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Federation
Equestre Internationale News
Samsung
Super League News: Tight At The Top At The Halfway Stage.....
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Less
than three points separate France, at the top of the table, from
The Netherlands in second spot after four of the eight legs of
the Samsung Super League which has more than lived up to expectations
in its second season.<ep>
The
French looked really confident at the last round in Rotterdam
where the home side had a terrible day, failing to find anything
like the form they displayed when winning the previous two legs
in Rome and Lucerne, but one bad result will not decide the series
and the Dutch are so far ahead of the teams at the bottom of the
order that only their pride should have been damaged by the experience.<ep>
Despite
finishing last in Rotterdam the Germans, winners of the opening
leg in La Baule, are currently in third position on the leaderboard
and can be expected to come out with all guns blazing when hosting
the next round in Aachen in two weeks time.<ep>
Aachen
promises a star-studded line-up as so many of the top nations
are taking a final look at their Olympic contenders there, so
it should be an epic battle and team selectors will need to be
aware that any weakness in their side is likely to be severely
punished this time out.<ep>
The
Belgians came dangerously close to victory themselves in Rotterdam
when challenging for the honours in a two-way jump-off against
the clock and, lying fourth, are showing a strength we have not
seen from them for some time but they have only a one-point advantage
over the British who are holding firm in fifth spot.<ep>
British
team morale has been bruised however by the row which has broken
out over their Olympic selection.<ep>
Despite
a double-clear performance from Michael Whitaker at the Dutch
fixture, Chef d’Equipe Derek Ricketts selected Robert Smith
for the second of the two individual places available, the first
already well-secured by Nick Skelton and Arko who had only a single
pole down in their three Super League appearances this year.<ep>
Whitaker
has now declared that he will not compete on Nations Cup teams
as long as Ricketts is at the helm so, with a such a small pool
of top-class riders available to them even before this incident,
the British could find themselves struggling in his absence.<ep>
The
Americans have been absolutely consistent when picking up three
points at each of the four Super League shows so far to leave
them in sixth spot and they are 3.5 points ahead of the Irish
in seventh who, despite a good result when third last time out,
are definitely still in hot water.<ep>
The
Irish are just 0.5 points ahead of the Italians who are struggling
once again at the bottom of the order just as they did in last
season’s long, hard battle to avoid relegation. Instead of
contesting the Swedes this time around however it looks like Italy
will be tussling with the Irish who will be under new management
in Aachen.<ep>
Tommy
Wade has been forced to stand aside as Chef d’Equipe in the
wake of the uproar over the dismissal of Eddie Macken as Olympic
Team Trainer which led to the intervention of the Olympic Council
of Ireland and the subsequent imposition of a new management structure.<ep>
Macken
seems likely to take on the training role again once he withdraws
his legal action against the Show Jumping Association of Ireland
while Col Ned Campion takes over the job of Chef d’Equipe
assisted by former rider Capt John Ledingham.<ep>
Whether
this trio can conjure up the same kind of magic that Wade can
produce is as yet unknown and the wisdom of imposing such a dramatic
change so close to the Games and halfway through the Samsung Super
League is open to question.<ep>
Perhaps
the answer will lie in the result achieved at the next round in
Aachen where, in 2003, the Irish scored their second victory in
the inaugural Samsung Super League series.<ep>
For
all information about the next round of the Samsung Super League
2004 series in Aachen, Germany on Friday, 16 July contact Press
Officer Niels Knippertz – niels.knippertz@aachen2006.de.
You can also email info@chioaachen.de or consult the website www.chioaachen.de.
SAMSUNG
SUPER LEAGUE 2004 LEADERBOARD (AFTER ROUND 4 IN ROTTERDAM):
France
– 25.3
The Netherlands – 22.5
Germany 18.8
Belgium 17.8
Great Britain – 17
USA – 12
Ireland – 8.5
Italy – 8.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE 2004 CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
ROUND
1, La Baule (Fra) 6-9 May; ROUND 2, Rome (Ita) 27-30 May; ROUND
3, Lucerne (Sui) 3-6 June: ROUND 4, Rotterdam (Ned) 17-20 June;
ROUND 5, Aachen (Ger) 13-18 July; ROUND 6, Hickstead (GBR) 21-25
July; ROUND 7, Dublin (Irl) 4-8 August; ROUND 8 and FINAL, Barcelona
(Esp) 16-19 September.
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
.
