Samsung Super League Preview

Home to the world-famous cathedral in which King Charlemagne was buried in 814AD, Aachen, Germany's western-most city which is located 65kms from Cologne and stands on the borders of both Belgium and The Netherlands, is also the location of one of Europe's most celebrated jumping arenas and, this Friday, the stadium will be packed as the home team strives to maintain pole position in the 2005 Samsung Super League.

This second-last leg of the series promises to be one of the toughest so far, as the nations grouped at the top of the leaderboard attempt to de-rail the German powerhouse and those at the bottom struggle to stay afloat.

The Irish and Dutch are locked in mortal combat, with The Netherlands going into Friday's class at the bottom of the table but only two points behind the Irish who have been dogged by in-fighting and controversy all season. Capt John Ledingham has been asked to step in as Irish Chef d'Equipe for this vitally important round of the series but team morale has taken a hammering, particularly in the past few weeks.

Jessica Kurten has refused to ride alongside Cian O'Connor despite the fact that he has been stripped of his Olympic gold medal and has served his three-month ban from international competition following the positive dope test for his horse in Athens and, following a messy moment prior to the Dublin nations' cup when he was selected and then dropped, Harry Marshall is doing likewise. O'Connor was obliged to cry off the Aachen squad last week when his horse, Waterford Crystal, showed a recurrence of an old splint problem so Dermott Lennon, the reigning world champion who had already received an invitation for Saturday's Champion of Champions class in Aachen, was called in to join Billy Twomey, Capt Shane Carey, Shane Breen and Denis Lynch. The Irish are on tenterhooks however, knowing that a poor result this week will leave them gasping for air going into the final in Barcelona three weeks later.

The Dutch may be last on the leaderboard after Dublin but they come to this week's German fixture with three of the four riders and horses that earned them team bronze at the European Championships in Italy last month.

Jeroen Dubbeldam and BMC Nassau were hugely impressive when also taking individual bronze in San Patrignano and they are joined by fellow medal-winners Gerco Schroder (Eurocommerce Monaco) and Leon Thijssen (Nairobi) together with Mathijs Van Asten and Harrie Smolders. The Netherlands means business, and that business is to leave the Irish behind and to climb as far up the leaderboard as possible this week so that the Dutch team is not under such huge pressure going into the final round of the series in Spain.

The Belgians were impressive in Dublin, although their weakest partnership in the nations' cup only really showed their class on the final afternoon when Jean Claude Vangeenberghe steered Osta Rugs Quintus to claim the 40,000 euro winner's prize in the Grand Prix. Jos Lansink and the extravagant Cavalor Cumano created a real stir at the Irish fixture and they join Vangeenberghe, Dirk Demeersman, Philippe Le Jeune and Ludo Philippaerts in an effort to ensure that Belgium, currently lying in sixth position, slips no further down the order.

The French are out in force with Eugenie Angot and Cigale du Taillis, who jumped double-clear on their only previous 2005 Super League appearance in St Gallen in June, back onboard along with Gilles Bertran de Balanda, Herve Godignon, Michel Hecart and Florian Angot.

Chef d'Equipe, Jean Maurice Bonneau, made it clear at the beginning of the season that a third Samsung title may not be on the cards due to the unavailability of some of his best horses and riders, and that seems to have been borne out by the fact that his side is lying fifth at this stage of the series. There is a gap of 16.5 points between fifth position and first in the current rankings, but a good result this week, topped up by double-points in Barcelona, could change things dramatically.

The Swiss send out three members of the team that claimed European silver last month including Markus Fuchs, Steve Guerdat and individual silver medalist Christina Liebherr. Backed up by Lesley McNaught and Niklaus Schurtenberger, Rolf Grass's side could well improve on their current fourth placing on the leaderboard but the top three teams are bunched much closer, with only 0.5 points between the Americans in third spot and the British lying second, and another 4.5 between the British and the Germans at the top of the table.

The USA comes out with all guns blazing as Laura Kraut, Beezie Madden, Kimberley Prince, McLain Ward and Jeffery Welles fly the flag with determination while the British, double-winners this Super League season, field old favourites Nick Skelton and Michael Whitaker along with William Funnell, Mark Armstrong and Ellen Whitaker. They will be wanting to hold their ground in Aachen and they will be hoping to keep the Americans at bay.

The Germans however can look forward to Friday with enormous optimism. They have their first Samsung Super League title in their sights and it looks like they intend to take it. Chef d'Equipe Kurt Gravemeier has his full European championship winning squad available to him including individual gold medallist Marco Kutscher with Montender, FEI World Cup title-holder Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Christian Ahlmann and Marcus Ehning. For good measure he also has Ludger Beerbaum on call and, on paper, it seems that you could almost write the script for Friday's competition already.

But show jumping is a funny old game and the Samsung Super League has proven, time and again, that horses are unpredictable creatures and that riders don't always have everything their own way. The Germans may be on top as Friday's competition begins but those British bulldogs will be barking at their heels, while the Americans and Swiss will also be ready to pounce if the leaders show the slightest weakness.

SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE LEADERBOARD (after Round 6 in Dublin):
1. Germany - 38
2. Great Britain - 33.5
3. USA - 33
4. Switzerland - 24.5
5. France - 21.5
6. Belgium - 17
7. Ireland - 14.5
8. The Netherlands- 12.5.

SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE - NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION!

For further information about the seventh leg of the 2005 Samsung Super League series in Aachen check out website www.chioaachen.de or contact Press Officer Niels Knippertz at tel:             +49241 91710      , fax +49241 917199, email niels.knippertz@aachen2006.de.

The final takes place at the Real Club de Polo in Barcelona on Sunday 18 September. Show President is Joaquin Calvo Jaques, Show Director is Hanspeter Vogelsanger and Press Officer is Isabel Suter - contact isuter@rcpolo.com, tel:             +3493203 1008      , fax +3493205 5516, website www.csiobarcelona.com.

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.

For more information:Contact FEI Communications, Muriel Faienza, m.faienza@horsesport.org or consult FEI website www.horsesport.org.