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Federation
Equestre Internationale News
Samsung Super League News : Irish Aces Do It Again!
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The
Mercedes Benz Prize/Nations Cup at Aachen, part of the Samsung
Super League
The
Irish put in another stunning performance to record their second
Samsung Super League victory and their third Nations Cup win in
a row when topping the line-up at Aachen today.
In
a thrilling clash in which the result was only decided by the
final rider into the ring the boys in green held firm to pip a
much-improved Belgian squad for the honours, while the league
leaders from France had to settle for fifth spot this time.
The
tension ahead of this leg of the series was already at a high
pitch following the decision taken by the Aachen organisers to
restrict the number of teams through to the second round to just
eight.
With
the USA using a wild-card, and therefore battling for points towards
the normal Nations Cup series, it was possible that one of the
Super League teams could lose out and this was exactly what happened
when the Swedes concluded Round 1 in ninth position and therefore
had to settle for just 0.5 Super League points.
There
was a considerable amount of disagreement about this issue which
must now be resolved ahead of next year’s series, but for
the eight teams through to Round 2 it was still all to play for.
The
Belgian’s pulled off a real surprise when Dirk Demeersman
(Clinton), Stanny van Paesschen (O de Pomme) and Jos Lansink (AK
Caridor Z) produced three clears to take the early lead. Belgian
results had been disappointing throughout the series so far but
it was looking very good for them at the halfway stage.
The
French were in second spot following foot-perfect rounds from
Michel Hecart (Quilano de Kalvarie) and Michel Robert (Galet d’Auzay)
and counting just the five faults picked up by Eric Levallois
(Diamant de Semilly Ecolit) while the Irish were one position
further behind.
None
of the four Irish riders managed to come home without penalties
as, instead, they played the percentage game with the clock -
Peter Charles (Pershing) and Kevin Babington (Carling King) picking
up just one time-fault each while Billy Twomey’s five faults
with Luidam left them on a total of seven.
There
has been huge controversy in the British equestrian press over
the past week following the purchase by Lord Harris of the British
team horse It’s Magic Max for Irish rider Peter Charles and
the British have certainly not been enjoying a good run of luck
from any angle lately. Team member Michael Whitaker withdrew from
the show following a fatal accident to his horse, Landfurst, on
Thursday and the squad struggled hard to stay in the frame today
but things did not go their way and they finished bottom of the
pile at the end of the competition.
Germany
and the USA were on level-pegging and still well in touch at the
halfway stage with 8 faults each but the real battle was fought
between the top three teams, with every rider’s tour of Frank
Rothenberger’s 12-fence track opening up any amount of possibilities.
Robert
Splaine and his Irish Sport Horse stallion, Coolcorron Cool Diamond,
had two fences down first time out but led the way in round 2
with an excellent clear and when Billy Twomey also left the course
intact the Irish were adding just four more faults picked up by
Peter Charles at the final element of the combination which was
the last fence on the course.
A
single mistake from both Levallois and Hecart and five faults
for Reynald Angot left the French vulnerable and things began
to fall apart for the Belgians when Demeersman came home with
8 faults on the board and van Paesschen collected 13, although
Jos Lansink somewhat restored the equilibrium when putting in
a second clear.
Final
Irish runner, Kevin Babington, hit the oxer at fence six and added
a time fault so now the Irish tally was finalised at 11 faults
but they were already ahead of the French who slipped further
down the order when Michel Robert returned from his second effort
with another five to add to the French total.
Now
only the Belgians could stop the Irish from following up their
victory in St Gallen with yet another success and, last into the
ring, Ludo Philippaerts and Parco looked like they were going
to do just that until hitting the same fence as Peter Charles,
the final element of the tricky treble which proved the bogey
of the afternoon, and also falling foul of the very tight time
limit.
The
Irish were more than pleased with the result. "I knew it
would be hard and we didn’t really expect to win so I’m
very, very happy" Chef d’Equipe Tommy Wade said afterwards.
The Irish had only been victorious in Aachen on three previous
occasions, recording their last win in 1995.
"We’ve
got a lot of good riders and horses out there now – enough
to field two top teams at any competition in the world" he
added and this was borne out by the fact that neither Trevor Coyle
nor World Champion Dermott Lennon were included in his squad.
