Germany reigned supreme at the Samsung Super League with FEI final in Barcelona, Spain this evening to secure the 2008 title and their third consecutive series victory. Team members Ludger Beerbaum and Marco Kutscher produced the only two double-clear performances of the day, and Beerbaum secured the CHF50,000 Leading Rider Award for the 2008 season.
The Belgian team finished a strong second ahead of The Netherlands in third while the Irish took fourth ahead of the host team from Spain who were seriously impressive. British hopes of ousting the Germans from the top of the leaderboard faded fast however and they had to settle for sixth ahead of Switzerland, while it was a disappointing day for the USA as they finished second-last, beating only the three-man Swedish side who were eliminated following the retirement of Jens Fredricson as round two got underway.
REALLY PLEASED
"I'm really pleased with how it went for us" said Beerbaum following the prizegiving. "I'm not just talking about today, but for the whole season. Germany had several teams with different riders gaining points for us and today we had four really good performances. We were very disappointed after the Olympic Games - especially myself and Marco (Kutscher) - so it was great to show we could come back and jump well at this level and I'm really happy about winning the Leading Rider Award" the rider added.
At the end of the first round the result was still wide open but the Germans were already out in front with just four faults while Belgium and The Netherlands shared second place with eight and Ireland lay close behind with nine. Spain, Switzerland and Great Britain were in joint-fifth spot with 16 faults apiece, but the Americans were already in big trouble having racked up a total of 24.
Nicole Shahinian-Simpson and SRF Dragonfly opened the US account with six fences down, and when Georgina Bloomberg added 20 more faults on her tour of the track with Curius then not even the excellent single-error round from Super League newcomer James Benedetto riding Kannan S Gigi Z and a classic clear from Laura Kraut and her Olympic team gold medal-winning partner Cedric could make amends. Sweden, meanwhile, was already feeling the pain of having only three team-members, trailing the field with a total of 28 at the half-way stage.
THE PERFECT CHALLENGE
The course set by Frank Rothenberger and Javier Trenor presented the perfect end-of-season challenge. "When we walked it I didn't feel that any one particular distance or combination of fences would cause a problem" Ludger said. "It was tough and demanding enough but you could choose either a forward option or an extra-stride option in many places - you could see that on the run to the triple and after the triple - and it didn't suit just one particular type of horse so it was very fair" the German rider added.
Starting out over the Samsung oxer it was down to business right away however as the following wall stood at 1.52m before the left-hand turn that took riders down the first demanding line. This began with the oxer at three followed by the triple combination of oxer to vertical to oxer which initially appeared to ride short between the first two elements but which could also be approached on an attacking stride, and the line concluded with a 1.55m vertical.
The oxer at six was approached off a right-hand turn, and while it rode well in round one it claimed a number of victims in round two, and then there was a dog-leg to the open water at seven which was followed by a double of verticals with water-trays at eight. The oxer at nine led to a drunken oxer at ten, and the line to the following vertical planks proved the undoing of many who just couldn't see a good stride here and clipped it for a costly four faults while the track concluded after a right-hand bend to the final 1.50m oxer.
"It would have been a lot more demanding if the time had been two seconds tighter, but it was a very good track" Ludger commented.
SWEDEN'S FATE
Sweden's fate was sealed when Fredricson retired after his 11 year old stallion Platini VDL hit five fences early on the track but the Americans rallied brilliantly if a little late when Shahinian-Simpson's mare proved infinitely more rideable second time out to contrast her opening effort with a lovely clear. Kraut and Cedric were copy-book once again when picking up just a single time fault so with Bloomberg's 12 faults dropped only the 11 collected by Benedetto had to be added to complete their total of 36.
The non-Super League Spanish side added just 13 to their 16-fault first-round tally - Ricardo Jurado producing the best result with just a fence down from Procasa Julia des Brumes in both rounds - while the Swiss added 17 more to their score-sheet.
Pius Schwizer had an unhappy second round with Nobless M who collected 25 faults but Daniel Etter (Peu a Peu) and Steve Guerdat (Ferrari) faulted just once this time out while Nicklaus Schurtenberger's Cantus had two down and picked up a time penalty.
The British challenge just never developed as Michael Whitaker's Portofino and Peter Charles' Murka's Rubert R repeated their first-round eight-fault scores and although Charlotte Platt and Paulein and Tim Stockdale and Corlato had just one fence down each time out the final tally 32 left them well down the order.
