Pius Schwizer is presented with a Rolex watch by Magali Dubois Vaucher from Rolex. Photo: FEI/Roger Svalsrod.
Oslo (NOR), 16 October 2011 – Switzerland’s Pius Schwizer swept to victory in the opening leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping 2011/2012 series at Oslo in Norway today with a thrilling last-to-go run from Carlina. With 14 into the jump-off it was never going to be an easy one to take, but the 49 year old rider raced home to pin Germany’s Philipp Weishaupt and Souvenir into second, while Portugal’s Luciana Diniz and Winningmood slotted into third.
“This is my very first success in a World Cup qualifier, so I’m super-pleased with the result!” Schwizer said after collecting the winner’s prize of a Rolex watch. “I’ve been second and third a few times, but it feels really great to be first – and Carlina was brilliant today!” he added.
DIDN’T COMPROMISE The compact Telenor Arena in Oslo measures just 35 metres by 75 metres, but course-designers Terje Olsen-Nalum and Anders Hafskjold didn’t compromise on height and width, giving the 40 starters plenty to think about. The triple combination at fence six – oxer, vertical, oxer – proved influential, but it was the 1.70m-wide oxer at fence nine that hit the floor most often in the first round as nine horse-and-rider combinations faulted there.
Lausanne (SUI),16 October 2011 – William Fox-Pitt (GBR) showed the amazing strength of his horsepower when his exciting young horses Oslo and Lionheart finished first and third at Les Etoiles des Pau (FRA), the final leg of the HSBC FEI Classics 2011.
However, it was the unstoppable Mary King (GBR) who claimed the 150,000 USD prize, the biggest single award in Eventing, as HSBC FEI Classics champion for 2011. She clinched the title with a magnificent clear Jumping round on Imperial Cavalier, which elevated her six places to fourth.
King has been placed no lower than eighth at all five of the HSBC FEI Classics events this year, which is a remarkable achievement. She is the first woman to win the title since the series started in 2008 and has kept it in British hands for the fourth consecutive year.
Christopher Burton on Holstein Park Leilani in the lead into Jumping at HSBC FEI Classics in Pau. Image: Kit Houghton/FEI
Lausanne (SUI),15 October 2011 – Christopher Burton (AUS) produced a great Cross Country performance on Holstein Park Leilani to keep his Dressage lead at Les Etoiles de Pau (FRA), final leg of the HSBC FEI Classics 2011, but he has no margin for error in tomorrow’s Jumping phase as one fence covers the top eight riders and a nail-biting finale is guaranteed for tomorrow.
William Fox-Pitt (GBR) was masterful in steering all three of his horses around inside the optimum time to finish in the top 10, with the two nine-year-olds, Oslo and Lionheart, second and sixth, and Macchiato ninth.
Clayton Fredericks (AUS), the joint Dressage leader, accrued 1.2 time penalties on Bendigo, the horse competing in his first CCI4*, to drop to third. The Ground Jury took 0.8 penalties off his original score after he protested that a steward raking the ground had forced him to take avoiding action.
Lausanne (SUI),14 October 2011 – Australian riders head the leaderboard after Dressage at Les Etoiles de Pau (FRA), the final leg of the 2011 HSBC FEI Classics, which has attracted its most competitive field yet – 69 riders representing 17 nations.
Clayton Fredericks, currently ninth in the HSBC FEI Classics, and his compatriot Christopher Burton, who is making his first visit to this popular event at the foot of the Pyrenees, are in equal first place on 43.7 penalties apiece.
Fredericks, whose last CCI4* victory was at Rolex Kentucky in 2007, is riding the 11-year-old Bendigo lll, the winner of Saumur CCI3* this year but a debutant at this level. Burton rides the experienced Holstein Park Leilani, winner of Adelaide CCI4* in 2008.
“Bendigo felt really rideable today,” commented Fredericks, who will be able to get an early feel of tomorrow’s Cross Country on his first ride, the mare Laurent Dunges Rose, on which he is lying 27th on 54.0 penalties.
Germany’s Victor Brusewitz riding on Airbus secured third place at the first FEI World Cup Vaulting Final in Leipzig (GER). Photo: Matt Lewis/Getty Images for FEI.
Lausanne (SUI), 13 October 2011 – The inaugural FEI World Cup Vaulting series will open with the first of five qualifiers in Kiel (GER) tomorrow (14-15 October), where seven athletes from four nations will battle it out at the Sparkassen Arena.
