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Federation
Equestre Internationale News
Samsung Super League News : Plus Ca Change!
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Despite
all the predictions that the home side would come out on top,
it was the longtime Samsung Super League leaders from France who
reigned supreme to claim the Aga Khan trophy for the second year
running at Dublin Horse Show today.
Irish
Chef d’Equipe, Tommy Wade, was not happy with the performance
of his team which finished equal third with Holland behind Britain
in runner-up spot and was brutal in his criticism afterwards –
"the horses were good enough but the riders weren’t,
they threw it away" he said.
Wade
is a difficult man to please even when things are going well,
but yesterday that "luck" which he says always plays
such a big role in the end result just did not go Ireland’s
way. The French however did not need any luck at all. They were,
once more, just too good for the rest of them.
They
already held the lead at the halfway stage after clear rounds
from Florian Angot (First de Launay), Christian Hermon (Ephebe
For Ever) and Michel Hecart (Quilano de Kalvarie) but they were
not alone as the Dutch, at last beginning to show the kind of
form usually expected of them, matched their zero total.
Marc
Houtzager and HBC Jacomar, winners of the Dublin Grand Prix last
year, joined Eric Van der Vleuten (Audi’s Jikke) and Wim
Schroder (Eurocommerce Montreal) to leave all the fences standing
and that was quite a feat as course-designer, Linda Allen, had
set them a real challenge.
Just
three horse-and-rider combinations completed double-clear rounds
– Hermon and Ephebe For Ever for France, Jos Lansink and
the enormous grey Ak Cumano Z for Belgium and Britain’s Robert
Smith with Mr Springfield.
The
British were lying third as the second round began, carrying just
the four faults collected by William Funnell and Cortaflex Amber
du Montois at the bogey middle-element of the treble at fence
seven which caused huge problems throughout the competition.
Linda
had set a real trap, with a line of fences from a triple bar at
fence six to the tight-distance combination at seven and on to
an oxer at fence eight but after victory at Hickstead, British
confidence is considerably higher and Michael Whitaker sealed
the four-fault tally when steering the volatile mare, Fleur, home
without incident at his first attempt.
The
Belgians were in fourth with 12 faults at this stage, Sweden and
Ireland next with 13 faults each, Germany in seventh with 16 faults
and Italy trailing the field with 17 on the board.
Dutch
chances slipped away as the second round unfolded and the French
began to look just a bit vulnerable when Angot hit the infamous
treble and the following oxer for eight faults.
Goffinet
and Flipper d’Elle however, who had already become real favourites
with the spectators earlier in the week, improved on their four-fault
first-round result to go clear this time and when Christian Hermon
completed his double-clear, the result was already assured.
Carrying
eight faults with just three riders gone in the second round they
could not be caught.
Despite
Whitaker’s good start, Fleur became increasingly difficult
and lowered three fences for 12 faults to provide his team’s
second-round discard score so, counting four from Nick Skelton
and Arko who had two down at their first attempt and just a single
time fault from Funnell, whose skill was tested to the full by
his heady chestnut mare, to Smith’s second clear Britain
completed with nine on the board, a full eight faults ahead of
the Dutch and Irish in third.
Belgium
finished fifth (20 faults), Germany sixth (24 faults) and Sweden
seventh (26 faults) while Italy was eliminated when only two riders
returned to the ring in the second round.
Italy
are now staring relegation in the face as their total of 8.5 points
at this stage in the series leaves them at the bottom of the order
behind Sweden with 11 points, Holland with 15, Belgium with 16.5,
Germany with 23, Great Britain with 33, the Irish carrying 41
and the French, still holding all the aces, with a total of 47.
French
Chef d’Equipe Jean Maurice Bonneau was smiling broadly at
the end of the day.
"It
was funny because over the first two days here the courses were
too low but Linda was clever today and it was not so easy for
really scopey horses" he said.
That
was exactly what Tommy Wade had said he did not want the previous
day. Big, bold fences are much suitable for the Irish who were
much-fancied to top the line-up on home ground but the American
course-builder got just the result she wanted.