A LOT HAPPIER
The Irish meanwhile were feeling a lot happier as their only aim was to remain amongst the top seven teams that would automatically qualify for next season's new Nations Cup series and they achieved that when adding just 12 more faults to complete with 21.
Cameron Hanley's exciting new ride, the nine year old Baloubet gelding Southwind VDL, collected five faults both times out, Capt David O'Brien added just four to his first round nine with the mare Mo Chroi and Cian O'Connor was best Irish performer with a clear and four faults from the big-jumping Rancorrado. But the competition also heralded the arrival of an exciting new talent in 23 year old Swiss-based Thomas Ryan who travelled as fifth man and really rose to the occasion when called up with Urleven van de Helle who made just a single mistake in each round.
A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY
As the closing stages evolved it was clear the winner would emerge from the final three teams and the Belgians gave the Germans a run for their money. Just a fence separated the two sides as round two began and clears from both Jos Lansink with Valentina van't Heike and Christophe Vanderhasselt with Ultra Top van'T Paradijs kept them well in touch. Patrick McEntee's four with the ever-reliable Ever Mury Marais Z at those penultimate planks was the only addition - Philippe Lejeune's 12 with Vigo d'Arsouilles proving the discard score.
Single errors from Angelique Hoorn (Blauwendraad's O'Brien), Leon Thijssen (Olaf) and Gerco Schroder (Eurocommerce Milano) all had to be counted when Marc Houtzager's stallion Opium left two on the floor so the Dutch lost their grip on runner-up spot but the Germans stayed as cool as cucumber to close it down with clears from pathfinder Carsten-Otto Nagel (Corradina), and Marco Kutscher's Cornet Obolensky and just four faults for Otto Becker and Con Air. Victory and the 2008 title were now in German hands but one more issue had to be settled and there was only one man to do it.
Beerbaum and All Inclusive NRW needed one more clear to earn the coveted Leading Rider prize and, with consummate ease, they cruised home to clinch it.
GRATITUDE
"In the last Super League season I would like to express the FEI'S deep gratitude to Samsung for their great support over the years" said FEI First Vice-President Sven Holmberg. "This partnership has been an important stepping-stone for equestrian spot and will have an influence for many years to come. It has established Nations Cup jumping at a new level and we are very grateful for that. We would also like to thank the Barcelona organisers for their contribution to the series -it has been a great final venue and we hope to find a solution to keep it involved in the Nations Cup series in some way in the future" he added.
Beerbaum echoed those sentiments saying "it has been really great having a global player like Samsung supporting this series. It has not just been about the money - having a brand of this calibre supporting our sport has been a major milestone" he pointed out.
German Chef d'Equipe Sonke Sonkssen said, "we will all miss Samsung next season and we want to thank you for the last six years". Stefan Ganders, Competition Director of the Samsung Super League with FEI series, commented "when we started in this sport 20 years ago we developed together with the FEI and it has been a fruitful cooperation for us both. We have been very proud to contribute to the sport but there were many gains for us in return. Now it is time to take a break and to allow another sponsor to take over - we know this sport can offer them a beneficial platform for their development.”
The perfect end then to a great season, a great series and a great era in Nations' Cup jumping......
RESULT:
1. Germany 4 flts: Corradina (Carsten-Otto Nagel) 4/0, Con Air (Otto Becker) 12/4, Cornet Obolensky (Marco Kutscher) 0/0, All Inclusive NRW (Ludger Beerbaum) 0/0.
2. Belgium 12 flts: Valentina Van't Heike (Jos Lansink) 8/0, Ever Mury Marais Z (Patrick McEntee) 4/4, Ultra Top van 'T Paradijs (Christoph van der Hasselt) 4/0, Vido d'Arsouilles (Philippe Lejeune) 0/12.
3. The Netherlands 20 flts: Blauwendraad's O'Brien (Angelique Hoorn) 4/4, Olaf (Leon Thijssen) 0/4, Opium VS (Marc Houtzager) 4/8, Eurocommerce Milano (Gerco Schroder) 17/4.
4. Ireland 21 flts: Southwind VDL (Cameron Hanley) 5/5, Urleven van de Helle (Thomas Ryan) 4/4, Mo Chroi (Capt David O'Brien) 9/4, Rancorrado (Cian O'Connor) 0/4.
5. Spain 29 flts: Gurana Champeix (Rutherford Latham) 4/11, Herald (Pilar Cordon Muro) 8/4, Ambiente 55 (J de Wit Guzman) 9/5, Procasa Julia des Brumes (Ricardo Jurado) 4/4.
