Equestrian News NI » World Equestrian Games

Dutch deliver their second team Jumping championship title in thrilling final at Caen

News Desk — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 08:52:17 +0000

The Dutch claimed gold in the Jumping team championship at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy today. L – R Jeroen Dubbeldam, Gerco Schroder, Maikel van der Vleuten and Jur Vrieling with Chef d’Equipe Rob Ehrens. (Dirk Caremans/FEI)

The Netherlands took their second world Jumping championship team title in style today at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy. They benefitted from the lead they established in yesterday’s round to narrowly pip the host nation of France at the end of a nail-biting contest, while the USA took bronze.
Written by By Louise Parkes

Germany missed out on a podium placing by just 0.1 of a penalty point when finishing fourth and Sweden snatched the last of the five Olympic qualifying spots on offer when lining up sixth behind Brazil. The team representing the country that will play host in two years’ time is automatically qualified for Rio 2016, but this afternoon the Brazilians showed that they are likely to be a force to be reckoned with when the world arrives on their doorstep.

Today however was all about the Dutch, who previously scooped the world team title at Aachen (GER) in 2006. And two of the riders from that victorious side – Jeroen Dubbeldam and Gerco Schroder – once again played a pivotal role in the history-making result.

No walk in the park

It was no walk in the park however, as three of the four Dutch team-members faulted this afternoon. The man who actually clinched the title for them was Jur Vrieling, who produced one of just 14 clear rounds over another of Frederic Cottier’s fantastic courses. Lying ninth and 10th, Colombia and Ukraine disappeared from the reckoning, but the remaining eight teams were locked in combat for both the championship medals and Olympic places.

The Dutch didn’t get off to the perfect start when Dubbeldam’s Zenith SFN kicked out the middle element of the triple combination, which saw plenty of action throughout the day. Team-mate, Maikel van der Vleuten, made it all the way to the final oxer with VDL Groep Verdi only to leave that on the floor.

The line from the opening vertical to the Land Rover oxer at fence two proved the bogey of the competition as, time after time, riders curved around the final element of the triple combination on the approach to the second fence only to kick out the front pole. In all, 10 of the 57 starters left this one on the floor, which didn’t give them the best start to their tour of the 13-fence track.

Triple combination

The vertical at three was followed by an oxer at four and another vertical at five before riders swung right-handed to an oxer at six, followed by the Alltech triple combination. This vertical to oxer to vertical challenge jumped really well in the early stages of the competition, with five clears from the first tranche of riders who were battling it out for individual placings.

Second to go, Austria’s Stefanie Bistan and Bogegaardens Apollonia produced a copybook run and Morocco’s Abdelkebir Ouaddar and Quickly de Kreisker followed suit, but only nine of the team riders conquered both the course and the clock, and the time-allowed of 80 seconds proved difficult for many to get.

The oxer at eight was followed by a vertical at nine and then a long run down to a flimsy vertical over water at 10. Then it was right-handed to a double of verticals, before turning back towards the arena entrance over the Eiffel Tower vertical and the final oxer, which celebrated the emblematic Normande cow.

Lead changing regularly

It was nip-and-tuck all the way, with the lead changing regularly and no clear confirmation of the medal placings until the closing stages.

Lying in silver medal position overnight, America’s McLain Ward (Rothchild), Kent Farrington (Voyeur) and Lucy Davis (Barron) all faulted just once, but anchor rider Beezie Madden saved the day with a spectacular clear from Cortes C that pulled them right back into contention.

Germany also only produced only a single clear round. Lying in bronze medal spot, it was looking really good for the defending world champions when Christian Ahlmann led the way with a fault-free run from Codex One, but Marcus Ehning’s Cornado NRW sliced through the penultimate vertical, Daniel Deusser’s Cornet D’Amour clipped the middle element of the triple combination and Ludger Beerbaum’s Chiara fell victim to the oxer at fence two, so they had to add eight faults to their running score line.

Meanwhile the fourth-placed French, determined to put on the best possible show in front of their home crowd, battled gamely and clears from Penelope Leprevost (Flora de Mariposa) and Kevin Staut (Reveur de Hurtebise) saw them overtake the Americans and push the Germans down to fourth when all they had to add was one of the four faults from pathfinder Simon Delestre (Qlassic Bois Margot) and anchorman Patrice Delaveau (Orient Express HDC).

