The French scored a convincing victory at the third leg of the 2005 Samsung Super League series in St Gallen, Switzerland today when picking up just six faults over the two rounds of jumping to finish with a 10-point advantage over the joint runners-up from Switzerland and Germany.
Eugenie Angot's double-clear performance with Cigale du Taillis, one of just four on the day, sealed the result which moves the French into third place on the Samsung Super League leaderboard. The British now lie second while the USA remain at the head of affairs going into the next round in Rotterdam in two weeks' time.
"Olaf did something really special today" Eugenie said, talking about the course designed by Olaf Petersen. "It was a very classical course, very fair for horses with plenty of distance between the fences - the verticals were high but the most difficult line was towards the end of the track" she pointed out. "After the water (fence 9) you had seven long or eight short strides to the triple combination (fence 10) - this was an oxer with a very short distance to a vertical and then another big oxer and it caused many problems today" Eugenie explained.
The other three riders who completed double-clear rounds were America's Beezie Madden (Desilvio), Ireland's Jessica Kurten (Castle Forbes Maike) and the pathfinder for the competition William Funnell from Great Britain who, when first into the ring with Cortaflex Mondriaan, showed just how it should be done.
The British, last week's winners in Rome, were languishing in second-last position at the end of the first round however carrying 13 faults with only the Dutch behind them.
It was a day Albert Zoer will want to forget as he suffered a series of disasters that jeopardized his side's chances. He only got as far as the triple bar at fence three in the first round before both he and his horse, Okidoki, took a crashing fall but they both bravely got to their feet and continued on, collecting 31 faults for their troubles. This drama however ensured that double-errors by by Eric Van der Vleuten (Audi's Jikke) and Leon Thijssen (Nairobi) had to be counted along with four picked up by Leopold van Asten (VDL Groep Fleche Rouge) so with 20 on the board at the halfway stage the Dutch were already struggling.
The Swiss completed round one with 12 faults while the Irish carried nine, Germany and Belgium carried eight, France carried six and the USA carried just four into round two after opening clears from both Beezie and Laura Kraut (Miss Independent).
The Americans began to lose their grip however when Anne Kursinski and Roxana returned a second-round 16-fault score and when Schuyler Riley and Ilian left three on the floor at their second attempt things really began to fall apart.
Nothing could match the misfortunes of Albert Zoer however whose second visit to the ring was even more eventful than his first. This time Okidoki was clear all the way to the triple combination before Albert suddenly reached forward and began swinging out of the horse's neck much to the bemusement of the spectators who could not work out what was going on. The horse began spinning round in a tight circle and it was only then that it became clear that his bridle had broken - perhaps damaged during his first-round fall. Despite a clear from Eric van der Vleuten this time out and only a single time penalty for Leon Thijssen, Holland's chances were dashed as Van Asten's 12 faults had to be included to leave the Dutch trailing the field.
Double-errors from Jean Claude van Geenberghe (Osta Rugs Quintus), Maurice van Roosbroeck (Le Coup C) and Marc van Djick (Verelst Goliath) could not be rectified by a four-fault result for Ludo Philippaerts and Chatman in round two so the Belgians slipped down the order to finish second-last, while Ireland's Capt Shane Carey and Killossery retired after two fences down when unable to improve on the 21-fault tally for his side at the end of the day.
The British finished level with their near-neighbours when adding eight more to also complete with 21 faults which slotted them into joint-fifth spot with the Irish, and the Americans had to settle for fourth with a total of 20.
The Germans sprung another surprise at this latest leg of the Samsung Super League series but, for the second consecutive week, it was a surprise they could have done without.
When Ludger Beerbaum's horse Goldfever produced a last-minute run-out in Rome last Friday the crowd gasped with disbelief but today it was the turn of his team-mate and sister-in-law Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum to create a sensation. Riding her World Cup winning partner Shutterfly, Meredith was eliminated in the first round when Shutterfly slammed on the brakes at the oxer at fence five and then refused again later on the track. The unpredictability of the equine mind is something that not even the greatest riders in the world can anticipate, and when Lars Nieberg (Lucie), Marcus Ehning (Gitania) and Ludger (L'Espoir) all faulted once second time out Germany completed with 16 faults.
This was good enough for joint runner-up spot with the Swiss who rocketed up the order thanks to second-round clears from Christina Liebherr (LB No Mercy) and Beat Mandli (Principal) while both Markus Fuchs (La Toya) and Niklaus Schurtenberger (Cantus) each had just one fence down at their second attempt.
The French however were a class apart and claimed the spoils thanks to a total of four clear rounds. Laurent Goffinet reckoned that he must have been asleep when picking up two time penalties in the first round with the normally fast and furious stallion Flipper d'Elle. "I was so relaxed because he was jumping so perfectly - I was enjoying my ride so much that I didn't notice the time - it was all my fault we picked up the penalties" he said, but he smartened up his act and put in a copybook clear round next time out.
Jacques Bonnet and Gracieux Ardent seemed quite at home when picking up just four faults in the first round but they piled the pressure on their team-mates when eliminated at the combination in round two - "I made one stride too many after the water" Jacques later explained. Christian Hermon followed with a lovely clear from Ephebe for Ever La Silla however and that meant that Eugenie Angot had two fences in hand when last into the ring for her team.
