Show Jumping News

FEI World Cup Jumping in Vigo, Spain (ESP)

Swiss rider Steve Guerdat secured his second victory of the 2006/2007 FEI World Cup™ Jumping series and a place at the final in Las Vegas, USA in April when steering the brilliant mare, Jalisca Solier, into pole position at Vigo in Spain tonight.

The eleventh of the 13 qualifying legs was another thriller, and with 14 through to the jump-off it was a fierce battle against the clock. But Guerdat had shown that his new ride has the heart of a lioness when putting in a breath-taking performance to come out on top in Geneva in December, and when he asked her to give him her all again tonight she never faltered. “She’s just wonderful - I’m so very lucky to have her” the 24 year old said afterwards with genuine gratitude in his voice.

Holland’s Leopold Van Asten finished second ahead of Italy’s Juan Carlos Garcia in third while last weekend’s winner in Bordeaux, Frenchman Michel Robert, was fourth and, having picked up more valuable points, is close to qualification.

Spain’s Rutherford Latham and Jaina de Barnevil were pathfinders as the competition began and came home clear to make it look a little easy, but 16 more jumped before the second clear-round performance was recorded by Germany’s Pia-Luise Aufrecht and Hofgut Liederbach’s Abrisca. A total of 13 partnerships had just a single pole down including Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum and Enorm who produced the fastest four-fault result and Britain’s rising star William Whitaker who, for the second week in succession, was most impressive with Arielle.

Latham set the pace against the clock, but with two fences down it was going to take a better performance than that to claim the €28,000 winners purse and when Aufrecht left one on the floor, and British rider Tim Stockdale did likewise with the his 10 year old mare Fresh Direct Corlato, it was Ireland’s Cameron Hanley who set the early target when bringing SIEC Concept home without fault in 54.65 seconds. The time recorded by the Irish duo was a generous one however and that great old hero of international show jumping Loro Piana Albin, who at 19 years of age is nine years older than Hanley’s promising gelding, simply blew them away when crossing the line for Italy’s Juan Carlos Garcia with the clock showing more than a ten-second advantage.

Both America’s Peter Wylde and Quo Vadis and Holland’s Harrie Smolders riding Exquis Oliver Q were just over a second off the new target of 44.48 seconds when each had one fence down, while last weekend’s winning French partnership at Bordeaux, Michel Robert and Galet d’Auzay, were clear without threatening the leader as they broke the beam in 45.18 seconds. Australia’s Edwina Alexander and the great mare Isovlas Pialotta also left all the fences up, but with the clock showing 45.93 seconds the Italian leaders were still well in control and when Norway’s Tony Andre Hansen faulted once with Broker’s Camiro it was down to the final four.

And then the packed house of 8,000 spectators were treated to even more excitement.

Dutch rider Leopold Van Asten set off with VDL Groep Fleche Rouge with a look of sheer determination on his face and the 14 year old mare shaved almost a full second off Albin’s time when breaking the beam with a clear round in 43.51 seconds to snatch the lead. But, next to go, Guerdat and Jalisca answered that with a devastating run that saw them across the line in 43.40 - and the crowd exploded with delight. Second-last into the ring, Eugenie Angot and Ilostra Dark left all the poles up but could not challenge the Swiss partnership with their time of 45.37 seconds. However the drama was still not quite over. Last man into the arena was Britain’s Michael Whitaker, always a force to be reckoned with, and his gallant mare Insul Tech Portofino was in flying form. Galloping to the last, she looked like she might just be quick enough to catch Jalisca’s time, but as the final fence hit the floor and she raced through the finish the clock showed 43.46 seconds. Guerdat had secured his second win of the 2006/2007 series in considerable style.

“It was a very fast jump-off and maybe my mare’s round was not as smooth as it was when we won in Geneva but she was brilliant” Guerdat pointed out. At just 10 years of age however he believes the French-bred daughter of Alligator Fontaine has done more than enough for the moment. “After Geneva she had a break and I only brought her back to big shows for Amsterdam two weeks ago and we had one down” he explained. He is still really annoyed with himself about their performance in Bordeaux last weekend however. “I rode like an idiot in Bordeaux. I couldn’t stop thinking about it all week because I really let her down, but today was a great day and now she will go back to doing much smaller classes so she can get her confidence and settle down again” he added.

Tonight’s result however has earned this talented young man a place in the Las Vegas final line-up, although he has already decided that Jalisa Solier will not travel to America. “She’s still too green, it would all be much too much for her, so I will take Tresor instead. Tresor is not quite so competitive but it will be great experience for me and I’m really looking forward to going” Guerdat said.

