Federation Equestre Internationale

FEI Press News - February 4, 1999

- Samsung Nations Cup Final to be held in Gijon (ESP)
- FEI/ART Childrenís Jumping Final
- World Cup Pre-Final 1999 in Heilbronn (GER)
- 2000 World Endurance Championship: application open
- Rider from Barbados to compete in the Pan Am Games
- "Open" Dressage Forum in Wiesbaden (GER)
- FEI World Cup Jumping, situation in the leagues

Samsung Nations Cup Final to be Held in Gijon (ESP)
The 3rd Final of the Samsung Nations Cup Series has been allocated to Gijon (ESP). The competition will be held in the Northern Spanish city on Saturday, 25 September 1999.

Gijon organised successfully the European Jumping Championships in 1993. The resident course designer Avelino Miravalles will be responsible for the courses of the Samsung Nations Cup Final.

The six top placed in the point standings after the regular Nations Cup season will be qualified to compete in Gijon. In addition the Nations Cup Committee, on a recommendation from the Nations Cup Steering Committee, will allocate 2 wild cards. The 8 teams in the Final will start from scratch.

FEI/ART Children's Jumping Final
In 1998, the Childrenís International Jumping Competition, reaching its fourth season, was sponsored for the first time by ART (Arab Radio and Television), the premier Arabic family satellite channel network. During 1998, thirty-five countries organised this competition. 456 riders started in at least one of the rounds and 307 finished the two competitions.

The Japanese Racing Associationís Bajikoen Equestrian Park, Tokyo, hosted 32 children riders from 13 countries from 26 to 31 January 1999 for the 1998 Final.

Sixteen children, age 12-14, from 12 nations qualified in competitions held in their own countries over identical courses designed by Mr Olaf Petersen (GER), Chairman of the Jumping Committee. In Tokyo they met 16 Japanese children, each of whom had to provide 2 horses. One was drawn by the Japanese rider providing the horses, the other came into the pool to be drawn by the 16 visiting children.

The 32 children first competed in two qualifying competitions over excellent courses. In both qualifying competitions victory went to SÈbastien Vigneron from Belgium. Runners-up in the two qualifying competitions were Tasuya Tsuge and Eiken Satou respectively, both from Japan. In the Final on Sunday, for which the top 17 were qualified, SÈbastien Vigneron and Eiken Satou both managed a clear round together with four other riders. In the subsequent jump-off victory went once again to SÈbastien Vigneron, ahead of Eiken Satou (JPN) and Melanie Purcell of New Zealand.

World Cup Pre-Final 1999 in Heilbronn (GER)
The 1999 World Cup Pre-Final, organised in the past two years in Helsingborg (SWE), will be held this year within the framework of a national show in Heilbronn (GER).

The Pre-Final comprises two competitions, a Table C open only to the World Cup finalists, and a Table A with jump-off, where the World Cup riders compete against the national riders from Germany.

The World Cup Pre-Final was introduced in 1997 to give the Eastern European and overseas riders the opportunity to have an indoor show before competing in the World Final. In 1997 the Pre-Final winner was Jeff Bloomfield of Australia, and in 1998 it was Jonathan Clarke of South Africa.

2000 World Endurance Championship: Application Open
Copenhagen ((DEN) has withdrawn its offer to host the 2000 World Endurance Championship. Applications are open again.

Rider From Barbados to Compete in the Pan American Games
Following her success at the FEI World Dressage Challenge, Roberta Foster riding Herbstcharmeur will be the first rider for Barbados to compete in the Pan Am Games in Winnipeg on 24 July. The World Dressage Challenge is one of the FEIís main development projects and last year over 3000 riders took part in 32 countries. For further information, please contact Michael Stone at the FEI Secretariat.

"Open" Dressage Forum in Wiesbaden (GER)
An "Open" Dressage Forum will be held in conjunction with the CDI*** Wiesbaden on Friday 21 May, 1999.

FEI World Cup Jumping Situation in the Leagues

The following 9 Leagues have ended their qualifications:
Central European League (2 qualified)
150 riders from 21 countries competed in 17 competitions. There was, for the first time, a competition in Almaty, Kazakhstan. On the other hand Istanbul and Kiev had to be cancelled, the former for Veterinary, the latter for economic reasons. Both Eleni Drakatou-Murphy and Jozsef Turi intend to compete in the Final.

