Britain's Robert Smith scorched to victory in the sixth leg of the 2005/2006 FEI World Cup Jumping series at Olympia in London today with a blistering performance from Kalusha in the eight-horse jump-off. German riders took the next two placings, with Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst in runner-up spot riding Candy and World No. 1 Marcus Ehning in third with Sandro Boy but it is fourth-place finisher Beat Mandli from Switzerland who now heads the Western European League leaderboard with a significant 56 points to his credit.
Course-designer Jorge Guilherme from Brazil built a first-round track that tested them to the limit, and 14 horses jumped before Ben Maher recorded the first clear round. Rideability, precision and power were all required if the timber was to be left intact, and turning that was less than precise was punished unmercifully - the sharp left-hand line to the oxer at fence seven taking a heavy toll as did the right-hand curve to the oxer at 11 on the 13-fence course.
Maher is a young man full of promise and the 22 year old from Essex, a double gold medallist at Pony European level and a member of the British gold medal winning squad at last year's Young Rider European Championships, has demonstrated his undeniable talent this summer with his victories in the prestigious Hickstead Derby and Zuidlaren Grand Prix events. Riding the Dutch-bred nine year old Nikko he was first to conquer the big, challenging track today and his fellow-countryman John Whitaker then followed suit with Exploit de Roulard before Mandli also earned a place in the timed round with Ideo du Thot.
Smith and Kalusha made it three for the home side, Ireland's Jessica Kurten joined the clear-round pack with Quibell and then Marcus Ehning (Sandro Boy), Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst (Candy) and Markus Beerbaum (Leena) ensured a strong German presence in the closing stages when bringing the tally to eight.
Despite his relative youth, Maher is already showing great maturity and set the pace in the jump-off with another beautifully executed clear that, however, left the door open for those who followed when the clock stopped on 38.29 seconds. John Whitaker is almost 30 years his senior and remains as magical in the saddle as ever but his stallion, winner of both the Puissance and Masters competitions earlier at the show, clipped the first fence as Whitaker turned him in the air and they returned with four faults in 39.75. Mandli's round was flawless as his gelding Ideo du Thot, winner of the Grand Prix at Vienna, flowed through every twist and turn and the Swiss partnership raced down the long run to the final oxer to re-set the target at 36.08 seconds.
Smith however took more than a full second off that, with a breath-taking performance from his unpredictable grey whose commitment can never be taken for granted. Leading Rider in Geneva last weekend, the British rider suffered the deep frustration of having to retire after a stop by Kalusha in the World Cup jump-off. When he is put under pressure Kalusha sometimes digs his heels in but, after several years of competition together, Smith is philisophical and said today "Sometimes I win and sometimes he wins - that's just the way it is".
Kurten's Quibell has rarely jumped better than in recent months and the Irish rider was in touch coming to the last but left that on the floor to complete in 37.22 seconds. Marcus Ehning then set off with Sandro Boy whose extravagance over his fences is wonderful to watch but costly to his rider. "My horse is brilliant but he still spends a bit too much time in the air" Ehning said afterwards. "However he's becoming more confident and he's getting better all the time" he added. Ehning's incredible eye for a stride allowed him to gallop all the way to the last which he cleared in 36.73 seconds but Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst was one-hundredth of a second quicker when second-last into the ring with the brilliant and brave little mare Candy to move into runner-up. Now only Markus Beerbaum could prevent Smith's victory and he gave it his best shot with a superb round from Leena who shaved almost a half-second off the time but left the penultimate fence on the floor.
"It was a great competition" said Ehning who finished in third place. "The course was very technical and high enough and the jump-off was really fast. I saw Robert on the television - he was trying everything and making it perfectly but my own horse was brilliant. I'm very happy because I now have 48 points so I'm already qualified for the World Cup final and that's what I came here to do" he added.
Runner-up Pollmann-Schweckhorst was quite satisfied with his own result. "I have great respect for Robert - he is ice-cold under pressure but I'm very pleased with my own mare, she gave me the maximum - 100% - and I now have 36 points which leaves me in sixth place on the leaderboard right now. I'm going to Mechelen so I have the chance of picking up more points there" he pointed out.