It
was just the result the French wanted too and gives them their
third Samsung Super League victory, setting the reigning World
Champions up nicely ahead of the European Championships in Germany
in two weeks time.
Ireland
will field a squad including the same four which competed yesterday
along with Peter Charles to defend the European team title so
hard-won in Arnhem two years ago and yesterday’s performance
may leave Tommy Wade with some worries about that.
But
for the French it was celebrations all the way.
"Last
year we won here for the first time in 45 years and it is a great
pleasure to win again in this country which is so famous for producing
good horses" Bonneau said.
He
was well-pleased with the performance of new recruit, 27 year
old Laurent Goffinet and the truly exciting little stallion Flipper
d’Elle.
The
horse is owned by the French National Stud and could have been
given to many more experienced riders instead of going to the
young man from Normandy but they have established a great partnership
as Goffinet allows the horse to use his exuberance to great effect
and, following a series of Grand Prix victories in France and
a good performance at the French National Championship, they excelled
in this their Nations Cup debut.
"We
must give our good horses to new riders as well as to the more
experienced ones – that way we have more to choose for our
team" Bonneau said before commenting on the need for all
Samsung Super League venues to take care of the ground conditions
for their legs of the series.
He
was highly critical of the conditions at Hickstead where the Grand
Prix took place before the Nations Cup.
"We
must look after the welfare of our horses – two weeks ago
we decided not to go in the Grand Prix there and it was a good
decision" he said but added that the going in Dublin was
excellent.
"It
is Ireland, England and France who will have a good battle at
the end of this series" he predicted and that is how it looks
as the series moves on to Rotterdam later this month.
Results:
1.
France - 8 faults: Florian Angot/First de Launay 0+8, Lauren Goffinet/Flipper
d’Elle 4+0, Christian Hermon/Ephebe Forever 0+0, Michel Hecart/Quilano
de Kalvarie 0+DNS.
2.
Great Britain – 9 faults: Arko/Nick Skelton 8+4, Fleur/Michael
Whitaker 0+12, William Funnell/Cortaflex Amber du Montois 4+1,
Robert Smith/Mr Springfield 0+0.
Equal
3. Ireland - faults: Robert Splaine/Coolcorron Cool Diamond 4+4,
Cian O’Connor/Waterford Crystal 4+4, Billy Twomey/Luidam
5+0, Kevin Babington/Carling 8+0
and
Holland
- 17 faults: Marc Houtzager/HBC Jacomar 0+10, Eric van der Vleuten/Audi’s
Jikke 0+8, Wim Schroder/Eurocommerce Montreal 0+1, Peter Geerink/Norit
Joint Venture 8+8.
5.
Belgium - 20 faults: Philippe Lejeune/Karioka del Follee 8+4,
Jean-Claude Vangeenberghe/Quintus 4+4, Stanny Van Paesschen/Bioagrico
Ohio vd Paddenborre 31+10, Jos Lansink/AK Cumano 0+0.
6.
Germany – 24 faults: Rene Tebbel/Farina 8+8, Franz-Josef
Dahlmann/Pikeur Carlo Cassini 13+4, Andreas Ripke/Holsatia 4+0,
Fritz Fervers/Diabolo D’Ysieux 4+4.
7.
Sweden - 26 faults: Malin Baryard/Irco Sun 7+5, Helena Persson/Classic
H 4+4, Rolf-Goran Bengtsson/Mac Kinley 4+8, Maria Gretzer/Cinderella
5+4.
8. Italy - Elim: Massimo Grossato/Loro Piana Elkintot 16+DNS,
Enroco Maria Frana/Dohitzun Guernica 12+12, Bruno Chimirri/Landknecht
1+5, Roberto Arioldi/Loro Piana Dime de la Cour 4+DNS.
SAMSUNG
SUPER LEAGUE LEADERBOARD
1.
France - 47 points
2. Ireland - 41 points
3. Great Britain - 33 points
4. Germany - 23 points
5. Belgium – 16.5 points
6. Holland - 15 points
7. Sweden - 11 points
8. Italy – 8.5 points.
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
.