The
Irish also topped the line-up at Hamina in Finland last Sunday
in the Samsung Nations Cup series so with St Gallen, Hamina and
now the Mercedes Benz Prize Nations Cup at Aachen under their
belts they are really on a roll.
The
Belgians, in second place today, have had a real boost to their
confidence and the USA, who shared third spot with the host squad
from Germany when completing on 16 faults, had plenty to celebrate
too. Their anchor-man, Chris Kappler steered Royal Kaliber to
one of just two double-clears throughout the competition, the
other recorded by Jos Lansink, and American Chef d’Equipe,
Frank Chapot, said "we made a good choice when selecting
Chris to come here – we are looking toward the Pan-American
Games right now and he is a definite candidate for that".
With
18 faults the French lined up in fifth ahead of the Dutch in sixth
with a total of 33 faults while Italy finished the day with a
total of 37.
The
leaderboard has changed dramatically over the past few weeks with
the Irish advancing ominously on the French and, going into the
next round, the French hold only a half-point of an advantage.
Germany lies third, but a full 12 points in arrears while Great
Britain is in fourth ahead of Belgium, Sweden, Italy and, finally,
the Dutch.
The
Irish now however look like the ones to beat. The thing that has
always given them that extra edge is their ability to pull together
when the pressure is on, and as Robert Splaine said today "this
was a real gutsy performance – one of the most solid team
efforts I have ever had the pleasure of being involved in. Everybody
was helping everyone else and the competition was well-analysed,
well thought out and well executed".
They
want to top the Samsung leaderboard and they saved their horses
all week at Aachen to ensure they had the best possible chance
in today’s competition. The French are in real danger of
being knocked off their pedestal when the series moves on to Hickstead
on July 25.
RESULTS:
1.
Ireland - 11 faults: Robert Splaine/Coolcorron Cool Diamond 8+0,
Peter Charles/Pershing 1+4, Billy Twomey/Luidam 5+0, Kevin Babington/Carling
King 1+5.
2.
Belgium - 13 faults: Dirk Demeersman/Clinton 0+8, Stanny van Paesschen/O
de Pomme 0+13, Jos Lansink/AK Caridor Z 0+0, Ludo Philippaerts/Parco
Ret+5.
Equal
3. USA - 16 faults: Peter Wylde/Fein Cera 4+4, Laura Kraut/Anthem
4+12, Lauren Hough/Windy City 4+4, Chris Kappler/Royal Kaliber
0+0.
Germany
– 16 faults: Marcus Ehning/For Pleasure 0+4, Christian Ahlmann/Coester
8+0, Otto Becker/Dobel’s Cento 4+4, Ludger Beerbaum/Gladdys
S 4+4.
5.
France – 18 faults: Eric Levallois/Diamant de Semilly Ecolit
5+4, Michel Hecart/Quilano de Kalvarie 0+4, Reynald Angot/Tlaloc
M 12+5, Michel Robert/Galet d’Auzay 0+5.
6.
Holland - 33 faults: Gertjan Bruggink/Joel 8+0, Jan Tops/Roofs
8+12, Albert Zoer/Lowina 5+16, Wim Schroeder/Eurocommerce Berlin
4+4.
7.
Italy - 37 faults: Massimo Grossato/Loro Piana Elkintot 5+4, Vincenzo
Chimirri/Askoll Rosa 4+12, Juan Carlos Garcia/Candyfloss 13+21,
Bruno Chimirri/Landknecht 4+8.
8.
Great Britain - 48 faults: Richard Davenport/Grand Marnier 4+20,
Damien Charles/St Honores Liquido 12+21, Scott Smith/Cabri d’Elle
4+8, Robert Smith/Marius Claudius 12+0.
SAMSUNG
SUPER LEAGUE LEADERBOARD
1.
France - 31 points
2.
Ireland - 30.5 points
3.
Germany - 18.5 points
4.
Great Britain- 16 points
5.
Belgium - 13 points
6.
Sweden - 7.5 points
7.
Italy - 7 points
8.
Holland - 6.5 points
Keep
up to date with the latest news from Aachen CHIO at website www.chioaachen.de.
SAMSUNG
SUPER LEAGUE – NATIONAL
PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION!
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, section reference – rules
http://www.horsesport.org/fei/reference_03/ref_03_02.html.
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.
www.horsesport.org
.