When asked if he was concerned about Kalusha after the horse's refusal in Geneva Smith explained "he's a bit of a funny horse. At this show he was not so good on the first day, better on the second and then today he was right on song. Of course you need things to go your way too - a bit of luck - if you want to win a competition like this, but it was a great course. It took everything from both the horse and the rider to jump it - it was a tough one" he said.
Course-designer Guillherme pointed out "it is difficult to build for this level of riders. I mostly work on the North American circuit but the level there is not normally as high as it is here. At Olympia the ground is very good - fantastic footing - you don't want to ask for too much from horses when the ground is not good, but here it was perfect".
Now in fourth place on the leaderboard, Smith says he definitely wants to go to the FEI World Cup Jumping Final in Kuala Lumpur next April. He is unsure about his plans for Kalusha however as, with both of his top horses, Marius Claudius and Mr Springfield, on the injury list the grey is doing all the hard work. "Derek is the man with the plan" Smith said, referring to British Chef d'Equipe Derek Ricketts, "I'll be talking to him before I make a decision".
Smith now matches Ludger Beerbaum's record of three World Cup wins at Olympia - "in front of your home crowd a win like this is just great" he said delightedly.
So now the series moves on to Mechelen in Belgium next week with the leaderboard headed by Mandli followed by Ehning in second, Gerco Schroder in third, Smith in fourth, Nick Skelton in fifth and Pollmann-Schweckhorst in sixth.
Result - 1, Kalusha (Robert Smith) GBR 0/0 36.08; 2, Candy (Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst) Ger 0/0 36.72; 3, Sandro Boy (Marcus Ehning) Ger 0/0 36.73; 4, Ideo du Thot (Beat Mandli) Sui 0/0 37.18; 5, Niko (Ben Maher) GBR 0/0 38.29; 6, Leena (Markus Beerbaum) Ger 0/4 35.65; 7, Quibell (Jessica Kurten) Irl 0/4 37.22; 8, Exploit de Roulard (John Whitaker) GBR 0/4 39.75; 9, Omelli (Tim Gredley) GBR 1/72.09; 10, Gio Granno (manuel Fernandez Saro) Esp 1/74.19; 11, Prima Vera (Robert Whitaker) GBR 4/66.49; 12, Butterfly Flip (Malin Baryard-Johnsson) Swe 4/66.90; 13, La Toya (Marcus Fuchs) Sui 4/67.12; 14, Eurocommerce Milano (Gerco Schroder) Ned 4/67.84; 15, Cyrenaika (Philippe Leoni) Fra 4/67.99; 16, Thesaura (Mark Armstrong) GBR 4/68.22; 17, ET Royal Volo (Tony Andre Hansen) Nor 4/68.27; 18, Corlato (Tim Stockdale) GBR 4/68.56; 19, Andiamo Z (Kristof Cleeren) Bel 4/68.79; 20, Eve des Etisses (Hubert Bourdy) Fra 4/69.63; 21, The Sixth Sense (Thomas Fruhmann) Aut 4/69.88; 22, Aquino (Franke Sloothaak) Ger 4/69.93; 23, Aboyeur W (Heinrich-Hermann Engemann) Ger 4/69.96; 24, Sails Away (Sebastian Numminen) Fin 4/70.72; 25, S&L Bleeker & 11th (Gerfried Puck) Aut 8/68.65; 26, Portofino (Michael Whitaker) GBR 8/69.37; 27, Western Union Equinox du Morin (Emanuele Fiorelli) Ita 8/69.51; 28, Arko (N Skelton) GBR 8/69.99; 29, Lorenzo (Christian Ahlmann) Ger 8/70.23; 30, Luidam (Billy Twomey) Irl 8/70. 61; 31, Hofgut Liederbach's Abrisca (Pia-Luise Aufrecht) Ger 12/69.16; 32, Pero-Z Hillock (Linnea Ericsson) Den 16/68.87; 33, Oliver Q (Harrie Smolders) Ned 21/90.06; 34, Skip Two Ramiro (G Williams) GBR 25/72.15; 35, AK Locarno (Ellen Whitaker) GBR, Cortaflex Amber du Montois (William Funnell) GBR, Le Coup C (Maurice Van Roosbroeck) Bel Ret.
