Tag Archives: Jumping Ch.

Championships, Competitions, FEI, Show Jumping

Fuchs Takes Individual Jumping Gold in Fighting Finish

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Martin Fuchs. (FEI/Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Martin Fuchs became the sixth Swiss rider in the 62-year history of the event to claim individual Jumping gold at the Longines FEI European Championships 2019 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

At last year’s FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Tryon, USA and again at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Gothenburg, Sweden earlier this year, the talented 27-year-old had to settle for silver despite heroic efforts with his brilliant grey gelding Clooney. He at last stood on the top step of the podium when pinning Great Britain’s Ben Maher (37) into silver medal spot and young Belgian star, 23-year-old Jos Verlooy, who was a member of last Friday’s gold medal-winning team, into bronze.

Just 12 of the top 25 went into the second round over another superb track designed by The Netherlands’ Louis Konickx. Some protesters ran into the arena as Dutchman Marc Houtzager and Sterrehof’s Calimero took their turn, but this consummate horseman and his experienced 12-year-old gelding jumped clear to finish in eighth place at the end of the day.

In the closing stages, defending European champions Peder Fredricson with H&M All In, Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann with Toveks Mary Lou, and reigning world champion Simone Blum from Germany with DSP Alice all faulted at the triple combination before it came down to a fight to the finish between the top three.

Fuchs had moved up from overnight bronze into silver medal spot when Verlooy and his chestnut gelding Igor made a mistake at the triple combination first time out, but Maher held onto the lead with yet another extraordinary round from Explosion W.

Verlooy was foot-perfect second time out, collecting just a single time fault, and when Fuchs did exactly the same then all the pressure was on the British rider who was last into the ring. And he looked to have gold in the bag until the pole on water-tray vertical two from home fell to gasps from the crowd. It would be the Swiss celebrating.

“It looked very much like I would be second again. Ben has been great over the past two years and especially at this championship again. I didn’t think I would beat him or that he would make a fault, but obviously I am very happy to be winning here and to finally not have only the silver medal!” Fuchs said.

Looking back on how this week of competition has played out, he said, “I had a fault the first day in the Speed class; it was my mistake I took a lot of risk and Clooney struggled at the last combination, but he has been great every day, getting better and better over each round which is one of his best qualities. And I was saying today before going into the final, if I do my job and do the small things right, he won’t let me down!”

The first person to give him a congratulatory hug was Irishman Sean Vard. “Sean has been with me a couple of years and is a great groom, friend, supporter, and the best person that has ever followed me to the shows. And my family, my parents, and my owner Luigi – they are always here supporting me.

“Unfortunately, my girlfriend Paris couldn’t be here this week; she’s in California and she’s been up all night to watch me and I had a little chat with her before my second round today. She just said don’t worry you will win it; she’s been saying that for the last three days and I kept saying don’t jinx it, touch wood, touch wood!” — Martin Fuchs (SUI)

He thanked Clooney’s owner, Luigi Baleri, who has been awarded the IJOC Horse Owner of the Year title. “He’s always a big support and he’s like a second father, driving me to shows since I was a Junior!” said Fuchs whose first major victory was gold at the Youth Olympic Games in 2010.

Clearly disappointed, Maher was still delighted with this week’s results with Explosion W. “On the day I wasn’t good enough to beat Martin, but all of these horses deserve to win – I made this one mistake and I’m very happy that if anyone has to beat me it is Martin!” he said.

Verlooy said he was delighted for his horse, Igor. “He jumped great and I’m very happy that I have given him this medal; he really deserved it. He is by Emerald and he’s really stepping into his father’s footsteps and I’m very proud of that. At the beginning of the week if you told me I was going to have this bronze, I would have been fine with that, so I’m not complaining!”

Results here.

Watch highlights here.

By Louise Parkes

Media contact:

Shannon Gibbons
Media Relations and Communications Manager
shannon.gibbons@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 46

Championships, Competitions, FEI, Show Jumping

It’s European Team Gold and a Tokyo Ticket for Belgium

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Team Belgium. (FEI/Liz Gregg)

Belgium held on tight to the top of the leaderboard to win their first-ever team medals in the 62-year history of the FEI European Jumping Championships – and they were golden ones.

Otto Becker’s German side were firm favourites to take the title for the eighth time, but in the end, they had to settle for silver ahead of Great Britain in bronze. And the icing on the cake from a Belgian perspective was that they are now on the road to Tokyo 2020, because they bagged one of the three spots on offer to teams not already qualified thanks to superb performance from Pieter Devos, Jos Verlooy, Jerome Guery, and Gregory Wathelet. Britain and France bagged the remaining two qualifications.

It was edge-of-the-seat stuff to the very end, Wathelet aware that he could afford a fence down or a time fault when he was last man into the ring, but not both if his country was going to top the podium.

Belgium, Germany, and Great Britain were already in gold, silver, and bronze medal positions as the final day began. The British added eight faults to their scoreline when Ben Maher and Explosion led the way with a clear and both Holly Smith (Hearts Destiny) and Amanda Derbyshire (Luibanta BH) left just a single fence on the floor, Scott Brash (Hello M’Lady) providing an eight-fault discard this time around.

Germany added four when pathfinder Simone Blum (DSP Alice) and anchorman Daniel Deusser (Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z) each had a fence down but both Christian Ahlmann (Clintrexo Z) and Marcus Ehning (Comme Il Faut) jumped spectacular clears.