6. Great Britain 32 flts: Portofino (Michael Whitaker) 8/8, Murka's Rupert R (Peter Charles) 9/8, Paulien (Charlotte Platt) 4/4, Corlato (Tim Stockdale) 4/4. 7. Switzerland 33 flts: Nobless M (Pius Schwizer) 8/25, Cantus (Niklaus Schurtenberger) 8/9, Peu a Peu (Daniel Etter) 4/4, Ferrari (Steve Guerdat) 4/4.
8. USA 36 flts: SRF Dragonfly (Nicole Shahinian-Simpson) 24/0, Curius (Georgina Bloomberg) 20/12, Kannan S Gigi Z (James Benedetto) 4/11, Cedric (Laura Kraut) 0/1.
9. Sweden Elim: Platini VDL (Jens Fredricson) 8/Ret, Careful (Jannike West) 12/DNS, Madick (Helena Lundback)8/DNS.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI - NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION!
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI 2008 - LEADERBOARD AFTER FINAL IN BARCELONA:
1. Germany - 67.00
2. Great Britain - 45.50
3. Netherlands - 44.50
4. Belgium - 37.50
5. Ireland - 31.83
6. USA - 27.83
7. Switzerland - 24.58
8. Sweden - 13.75
For further information on the 2008 Samsung Super League with FEI final at the Real Club de Polo, Barcelona check out website www.csiobarcelona.com. President is Juan Angel Calzado, CSIO President is Joaquin Calvo, Show Director is Hans Peter Vogelsanger and Press Officer is Isabel Suter - Email isuter@rcpolo.com.
FEI TELEVISION - BROADCAST INFORMATION - 2008 SERIES FINAL IN BARCELONA:
Live/Delayed Live
TV3 (Spain) - Check local listings
Equidia (France) - Saturday 27 September 20.45
Dubai Sports Channel - Check local listings
RAI (Italy) - Check local listings
TV4 (Sweden) - Sunday 21 September 23.00
Highlights
CNBC Asia - Saturday 4 October 15.00
CNBC Europe - Saturday 5 October 17.00
ESPN Brazil - Check local listings
ESPN Star (Pan Asia) - Tuesday 7 October 18.00, Wednesday 8 October 09.00, 18.00, Thursday 9 October 02.00, Friday 10 October 23.00, Monday 13 October 05.00.
EUROSPORT - Wednesday 24 September 20.55, Thursday 25 September 08.30.
EUROSPORT ASIA - Thursday 25 September 10.00
FINNISH SPORT TV - Saturday 4 October 18.25
FOX MIDDLE EAST - Friday 3 October 15.30
SETANTA SPORTS (Ireland) - Check local listings
SUPERSPORT (Pan Africa) - Thursday 9 october 19.30, Friday 10 October 01.30, 06.00, Saturday 11 October 09.30, Sunday 12 October 12.00, Monday 13 October 15.00, Tuesday 14 October 17.00, Wednesday 15 October 22.00.
SPORT PLUS (France) - Monday 29 September 22.00
SPORT TV (Portugal) - Check local listings
TG4 (Ireland) - Check local listings
TVE (Spain) - Check local listings
WCSN (USA) - Check local listings
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI - 2008 CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
ROUND 1 - La Baule (FRA) 5-11 May; ROUND 2 - Rome (ITA) 22-25 May; ROUND 3 - St Gallen (SUI) 29 May - 1 June: ROUND 4 - Rotterdam (NED) 18-22 June; ROUND 5 - Aachen (GER) 1-6 July; ROUND 6 - Hickstead (GBR) 24-27 July; ROUND 7 - Dublin (IRL) 8-10 August; ROUND 8 and FINAL - Barcelona (ESP) 18-21 September.
You can access all the latest Samsung Super League with FEI news and information on website www.samsungsuperleague.com
Want to know more? Check out the comprehensive MEDIA GUIDE for the series, available in print (contact: olivia.robinson@fei.org)and for download at www.samsungsuperleague.com under "Media Guide" heading.
PHOTOGRAPHS - A Photo Gallery of pictures is available on the Samsung Super League with FEI website for use by professional media only. The gallery will be regularly updated with low and high-resolution photographs and is password protected. To obtain a password follow the simple instructions when clicking on the link.
The Samsung Super League with FEI consists of the eight most prestigious horse shows at which the world's eight best national teams compare their merit. The Samsung Super League with FEI is connected to the FEI 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.
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