The line-up for the 29th FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final is really beginning to take shape now with 13 riders having passed that magical 40-point mark which usually guarantees a qualifying spot. Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson is only four points away but she is followed closely by a sharp bunch of predators who will also be hoping to make the cut over the last two qualifying rounds of the series which take place in Gothenburg, Sweden on 25 February and s’Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands on 25 March.

FEI World Cup Jumping in Vigo, Spain (ESP): Jumping Qualifier Results

FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING QUALIFIER at VIGO
RESULT: 1, Jalisca Solier (Steve Guerdat) Sui 0/0 43.40; 2, VDL Groep Fleche Rouge (Leopold Van Asten) Ned 0/0 43.51; 3, Loro Piana Albin (Juan Carlos Garcia) Ita 0/0 44.48; 4, Galet D’Auzay (Michel Robert) Fra 0/0 45.18; 5, Ilostra Dark (Eugenie Angot) Fra 0/0 45.18; 6, Isovlas Pialotta (Edwina Alexander) Aus /0 45.93; 7, SIEC Concept (Cameron Hanley) Irl 0/0 54.65; 8, Insul Tech Portofino (Michael Whitaker) GBR 0/4 43.46; 9, Fresh Direct Corlato (Tim Stockdale) GBR 0/4 44.61; 10, Exquis Oliver Q (Harrie Smolders) Ned 0/4 45.45; 11, Quo Vadis (Peter Wylde) USA 0/4 45.77; 12, Hofgut Liederbach’s Abrisca (Pia Luise Aufrecht) Ger 0/4 46.15; 13, Broker’s Camiro (Tony Andre Hansen) Nor 0/4 50.54; 14, Jaina de Varnevil (Rutherford Latham) Esp 0/8 47.48; 15, Enorm (L Beerbaum) Ger 4/75.36; 16, 11th and Bleeker (Gerfried Puck)Aut 4/76.26; 17, Quibell (Jessica Kuerten) Irl 4/76.78; 18, Air Jordan Z (Daniel Deusser) Ger 4/76.81; 19, Carola (Tina Lund) Den 4/78.53; 20, Isaac (Royne Zetterman) Se 4/78.58; 21, La Toya (Markus Fuchs) Sui 4/78.77; 22, Arielle (William Whitaker) GBR 4/79.15; 23, Madick (Helena Lundback) Swe 4/79.22; 24, Isaac du Jonquet (Mikael Forsten) Fin 4/80.31; 25, Itot du Chateau (Michel Hecart) Fra 4/80.33; 26, Aktion Pur Z (Judy-Ann Melchior) Bel 4/82.65; 27, Maddock (Jesus Garmendia) Esp 4/85.68; 28, Cabri D’Elle (Paola Amilbia) Esp 5/86.18; 29, Kairos de Crochet (Luis Jesus Escobar Jimenez) Esp 8/85.42; 30, Ad Laguina (Alvaro De Miranda) Bra 12/79.56; 31, Kesberoy de St Aubert (Cayetano Martinez de Irujo) Esp 12/83.97; 32, Cash (Marco Kutscher) Ger 12/99.44; 33, Inedite de Balme (Simon Delestre) Fra 16/79.82; 34, U-No (Pilar Cordon) Esp 16/85.32; 35, Echo de Lessay (Antonio Portela Carneiro) Por 17/87.31; 36, Gran Corrado (Yves Houtackers) Ned Elim; equal 37, Vici Van’t Plutonia Hof (Ludo Philippaerts) Bel, Carino (Ulrich Kirchhoff) Ger, Tymoon Caloo Meerchen (Dirk Demeersman) Bel Eurocommerce Berlin (Gerco Schroder) Ned Retired.

FEI World Cup Jumping in Vigo, Spain (ESP): Western European League Leaderboard after round 11

FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING 2006/2007 - WESTERN EUROPEAN LEAGUE LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 11 AT VIGO:

1. Christian Ahlmann - 82
2. Beat Mandli - 64
3. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum - 63
4. Michael Whitaker - 59
5. Albert Zoer - 56
6. Steve Guerdat - 50
7. Leopold Van Asten - 47
8. Eugenie Angot - 46
9. Markus Beerbaum - 45
10. Judy-Ann Melchior - 44
11. Gerco Schroder - 42
12. Rene Tebbel - 42
13. Patrick McEntee - 42
14. Malin Baryard-Johnsson - 36
15. Michel Robert - 34
16. Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst, Marcus Ehning - 34
18. Edwina Alexander - 34
19. Marco Kutscher - 33
20. Daniel Deusser - 30
21. Juan Carlos Garcia - 30

FEI World Cup Jumping: Bordeaux, France (FRA)

Michel Robert, one of the most respected riders in the sport of international show jumping, put on a brilliant exhibition with Galet d’Auzay to clinch the tenth leg of the 2006/2007 FEI World Cup™ Jumping series at Bordeaux in France tonight.