When Devos and his mare Claire Z were first out for Belgium and collected five faults when hitting the penultimate vertical and going over the time-allowed of 78 seconds their lead began to look a little shaky. But Verlooy and Igor kept a clean sheet and when Guery and Quel Homme de Hus collected just a single time fault then they began to look much more secure.

As Wathelet set off history was hanging in the balance, but he wasn’t going to let that get to him. “I like pressure!” he said after galloping through the timers with the scoreboard showing a nice big fat zero. In the final analysis his country grabbed the gold with a total of 12.07, Germany took silver medal spot on 16.22, and Great Britain finished in bronze with 21.41.

Victorious Chef d’Equipe, Peter Weinberg, said, “It’s unbelievable and I’m very, very proud of my team, four top riders with brilliant horses; they did a fantastic job and I’m very, very happy!” When asked why it has taken so long for Belgium to get on the European team podium, he replied with a laugh, “Maybe it’s because they didn’t have me as a trainer!”

All the Belgian team paid tribute to their back-up crew and the other Belgian riders, including Olivier Philippaerts and Niels Bruynseels, who have supported them every inch of the way this week.

“We’ve been working together for a couple of years now, and today we put everything together. We all think the same way and we are all good friends, and this is why we got the gold.” — Pieter Devos (Team Belgium)

Jerome Guery said, “Yesterday I was a little disappointed with my result – I had to be better today for my horse, and also for my team. We knew after my ride the we would get the silver but then Greg rode a clear and it was gold!” And like all the riders, he complimented the fantastic courses being presented by The Netherlands’ Louis Konickx this week.

“We’ve had three really different classes; the first day was a typical speed class, yesterday was a more delicate round, and today was much bigger. It’s been a really good job from the course design team,” he pointed out.

Germany’s Daniel Deusser reflected on how this team competition played itself out. “We started strong on the first day but lost it a little bit yesterday… it was a very exciting class today and the teams were close. In the end we are very happy with silver.”

All four Belgian team-members have made the cut into Sunday’s top-25 individual final, and Verlooy is lying a very close second to Britain’s Ben Maher at the head of affairs when the action gets underway after a rest day.

Results here.

Watch highlights here.

By Louise Parkes

Media contact:

Shannon Gibbons
Media Relations and Communications Manager
shannon.gibbons@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 46

Championships, Competitions, FEI, Show Jumping

Turkey and Greece Take the Lion’s Share of Balkan Gold

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The newly-crowned Junior team gold medallists from Greece at the FEI Balkan Jumping Championships 2015 in Halkidiki, Sithonia, Greece last weekend. (L to R) Alexandros Kokkonis, Nikolina Makarona, Ioli Mytilineou and Konstantinos Papathanassiou. (FEI/Alexis Vassilopoulos)

Halkidiki, Sithonia (GRE), 9 September 2014 – There was an air of celebration about the FEI Balkan Jumping Championships 2015 where Greece and Turkey were dominant and Bulgaria also got into the gold-medal-winner’s circle last weekend. Staged at Porto Carras in Halkidiki, Greece, the four-day fixture attracted a strong entry of athletes from seven nations who battled it out for team and individual titles in Senior, Young Rider, Junior and Children’s competition.

The flags of Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Madedonia, Romania, Serbia and Turkey flew high, and while Turkish and Greek athletes dominated, Romania took bronze in four of the eight Championship competitions, while Croatia claimed Junior team and individual silver.

Seniors

At the 2014 Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, there was a significant swing away from the traditional dominance of the Greeks and Turks, but normal order was restored this time around and, once again, Turkey earned the Senior team title along with individual gold and silver.

The Senior action began with victory for the Greek partnership of Elina Dendrinou and Carett in the opening Speed event. But Turkey’s Yusuf Cem Kayacan was only 0.6 seconds behind when runner-up with Abner, and this pair would go on to top the individual podium.

The Turkish foursome of Oktay Sezek (SIEC Zappa), Hulki Karagulle (Skara Glen’s Cascador), Can Ince (SIEC Caro Ass) and Sencer Horasan (Duvkalle) pipped the Greek team that included Dendrinou, Monika Martini (Amadu), Anastasios Raisis (Hermes van de Pereboom) and Grigoris Voglis (Quelly Briquedalle). But the Turks were well behind when counting 12 faults at the end the first round, when Romania’s Ionel Bucur (Bangkok Girl), Razvan (Quickborn), Luca Ruxandariu (Bamboo) and Norbert Schuman (Belle de Jour) held the lead on a five-fault scoreline.

The Romanians lost their grip in round two, however, when adding 12 more to their tally while the Greeks matched their first-round result of eight faults to leave them on total of 16. It was three great second-round clears, from Sezek, Karagülle and Ince that clinched it for Turkey who added nothing to their first-round effort.

The veteran Karagülle is no stranger to success in these Championships. “I won individual gold in the Junior category back in 1979 in Athens when I was 16 years old, and I participated in many Balkan Championships since then and won several team and individual medals. I’m an amateur rider and I’m very happy to be able to still compete and win the Senior individual silver medal today. Porto Carras is an excellent place to organize a show; we all competed also in the CSI last week and enjoyed sun, sea and show jumping. Many thanks to the organisers. I hope to come back here again in the future,” said the 52-year-old rider.

