Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum rode Shutterfly to victory in the penultimate qualifying leg of the 2004/2005 FEI World Cup Jumping series in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Holland today and now lies just two points behind leader Nick Skelton on the Western European league table.

This was one of the toughest rounds of the entire series and only four of the 38 starters stayed clear in the first round to go through to the jump-off.

Meredith described Frank Rothenberger’s track as "very difficult – it was technical, very light and you needed your horse to be very careful – it could have been a course for the final the way it was built" but she added – "it was an excellent course, a proper World Cup track".

The combinations took their toll throughout the competition but for France’s Philippe Leoni, the newest member of Team VDL Groep who were sponsors of today’s class, and for Germany’s Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst it was the clock that caught them out.

"There were a lot of four-fault results" said Meredith, "and scope was a question, particularly at the combinations. You needed good control and the time was very tight". Both Leoni and Pollmann-Schweckhorst picked up just a single time penalty but that was good enough to slot them into joint-fifth place at the end of the day.

German star Ludger Beerbaum provided the first clear round of the competition with his nine year old stallion Coleur Rubin and the spectators were well-pleased when Holland’s Angelique Hoorn followed suit with BCO VDL Oranta but it was a long time before Meredith produced clear round number three while Gerco Schroder made it two for the home country when steering Eurocommerce Monaco through the finish without penalty when second-last to go.

Frenchman Hubert Bourdy was last into the ring in the opening round with VDL Groep Eve des Etisses but the advantage he had gained when winning Friday night’s Preliminary competition was lost when he joined 12 others on a four-fault result.

Ludger was pathfinder against the clock but Meredith was confident that her brother-in-law would not set a super-quick target – "I knew he was riding a younger horse and that he would not be too fast" she said afterwards. However Ludger’s clear round in 37.91 seconds still provided a strong enough challenge for the remaining three.

Angelique Hoorn was next into the ring with BCO VDL Oranta but the Dutch partnership returned with nine faults on the board after a stop along the way which saw them cross the line in 50.91 seconds.

"Gerco was coming in after me and I reckoned he could be dangerous so I rode as fast as I possibly could to put the pressure on him" Meredith explained. Her time of 34.56 seconds was more than three seconds faster than Ludger’s but Schroder was less than one second off the pace as he gave it everything he had to bring Eurocommerce Monaco across the line in 34.56 seconds to slot into runner-up spot.

From Los Angeles in California but based in Europe for a long time now Meredith is looking forward to the FEI World Cup Final in Las Vegas in five weeks’ time.

"I love riding in the States – I was ninth with Shutterfly when I rode in Las Vegas two years ago and I’m planning to enjoy the trip this time too – lots of my family will be coming down to the show and we are planning to have a good time" she said.

She is hoping to bring two horses to the final – Checkmate for the first speed leg and Shutterfly for the remaining classes – "I’m just trying to work on the costs" she pointed out.

The line-up for the finale to the 2004/2005 series is shaping up now and today’s result has secured Ludger Beerbaum’s passage as he moves into joint-eighth spot alongside Ludo Philippaerts with Marco Kutscher in seventh, Rodrigo Pessoa who scored his second series win in Paris last weekend in sixth place, Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst in fifth and Gerco Schroder now promoted to fourth behind Lars Nieberg in third position.

For those riders hovering around the top-20 mark however the pressure is at boiling point. Next Sunday’s fixture in Goteborg provides the final opportunity to make the cut and Hubert Bourdy, Steve Guerdat, Christian Ahlmann, Philippe Rozier, Markus Beerbaum, Jessica Kuerten and Otto Becker, who are all within shouting distance of a qualifying spot, will be hoping to pull something out of the bag.

Their hunger for the last of those precious qualifying points could prove dangerous for Denmark’s double-winner Tina Lund, Britain’s Michael Whitaker and Switzerland’s Christophe Barbeau who all share 18th position going into the Swedish fixture.