In a five-horse jump-off the 58 year old Frenchman raised the game with a superb second-to-go effort that could not be bettered, and it was an excellent evening for the home supporters when Michel Hecart secured second spot. Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Ulrich Kirchhoff had to settle for third and fourth places respectively while Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson slotted into fifth.

“I’m very happy with my horse tonight” Robert said afterwards. “This is his first win indoors, normally he goes better outside but he was settled tonight even though it was a difficult competition” he pointed out.

Course designer Frank Rothenberger’s first-round track created just enough problems to leave 15 of the world’s best riders sitting on the sidelines during round two after posting four-fault results. Britain’s Michael Whitaker was the quickest of these when breaking the beam with Insultech Portofino in 63.71 seconds, slotting into sixth spot ahead of Austria’s Thomas Fruhmann and The Sixth Sense, but one of the most interesting surprises of the opening round was an excellent four-fault performance from William Whitaker, yet another member of that ultra-talented British dynasty and a young man who is beginning to show some real promise under the stewardship of his Uncle Michael. The four-fault list also included reigning FEI World Cup™ champion Marcus Ehning and Gitania along with 2006 WEG champion Jos Lansink riding Al Kaheel Spender S. This horse and rider are in the early stages of establishing their new partnership following the acquisition of the 12 year old stallion from Sweden’s Maria Gretzer, and things are already looking good.

Michel Hecart led the way against the clock with the 11 year old stallion Itot du Chateau and put on plenty of pressure when returning clear in a time of 38.05 seconds but his fellow-countryman, Robert, shaved almost a second off that when home and hosed in 37.12.

Then came the Swedish challengers, Rolf-Goran Bengtsson and his tough gelding MacKinley, who hit the FEI fence for four faults in 38.50 seconds before Germany’s Ulrich Kirchhoff and Carino returned four-tenths of a second quicker, but also with one down. The competition was far from over however as the last combination into the ring were the formidable World No 2 Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and her former FEI World Cup™ champion Shutterfly who set off at a blistering pace and galloped through the finish in 37.09 seconds. But they knocked the very last fence and so had to settle for third place.

Robert knew that the line he had ridden had made it difficult for the rest. “I took short turns and it was not going to be easy to beat me but I still didn’t go completely crazy!” said the man who has been a master of his art for many years now. A team bronze medallist at the Olympic Games in both Seoul in 1988 and Barcelona in 1992, there are few honours he has not clocked up during his glittering career. In 1982 he won the World Championship in Dublin riding Ideal de la Haye, four years later he took bronze in Aachen and at the World Equestrian Games in The Hague he steered the great mare, Miss, into silver medal position. He has claimed three European individual silver medals and one bronze along with team silver at the European Championships in Gijon in 1993 and he has been Mediterranean champion on two occasions. And before show jumping became his No. 1 game, this horseman extraordinaire enjoyed a hugely successful career as a three-day event rider, competing in Burghley in 1971 and at the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972. A staggering 35 years later he is still at the top of his form, and tonight marked another milestone. Because only once before has this great rider won a qualifying round of the World Cup series - and that was in exactly the same venue, Bordeaux, back in the 1991/1992 season riding Nonix.

Robert said tonight that he had not included a trip to Las Vegas in his plans for the next few months - “but maybe now I will think again” he pointed out. “Galet d’Auzay had a great mentality today. I have only done one other qualifier with him, in Amsterdam last week, and he is really only getting started. I had already planned to go to Vigo next weekend so maybe if we do well there, who knows, we will see…..” he added after collecting tonight’s €128;27,000 first prize.

