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The
Dutch Deliver in St. Gallen....
By
Louise Parkes
 The
Netherlands won through in style at the third leg of the 2008 Samsung
Super League with FEI in St Gallen, Switzerland this afternoon with
a superior show of strength and a lot of class. They took control
in the first round with three clear performances and proved unshakeable,
while the Swiss and German teams rallied brilliantly to finish joint-second
ahead of the USA in fourth. The British slotted into fifth ahead
of Belgium in sixth but it was a disappointing day for the Irish
who had to settle for second-last place while, for the third consecutive
time, Sweden finished bottom of the order. It is not looking at all
good for the Scandinavian side who are trailing the leaderboard a
full eight points behind the Irish, and almost 15 points behind the
leading Dutch going into the half-way stage at Rotterdam in three
weeks' time.
"All four horses went well in the first round, but it could have been
a three-way jump-off with Switzerland and Germany after the second
round except that I asked Gerco to do something about that for me and,
as usual, he obliged!" said the very pleased Dutch Chef d'Equipe Rob
Ehrens afterwards. Schroder's two rounds with Eurocommerce Berlin oozed
quality and energy and The Netherlands are looking really strong as
they progress through this Olympic summer....
The Course....
The time proved influential over Rolf Ludi's course but, as Ehrens
pointed out, "if riders kept their rhythm and jumped it as it should
be jumped then it was fine". In order to stay within the time limit
it was essential to make a short right-hand turn to the open water
at fence four, but the following vertical of narrow planks, jumped
off a dog-leg line, claimed quite a number of victims as did the triple
combination two fences later. Riders had plenty of space to prepare
for this but it was a short single stride from the opening vertical
to the middle vertical and short again to the final oxer - "if you
had a big horse it was tight but if you came in slowly then it was
nice" explained Dutch team-member Vincent Voorn who, with Audi's Alpapillon-Armanie,
produced one of just two double-clear performances on the day.
Those who struggled with the combination often found themselves having
to ride strongly to the following oxer five strides away, while the
final line - a massive vertical to a strong double - also proved influential.
Round One.....
When Voorn's clear was mirrored by both Piet Raymakers (Van Schijndel's
Rascin) and Schroder (Eurocommerce Berlin) the Dutch could drop Angelique
Hoorn's single error with Blauwendraad's O'Brien to hold a zero score
at the halfway point but it was a close-run thing at this stage. The
Belgians were hot on their heels carrying just the single time faults
picked up by both Patrick McEntee (Every Mury Marais Z) and Judy-Ann
Melchior (Aktion Pur Z) when Jos Lansink was clear with Valentina van
't Heike allowing them to discard the single error from competition
pathfinder Philippe Le Jeune riding Vigo d'Arsouilles. The American
team was carrying just the four faults picked up by anchorman Will
Simpson (El Campeon's Carlsson Vom Dach) after clears from Charlie
Jayne (Urbanus) and Nicole Shahinian-Simpson (Dragonfly). Anne Kursinski's
Holsteiner stallion Champ hit the planks after the water, the first
element of the triple combination and the following oxer and also added
a time fault for the drop-score here.
The British finished the opening round with five on the board - Tim
Stockdale (Fresh Direct Corlato) and Ben Maher (Rolette) both unlucky
to lower the second element of the final double in otherwise copybook
rounds and Peter Charles picking up just a single time penalty with
Murkas Rubert R. This was the former Irish rider's first major team
outing since returning to ride under the British flag and he looked
very much at home in the arena where, back in 1995, he clinched the
individual European title for Ireland with La Ina. John Whitaker produced
a lovely clear round from Peppermill to complete the British first-round
effort.
The Irish meanwhile were still well in the picture at this stage, lying
just a single fault behind the British after pathfinder Edward Doyle,
a real asset to his side this season, collected just two time faults,
Marie Burke (Chippison) lowered only those tricky planks, and Denis
Lynch went clear with Lantinus allowing them to drop Cian O'Connor's
eight faults with Complete. Germany and Switzerland however could not
manage a fault-free round between them, both teams having to count
three four-fault results to share second-last position going into round
two. Swedish hearts were already heavy as they clocked up 19, and it
was always going to be an uphill battle for them from there....
