Samsung Super League in St Gallen

Next Stop St-Gallen

St Gallen in Switzerland plays host to the third leg of the 2005 Samsung Super League series next Friday and the Swiss team will be keen to keep the home supporters happy with a good result here.

Lying fifth on the leaderboard after the first two legs of the series in La Baule and Rome they have coped well so far in this, their first Super League season, and Chef d'Equipe Rolf Grass will choose his side from Fabio Crotta, Markus Fuchs, Christina Liebherr, Beat Mandli and Niklaus Schurtenberger.

Their German neighbours had been expected to scoop the honours in Rome when fielding a super-strong side but had to settle for third so the big guns will be out in force again this Friday, determined to improve on that situation. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum will be armed with her FEI World Cup winning partner Shutterfly and is joined by Ludger Beerbaum, Marcus Ehning and Lars Nieberg.

Fourth place on the leaderboard at present is occupied by the French who have been a little inconsistent so far. Chef d'Equipe Jean-Maurice Bonneau had warned at the beginning of the series that he might face some difficulty due to the absence of several of his best horse and rider combinations but three of his squad for this week's fixture - Eugenie Angot, Laurent Goffinet and Christian Hermon - are now seasoned veterans while Alexis Gautier and Jacques Bonnet complete the French contingent.

Their new bright-orange jackets have ensured the Dutch cannot go without notice this season but they will be hoping to improve on their sixth placing on the series table ahead of their home fixture in Rotterdam in just under three weeks time. The team remains unchanged from the one sent to Rome with Leopold Van Asten, Leon Thijssen, Eric van der Vleuten and Albert Zoer called up for duty again along with Angelique Hoorn.

Second-last on the leaderboard at the moment are the Belgians who, like the Dutch, have only accumulated a small number of points so far and who need to pull away from the Irish at the bottom of the table in order to stay safely out of trouble.

Lucien Somer's side is also the same as that sent to Italy last weekend but Ludo Philippaerts, Marc van Djick, Jean Claude Vangeenberghe and Maurice van Roosebroeck are joined by new recruit Patrick McEntee.

The latter has close family connections with Ireland and there is somewhat of an Irish slant about this Friday's event so perhaps Irish fortunes might at last begin to show a bit of an upswing.

Located in the north-east of Switzerland, about one hour from Zurich and with a population of about 70,000 people, St Gallen is named after an Irish monk who, having travelled through France and Italy, established a hermitage there around 612.

It was at the European Championships in St Gallen back in 1995 that Peter Charles' individual medal-winning performance put Ireland back on track after a long period in the doldrums and in the opening Samsung Super League season in 2003 Robert Splaine went into a head-to-head with Markus Fuchs to seal victory for the Emerald Isle before going on to win the Grand Prix.

Yet another new name appears as Chef d'Equipe for the Irish side this week as former national champion Tom Slattery takes on the role and Chairman of Selectors, Taylor Vard, was at pains to explain the reason for this today "we thought we were well-assured that Eddie Macken was coming on board this year but when he let us down and we began looking for a replacement everyone we contacted was already committed for the season. Trevor Coyle has been helping out with training and each selector will be Chef at some stage - it's not ideal, we need more consistency, but we've decided it's the best way to proceed right now" he said.

The Samsung Super League is a major priority for Irish show jumping. "As far as we are concerned there is only one real target for the entire year and that is to stay in the Samsung Super League series" Vard commented. As if he doesn't have enough problems already he learned last week that Billy Twomey's top ride, Luidam, is on the injury list again while American-based Kevin Babington, linchpin of the Irish side in recent years, will not be available as his gelding Carling King is also hors de combat. Irish spirit remains unbroken however and Vard pointed out "we are putting the Super League ahead of the European Championships this year - we may not be able to field teams for both San Patrignano and Hickstead so Hickstead will take preference".

Twomey, Splaine, Capt Shane Carey, Jessica Kurten and Denis Lynch will be flying the Irish flag this week.

At the other end of the Samsung Super League table the Americans and British are sitting pretty, sharing pole position with a total of 17 points.

The US side have added real sparkle to the 2005 series - they look good, they ride well and they have an energy about them that is contagious. Schuyler Riley's sense of fun has made her a big hit in Europe and the team that includes Georgina Bloomberg, Laura Kraut, Anne Kursinski and Beezie Madden have really put it up to the next rotation of US riders who take over in Rotterdam. Before they head home however the current squad will want to leave on a good note and keep the smile on the face of their team manager George Morris.

They were foiled in their effort to make it a double of Super League wins last Friday however by the British who were in a class of their own.

Chef d'Equipe Derek Ricketts had a grin from ear to ear at the end of the day because there was something reminiscent of that old British dominance in this performance. Double clears from both Nick Skelton and Michael Whitaker were the deciding factor but Whitaker's second round of jumping, under the greatest of pressure, was something special. The understanding he has built up with Portofino is exceptional - whatever about any horse's ability to jump fences, his willingness to give his all to his rider is even more rewarding and Portofino could not have tried harder last Friday afternoon.

However Rome is Rome and St Gallen is St Gallen - different venues with different challenges and a whole new day of jumping. Whitaker lines out again at the Swiss fixture along with William Funnell and his niece Ellen Whitaker but Skelton steps aside and the final team member will be either Richard Davenport or Robert Maguire.

The British and Americans may be on top today, but St Gallen is always a tough nut to crack and the leaderboard may well see some significant changes by Friday evening.

SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE LEADERBOARD (after Round 2 in Rome) :

EQUAL 1. USA and Great Britain - 17
3. Germany - 9
4. France - 7
5. Switzerland - 6
6. The Netherlands - 4.5
7. Belgium - 3.5
8. Ireland - 1

SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE - NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION!

The third leg of the 2005 Samsung Super League series takes place in St Gallen, Switzerland on Friday June 3rd. Show President at the Swiss fixture is Peter Stoessel, Show Director is Urs Schiendorfer and Show Secretary is Jacqueline Neuburger, email j.neuburger@csio.ch. Press Officer is Peter Wyrsch, email wy@sda-ats.ch. For further information telephone             +4171 2746699       or fax +4171 2746667 or consult the website at www.csio.ch.