Another win at in Spain next Saturday night would be just about enough to ensure his passage to the 2006/2007 FEI World Cup Jumping final next April and would provide the veteran French super-star with the chance to add yet another title to his incredible tally……

FEI World Cup Jumping: Bordeaux, France (FRA) Jumping Qualifier Results

FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING QUALIFIER presented by Congres et Exposition du Bordeaux
RESULT: 1, Galet d’Auzay (M Robert) Fra 0/0 37.12; 2, Itot du Chateau (M Hecart) Fra 0/0 38.05; 3, Shutterfly (M Michaels-Beerbaum) Ger 37.09; 4, Carino (Ulrich Kirchhoff) Ger 0/4 38.46; 5, MacKinley (Rolf-Goran Bengtsson) Swe 0/4 38.50; 6, Insultech Portofino (Michael Whitaker) GBR 4/63.71; 7, The Sixth Sense (Thomas Fruhmann) Aut 4/63.86; 8, Controe (Marco Kutscher) Ger 4/64.17; 9, Cyrenaika FRH (Philippe Leoni) Fra 4/64.62; 10, Ilostra ark (Eugenie Angot) Fra 4/64.86; 11, Gitania (Marcus Ehning) Ger 4/64.89; 12, First de Launay HN (Florian Angot) Fra 4/65.06; 13, Sinclaire (Christian Ahlmann) Ger 4/65.25; 14, Couleur Rubin (Ludger Beerbaum) Ger 4/67.06; 15, Arielle (William Whitaker) GBR 4/67.10; 16, Jadis de Toscane (Philippe Rozier) Fra 4/67.39; 17, Eurocommerce Berlin (Gerco Schroder) Ned 4/67.46; 18, Grande Dame Z (Judy-Ann Melchior) Bel 4/67.86; 19, Al Kaheel Spender S (Jos Lansink) Bel 4/68.02; 20, SIEC Hippica Kerman (Cameron Hanley) Irl 4/68.34; 21, Isaac (Royne Zetterman) Swe 5/69.18; 22, Quibell (Jessica Kuerten) Irl 8/63.32; 23, Maddock (Jesus Garmendia) Esp 8/66.43; 24, Indigo (Beat Mandli) Sui 8/68.39; 25, Nanta (Jonella Ligresti Bonomelli) Ita 8/82.57; 26, Camiro (Tony Andre Hansen) Nor 7/70.76; 27, Sam (Albert Zoer) Ned 12/63.12; 28, Inedite de Balme (Simon Delestre) Fra 12/63.55; 29, La Toya (Markus Fuchs) Sui 12/64.43; 30, Gabelou des Ores (Stephan Lafouge) Fra 12/65.83; 31, Van Schijndel’s Rascin (Piet Raymakers Jnr) Ned 12/66.75; 32, Jalisca Solier (Steve Guerdat) Sui 12/67.22; 33, Fresh Direct Corlato (Tim Stockdale) GBR 12/67.83; 34, Ideal de la Loge (Roger-Yves Bost) Fra 12/67.93; 35, Icare du Manet (Julien Eppailard) Fra 13/69.89; 36, Iasco Mouche (Robert Breul) Fra 16/68.61; 37, VDL Groep Fleche Rouge (Leopold Van Asten) Ned 17/87.01; 38, Isovlas Pialotta (Edwina Alexander) Aus Elim; 39, Isaac du Jonquet (Mikael Forsten) Fin, Andante (Tina Lund) Den Ret.

FEI World Cup Jumping: Bordeaux, France (FRA): Western European League Leaderboard after round 10

FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING 2006/2007 - WESTERN EUROPEAN LEAGUE LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 10 AT BORDEAUX:

1. Christian Ahlmann - 82
2. Beat Mandli - 64
3. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum - 63
4. Albert Zoer - 56
5. Michael Whitaker - 50
6. Markus Beerbaum - 45
7. Judy-Ann Melchior - 44
8. Gerco Schroder - 42
9. Rene Tebbel - 42
10. Patrick McEntee - 42
11. Malin Baryard-Johnsson - 36
12. Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst and Marcus Ehning - 34
14. Eugenie Angot - 34
15. Marco Kutscher - 33
16. Steve Guerdat - 30
17. Daniel Deusser and Leopold Van Asten - 30
19. Mark Armstrong - 28
20. Jos Lansink - 27

Calendar of Events for Western European League

2006/2007 FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING SERIES - CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR WESTERN EUROPEAN LEAGUE:

1. Oslo (Norway) 13-15 October: 2, Helsinki (Finland) 19-22 October; 3, Verona (Italy) 10-12 November; 4, Stuttgart (Germany) 15-19 November; 5, Geneva (Switzerland) 7-10 December; 6, London-Olympia (Great Britain) 12-18 December; 7, Mechelen (Belgium) 26-30 December; 8, Leipzig (Germany) 18-21 January; 9, Amsterdam (The Netherlands) 25-28 January; 10, Bordeaux (France) 2-4 February; 11, Vigo (Spain) 8-11 February; 12, Gothenburg (Sweden) 22-25 February; 13, ’s-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands) 22-25 March. Final - Las Vegas (USA) 19-22 April.