Victor Brusewitz (GER) and Lukas Klouda (CZE), who secured third and fourth places at the first FEI World Cup Vaulting Final which took place at Leipzig’s Partner Pferd in April, will compete against 19-year-old Torben Jacobs (GER).
University of Cologne student Pia Engelberty (GER), who topped the leaderboard going into the Leipzig Final and came out fourth, will be up against Rikke Laumann (DEN), Sarah Kay (GER) and the USA’s number 3 ranked vaulter Mary McCormick.
The world’s top ten male and female vaulters (listed here) will then compete in four further qualifiers in Munich (GER), Salzburg (AUT), Paris (FRA) and Leipzig (GER).
FEI World Cup Jumping 2010/2011 champion, Germany's Christian Ahlmann, will begin the defence of his title at the opening leg of the new 2011/2012 season at Oslo in Norway next Sunday. Photo: Matt Lewis, Getty Images/FEI.
Lausanne (SUI), 12 October 2011 – It’s countdown time, with just four days to go to the opening of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping 2011/2012 at Oslo, Norway this Sunday (16 October).
And, across the globe, many riders from the 12 other qualifying leagues have already been battling it out for a place at the prestigious Final that will take place in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands next April.
The Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping title is the most coveted prize in the sport of indoor Jumping. Since the inaugural season-opener back in 1978 the series has grabbed the enthusiasm and imagination of competitors and spectators alike, and has grown in popularity and scale at a rapid rate. It has also encouraged the development of the sport across all continents, and, once again in this 34th season, fresh faces will appear and new stars will emerge to take their place in the limelight.
SAME VENUE The 13-leg Australia-Pacific league began in Sydney, Australia in April and will conclude at the same venue in December. The three-leg Central Asian League drew to a close at Astana in Kazakhstan in July, while the Central European Northern and Southern leagues both wind up in December. In China, the first of three qualifying legs took place in Beijing in August and the last will be held this weekend, while Shizouka-Tsumagoi is the venue for the Final of the seven-leg Japanese circuit, also in December.
William Fox-Pitt claims record sixth Burghley win. Images: FEI
Lausanne (SUI), 11 October 2011 – Two British riders, long-time team mates and friends, will do battle for the HSBC FEI Classics 2011 top spot this weekend (13-16 October) at Les Etoiles de Pau (FRA), which is also the 2012 season opener.
Athletes from 17 nations will compete at the popular CCI4* in the shadow of the Pyrenees, where they have the unique opportunity to secure points for the 2012 season which for the first time includes Australia’s premier event, the Adelaide International Horse Trials (18-20 November).
HSBC FEI Classics 2011 – closely fought battle
Only series leader Mary King (GBR) or compatriot William Fox-Pitt can win this year’s HSBC FEI Classics and with just 13 points between them it will be an intense finale.
Fox-Pitt, who won the HSBC FEI Classics in 2008 and 2010, can only beat King if he wins and she finishes lower than eighth. So while he heads into Pau as the world number one in the HSBC Rankings – this time 13 points ahead of Mary and with the prospect of receiving the 50,000 USD bonus – he is leaving no stone unturned in his quest to become Series Champion and has taken advantage of Pau’s decision to allow riders to compete with three horses.
Chef d’Equipe Chester Weber (far left) with Pony Team USA at the 2011 World Pony Driving Championships in Lipica, Slovenia. (Photo courtesy of Marie de Ronde-Oudemans)
Lipica, Slovenia (September 30, 2011) – The United States’ reputation as a force to be reckoned with in the sport of combined driving just got stronger thanks to a stellar performance at the 2011 FEI Pony World Driving Championships. After the marathon, the US Pony Team was placed third and they defended that finish through the cones, bringing home the Team Bronze Medal. Their total of 402.3 earned them the medal behind Germany with a 359.4 and The Netherlands with a 375.4. Suzy Stafford, who was competing as an individual for the United States, brought home her second consecutive Individual Bronze Medal after a brilliant cones phase boosted her from fourth to third. Stafford won an Individual Bronze Medal in Germany in 2009 and an Individual Gold Medal at the 2005 World Pony Driving Championships in England.