For the second day in a row the Brazilians were really impressive when also having to add only four to their tally because both their young star, Marlon Zanotelli (AD Clouwni), and 1998 individual world Jumping champion Rodrigo Pessoa (Status) kept a clean sheet.

Rolf-Goran Bengtsson’s clear with Casall ASK meant that all the Swedish team had to add was a total of five faults to claim the final slot for Rio, but it was heart-break for the Irish. They fought valiantly but, lying seventh, remained there when forced to also add five despite a superb clear from Denis Lynch and All Star. The Canadians meanwhile lined up eighth with a final score of 31.00.

Intensity

The Netherlands’ Jeroen Dubbeldam described the intensity of the afternoon. “The pressure was really on and I think every rider felt it today, we all had little mistakes everywhere and it was good that we were in the lead yesterday because if you are in the lead, and everyone does the same thing, then you stay in the lead!” he said.
“I had one fault and one time fault and you know you cannot afford any more mistakes, and Maikel came second and had also a mistake and then it gets exciting and you think maybe it’s getting out of hand, but Jur brought us back into the game!”

Like all the Dutch riders, and their proud and popular Chef d’Equipe Rob Ehrens, 2000 Olympic champion, Dubbeldam was thrilled with the result. “Holland has proven that we are really a strong country, it’s now the second time we are world champions. We were second at the Olympic Games (London 2012) and we won Olympic gold once before with the team, so it shows we are a strong country. We have a really, really great team with some top jockeys with some good horses and super owners behind us, so that gives us a fantastic base to work from.”

Rob Ehrens commented: “today we had another excellent course, my compliments to the course designer, the teams all stayed really close. When our first rider made one tiny mistake and one time penalty and then our second rider had four faults it wasn’t easy for me, the coach, my heart was going up and down! But when you have good spirit in your team you can achieve anything.”

French Chef d’Equipe, Philippe Guerdat, said he was very satisfied with the silver medals. “It was a big day for the sport in France, everyone wants to be at their best in front of the home crowd but it was very difficult. It was a tough day, but we knew it was possible to go up (the leaderboard) and all of my riders were part of taking this second place and I’m very proud of them”. Penelope Leprevost described riding into the arena today as being “like entering a boiling cauldron – I’m not sure I will ever experience anything like it again!” she said.

What we came here for

“A medal is what we came here for,” said American Chef d’Equipe Robert Ridland. “We believe this is one of the top teams we have ever fielded and we had a great lead-up to coming here, we had great confidence and we gave it our all.” And he has extra reason to be pleased because Beezie Madden now heads the individual rankings going into Saturday’s two-round competition from which the top four will qualify for Sunday’s individual final. In the 61-year history of the individual world Jumping championship, an American rider has never won gold.

Madden has Sweden’s Bengtsson in hot pursui,t while Denmark’s Soren Pedersen has quietly made it all the way up to third place thanks to another brilliant performance today from Tailormade Esperanze de Rebel.

A single mistake today has dropped Frenchman Patrice Delaveau from first to fourth, but there is less than a fence between the leading four and only a whisper separating them from Brazil’s Pessoa in fifth, Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet in sixth, team silver medallist Leprevost in seventh and Germany’s Daniel Deusser in eighth place.

Individual leader, Madden, said tonight she has always believed in her horse, Cortes C. He has championship scope and the right attitude – all the best qualities” she pointed out. Keeping her nerve on Saturday shouldn’t be a problem. She said she enjoyed going into today’s pressure round which clinched the medal for her side.

“As I was going down the ramp to go in the ring Ludger (Beerbaum) had one down and they said yeah, for sure we have a chance of a medal now so it was kind of inspiring.” The only question is whether Cortes C is fit enough because Madden was out of action for some time earlier in the year after breaking her collarbone. “That will probably be the big question this week because since I was injured in the spring he hasn’t done a whole lot and when I did show him in Hickstead and Dublin he looked so fantastic, coming out fresh like that, so we didn’t do anything with him since. I’ve done a lot of work getting him fit at home, riding him several times a day, but whether he’s show-ring fit or not we’ll have to wait and see.”