Round Two...
When Peter Eriksson (Jaguar Mail) added 12 more to the 13 he had earned
in the first round the writing was on the wall for the Swedes, and
after Linda Heed (Columbus H) matched her first-round tally of eight
and then Lotta Schultz (Calibra) put 12 more on the board, team manager
Maria Gretzer could see no point in sending Helena Lundback into the
ring again with Bukowskis Conan so they called it a day with 51 faults.
The Swiss and Germans however suddenly got their acts together - Christina
Liebherr (No Mercy), Niklaus Schurtenberger (Cantus) and Pius Schwizer
(Nobless M) all keeping a clean sheet this time out while Steve Guerdat
(Jalisca Solier) collected only a single time fault, anchorman Schwizer's
pressure round greeted with roars of approval from the home supporters.
Not to be outdone however Christian Ahlmann (Lorenzo), Marco Kutscher
(Montender) and Carsten-Otto Nagel (Corradina) followed suit and so
Ludger Beerbaum did not need to go back into the ring with All Inclusive
NRW as the two sides stayed tied with 12 faults each.
Doyle kicked off the Irish second-round effort with just a pole off
the front element of the triple combination but when Burke collected
a whopping 21 faults they began to look very shaky. O'Connor made it
all the way to final fence only to lower the second element there and
when Lynch's Lantinus hit the planks and then, running too strong down
the last line, lowered both parts of the double the Irish total soared
to 26 faults to send them plummeting down the order.
A clear from Stockdale steadied British resolve and despite eight from
Maher, again a victim of the final double, and five from Charles they
completed on a total of 14 after Whitaker lowered only the oxer at
six. Jayne hit that same fence while Kursinski this time hit only the
planks and when Simpson stayed clear they could drop the nine picked
up by Shahinian-Simpson. But Will Simpson first had to overcome a terrifying
moment when a fence steward stepped right into his path at the second
fence just as his gelding was mid-air - the 12 year old horse however
just about as cool as his rider as he simply went a little higher to
ensure he wouldn't hit the unsuspecting official.
Belgian fortunes deteriorated rapidly when McEntee picked up 16 faults
after a pole down at the end of the triple combination was followed
by a stop at the very last fence and when Melchior picked up twelve
then Le Jeune's single mistake had to be taken into account despite
a second fabulous clear from Lansink and they plunged down the leaderboard
with a total of 18.
As Schroder returned to the ring for the second time the Dutch score-sheet
showed four for Hoorn, a second clear from Voorn and eight from Raymakers.
A fence down now would see them into a three-way decider with the Swiss
and Germans but Eurocommerce Berlin seemed to have wings as he soared
home so very easily to collect just a single time penalty to leave
them on a final tally of five faults. There would be no jump-off as
they secured maximum points.
And They Said..
"I didn't think too much about the time" Gerco said afterwards. "I
gave Berlin a big break over the winter and we've been out just a few
times now but today I could feel we were really getting back into our
rhythm" he pointed out.
Raymakers and Rascin were experiencing only their fifth show together
and the rider said "he's getting better and better" although he admitted
he did get worried when he double-faulted in the second round. "I was
too slow to the combination and had one down there and then got worried
about the time and had another one but I knew that I could rely on
Gerco to do the rest!" he said.
Hoorn was very happy with her performance while Voorn said "I had a
good feeling coming here - in the first round I felt really safe and
the second round was even better!". Rob Ehrens will now choose his
Olympic side after the Samsung Super League with FEI visits Aachen
next month.
The Games are in everyone's thoughts these days and for Swiss Chef
d'Equipe, Rolf Grass, today's performance when his side rose from the
lower echelons to share second with Germany was very satisfying indeed. "I
like to judge our performances against those of the Germans and this
season until now were finished ahead of or alongside them three times
- if it stays like that until the end of the season then we will be
in a very good position" he pointed out. He came to St Gallen looking
for a good result but also, as he said earlier in the week, to evaluate
the kind of team spirit his riders were prepared to show and he was
pleased with what he found. "We went out together last night and today
we came together to discuss things at the half-way point and I was
happy with how things went" he explained - whatever words that were
passed between them obviously inspiring them all to raise their game
in the second half.
