Brilliant Belgians top first round
The Belgian team came out on top in the super-tough first round of the €2.3 million Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping Final 2015 at Real Club de Polo in Barcelona (ESP) today. With only eight places up for grabs for Saturday’s second and deciding round, there was a ferocious battle between the 19 competing nations, and some heroic performances from sides that didn’t make the cut. Germany, Sweden, Great Britain, USA, the defending champions from The Netherlands, Ireland and Switzerland claimed the remaining qualifying spots in that order, and the stage is now set for a spectacular finale on Saturday night.
The testing course set by Spain’s Santiago Varela produced only seven clear rounds from a starting field of 76 horse-and-rider combinations, and the penultimate triple combination claimed a huge number of victims. A total of 33 horses faulted here, and at least 24 of those left the middle element on the floor. All four members of the French team picked up penalties at this one, and the country that won the first Furusiyya Final back in 2013 finished well down the line in 16th place on their final tally of 24 faults.
The countries that just missed out were Qatar, Mexico and Brazil who shared ninth place on a 16-fault scoreline at the end of the day, and it was interesting to note that three of the rare clear rounds were posted by riders from countries that finished outside the qualification zone. Pedro Veniss got Brazil off to a perfect start when fault-free with Quabri de L’Isle, while both Australian pathfinder Jamie Kermond (Quite Cassini) and Egypt’s anchorman Karim Elzoghby (Amelia) did likewise – the latter two countries sharing 12th place at the end of the day.
Fair but unforgiving
Varela’s course was fair but unforgiving, riders having to plan every step of the way in order to leave all the timber intact and to avoid exceeding the 81 seconds time-allowed. The pressure really began on the roll-back to the planks at fence five which was followed by a big double, and then a right-bending line to the open water. As the Spanish course designer explained afterwards however, the majority of mistakes later on the track were created by loss of control after the open water which was followed by a big oxer and then a turn back to a two-metre-wide triple bar.
“It was six (strides) to the vertical after the triple bar and oxer, but the majority of the riders went on seven and some upset the balance of their horses” he explained this evening. Many paid the price at the blue oxer at fence 11, the front pole kicked out time and again before riders turned down the final line.
Every element of the triple combination at 12 saw plenty of action. “It was at the end of the course, and the jump in was a bit short”, Varela said. The red poles at the vertical second element were further complicated by a water tray below them which distracted some of the horses. The course wasn’t only difficult to ride, Varela said it was also difficult to build. “We only had the warm-up competition and then a 1.60m class – I think it was a fair course with faults everywhere from the start to the end. The question today was not to win, it was to be in the eight teams that qualify for Saturday” he pointed out.
Impossible to predict
It was impossible to predict how the competition would play itself out until the very end as each rider had only one chance to get things right, but the British looked secure having posted a nine-fault scoreline by the end of the third-rider rotation, while Christian Ahlmann’s opening clear with Taloubet Z helped seal Germany’s eight-fault total. Rolf-Goran Bengtsson did the same for Sweden when third to go for his side, but the Dutch had a bit of a moment when one of their dream-team combinations – Maikel van der Vleuten and VDL Groep Verdi – collected 17 uncharacteristic faults. However with a foot-perfect run from the superstar partnership of Jeroen Dubbeldam and Zenith they finished with 10 on the board after five-fault efforts from both Jur Vrieling (VDL Zirocco Blue) and Gerco Schroder (Glock’s Cognac Champblanc), and the defending Furusiyya champions still look well set to continue on the glory trail they have been following over the last year.
The final placings were undecided to the very end however, the Americans heaving a huge sigh of relief that at last, after missing the cut at the previous two Furusiyya Finals, they are through on a nine-fault finishing score while the Irish and Swiss claimed the last two places when posting scores of 13 and 15 faults respectively.
Clear winners
The clear winners today however were the Belgians who confidently cruised home with a final tally of five faults thanks to a fantastic last-to-go clear from newly-crowned European silver medallist, Gregory Wathelet.
Their pathfinder, Olivier Philippaerts (H&M Armstrong van de Kapel) made a mistake at the planks at fence five, but, next to go, Judy-Ann Melchior, collected only a single time penalty with the ever-reliable Cold as Ice Z. Jos Lansink fell victim to the middle part of the combination with For Cento, but Wathelet’s clear sealed it in style.