"We were all feeling quite confident after round one and when Laurent went clear it was looking good but the problems for the second horse were a worry. Christian was wonderful however and I knew I could have two fences down and we would still win but it was no problem for my horse" Eugenie said.
Eugenie has not competed at top level for quite some time with Cigale du Taillis. "My last big show was the World Cup in Paris. She was not jumping so good - I think she was tired and her physical form was not good - so I spoke with Jean-Maurice and explained to him that my horse needs to be fresh to be at her best. She likes jumping but I think she had become bored so we decided to give her a big rest. I did not go to La Baule so that she could have six weeks off work and then, when I thought she was ok, I took her to two national shows three weeks ago and she jumped very well. Now she was fresh again, so I gave her two more weeks off and the big test for her was here. To ride number four on a team is a hard thing to do but today she did really good and I'm very happy for her and for the team" Eugenie added.
"I know my horse well" she continued. "I have her two years now and I know what I must do to keep her happy in her head. The next thing we will do is the French National Championship in three weeks' time and then we look to the European Championships. For her these are the only two things she is aimed at because it is really important that she is good both physically and mentally" Eugene explained.
And she was very pleased for her Chef d'Equipe Jean-Maurice Bonneau today. "On Monday, after Rome, he was a bit sad but today we make him happy again!" she said. Having won the Samsung Super League series in each of its first two seasons the French team manager is, of course, hoping to make it three-in-a-row but that is a lot of pressure and he knows it.
So the next port of call is Rotterdam in Holland in 14 days time. This will mark the halfway stage of the 2005 Samsung Super League and a new-look American side will be hoping to maintain their dominance while the Irish, who struggled to survive in the 2004 series, will be desperate to move out of the danger-zone at the bottom of the table.
RESULTS:
1. France - 6 faults: Flipper d'Elle (Laurent Goffinet) 2+0, Gracieux Ardent (Jacques Bonnet) 4+16, Ephebe for Ever la Silla (Christian Hermon) 4+0, Cigale du Taillis (Eugenie Angot) 0+0.
Equal 2. Switzerland - 16 faults: La Toya (Markus Fuchs) 4+4, LB No Mercy (Christina Liebherr) 4+0, Cantus (Niklaus Schurtenberger) 4+4, Principal (Beat Mandli) 8+0.
Equal 2. Germany - 16 faults: Lucie (Lars Nieberg) 0+4, L'Espoir (Ludger Beerbaum) 0+4, Gitania (Marcus Ehning) 8+4, Shutterfly (Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum) Elim+0.
4. USA - 20 faults: Desilvio (Beezie Madden) 0+0, Roxana (Anne Kursinski) 4+16, Ilian (Schuyler Riley) 4+12, Miss Independent (Laura Kraut) 0+4.
Equal 5. Great Britain - 21 faults; Cortaflex Mondriaan (William Funnell) 0+0, AK Locarno (Ellen Whitaker) 9+4, Mr Cawley (Robert Maguire) 11+4, Portofino (Michael Whitaker) 4+5.
Equal 5. Ireland - 21 faults: Castle Forbes Maike (Jessica Kurten) 0+0, Clarion Hotels Coolcorron Cool Diamond (Robert Splaine) 5+8, Anastasia (Billy Twomey) 4+4, Killossery (Capt Shane Carey) 8+Rtd.
7. Belgium - 28 faults; Osta Rugs Quintus (Jean Claude van Geenberghe) 0+8, Le Coup C (Maurice van Roosbroeck) 4+8, Verelst Goliath (Marc van Djick0 4+8, Chatman (Ludo Philippaerts) 8+4.
8. The Netherlands - 33 faults; Audi's Jikke (Eric van der Vleuten) 8+0, Okidoki (Albert Zoer) 31+Elim, VDL Groep Fleche Rouge (Leopold van Asten 4+12, Nairobi (Leon Thijssen) 8+1.
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SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE LEADERBOARD (after Round 3 in St Gallen):
1. USA - 21
2. Great Britain - 19.5
3. France - 17
4. Germany - 15
5. Switzerland - 12
6. The Netherlands- 5
7. Belgium - 4.5
8. Ireland - 3.5
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE - NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION!
For further information on the third leg of the 2005 Samsung Super League series in St Gallen, Switzerland consult WEBSITE www.csio.ch. 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, telephone +4171 2746699 or fax +4171 2746667.
The next leg takes place in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on Friday 17 June. Show President is Frans Lavooy, Show Director is Jan-Willem Korner, contact korner@planet.nl and Press Officer is Anita Lussenburg - email anita.lussenburg@ingram.nl, tel: +31104526729 or +31104528900 , fax +31104531555. Show Organiser's email address is info@chio.nl and WEBSITE is at www.chio.nl.
PLEASE NOTE that PRESS ACCREDITATION for the fifth leg of the Samsung Super League series at HICKSTEAD on Friday July 25th is available now by contacting jeffery.communications@btopenworld.com, tel: +441643 831011 or fax: +441643 831040 or on the website www.hickstead.co.uk. Accommodation list is also available on website.
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.
Campus