And he put the icing on the cake when lining up behind fellow-countryman Kayacan on the individual podium while Romania’s Ionel Bucur took the bronze. Newly-crowned individual champion, 22-year-old Kayacan, said, “This is my first time representing my country at senior level and it’s a great feeling to claim individual gold. It’s impossible not to be happy! Abner is such a fantastic horse – I’ve been riding him for three years now and he gives me one-hundred-percent every time we compete!”

Young Riders

Greece also got off to the perfect start in the Young Riders division when Anna-Maria Papageorgiou and LC Waikiki Akino pinned Talya Afyoneri and Wervelwind into second spot and another of the Turkish contingent, Ece Kitis with Cassitano, into third in the first individual qualifier. But the Turks had it all their own way once again in the team competition in which Greece took the silver and Romania the bronze.

And their victory was all the more creditable because Turkey fielded only three riders, Afyoneri and Kitis joined by Necdet Kaan Karagülle (Campari) to post a 16-fault score first time out, but producing a clear-cut win when adding only four more at their second attempt.

Papageorgiou teamed up with Antigoni Tsafara (Intrepid Leonardo), Iro Kaltsidou (Eagano VH Dingenshof) and Aikaterini Laskaridis (Charlotte) to clinch silver despite early elimination for Kaltsidou while Romania’s Stefan Leonte (Darius), Razvan Andrei Gheorghe (Sziszi), Claudiu Floristean (Wellcome) and Cristian Ceausescu (Teodor) filled the third step of the team medal podium.

The form held through to the closing stages when Afyoneri and Karagülle took individual gold and silver for Turkey ahead of bronze medallist Papageorgiu from Greece. It wasn’t the first Balkan individual title for 19-year-old Afyoneri, but it was a very special one. “Winning is a great feeling… I am so happy to be the Young Riders champion, both in team and individual! And also, being the champion for the second time after three years make me, my family and my trainer so proud! It is difficult to explain our feelings. I couldn’t do this without them and of course without my horse, Wervelwind. Being a part of this kind of an organisation is fantastic. Thanks to everyone who has shared all this with us,” she said.

Juniors

Bulgaria’s Izov Ventsislav and Exop threw down the gauntlet with a brilliant win in the opening Junior Speed event and never looked back. From a starting field of 33, the pair scorched home in 73.42 seconds to pin Georgios Velonis and Vivendi Colt and Nikolina Makarona and Arce de Triomphe from Greece into second and third places, and then came out to jump double-clear in the team competition before taking the individual Junior title.

A total of six nations lined out for the team event in which the Greeks took early control with a zero first-round score and clearly clinched gold when adding only four faults second time out. Ioli Mytilineou and Ascot jumped double-clear for the winning side, and with Makarona, Alexandros Kokkonis (Oscar de Semilly) and Konstantinos Evangelos Papathanassiou (Secret Prince) also producing one clear performance apiece it was a polished performance from the new champions.

Croatia’s Dunja Al Jamal (Gemilio LCS), Josip Gugic (Coeur de Croatie), Nina Madirazza (Calysta) and Laura Dragicevic (Aidora I Ritz) were just two fences adrift in silver medal spot, however, and finished well ahead of the bronze medallists from Romania whose score totalled 28. Daria Peev (Guitendra), Francesca Moldovan (Quinara), Alexandra Miladin Bradisteanu (Castaway) and Marco Alessandro Alfieri (Hermine) each played a vital role for the Romanian team during the competition and helped keep Turkey off the podium despite second-round clears for Sevim Defne (Zinedine D) and Serener Bagriacik (Website Ter Velden).

Another double-clear in the Junior Grand Prix left Bulgaria’s Izov in fifth place in the competition but with the individual Junior gold medal in his grasp, and it was Croatia’s Nina Madirzaa and Calysta who lined up in silver medal position here ahead of the Greek partnership of Grand Prix winners Nikolina Makarona and Arc de Triomphe who earned the bronze.

Children

In the Children’s category, Turkey’s Osman Ata Vanli won the opening Speed competition with Demi Dostara ahead of Romania’s Alexandru Ghita and Paula in second and Aikaterini-Ellas Lemonidi (Quetcha de Chenee) and Anna-Sophia Danalis (Con Top) in third and fourth for Greece. That early result would prove pivotal for Danalis who emerged to take the individual title four days later.

There were four nations in contention in the Children’s team competition, and the Greeks proved untouchable when posting a zero score in both rounds. Both Danalis and Selini Popp (Saigon) jumped double-clear, and when Ioanna-Maria Tsochas was foot-perfect first time out with Brilliant Go and Paola Martin and Cobbydor were likewise in the second round it was a done deal.

It took a third-round jump-off to decide silver and bronze here, and Turkey’s Sevval Er (Comtess), Renk Asik (Escenta), Buse Buke (Rienne va Plus) and Melis Celebioglu (Wilande) came off best in the two-team tussle when adding just eight more faults to their original 16-fault scoreline. Vanesa Atanasova (Colorado), Anna Angelova (Charizma), Belmin Arifova (Zalina H) and Geni Mihova (Finesse) stood on the third step of the podium for Bulgaria when obliged to add 16 more to their 16-fault tally.

