From July 21 to 24, 2005 San Patrignano will host the 28th annual European Show Jumping Championship. This is the most important event in equestrian sports on the continent, and it returns to Italy after a forty-three year absence. The last time such an event was held in our country was in Rome, at Piazza di Siena in ’63 when the Italian team obtained their last great victory: an individual gold medal for Graziano Mancinelli on Rockette.
The San Patrignano Community
San Patrignano, home to 1,800 people, is Europe’s largest center for the recovery from drug addiction. Since its founding in 1978 by Vincenzo Muccioli, (who passed on a decade ago this year) the community has welcomed more than twenty thousand young man and women, reintegrating them into society.
San Patrignano 2005: the participants
Twenty one nations will be present on opening day of the Championship: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Greece, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine. Germany’s Christian Ahlmann, who won the title at Donaueshingen in 2003, will compete against sixty nine other horse and rider teams for the individual Championship. On Friday, July 22nd, fifteen national teams will vie for the team medals (the German team is a favorite here as well).
The Patronages
The Championship is under the auspices of the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), which has tied the event to their international campaign of education and prevention: “Value Yourself…Make Healthy Choices”. RUNIC (Regional United Nations Information Centre for Western Europe) and the United Nations’ IYSPE 2005 (International Year for Sport and Physical Education) have also conceded their patronage. ECAD (the international association against drugs which has 250 member cities in thirty nations, including some twenty-two capitals such as Ankara, Athens, Belfast, Belgrade, Budapest, Helsinki, Oslo, Prague, Moscow, and Warsaw among others) has established a wide ranging partnership with San Patrignano with a message against drugs which will reach the four corners of the European continent.
The City of Riccione
Riccione is the partner city of this European Championship, being the most important and popular tourist destination on the Adriatic Riviera. Riccione offers many attractions to guests of the Championship, and has underlined the importance of San Patrignano’s message of solidarity, which is central to the partnership. Thanks to the event, this message will be able to reach millions of people worldwide.
Favorite horses, riders and teams
Ten nations have already announced the definitive line-up for their teams (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Ukraine), while the other twelve (Austria, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Hungary) have signed five riders up for the Championship. We will have to wait until the evening of Wednesday, July 20 (after the first days’ results) to see who the chef d’equipes choose for the team competition.
The odds-on favorites are the Germans. Kurt Gravemeier has a line-up comprised of Christian Ahlmann (ranked 9th on the computer list), Otto Becker (8th), Marcus Ehning (5th), Marco Kutscher (10th) and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (4th).
San Patrignano has cause to celebrate the decision of the show jumping department of the FISE (Italian Equestrian Federation). Jerry Smit and Nadir, a horse born and raised on the grounds of the Rimini-based community, are to be part of the ‘quintet’ of Italian riders chosen to compete. After and impressive second place finish in the Grand Prix at Falsterbo, Sweden, they were selected to join Bruno and Vincenzo Chimirri, Juan Carlos Garcia, and Andrea Heroldt for the first round of competition on the 20th.
The British team seems to be truly a Whitaker ‘family affair’. Along with Nick Skelton and William Tunnel, the lineup is composed of John and Michael Whitaker and their nineteen year-old niece Ellen.
Belgium’s brightest hope, Ludo Philippaerts, will bring his famed Parco to San Patrignano this year. After their bad luck at Donaeschingen, when an error at the last fence knocked them from first to fourth place individually, they will try their chances again this year.
Switzerland has presented a young team this year, made up of Fabio Crotta, Steve Guerdat, Christina Leibherr, Niklaus Schurtenberger, and Markus Fuchs (2nd in the worldwide ranking). Fuchs is another contender for the individual title.
It is important not to rule out any surprises, though, from teams which have lately had good showings in the Championship: Sweden, France, the Netherlands, and Ireland.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that several Eastern European nations will be competing this year, including Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Estonia in the race for the individual medals and Hungary in the team competition as well.
Media and television coverage
More than 150 journalists will be present at San Patrignano 2005, including dailies, weeklies, monthlies, and agencies from all over Europe. Among them are The Times, L’Equipe, Le Figaro, Daily Telegraph, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Suddeutsche Zeitung, Tages Anzeiger, Independent, Observer, Tag Blatt, Basler Zeitung, and Der Bund.
Nine national networks will cover the event live: BBC (GBR), NOS (NL), SVT (SWE), TSI/TSR/DRS (SUI), ZDF (GER), VRT (BEL), Sport 1 (HUN). Furthermore, NOS (NL) and RTE (IRL) will be broadcasting live on the radio.
The fences
Twenty six entirely new fences were built for the purpose of this event, distinguished by their unique shapes and color schemes. All of them will also be unique in that they will follow a theme: the European Championship and solidarity. Ten of the community’s young men have made it their work to build these jumps from scratch. When asked about the fences, one of them stated “The fences will all be different. Some of them will be inspired by the products created by the community, others to the nations participating, and of of course by our commitment to ending drug abuse.” Course designer Marco Cortinovis, along with members of the community’s design office came up with the ideas for the fences. All of the fences are made with “okumè”, a special type of lightweight wood used in the construction of ships.
The prizes
Prized money will total 350 thousand Euro for the Championship. The winners of the team medals will split €100 thousand, as will those who come first in the individual competition.
UNIRE
UNIRE is the Italian institution for the promotion of equitation and horsemanship. This is why San Patrignano has established a partnership with this organization for a campaign encouraging young people to practice equestrian sports. In addition, UNIRE is the “presenting sponsor” of San Patrignano 2005.
Tickets
Tickets to the Championship are available on line at www.ticketone,it and at outlets situated in Emilia Romagna’s largest cities (full list of vendors on the web site). For information within Italy, call (toll free) 899 500 022.
Campus