He’ll certainly have to be at the top of his game to stay out in front, but first there is a rest day following a long night of celebrations for the Dutch, who were presented with their gold medals by Mr Toni Khoury, IOC member for Lebanon and a member of the FEI Olympic Council, in front of the enthusiastic crowd who have been widely praised for their fantastic enthusiasm over the last 10 days of competition.

Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa paid tribute to them today. “They’ve been unbelievable, they’ve been cheering for everybody. It’s been long days, long hours watching horses doing the same thing but they’ve been great. The atmosphere in the stadium is really boiling”.

And the temperature will be even hotter in two days’ time as the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 Jumping championship reaches a crescendo.

Results:
Team Jumping Final: GOLD – Netherlands, 12.83; SILVER – France, 14.08; BRONZE – USA, 16.72.

Individual Standings: 1, Cortes C (Beezie Madden) USA, 0.16; 2, Casall ASK (Rolf-Goran Bengtsson) SWE, 0.34; 3, Tailormade Esperanza de Rebel (Soren Pedersen) DEN, 3.49; 4, Orient Express (Patrice Delaveau) FRA, 4.08; 5, Status (Rodrigo Pessoa) BRA, 4.10; 6, Conrad de Hus (Gregory Wathelet) BEL, 4.16; 7, Flora de Mariposa (Penelope Leprevost) FRA, 4.40; 8, Cornet D’Amour (Daniel Deusser) GER, 4.70; 9, Glock’s London (Gerco Schroder) NED, 5.29; 10, Codex One (Christian Ahlmann) GER, 5.32.

Full results and startlists at www.normandy2014.com

Ireland Finish Team Seventh at World Equestrian Games

News Desk — Thu, 04 Sep 2014 21:16:11 +0000

THE Irish show jumping team came tantalisingly close to obtaining automatic qualification for the Rio Olympics when finishing seventh at the World Equestrian Games in Normandy this afternoon (Thursday).

Ireland’s quartet of Darragh Kenny, Bertram Allen, Denis Lynch and Cameron Hanley moved up one place from their overnight position, but because Olympic host nation Brazil were ahead in today’s table, Ireland needed at least a sixth place to ensure qualification.

Nevertheless the top ten finish at Normandy was one of Ireland’s strongest performances this year, with just a single fence denying them a qualification place.

The third round of the finals opened with Offaly’s Darragh Kenny and Imothep coming home with just one time fault and Wexford teenager Bertram Allen with Molly Malone dropping a single fence. Tipperary’s Denis on All Star 5 produced a classic clear round, while Mayo rider Cameron Hanley and Antello Z were unfortunate in dislodging two poles and incurring a time fault as the team discard score.

Though missing out on team medals, Denis Lynch (19th), Bertram Allen (20th) and Darragh Kenny (24th) all now qualify for the first round of the Individual Finals on Saturday at Caen.

Irish team manager Robert Splaine said: “We were one of the better teams here today and to finish one place out of the Olympic qualification zone was very disappointing. I’m gutted for the lads, as their effort was tremendous. Our year was planned around the world championships and sacrifices were made so that the best possible effort could be made at these championships. We fielded the best possible team which, but for a little hard luck yesterday, could have been challenging for a medal.

“Some of the performances were world class, as evidenced by our having three riders in the top thirty. The competition is intense at this level but we have riders well capable of competing with the best. We appreciate the generosity of the owners and the efforts of the riders. This level of support augurs well for the future.”

Today’s team Gold Medal went to the Netherlands, with host nation France taking Silver and the USA in Bronze Medal position. Thirty-one nations competed in the team championships.

Ireland’s next opportunity to book a ticket to Rio will come at the European Jumping Championships at Aachen, Germany in 2015.

Eagerly anticipated Endurance event at iconic site

News Desk — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 09:09:25 +0000

Maria Alvarez Ponton (ESP) and Nobby on their way to individual gold in the Endurance event at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2010. (Kit Houghton/FEI)

Endurance will see an impressive number of starters for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy, beating all previous records by almost 10% when the 160-kilometre ride gets underway on Thursday 28 August.