And Greece took two of the three individual Children’s medals when Danalis emerged to take gold and Popp claimed the bronze while Turkey’s Osman Ata Vanli was Children’s individual silver medallist.

Children’s champion, Danalis, put the 2015 event into perspective. “This year’s Balkan Championships in Porto Carras were amazing for me. The Greek children’s team won the gold and I also won the individual gold. The Balkan Championships are a very nice opportunity for the countries in the Balkan region to get together and compete. The Championships really help those who want to practice for European competitions. It’s an amazing experience that will never be forgotten!” said the talented 14-year-old.

Results:

FEI Balkan Senior Team Jumping Championship: GOLD – Turkey 12 faults: SIEC Zappa WH (Oktay Sezek) 8/0, Skara Glen’s Cascador (Hulki Karagulle) 0/0, SIEC Caro Ass (Can Ince) 21/0, Duvkalle (Sencer Horasan) 4/4; SILVER – Greece 16 faults: Amadu (Monika Martini) 0/8. Hermes van de Pereboom) Anastasios Raisis) 8/8, Quelly Briquedalle (Grigoris Boglis) 4/0, Carett (Elina Dendrinou) 4/0; BRONZE – Romania 17 faults: Bangkok Girl (Ionel Bucur) 1/4, Quickborn (Razvan Bozan) 8/4, Bamboo (Luca Ruxandariu) 0/12, Belle De Jour (Norbert Schuman) 4/4.

FEI Balkan Senior Individual Jumping Championship: GOLD – Abnar (Yusuf Cem Kayacan) TUR 0.03; SILVER – Skara Glen’s Cascador (Hulki Karagulle) TUR 4.57; BRONZE – Bangkok Girl (Ionel Bucur) ROU 9.26.

FEI Balkan Young Riders Team Jumping Championship: GOLD – Turkey 20 faults: Wervelwind (Talya Afyoneri) 8/0, Cassitano (Ece Kitis) 0/4, Campari (Necdet Kaan Karagulle) 8/0; SILVER – Greece 60 faults: LC Waikiki Akino (Anna-Maria Papageorgiou) 0/8, Intrepid Leonardo (Antigoni Tsafara) 24/20, Eagano VH Dingenshof (Iro Kaltsidou) Elim/DNS, Charlotte (Aikaterini Laskaridis) 4/4; BRONZE- Romania 84 faults: Darius (Stefan Leonte) 16/12, Sziszi (Razvan Andrei Gheorghe) 20/16, Wellcome (Claudiu Floristean) 16/12, Teodor (Cristian Ceausescu) 16/12.

FEI Balkan Young Riders Individual Jumping Championship: GOLD – Wervelwind (Talya Afyoneri) TUR 12.37; SILVER – Campari (Necdet Kaan Karagulle) TUR 18.31; BRONZE – LC Waikiki Akino (Anna-Maria Papageorgiou) GRE 20.00.

FEI Balkan Junior Team Jumping Championship: GOLD – Greece 4 faults: Ascot (Ioli Mytilineou) 0/0, Oscar de Semilly (Alexandros Kokkonis) 0/4, Arc de Triomphe (Nikolina Makarona) 0/4, Secret Prince (Konstantinos Evangelos Papathanassiou) 4/0; SILVER – Croatia 12 faults: Gemilio LCS (Dunja Al Jamal) 8/4, Coeur de Croatie (Jospi Gugic) 4/4, Calysta (Nina Madirazza) 0/0, Aidora I Ritz (Laura Dragicevic) 0/4; BRONZE – Romania 28 faults: Guitendra (Daria Peev) 8/20, Quinara (Francesca moldovan) 8/8, Castaway (Alexandra Mladin Bradisteanu) 4/4, Hermine (Marco Alessandro Alfieri) 4/0.

FEI Balkan Junior Individual Jumping Championship: GOLD – Ezop (Ventsislav Izov) BUL ; SILVER – Calysta (Nina Madirazza) CRO ; BRONZE – Arc de Triomphe (Nikolina Makarona).

FEI Balkan Children’s Team Jumping Championship: GOLD – Greece 0 faults: Saigon (Selini Popp) 0/0, Brilliant Go (Ioanna-Maria Tsochas) 0/4, Con Top (Anna-Sophia Danalis) 0/0, Cobbydor (Paola Martini) 4/0; SILVER – Turkey 16/8 faults in jump-off: Comtess 9ER Sevval) 8/0/4, Escenta (Renk Asik) 8/8/8, Rienne va Plus (Buse Buke) 4/0/4, Wilande (Melis Celebioglu) 4/0/0; BRONZE – Bulgaria 16/16 faults in jump-off: Colorado (Vanesa Atanasova) 0/4/4, Charizma (Anna Angelova) 4/12/12, Zalina H (Belmin Arifova) 4/0/0, Finesse (Geni Mihova) 4/4/12.

FEI Balkan Children’s Individual Jumping Championship: GOLD – Con Top (Anna-Sophia Danalis) GRE; SILVER – Demi Dostara (Osman Ata Vanli) TUR; BRONZE – Saigon (Selini Popp) GRE.

