 |
Federation
Equestre Internationale News
FEI Eventing World Cup News
|
Linda
Angotsson (SWE) and Megan Jones (AUS) take the lead in the FEI
Eventing World Cup Final after Dressage
The long-anticipated Final of the first FEI Eventing World Cup
began today in Pau, South-western France. Forty-four riders representing
Australia, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Great-Britain, Greece,
Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, the USA
and Ukraine performed their Dressage tests under cloudy and cold
but fortunately dry skies.
The
Swedish rider Linda Algotsson on Stand by Me and Australian Megan
Jones on Kirby Park Irish Hallmark are equal leaders with an impressive
score of 38 penalty points (74.64%). They are closely followed
by the British William Fox-Pitt riding the veteran 17-year old
gelding Stunning and Polly Stockton on Oscar, who are tied for
the third place with 38.7 (74.2 %). And the ties don't end here.
France's own Eddy Sans on Ecile and Marie Christine Duroy on Crazy
Love are equal 6th with 43 (71.3%), only 5 points behind the leaders.
26-year
old Megan Jones, who began her career as a groom to Olympian Wendy
Schaeffer, is relatively new to the international Eventing scene
as this her first high level competition outside Australia. "I
am very pleased to be here," she commented. "I am looking
very much forward to tomorrow's Cross Country course. It is very
tough as the fences get narrower near the end and there is plenty
of room for mistakes. My horse is very big and fast which makes
it all the more challenging. But I haven't travelled half the
globe to be slow and jump something easy. So, we'll have to jump,
won't we!"
Her
impressions were confirmed by Linda Algotsson, Individual silver
medallist at the recent European Championship held in Punchestown
(IRL) in September. "There are no fences where you can relax
and you have to attack them all."
This
first day of Dressage has proven a promising opening and has brought
in its part of expectations and excitement. And the 27-fence Cross
Country course built by designer Pierre Michelet is certain to
keep up the tension.
www.horsesport.org
.
