steps and at the end of the world-famous Via Veneto, the Villa Borghese, which was once a vineyard, was turned into a private park by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V, in 1605 but in 1903 the 80 hectare/148 acre site was handed over to the City of Rome and its shady lanes and beautiful temples, fountains, statues and museums are enjoyed by large numbers of people annually.
For one week each year however this tranquil setting is turned into a battleground as the best show jumping teams in the world compete for the coveted nations cup trophy and although the Italians lost their Super League status when demoted at the end of the 2004 season they can be sure to put up a spirited performance as they join the top eight countries in the second leg of the Samsung Super League 2005 series on Friday 27th May.
Italian Chef d'Equipe is Franco Gallo who has a squad of 23 riders from which to make his selection but some possible candidates are lining out in this weekend's Samsung Nations Cup in Copenhagen, Denmark so Mr Gallo is not yet prepared to name his side. On his long-list however are Bruno and Vincenzo Chimirri, Juan Carlos Garcia, Emanuele Fiorelli, Giorgio Nuti and Natale Chiaudani, all veterans of previous Samsung Super League seasons.
The Dutch were winners in Rome last year but picked up only a single point when seventh of the eight competing teams at the 2005 opening leg in La Baule two weeks ago. However Chef d'Equipe Rob Ehrens has some new faces to choose from this time out including Gert-Jan Bruggink, Eric Van der Vleuten and Leopold Van Asten. Angelique Hoorn had an unfortunate double-elimination with VDL Oranta in La Baule but she will be looking forward to much better things on this occasion while Albert Zoer completes the selection for The Netherlands.
Belgium sends Jean-Claude Van Geenberghe, Maurice Van Roosbroeck, Gilbert Deroock, Marc Van Dijck and Samantha Detheux-Van Geenberghe. Lucien Somers' side shared fifth spot with the Swiss in La Baule so they carry 2.5 points into this second leg.
Switzerland's Rolf Grass will choose his four riders from Beat Mandli, Daniel Etter, Pius Schwizer, Theo Muff and Celine Stauffer but the Irish, headed up by yet another new Chef d'Equipe Liam Buckley, send just four - Robert Splaine and Harry Marshall who both competed at the opening French fixture where their side finished a dismal last, and the two armymen Capt Shane Carey and Capt Gerry Flynn. With just 0.5 points to their credit at this early stage the Irish are feeling the pressure already but their record in Rome has been good over the years and they will not expect to finish bottom of the order this time around.
The French were third on their home soil two weeks ago but still looked competitive. First-round clears from both Laurent Goffinet and Christian Hermon ensured they would stay well in contention and although Chef d'Equipe Jean-Maurice Bonneau remains cautious about the
prospect of claiming the Samsung Super League title for the third consecutive year in 2005 he knows that target is still well within his sights. Hubert Bourdy, Olivier Guillon, Philippe Leoni, Jean-Marc Nicolas and Roger-Yves Bost have been called up for Rome and will be working hard to keep that dream alive.
The British side includes their new star Ellen Whitaker who produced one of only two double-clears in the first leg and she is joined by her uncle, Michael Whitaker, along with Nick Skelton, William Funnell and Mark Armstrong. Runners-up in La Baule, Derek Ricketts' side looked solid when finishing only one fence behind the victorious American squad.
Schuyler Riley will be hoping to repeat her first-leg double-clear performance and, along with US team-mates Georgina Bloomberg, Anne Kursinski, Beezie Madden and Laura Kraut, will want to please Chef d'Equipe George Morris by adding another maximum total to the 10 points picked up as winners in France. However they will have to see off the attentions of a crack German side which includes current World No. 1 and No. 2 riders Ludger Beerbaum and his sister-in-law Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum.
Meredith is in top form having claimed the FEI World Cup title in Las Vegas last month and the formidable German line-up also includes Marco Kutscher and Christian Ahlmann so they must surely be the ones to beat.
Extra interest in the Rome fixture is added by the presence of Italian course-designer Marco Cordinovis who will also be creating the tracks for the European Show Jumping Championships in San Patrignano in July. Riders will have the opportunity to experience and assess his particular creative style and he has already indicated that he will be making some changes to the familiar Piazza di Siena course-building material, introducing narrower obstacles and a new mobile water-jump.
In other Samsung Super League news the United States Equestrian Federation has named its selection for what it terms "the second European show jumping tour" taking in the Super League rounds at Rotterdam, Lummen and Falsterbo during June and July. Five riders have been listed including Candice King, Todd Minikus, Callan Solem, Christine Tribble and Aaron Vale with Nona Garson and Robin Sweely as reserves. George Morris will remain in the role of Chef d'Equipe during this second tour.
Before all that however Mr Morris must tackle the next big question - can his talented lady riders do it again in Rome and further extend their already-significant lead on the league table at this early stage of the series?
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE LEADERBOARD (after Round 1 at La Baule) :
1. USA - 10 points
2. Great Britain - 7
3. France - 5
4. Germany - 4
Eq 5. Switzerland - 2.5
Eq 5. Belgium - 2.5
7. The Netherlands- 1
8. Ireland - 0.5
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE - NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION!
For further information on CSIO 5* Samsung Super League in Rome, Italy contact Press Officer Caterina Vagnozzi, Tel: +39 06 3218857 , Fax: +39 06 3610419, Mobile: +39 335 6107070 . Visit the website at www.piazzadisiena.com.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE 2005 CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
ROUND 1 - La Baule (Fra) 5-8 May; ROUND 2 - Rome (Ita) 26-29 May; ROUND
3 - St Gallen (Sui) 02-05 June; ROUND 4 - Rotterdam (Ned) 16-19 June;
ROUND 5 - Hickstead (GBR) 28-31 July; ROUND 6 - Dublin (Irl) 03-07
August; ROUND 7 - Aachen (Ger) 23-28 August; ROUND 8 and FINAL -
Barcelona (Esp) 15-18 September.
You can access all the latest Samsung Super League news and information
on website www.samsungsuperleague.com and don't forget that BIOGRAPHIES
on all riders competing in the series are available at
http://bios.horsesport.org.
Want to know more? You can check the full RULES for the Samsung Super
League series on the FEI website, www.horsesport.org - section
jumping/rules.
The Samsung Super league consists of the eight most prestigious horse
shows at which the world's eight best national teams compare their
merit. The Super League is connected to the Samsung 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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