By Louise Parkes

Media Contacts:

Grania Willis
Director Media Relations
Grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
Email: ruth.grundy@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 145

Championships, Competitions, FEI, Show Jumping

Dutch Double-Gold as Dubbeldam Does It Again

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(L to R) Gregory Wathelet (BEL) silver, Jeroen Dubbeldam (NED) gold and Simon Delestre (FRA) bronze. (FEI/Dirk Caremans)

Aachen (GER), 23 August 2015 – Dutch dominance in the sport of Jumping continued at its relentless pace when reigning world champion, Jeroen Dubbeldam, steered the brilliant SFN Zenith to victory in the individual final at the FEI European Jumping Championships 2015 in Aachen (GER) today. Silver went to Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet with Conrad de Hus while Simon Delestre and Ryan des Hayettes from France claimed the bronze in a two-round competition that kept spectators in the packed Soers Arena on the edges of their seats.

Dubbeldam now has the big three in the bag – Olympic individual gold claimed at Sydney 2000, the world championship title he took at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Normandy (FR) last year and now the individual European title which has not been won by The Netherlands since Johan Heins stood top of the podium in Vienna (AUT) back in 1977. And he has achieved each of the last two victories after already contributing to team gold with the same brilliant gelding.

Horse inspection

Today’s final began without Ukraine’s Cassio Rivetti whose horse, Vivant, did not pass yesterday’s second horse inspection. That saw Dubbeldam move up from third to silver medal spot, and he was only just over one penalty-point behind the leading partnership of Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya and Carlo as the first round began this afternoon.

Frank Rothenberger’s first track proved very difficult indeed, with only five keeping a clean sheet from the world-class start-list of 25. Big, wide oxers were the order of the day, but it was the line from the open water at fence six to the following triple combination that presented the greatest difficulty, and more than half of the faults recorded racked up at this point on the 12-fence course. Amongst its victims were Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Fibonacci, the breath-taking grey clipping the second element of the obstacle which consisted of two verticals with planks on top, followed by an oxer.

But while the German rider dropped down the leaderboard, the two men who preceded her rocketed in the other direction when both Andreas Schou (Lenardo der Kleine) from Denmark and Simon Delestre (Ryan des Hayettes) from France were foot-perfect all the way.

In the picture

Wathelet also put himself in the picture when doing likewise with Conrad de Hus, but the host nation’s hopes were shaken again when, lying sixth, Ludger Beerbaum’s mare, Chiara, put a foot in the open water in an otherwise clean tour of the course. A mistake at the second fence blotted Dutchman Jur Vrieling’s copybook, the bogey triple combination penalised Peneleope Leprevost from France and two fences down saw Switzerland’s Romain Duguet disappear from the reckoning, so the leaderboard kept changing rapidly.

There would be no mistakes from Dubbeldam and Zenith, however, and when overnight leaders, Alvarez Moya and Carlo, left the first element of the triple combination on the ground, the Dutchman was already in the driving seat going into the second round with less than a fence in hand over Wathelet in second, with Alvarez Moya in third, Delestre in fourth and Schou in fifth place.

The new 10-fence course was less complicated, and eight of the 22 remaining combinations completed on a zero score this time out. Schou’s medal hopes disintegrated with a single error, however, but Delestre was ultra-careful with his 10-year-old gelding and, bringing him home with a just a single time-fault on the board, he was suddenly in a threatening position. So when Alvarez Moya left a pole on the ground the Frenchman already had bronze in his grasp.

Never looked like flinching

Second-placed Wathelet held his nerve to pile the pressure on Dubbeldam with a foot-perfect run, but the Dutchman never looked like flinching. His horse was reluctant to come into the ring today, unsettled by the noise and atmosphere during the week, but once the fences were in front of him he just got on with the job he does so well, and as the Dutch pair galloped through the finish there was a single time penalty on the board but it made no difference to the final result. A roar of approval from the knowledgeable Aachen crowd accompanied the victory-gallop of the most exceptional horse-and-rider combination in the modern sport.

“You can only dream that it comes true; there is no wisdom for it,” said the newly-crowned Rolex European Jumping champion this evening. Dubbeldam admitted that he was very aware of the high expectations for himself and his horse coming into this event. “When you come here to Aachen, one of the most difficult places for a championship and one of the nicest, you know it’s going to be a top battle. So many good riders and so many good horses. And you also need to be a little bit lucky. Everything has to be good, you have to be fit, your horse has to be fit, and then you can focus on everything, but in the end you need some luck. I had the luck on my side, and today it is a dream come true.”

A good feeling

Wathelet said: “I prepared to bring my horse here as best I can and he improved a lot. In the last two months he’s been jumping better and better and he went particularly well in Dinard (France) so I had a good feeling coming here – but I never expected a medal! Then I was eighth before the final today and I thought that if I could go double-clear then I might just get a medal. My horse really fought for me this week.”

“I was in 14th place; it was really big stuff and I wasn’t expecting anything big!” Delestre said. “But when I was double-clear then I finished in the top three. I’m really happy with my horse and to have three French riders finishing in the top 10 was just fantastic!” the bronze medallist said.

The crowning of the Jumping champion Jeroen Dubbeldam was the final sporting moment in Aachen today, but it was FEI President, Ingmar de Vos, who had the final words to bring the super-exciting FEI European Championships Aachen 2015 to a close this evening.

“With 117 years’ experience of presenting equestrian sport, Aachen is no stranger to events of the scale of the FEI European Championships,” he said. “In this equestrian heartland, our athletes – equine and human – have been given a five-star welcome with the great professionalism that they are known for. Over the past 12 days, Aachen has once again shown its amazing ability to organise a multi-discipline event and make it look so easy.