Chef d’Equipe Chester Weber was pleased with the US Teams’ successes. “The single Pony and Pony Pairs and pony teams all put in excellent performances here in Lipica,” Weber stated. “Team Bronze is a fantastic achievement for the Pony Team, and is highlighted by Stafford’s Individual Bronze Medal. The Pairs Team also had a great show, and both Teams gained invaluable experience showing and training on the international level.”
Weber, who finished second in the FEI World Cup Standings this year for Four-in-Hand Combined Driving, also served as Chef d’Equipe for the Pony Team in 2007 and 2009, and this was his first year as Chef for the Pairs Teams. Weber is a seasoned international competitor in the Four-in-Hand, and returned to the States to win the US Four-in-Hand Reserve National Championship. While competing in Europe he was mentored by the US Four-in-Hand Chef d’Equipe, Ed Young. “I have been working with Ed since 2006, and with Michael Young, the Team Coach, since 1998,” Weber said. “We were determined to use our knowledge and experience to improve the US Pony and Pairs Teams, and I think we did just that. My hopes were that we could create a medal finish for the US while exposing our drivers to the sport at the highest level and increasing their depth of experience. Clearly the standings for both Teams and Suzy Stafford medaling in the individual competition are a mark of our success.”
Suzy Stafford and Miss Josephine during the cones phase. (Photo courtesy of Bettina Ruckelshaus)
Lipica, Slovenia (September 29, 2011) – Suzy Stafford and registered half-Arabian mare Miss Josephine put in a brilliant performance at the 2011 FEI World Pony Driving Championships in Slovenia where they were awarded with the Individual Bronze Medal, Stafford’s second consecutive Individual Bronze. Stafford and Miss Josephine were competing as individuals for Team USA, marking the first time an Arabian competed for the United States.
“Josie and I had a great run in Lipica,” Stafford said. “Josie has an amazing heart and loves a challenge, which makes her a great international competitor. Arabians are a very versatile breed and they really can excel in any discipline,” Stafford said. “After all Josie was a lead line horse for a beginner, in addition to being a competitor at the World Pony Driving Championships. It doesn’t get much more versatile than that!”
Stafford and Josie finished fifth after the dressage and were five points off the leader going into the marathon. “Josie was awesome in the dressage; she was the best she has ever been. I couldn’t believe it when we went in the ring,” said Stafford. “She knew it was a big deal and puffed herself up. She showed off like a true pro. We had one mistake at the end of the dressage test that lowered our score a bit, but I could not be happier with how hard Josie tried for me! These are the moments that remind me why I have made horses my way of life. Sometimes it’s not about winning; it’s about the partnership.”
The pair moved up to fourth after the marathon followed by a precise and fast cones round that put them in third, securing the Individual Bronze Medal. “Josie’s strength and character overshadowed her lack of experience in the marathon,” said Stafford. “The course required a lot of strength and speed. I still find it amazing how powerful this little horse is!”
STACKING UP THE STATISTICS – NINE YEARS ON by Louise Parkes
Lausanne (SUI), 28 September 2011 – From the moment the concept of a Top League Nations Cup series was first devised by the FEI at the start of the new millennium, it grabbed the imagination and enthusiastic support of all those involved in the sport of Jumping. And now, nine years on, and having returned to its original eight-leg, eight-nation format, some new statistics tell the story of the contribution of individual riders to one of the biggest success-stories in the history of equestrian sport – the FEI Nations Cup.
Since the inaugural Samsung Super League season got underway in 2003, a total of 13 nations – Great Britain, Germany, USA, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, The Netherlands, France, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Denmark and Poland – have battled it out for the coveted title that sets the best Jumping nation apart from the rest. Germany holds the record for most wins, with four over the eight-year period including the 2011 title which they secured at the final leg of this year’s series in Rotterdam last month.
NO SURPRISE It comes as no surprise then, that German riders dominate the statistical table for Riders with Most Wins between 2003 and 2011. This is headed up by Marco Kutscher who has been on 12 victorious teams. From 25 starts, he produced 10 clear rounds and 4 double-clears and he has therefore made an exceptional contribution to his country’s success-rate. Next in line is fellow-countryman Ludger Beerbaum with 11 wins from 26 starts, while Marcus Ehning lies third on this table with 10 wins from 30 starts and Christian Ahlmann is in fourth with nine.
STACKING UP THE STATISTICS – NINE YEARS ON by Louise Parkes