FEI WORLD CUP JUMPING 2005/2006 LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 6 AT OLYMPIA IN
LONDON :
1. Beat Mandli - 56
2. Marcus Ehning - 48
3. Gerco Schroder- 47
4. Robert Smith - 46
5. Nick Skelton - 34
6. Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst - 32
7. Juan Carlos Garcia, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum - 28
9. Piet Raymakers- 26
10. Harrie Smolders- 25
11. Thomas Velin - 23
12. Linnea Ericsson- 22
13. Jean-Mar Nicolas- 21
14. Albert Zoer, Eric van der Vleuten, Heinrich Hermann Engemann,
Thomas Fruhmann - 20
18. Franke Sloothaak, Jessica Kurten, Wim Schroder - 19.
For further information about the FEI World Cup Jumping qualifier at Olympia in London, England visit WEBSITE: www.olympiahorseshow.com. Show President is Lord Vestey, Show Director is Simon Brooks-Ward, LVO and Show Secretary is Penny Henderson - email pennyh@hpower.co.uk. Press Officer is Candy Burnyeat, email candyb.hpim.easynet.co.uk, Tel (mobile) ++44 1753 847 900.
The next leg of the series takes place at Mechelen in Belgium - 26/30 December. Show President is Wout van de Walle, Show Director is Peter Bollen, Show Secretary is Yolande Wauters and Press Officer is Edith de Reys, email edith.dereys@skynet.be or Tel (mobile) +32 475 659281 . WEBSITE - www.jumping-mechelen.com.
For all information on the FEI World Cup Jumping final in Kuala Lumpur (26-30 April) check out the WEBSITE www.klworldcupfinal.com or contact Press Officer Lo Wai Fai at email waifai@asiapromote.net or Tel (mobile) +6012 209 0068 . Show Director is Peter Winton, email paw@asiapromote.net.
2005/2006 FEI WORLD CUP JUMPING SERIES - CALENDAR OF EVENTS: 1, Helsinki (Finland) - 6/9 October; 2, Oslo (Norway) - 14/16 October; 3, Verona (Italy) - 4/6 November; 4, Stuttgart (Ger) - 16/20 November; 5, Geneva (Switzerland) - 8/11 December; 6, London-Olympia (Great Britain) - 13-19 December; 7, Mechelen (Belgium) - 26/30 December; 8, Leipzig (Germany) 19/22 January; 9, Amsterdam (The Netherlands) - 26/29 January; 10, Bordeaux (France) - 3/5 February; 11, Vigo (Spain) - 9/12 February; 12, 's-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands) - 23/26 March; 13, Goteborg (Sweden) - 13/16 April. Final Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 26/30 April.
BIOGRAPHIES of riders competing in the FEI World Cup Jumping series are available at www.horsesport.org.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE RULES for World Cup Jumping riders from FEI website www.feiworldcup.org.
FEI World Cup Jumping has entered its 28th year. The series, created in 1978, today comprises 13 leagues on all continents. The best riders from 116 World Cup preliminary competitions will qualify for the Final in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia which takes place from 26 to 30 April 2006. The title-holder is Germany's Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum.
The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), founded in 1921, is the international body governing equestrian sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and includes 133 National Federations.
Equestrian sport has been on the Olympic programme since 1912 with three disciplines - Jumping, Dressage and Eventing. It is one of the very few sports in which men and women compete on equal terms. It is also the only sport which involves two athletes - horse and rider - and the FEI has relentlessly concerned itself with the welfare of the
horse.
For more information contact:
FEI Communications, Muriel Faienza m.faienza@horsesport.org or consult
FEI website www.horsesport.org.
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