Qualified horses:
Eleni Drakatou-Murphy (GRE), Red Flamingo, It's Cinderella
Jozsef Turi (HUN), Epona Nightlife, Epona Superville
1st reserve: George Rossiadis (GRE), Altesse d'Arbaz
2nd reserve: Gabor Fodor (HUN), Froccs

Canadian League (3 qualified)
25 riders from 3 countries competed in 6 competitions (22 Canadians, 2 Colombians and 1 rider from Puerto Rico). The three top placed riders - Mario Deslauriers, Eric Lamaze and John Pierce - intend to compete in the Final:

Qualified horses
Mario Deslauriers (CAN), Amistad, Beach Game, Leonardo
Eric Lamaze (CAN), Cagney, Hook
John Pierce, (CAN), Jamcos Vagabond
1st reserve: Beth Underhill (CAN) Altair, Ishan
2nd reserve: Frankie Chesler (CAN) Ravenna Z

Japan League (1 qualified)
27 Japanese riders competed in 6 competitions. The winner, Tadayoshi Hayashi, will compete in the Final. He already competed in the 1994 World Cup Final in 's-Hertogenbosch.

Qualified horses
Tadayoshi Hayashi (JPN), Gold Run
Reserve: Seiji Ninomiya, (JPN) Survival

South American League - Southern Part (2 qualified)
The league has finished in December 1998. The final standings could not be done as there are not all results available yet.

South American League - Northern Part (1 qualified)
15 riders from Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador competed in 3 competitions, all held in Caracas, Venezuela. Felipe Cardenas of Colombia was the League winner, ahead of his countryman Germ·n Camargo. He intends to compete in the Final.

Qualified horses
Felipe Cardenas (COL), Areco
Reserve: Germ·n Camargo (COL), Coconut Grove

South East Asian League (1 qualified)
33 riders from 5 countries competed in 6 competitions. There was, for the first time, an event in Singapore. Marie Antoinette Leviste from the Philippines won the League and is qualified to compete in the Final. She will - together with the second and third placed, the brothers Ambak - compete in the Pre-Final in Heilbronn (GER).

Qualified horses
Marie Antoinette Leviste (PHI), Cartier's Leap of Faith
Reserve: Quabil Ambak, (MAS), Aline, Camelias

South African League (1 qualified)
20 South African riders competed in 5 events. Miranda Collings is the League winner. We expect that the runner-up, Ronnie Lawrence, will compete in the Final

Qualified horses
Miranda Collings (RSA) Bambix
Reserve: Ronnie Lawrence (RSA) Vallon Rouge

Australian League (2 qualified)
65 Australian riders competed in 12 competitions. Newcomer Aaron Williamson was the winner of the League, ahead of Colleen Brook. Williamson will compete in the Final.

Qualified horses
Aaron Williamson, (AUS), Carson
Colleen Brook, (AUS), Turfmaster
1st Reserve: Paula Hamood (AUS) Oops, Mr Chuckles
2nd Reserve: Chris Chugg, (AUS) Will, Navy Seal, Diamond Ego, Sky High

New Zealand League (1 qualified)
22 New Zealand riders competed in 8 competitions. John Cottle won again the League ahead of Ann Wilson.

Qualified horses
John Cottle, (NZL) Super Moth, Watch Me
Reserve: Ann Wilson (NZL) Imperial

The Situation in the Other Leagues:
Western European League (18 to qualify)
6 of the 12 competitions have been held. Remaining are Bordeaux (14 Feb.), Bologna (28 Feb.), Paris-Bercy (14 March), 's-Hertogenbosch (21 March), Aarhus (4 April) and Dortmund (11 April).

Beat M”ndli has 55 points and should be qualified for the Final. Also Trevor Coyle with 40 and Michael Whitaker with 39 points are close to be qualified.

Also qualified is the defending champion, Rodrigo Pessoa.

USA East Coast League (8 to qualify)
6 of the 10 competitions have been held. Remaining are Palm Beach (21 Feb. and 7 March) and Tampa (21 March and 28 March).

McLain Ward with 82 points and Margie Goldstein-Engle with 56 should have enough points to be qualified for the Final. Next in line are Peter Wylde (48), Chris Kappler (45) and Peter Leone (42).

USA West Coast League (2 to qualify)
4 of the 8 competitions have been held. Remaining are 4 events in Indio on 7, 14 and 28 February and on 14 March 1999.

Richard Spooner, last year surprisingly 4th in the Helsinki Final, with 62 points and Nicole Shahinian Simpson with 58 points are in the lead.

Mexican League
All events in the Mexican League were cancelled for economical reasons.