Written by By Berry Pattison

The competition takes place in Sartilly, just over 100 kilometres from the main Games venue in Caen and a total of 47 nations from as far afield as China, Colombia, Kazakhstan and Thailand will be welcomed onsite when the stables open next Monday 25 August.

The definite entries for the discipline show a total of 173 athletes, with 198 horses declared. National Federations are able to enter up to five athletes and seven horses for the pre-ride inspection, with chefs d’equipe declaring their final horses after the inspection.

The 2014 Games has seen the introduction of a higher minimum speed, this year set at 15kph, to ensure that all horses competing are fit enough to deal with the distance and tough questions asked on track. And for the first time at Championship level, the 160km track is made up of only five loops rather than the more traditional six-loop format.

With a start time of 7am, combinations will set out to tackle one of the most technical courses in recent Championship history. Loop 1, La Lucerne is 37.9km long and stretches to the north of the venue. Loop 2, Avranches is 35.8km long, and includes the stunning bay with the incredible backdrop of Mont Saint-Michel.

Champeaux, the third loop, is 32.8km long and covers ground to the west of the venue. The penultimate loop, Jullouville, is 33.1km long while the final loop, Dragey, is the shortest at just 20.4km long, stretching out to the south-west of the venue.

This year will see many familiar faces, both equine and human, battling for the ultimate title in Endurance riding. Expectations are high for the home nation, France, which has one of the most consistent track records of podium positions over recent years. France took team gold in Jerez de la Frontera (ESP) in 2002 as well as Aachen (GER) in 2006. The French also scooped team silver in 2010 in Kentucky (USA) and will no doubt be looking to step back up to first place on home soil.

Whilst the French team fields some new faces on the Championship scene, one of the most experienced team riders of all is included in the line-up. Jean Philippe Frances has, since 1997, represented his country at Championship level no less than 10 times and will certainly be looking to claim the gold in front of his home crowd.

Alongside France, there will be a keen interest in the UAE, Germany, Spain and Oman, who have dominated the top spots over recent years. But, with the emergence of some exciting new Endurance nations such as Costa Rica and Slovakia, the race is wide open. Both the United States, who narrowly missed out on a team medal in the 2012 World Championships at Euston Park (GBR), and New Zealand have a high chance of bringing home a medal, with both nations showcasing young, upcoming talent alongside experienced, seasoned combinations.

On an individual level the event is just as open. With the notable omission of the Endurance great Nobby, who is now enjoying his well-earned retirement, the status of favourite equine must be held by the incredibly talented 15-year-old mare, Yamamah (previously named Kurrajong Concorde and bred by FEI Award Winner Meg Wade of Australia) which is declared as one of the squad horses for the UAE. Another familiar name on the definite entries list is the legendary Easy Fontnoire, which was part of the silver medal French team in Kentucky. Four years on, this 12-year-old mare will now be partnered by Saudi athlete Tarek Taher.

Many young riders are included in the 2014 line-up and they pose a formidable threat to the senior opposition. Oriana Ricca (URU), winner of the 2013 Pan-Am Games, will partner Talita Kumi, the Spanish horse she rode to fourth place in the Junior/Young Rider World Championships in Tarbes (FRA) last year. Kelsey Russell (USA), who finished fifth in the same Championships aboard Valerie Kanavy’s My Wild Irish Gold, will once again partner this talented bay Anglo-Arab, competing in their first senior Games.

With such high levels of team work required, Endurance is often thought of as a family, all-inclusive discipline and this year is no exception. Nearly 60 years cover the ages of the athletes, with the youngest entrant being 14-year-old Constanza Laliscia (ITA), with the oldest – 72 year old Rouslan Gekiev from Russia – turning 73 just three weeks after the event.

No less than six teams include family connections. Both Germany and Luxembourg field sisters, Melanie and Sabrina Arnold competing for Germany, and Mickels and Valy Schmartz flying the Luxembourg flag. The well-known faces of Heather and Jeremy Reynolds will both be part of Team USA, whilst Spain will be represented by well-known husband-and-wife team, Jaume Punti Dachs and Maria Alvarez Ponton. The Spanish family links at the Games don’t stop there, as fellow team member Javier Cervera has a cousin competing in the Jumping at D’Ornano Stadium in Caen.