"On June 24th we will be selecting our team for the Olympic Games" Mr
Grass explained, "but it won't be easy. We have six great riders and
their horses including these riders here and Daniel Etter and Beat
Mandli and someone will be disappointed. The riders and horses have
to stay healthy but I believe that if we choose well we have a good
chance at the Games" he pointed out.
The 2008 Samsung Super League with FEI series goes to Rotterdam with
the Dutch in the driving seat, the Americans hot on their heels and
the British holding off the Belgians but, as American Chef d'Equipe
George Morris said yesterday, the series has never been closer-fought
and only 2.5 points separate the top four teams - its a red-hot season
of great team jumping, and everything is still to play for.....
RESULT:
1. The Netherlands 5 flts - Blauwendraad's O'Brien (Angelique Hoorn)
4/4, Audi's Alpapillon-Armanie (Vincent Voorn) 0/0, Van Schijndel's
Rascin (Piet Raymakers) 0/8, Eurocommerce Berlin (Gerco Schroder) 0/1.
Equal 2. Switzerland 12 flts - LB No Mercy (Christina Liebherr) 4/0,
Cantus (Niklaus Schurtenberger) 4/0, Jalisca Solier (Steve Guerdat)
5/1, Nobless M (Pius Schqizer) 4/0.
Equal 2. Germany 12 flts - Lorenzo (Christian Ahlmann) 4/0, Montender
(Marco Kutscher) 4/0, Corradina (Carsten-Otto Nagel) 4/0, All Inclusive
NRW (Ludger Beerbaum) 5/NS.
4. USA 13 flts - Urbanus (Charlie Jayne) 0/4, Champ (Anne Kursinski)
13/5, SRF Dragonfly (Nicole Shahinian-Simpson) 0/9, El Campeon's Carlsson
Vom Dach (Will Simpson) 4/0.
5. Great Britain 14 flts - Fresh Direct Corlato (Tim Stockdale) 4/0,
Rolette (Ben Maher) 4/8, Murka's Rupert R (P Charles) 1/5, Peppermill
(John Shitaker) 0/4.
6. Belgium 18 flts - 1, Vigo D'Arsouilles (Philippe Le Jeune) 4/4,
Sherry Mury Marais Z (Patrick McEntee) 1/16, Aktion Pur Z (Judy-Ann
Melchior) 1/12, Valentina van 't Heike (Jos Lansink) 0/0.
7. Ireland 26 flts - Sequoyah Farms Utopia (Edward Doyle) 2/4, Chippison
(Marie Burke) 4/21, Complete (Cian O'Connor) 8/4, Lantinus (Denis Lynch)
0/12.
8. Sweden 51 flts - Jaguar Mail (Peter Eriksson) 13/12, Columbus H
(Linda Heed) 8/8, Calibra (Lotta Schultz) 5/12, Bukowskis Conan (Helena
Lundback0 6/NS.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI 2008 - LEADERBOARD AFTER THIRD LEG
IN ST. GALLEN:
1. The Netherlands - 16.50
2. USA - 16.33
3. Great Britain - 15.00
4. Belgium - 14.00
5. Switzerland - 12.08
6. Germany - 12.00
7. Ireland - 9.83
8. Sweden - 1.75
For information on the Samsung Super League with FEI at St Gallen,
Switzerland on Friday 30 May check out WEBSITE www.csio.ch. Show President
is Peter Stoessel, Show Director is Urs Schiendorfer, Show Secretary
is Silvia Gonzalez and Press Officer is Peter Wyrsch - Email peter.wyrsch@sportinformation.ch.
The fourth leg of the series takes place in Rotterdam, The Netherlands
on Friday 20 June. Show President is Frans Lavooy, Show Director is
Emile Hendrix, Show Secretary is Joyce Lebon and Press Officer is Anita
Lussenburg - Email anita.lussenburg@ingram.nl. WEBSITE www.chio.nl
Photo
Credit: The Dutch team of Angelique Hoorn, Vincent Voorn, Piet Raymakers
and Gerco Schroder celebrate victory at the third leg of the 2008
Samsung Super League with FEI series in St Gallen, Switzerland today
with Chef d'Equipe Rob Ehrens. St Gallen Press
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