“Thirty nations competed in Aachen and battled it out for 13 gold medals and to qualify for the next Olympic Games in Rio. My sincere thanks go to Carl Meulenbergh and his employees, my dear friend Frank Kemperman and the City of Aachen, the organisers and the host of these important European Championships. You have written a further glamourous chapter in the history of equestrian sport.”

For more information on the FEI European Championships 2015 in Aachen, visit www.aachen2015.de.

Full results of FEI European Championships Aachen 2015 here.

Facts and Figures:

Jeroen Dubbeldam today became the first Jumping rider since Germany’s Hans-Gunter Winkler in the 1950s to claim world, Olympic and European titles.

Jeroen Dubbeldam is only the second Dutch rider to win the individual title in the 58-year history of the FEI European Jumping Championships.

The previous Dutch winner was Johann Heins who reigned supreme in Vienna, Austria in 1977.

25 horse-and-rider combinations started in the first final round today, but only 5 jumped clear.

22 horse-and-rider combinations started in today’s second round, in which 8 jumped clears.

Quotes:

Jeroen Dubbeldam NED, talking about Zenith’s hesitancy in going into the arena today: “It is not easy for our horses in a place like Aachen. I went in after Meredith (Michaels-Beerbaum, Germany) the other day and the stadium exploded and my horse also exploded too. It happens. We saw this last week with Edward Gal in the Dressage, his horse was upset in the prizegiving and the next day he had the same problems. You can’t ask the crowd to be quiet; I love that (noise of the crowd) but there must be some way to make it easier (to blend) enthusiasm and horsemanship.”

Jeroen Dubbeldam NED: “A group of people bought Zenith for me. I saw him at a young horse show in Hagen and I stayed in touch with the horse and our Dutch fund bought him for me as a seven-year-old.”

Gregory Wathelet BEL: “After the team competition (when Belgium didn’t qualify for the second round), I was really disappointed but I did my best to concentrate and I thought that I could still go on and do something special if I got my chance.”

By Louise Parkes

Media Contacts:

At Aachen:

Niels Knippertz
Press Officer
nielsknippertz@chioaachen.de
+49 (0) 241 9171 182

At FEI:

Grania Willis
Director Media Relations
Grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
Email: ruth.grundy@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 145

Championships, FEI, FEI, Show Jumping

Statement on Irish Protest

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Aachen (GER), 22 August 2015 – Following an on-course incident in which a member of the arena fence crew ran across the track as Irish rider Cian O’Connor was turning towards the 11th fence during the team Final at the FEI European Jumping Championships 2015 in Aachen (GER), the Irish chef d’equipe Robert Splaine and athlete Cian O’Connor lodged a protest. The horse Good Luck hit the fence to complete the course on four faults.

The protest was heard by the Ground Jury, who ruled that as the athlete had continued his round, they saw no reason to stop him by ringing the bell. Under Article 233.3 of the FEI Jumping Rules, the athlete had the opportunity to stop voluntarily due to unforeseen circumstances beyond his control; however, he did not do so.

The Ground Jury heard explanations from Robert Splaine and Cian O’Connor, reviewed video footage of the incident, and ruled that the result would stand.

Having been notified of the Ground Jury’s decision, the Irish chef d’equipe and the athlete promptly appealed the decision to the Appeal Committee. However, after a further full review of the incident, including hearing statements from all parties, the Appeal Committee ruled that the athlete had been given a full and complete right to be heard and stated that it would not overrule the Ground Jury on a field of play decision. As a result, the Appeal Committee rejected the appeal and upheld the Ground Jury decision.

The decision means that the Irish team score of 25.960 penalties remains unchanged, leaving the Irish in seventh overall, with the qualifying slots for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games going to Switzerland (3rd), Great Britain (4th) and Spain (6th).

Media Contacts:

At Aachen:

Niels Knippertz
Press Officer
nielsknippertz@chioaachen.de
+49 (0) 241 9171 182

At FEI:

Grania Willis
Director Media Relations
Grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
Email: ruth.grundy@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 145

Championships, Competitions, FEI, Show Jumping

Dutch Snatch Gold in Final-Round Team Thriller

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(L to R) Jur Vrieling, Gerco Schroder, Maikel van der Vleuten and Jeroen Dubbeldam with Chef d’Equipe Rob Ehrens celebrate team gold at the FEI European Jumping Championships 2015 in Aachen, Germany. (FEI/Dirk Caremans)

Aachen (GER), 21 August 2015 – The reigning world and Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ champions from The Netherlands clinched team gold at the FEI European Jumping Championships 2015 in Aachen (GER) today. Lying second as the day began, they produced another of their trademark foot-perfect performances to put the result beyond doubt when the leading French squad faded to fifth. And it was the host nation who slotted into silver medal spot ahead of the surprising Swiss who moved up four places to take the bronze.

The result of today’s competition also decided the last three Western European qualifying spots for the 2016 Olympic Games. Switzerland, Great Britain and Spain finished best of the non-qualified eligible nations and are on their way to Rio.

It was a rip-roaring thriller from start to finish, with course designer Frank Rothenberger presenting a massive track that produced spectacular jumping and the best of great sport.