RESULTS:

1. Shutterfly (Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum) Ger 0/0 34.56; 2, Eurocommerce Monaco (Gerco Schroder) Ned 0/0 35.37; 3, Coleur Rubin (Ludger Beerbaum) 0/0 37.91; 4, BCO VDL Oranta (Angelique Hoorn) Ned 0/9 50.91; equal 5, Cyrenaika FRH (Philippe Leoni) Fra, Cristallo (Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst) Ger 1 fault; equal 7, Special (Jill Henselwood) Can, Handel (Michael Whitaker) GBR, Audi’s Jikke (Eric Van der Vleuten) Ned, Equest Carnute (Thomas Velin) Den, Montender (Marco Kutscher) Ger, Isovlas Pialotta (Steve Guerdat) Sui, ET Royal Volo (Tony Andre Hansen) Nor, Coster (Christian Ahlmann) Ger, Parco (Ludo Philippaerts) Bel, BMC Nassau (Jeroen Dubbeldam) Ned, Quibell (Jessica Kuerten) Irl, VDL Groep Eve des Etisses (Hubert Bourdy) Fra 4 faults; equal 19, Clinton (Dirk Demeersman) Bel, Cellistial (Rolf-Goran Bengtsson) Swe, VDL Groep Grande Dame (Jan Tops) Ned, Sandro Boy (Marcus Ehning) Ger 5 faults; equal 23, Van Schijndel’s Curtis (Piet Raymakers) Ned, Lucie (Lars Nieberg) Ger, La Toya (Markus Fuchs) Sui, Corino (Bernardo Alves) Bra, Oki Doki (Albert Zoer) Ned 8 faults; equal 28, VDL Groep Kwidanta van de Laarse Heide (Mathijs Van Asten) Ned, Carlot G (Rodrigo Pessoa) Bra, Marius Claudius (Robert Smith) GBR, Thunderbird (Linda Heed) Swe 9 faults; equal 32, Broere VDL Atlantic (Wout Jan Van der Schans) Ned, S&L Bleeker & 11th (Gerfried Puck) Aut 12 faults; 34, Gestion Priamus Z (Vincent Voorn) Ned 13 faults; 35, Miss Speed (Sebastian Numminen) Fin 15 faults; equal 36, Nairobi (Leon Thijssen) Ned, VDL Groep Fleche Rouge (Leopold Van Asten) Ned, Joel (Ger Jan Bruggink) Ned Retired.

FEI WORLD CUP JUMPING 2004/2005 LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 12 IN S’HERTOGENBOSCH (top 30) :

Nick Skelton – 72
Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum – 70
Lars Nieberg – 66
Gerco Schroder – 64
Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst – 59
Rodrigo Pessoa – 58
Marco Kutscher – 54
Ludger Beerbaum, Ludo Philippaerts – 52.
10. Marcus Ehning, Philippe Leoni, Rolf-Goran Bengtsson - 50

13. Wim Schroder - 48

14. Thomas Velin - 46

15. Eric Van der Vleuten - 45

16. Richard Davenport, Toni Hassmann - 44

18. Christophe Barbeau, Michael Whitaker, Tina Lund - 42

21. Hubert Bourdy - 39

22. Steve Guerdat - 37

23. Christian Ahlmann – 36

24. Philippe Rozier - 33

25. Markus Beerbaum – 32

26. Jessica Kurten, Otto Becker - 30

28. Robert Whitaker - 24

29. Sebastian Numminen - 23

30. Jean-Marc Nicolas, Jean-Claude Vangeenberghe – 20.

For further information on the latest leg of the FEI World Cup Jumping 2004/2005 series in ‘S-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands on Sunday 20 March contact Press Officer Gerrit Jan Swinkels email info@indoorbrabant.nl or visit the website at www.indoorbrabant.nl.

The last qualifying leg of the series takes place on Sunday 27 March in Goteborg, Sweden. President of the show at Goteborg is Per Lodquist, Show Director is Tomas Torgersen, and Show Secretary is Wiveka Lundh – email w.lundh@horsesport.org. Press Officer is Mayvor Thorin – email mayvor.thorin@gotevent.goteborg.se, mobile - ++46 705 828 420.