Wathelet said afterwards “for sure I am really happy about my clear round, but today my team was really good and they made it easy for me! There was not so much pressure when I was going in so I could ride a nice, quiet round. I’m happy for my team, and I hope we can keep it this way for Saturday. We will try to do the same on Saturday but it is a whole new day. Our goal was to be in the top eight this evening, and the main thing is we succeeded in that” he said stoically.
Check out the video from day one in Barcelona »
Result Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Finale – Round 1
1. Belgium 5 faults
H&M Armstrong van de Kapel (Olivier Philippaerts) 4,
As Cold as Ice Z (Judy-Ann Melchior) 1,
For Cento (Jos Lansink) 5,
Conrad de Hus (Gregory Wathelet) 0.
2. Germany 8 faults
Taloubet Z (Christian Ahlmann) 0,
Fibonacci (Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum) 5,
Cornet d’Amour (Daniel Deusser) 4,
Chiara (Ludger Beerbaum) 4.
2. Sweden 8 faults
H&M Tornesch (Malin Baryard-Johnsson) 4,
Tinkabell (Angelie von Essen) 21,
Unita Ask (Rolf-Goran Bengtsson) 9,
Cantinero (Henrik von Eckermann) 4.
4. Great Britain 9 faults
Diva ll (Ben Maher) 1,
Spirit T (Jessica Mendoza) 4,
Utamaro D’Ecaussines (Joe Clee) 4,
Cassionato (Michael Whitaker) 13.
4. USA 9 faults
Nouvelle (Laura Kraut) 1,
Barron (Lucy Davis) 12,
Ohlala (Lauren Hough) 4,
Cortes C (Beezie Madden) 4.
6. Netherlands 10 faults
SFN Zenith NOP (Jeroen Dubbeldam 0,
VDL Groep Verdi (Maikel van der Vleuten) 17,
VDL Zirocco Blue (Jur Vrieling) 5,
Glock’s Cognac Champblanc (Gerco Sschroder) 5.
7. Ireland 13 faults
Molly Malone (Bertram Allen) 5,
MHS Going Global (Greg Broderick) 5,
Good Luck (Cian O’Connor) 4,
All Star (Denis Lynch) 4.
8. Switzerland 15 faults
Quorida de Treho (Romain Duguet) 1,
Clooney (Martin Fuchs) 9,
Bonne Chance CW (Janika Sprunger) 16,
Castlefield Eclipse (Paul Estermann) 5.
Full result here
Facts and Figures:
» Team Belgium came out on top in the first round of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping Final 2015 which took place at Real Club de Polo in Barcelona (ESP) this afternoon.
» The prestigious Club, which was the Jumping venue for the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, is celebrating its 104th anniversary fixture this year.
» The Furursiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping Final 2015 consists of three competitions.
» Today’s opening class was a one-round competition in which all 19 qualified nations lined out.
» Tomorrow’s Challenge Cup is open to the 11 teams that did not finish in the top eight today.
» Saturday’s third and final competition is open to the eight top teams in today’s event. It is a one-round competition with the possibility of a jump-off only for first place.
» 7 clear rounds from starting field of 76 horse-and-rider combinations in today’s competition.
» The 8 nations that have qualified for Saturday night’s final round are Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Great Britain, USA, Netherlands, Ireland and Switzerland.
Quotes
Judy-Ann Melchior BEL when asked to compare the challenge of being a mother with being a top athlete – “taking care of my son is a fantastic life experience, he enriches my life, but I’m very happy to have a very nice au pair girl this weekend so that I can concentrate on the sport. There is a lot of pressure here because there are a lot of fantastic combinations competing.”
Santiago Varela, Course Designer: „Saturday is another day and eight great teams have qualified so we can expect a great show for the public and the riders, like at all the previous Furusiyya Finals!”
Ludger Beerbaum GER: “Really well done to the course builder, respect, he did a great job. We call this a Nations Cup Final so it’s got to be tough and it was. It’s not easy to build for 19 teams at different levels and even the top teams had problems with the course which was technical and delicate. It was one of the best courses we’ve jumped all year!”
Beezie Madden USA – “For the past two years we had a bit of a jinx here and haven’t been good enough and ended up in the consolation class. So we are really excited, this was our goal for this year and now we can relax and do our best on Saturday!”
Source: Press release