None of the 13 individuals who opened today’s action managed to leave all the poles in place, but they showed that the imposing fences were very jumpable. And once the team action got underway it turned into a ding-dong battle between the major contenders, with the Swiss making an incredible come-back thanks to two clear rounds. Only 10 fault-free results were registered, and when the Dutch added just a single time fault to their tally they were already looking good before last-line rider, Gerco Schröder, took his turn.

Hugely influential

The black wavy planks at fence four was one of the bogeys of the track, and the massive triple combination that followed was also hugely influential, with the opening triple bar enticing horses down to a tall vertical and often leaving them very deep at the final oxer element. And the difficult four or five-stride distance between the big 1.80m-wide oxer at fence eight and the following planks claimed a large number of victims.

Many horses showed better form than they had all week, however, and the fifth-placed Swiss began their climb to the medal podium with an opening clear from Romain Duguet and his mare, Quorida de Treho. Ukraine lay ahead of them as the competition began and Cassio Rivetti’s clear with Vivant got them off to a great start. That pattern continued with a fault-free run for British openers Ben Maher and Diva, Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum with the fabulous grey, Fibonacci, and Dutch double world champion Jeroen Dubbeldam with SFN Zenith NOP.

When Penelope Leprevost’s Flora de Mariposa hit the bogey wavy planks the French began to look a little vulnerable. And the British couldn’t improve their situation with single errors from Jessica Mendoza (Spirit T) and Joe Clee (Utamaro D’Ecaussines). Germany held firm with another clear from Christian Ahlmann (Taloubet Z), but the Dutch stayed out in front when Maikel van der Vleuten and the always-reliable VDL Groep Verdi cruised home once again without incident.

The French, meanwhile, were in rapid decline, paying a high price for Simon Delestre’s (Ryan des Hayettes) mistake at the final element of the triple combination and the double-error from Jerome Hurel (Quartz Rouge) at the wavy planks and the second element of the double of water ditches, one fence from home.

Wide open

By the time Jur Vrieling entered the ring, the door was wide open for the Dutch if the third-line rider could produce a clear round. But he winced when he saw a single time penalty on the board after an otherwise perfect tour of the track, because if Ludger Beerbaum’s four-faulter with Chiara could be discounted by a clear from Daniel Deusser then the Germans had the advantage and all the pressure would be on the final Dutch duo of Gerco Schröder and Glock’s Cognac Champblanc.

You could hear a pin drop when Deusser entered the Soers arena, but there was a huge groan when Cornet D’Amour left the oxer at eight on the floor. The home side would now finish on a final score of 12.40, while the Dutch were already home and hosed with their total of 8.82, Gerco Schröder’s eight-fault effort having no effect on the end result.

The Swiss, meanwhile, came with a late run. Duguet’s opening clear was followed by nine faults from Martin Fuchs (Clooney) and four from Janika Sprunger (Bonne Chance CW), but it was the clear from Paul Estermann and Castlefield Eclipse that would secure the bronze on a final total of 18.23.

Magic formula

Dutch Chef d’Equipe, Rob Ehrens, who has led his country to great glory in recent years, was asked this evening if he has a magic formula for success. “There is no magic formula; in our small country we just work really well together and it only takes half a minute to call riders and get them in position for nations cups or championships. It’s a great honour for me to work with four of those amazing riders, with their amazing horses and the amazing people behind our team. And we have four more riders banging on the door at home. I’m a happy coach! To perform like this in Aachen – well we hope you will make more Championships in Aachen!” he said.

Double world champion Jeroen Dubbeldam talked about the way the competition unfolded today and the pressure of being first to go for his side. “All four rounds were important; all four were in a difficult place in every round and had the pressure. My job was to go clear and keep up the spirit, to give the inspiration to keep going. It was a really tough course today. There were already three or four clears before I came in and that put pressure on me. I felt a lot of pressure, but my horse gave me an amazing feeling and the confidence for a clear round, and that gave the spirit to the rest of the team,” he said.

Tried hard

When asked how he felt about his team’s silver medal finish, German Chef d’Equipe Otto Becker said, “at first I was a little disappointed, but we tried hard and the team did great, all four horses and all four riders, there was not one bad round. It was a big fight and we tried very hard. I agree with Rob (Ehrens), there should be more championships in Aachen, but without the Dutch!,” he added with a laugh.

“Last year in Caen (Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy) and in Herning (FEI European Championships 2013) the competition was really close, but it couldn’t have been closer than in these last few days,” Ludger Beerbaum said. “There were emotional ups and downs. To be careful of your fences every moment and not get distracted by other things. It’s hard when you don’t make it; all four of us over three days had really good rounds, but we must accept the situation; there are days like this, and congratulations to the Dutch!” said one of the world’s most popular and respected horsemen.

The individual scoreboard underwent a major shake-up today, with Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya shooting up from fifth to the gold medal spot ahead of Ukraine’s Brazilian-born Cassio Rivetti in silver and the reigning world champion, Jeroen Dubbeldam, in bronze. Switzerland’s Romain Duguet lies fourth while Frenchwoman Penelope Leprevost has dropped from first to fifth ahead of Sunday’s individual medal-decider in which riders carry their faults from the previous three days of competition.

For more information on the FEI European Championships 2015 in Aachen, visit www.aachen2015.de.

Full results of FEI European Championships Aachen 2015 here.

