Posted May 26, 2006

Molly Ashe and Lutopia Make a Fabulous Showing in Rome

Rome, Italy - The atmosphere at the Piazza di Siena, located in the parklands of the lovely Villa Borghese in the heart of the Italian capital, is very laid back indeed - except for the tension in the air over tomorrow's third leg of the Samsung Super League with FEI Nations Cup series - and it's the British that just about everyone's talking about. They are looking good and when Chef d'Equipe Derek Ricketts was asked today about their chances he said "yes, they're up for it - I think they should do well tomorrow."

Michael Whitaker was runner-up with Mozart des Hayettes in the Mercedes-Benz speed event this afternoon and then returned to share the honors in tonight's Six-Bar competition with Ireland's Cameron Hanley. Happily for team manager Robert Splaine, the Irish were in much more belligerent mood - Hanley finishing fourth in the two-phase event in which Peter Charles slotted into runner-up spot behind Frenchman Pierre Jarry. Lying bottom of the league table at this stage of the Super League series the Irish need to get really aggressive tomorrow if they are to give themselves any chance of survival.

Hanley has some interesting memories of the Piazza di Siena. It was here back in 2000 that he was involved in one of those silly incidents that go into sporting folklore. Riding a hugely important round for the Irish side with Ballaseyr Twilight he was just about through the start-beam when, like a scud missile, a tiny little Jack Russell terrier came roaring from the sidelines and, yapping and nipping, the four-legged terrorist accompanied the Irish duo all the way around the track. Irish Chef d'Equipe Tommy Wade, never a man to mince his words, stormed up the judges box and berated everyone including Cesare Croce, President of the Italian Federation, about the offending beast. Hanley, whose horse managed to lower just one fence in the course of this tour of the arena that left the spectators in a state of near-hysterical laughter, commented afterwards - in the nicest possible way of course - that if he got his hands on the dog he would like to "stuff it" and this week his four-year old son is wandering around the Rome showgrounds hugging a reminder of that day. Cameron was presented with a toy dog during an awards ceremony later that year and Fionn is now the proud owner.

At the serious end of affairs tomorrow's ongoing clash between Germany at the top of the Samsung Super League table and the USA, currently in runner-up spot, resumes. Molly Ashe made a great start to the day for the USA when scorching home to win the opening speed event with Lutopia, her finishing time of 54 seconds almost two seconds faster than runner-up Harry Smolders from Holland. "He has not done a lot" she said about the 13-year-old Dutch-bred who has run into a series of problems over the last two years, "but he's a fabulous horse and its wonderful that he's back happy and healthy and jumping great".

She admitted that she wasn't sure about beating Smolders' target when coming into the ring - "I'd rather that the rest would be chasing me than that I would be chasing someone else's time, but I was running near last today and I decided to go for it. I like to live dangerously so I took a chance and it paid off" she added.

She will be third into the ring for the USA tomorrow as George Morris has chosen Christine McCrea as his pathfinder followed by Candice King, Ashe and finally Laura Kraut.

For all information about this fixture check out WEBSITE www.fise.it or contact Press Officer Caterina Vagnozzi at email c.vagnozzi@iol.it or Tel: +39 0636858321.

SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI : 2006 CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

• ROUND 1 - La Baule (Fra) 4-7 May
• ROUND 2 - Aachen (Ger) 17-21 May
• ROUND 3, Rome (Ita) 25-28 May
• ROUND 4 - Lucerne (Sui) 1-4 June
• ROUND 5 - Rotterdam (Ned) 22-25 June
• ROUND 6 - Hickstead (GBR) 26-30 July
• ROUND 7 - Dublin (Irl) 9-13 August
• ROUND 8 FINAL - Barcelona (Esp) 14-17 September.

You can access all the latest Samsung Super League news and information on website www.samsungsuperleague.com and don't forget that BIOGRAPHIES on all riders competing in the series are available at http://bios.horsesport.org.

The Samsung Super league consists of the eight most prestigious horse shows at which the world's eight best national teams compare their merit. The Super League is connected to the Samsung Nations Cup series through a promotion/relegation system at the end of each season.

Samsung Electronics, one of the world's largest electronics companies, is committed to supporting international sporting events thereby returning corporate profits to the public and working towards a more harmonious and equitable society.

For more information:Contact FEI Communications, Malina Gueorguiev, m.gueorguiev@horsesport.org or consult FEI website www.horsesport.org.