New Zealand has selected mother and daughter Andrea and Georgia Smith, who will both be competing on home-bred horses. And finally, it really is a family affair for Australia, with mother and daughter Penny and Alexandra Toft competing and father Peter Toft acting as chef d’equipe.

With such widespread talent the Endurance event at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy is sure to be one of the closest contests in a long time and is most certainly not one to be missed.

For the non-Olympic athletes competing in Endurance, the FEI World Equestrian Games™ is the absolute pinnacle of their sporting career, with many years of training and dedication going into just one day of performance. With horse welfare and fair play top of the agenda, the opportunity to watch the talents and abilities of these top level combinations competing across the dramatic French countryside is eagerly anticipated.

Horse Sport Ireland Announces Show Jumping Squad for WEG

News Desk — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 06:20:07 +0000

HORSE Sport Ireland Show Jumping High Performance Manager Robert Splaine has confirmed the five horse and rider combinations that will represent Ireland at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy. The Show Jumping phase takes place from September 1st to September 7th.

The squad of five riders in alphabetical order is:

Bertram Allen with Ballywalter Farms’s Molly Malone V
Cameron Hanley with Eleonore Paschoud and Yves Bouvier’s Antello Z
Darragh Kenny with Hyperion Stud’s Imothep
Denis Lynch with Thomas Straumann’s All Star 5
Conor Swail with Ariel and Susan Grange’s Lansdowne

Robert Splaine will select four combinations from this group of five to make up the team of four at the Games.

Splaine Names Main Contenders For World Equestrian Games

News Desk — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 18:27:00 +0000

IRISH show jumping team manager Robert Splaine today (Monday) announced a list of combinations for the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Normandy, France, where the jumping competitions take place from 2 – 7 September 2014.

Splaine said: ” At this point these are the main contenders being considered. However my decision will be announced in August, as other combinations may yet come into contention.”

The combinations named today were:

Billy Twomey/Diaghilev
Cian O’Connor/Quidam’s Cherie.
Dermott Lennon/Loughview Lou Lou (ISH)
Conor Swail/Lansdowne.
Bertram Allen/Molly Malone V
Cameron Hanley/Antello Z
Denis Lynch/All Star 5

Turner Announces World Equestrian Games 2014 Eventing Squad

News Desk — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 07:53:41 +0000

THE Irish Eventing Squad for the World Equestrian Games 2014 has been announced. The selected squad in alphabetical order is:

•Clare Abbott riding Cormac Mackay’s Euro Prince (ISH)

•Aoife Clark riding PJ Hegarty’s Fenyas Elegance (ISH) (or Henrietta Duchess of Bedford & Jacqueline Norris’s Vaguely North as a direct reserve horse)

•Sarah Ennis riding Tom McGuinness, Nicky Potterton and the late Orla Ennis’s Stellor Rebound (ISH)

•Joseph Murphy riding Noel Good, Jill Andrews, A. O’Callaghan and Michelle Nelson’s Electric Cruise (ISH)

•Austin O’Connor riding Kate Jarvey’s Ringwood Mississippi (ISH) and

•Sam Watson riding Tom MacGuinness, John and Julia Watson’s Horseware Bushman (ISH).

The reserve list is as follows in alphabetical order:
Joseph Murphy riding Jill Murphy, Alison Schmutz and Andrew Tinkler’s Sportsfield Othello (ISH); Jim Newsam riding his own Magennis (ISH), Michael Ryan riding Carol & Tom Henry and Sheila Foley’s Ballylynch Adventure (ISH) and Camilla Spiers riding Bridget Speirs and her own Portersize Just A Jiff (ISH)

Nick Turner, Ireland’s Eventing High Performance Team Manager said; “I am delighted that we have such a strong squad to select from. The six riders have a wealth of experience riding horses that have good 4 star experience or very impressive wins recently at 3 star level. We look forward to the World Equestrian Games with the main objective of securing Olympic qualification, yet a medal is always in our sights. I would especially like to thank all of the owners who have made their horses available for selection to represent Team Ireland Equestrian at the Championships.”