Facts and Figures:

The reigning world and Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ champions from The Netherlands claimed team gold at the FEI European Jumping Championships 2015 in Aachen, Germany today.

The host nation lined up in silver ahead of Switzerland in bronze.

Teams from 10 nations competed along with 13 individuals.

The three Olympic qualifying spots on offer went to the bronze medallists from Switzerland, the defending European champions from Great Britain who finished fourth and Spain who lined up in sixth place.

The overnight leaders from France finished fifth.

10 horse-and-rider combinations jumped clear in today’s competition.

This was the fourth Dutch victory in the history of the FEI European jumping Championships. The Netherlands previously came out on top in 1977 (Vienna AUT), 1991 (La Baule FRA), and 2007 (Mannheim GER).

Quotes:

Martin Fuchs SUI: “We went not so good the first day but the horses were jumping well. Our Chef, Andy Kistler, and our rider Paul (Estermann) had words of motivation. The big thing was that Steve (Olympic champion Steve Guerdat) was here to help us. It was sad he couldn’t compete with us and we wanted to fight hard so he can defend his title in Rio. He said on Wednesday that we had to be riding like it was the final and that we should do the same today.”

Jeroen Dubbeldam NED, talking about moving up to third place ahead of Sunday’s individual final: “I have to let this sink in tonight, and tomorrow I will ride the horse and see that everything feels well. My horse feels really great, really fresh but it’s going to be a tough final with a lot of good horses and a lot of good riders. I’m feeling strong, but we will see what happens.”

Andy Kistler, Swiss Chef d’Equipe: “There was so much pressure to qualify for the Olympics and for Steve and for the other Swiss riders who helped us get here. I was so, so happy with the Olympic qualification that I went away. And then Martin came and said we could get into the medals – we got two unbelievable gifts today!”

By Louise Parkes

Media Contacts:

At Aachen:

Niels Knippertz
Press Officer
nielsknippertz@chioaachen.de
+49 (0) 241 9171 182

At FEI:

Grania Willis
Director Media Relations
Grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
Email: ruth.grundy@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 145

Championships, Competitions, FEI, Show Jumping

French and Dutch Loosen German Grip on 2015 Team Title

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Kevin Staut and Reveur de Hurtebise HDC produced the third clear round that promoted France to the top of the leaderboard in today’s first round of the team final competition at the FEI European Jumping Championships 2015 in Aachen, Germany. (FEI/Dirk Caremans)

Aachen (GER), 20 August 2015 – Team France jumped into the lead in the first round of the team final at the FEI European Jumping Championships 2015 in Aachen, Germany this afternoon. On a day when clear rounds were hard to get, overnight individual leader Penelope Leprevost produced yet another foot-perfect performance when first in for the French side. And when team-mates Simon Delestre and Kevin Staut did likewise, her side stood firm on the score they carried through from yesterday’s opening speed competition to move up from second spot to the top of the leaderboard.

The Dutch demonstrated exactly why they are the reigning world champions when also posting three fault-free runs to move up from overnight fifth to silver medal spot. And now that they are in a position of strength they look really threatening. Meanwhile, the first-day leaders from Germany slipped to third, their decline halted, however, by two brilliant runs from Ludger Beerbaum and Daniel Deusser.

With only the top ten teams eligible for tomorrow’s second round medal-decider, today’s competition was a fierce one, and the British dropped one place to fourth ahead of Ukraine in fifth spot. The Swiss really rose to the occasion, rocketing up from 13th to sixth when they were the only others to add nothing to their scoreline. Spain, Denmark, Ireland and Sweden have also made the cut.

Emotions have been high all week, with Olympic qualification also hanging in the balance. As it stands this evening the last three places on offer to European teams are in the hands of the British, Swiss and Spanish. But the Danes and the Irish are hot on their heels and it’s still all to play for in tomorrow’s closing stages.

Another great track

Frank Rothenberger presented another great track today, testing riders of all levels. Israeli individual, Danielle Goldstein, was first to find the key with her mare Carisma when going sixth of the 10 individuals who got the class underway. And when the next clear was posted by Romain Duguet with Quorida de Treho, the Swiss began their upward curve. These championships have turned up some interesting new partnerships including Romania’s Andy Candin and his very sweet grey gelding Caruso who competes without a noseband and seems to really want to please his rider. And Russia’s Maria Madenova and Natalia Belova were eye-catchers with their two lovely horses, Kleiner Onkel and Upset des Cinq Chenes.

The triple combination at fence five claimed plenty of victims, while the bending line from the vertical at nine to the oxer at 10 and the following vertical at eleven needed to be carefully handled. However, two of the most influential obstacles on the course were the penultimate vertical, jumped off a roll-back, and the final double of massive oxers. The latter produced more than a few moments of drama, including a fall for Portugal’s Luis Sabino Goncalves when his gelding Filou Imperio Egipcio, who had been going beautifully until then, suddenly threw in a stop at the second element.

A few horses seemed to miscalculate the two-stride distance here, but the most spectacular of all was Ben Maher’s mare Diva who picked up after one stride and landed in the middle of the second element. It wasn’t the perfect start to the British day, but both horse and rider left the arena unscathed and with another otherwise clean sheet. A 12-fault result from Jessica Mendoza and Spirit T put Maher’s team-mates under pressure, but then Joe Clee, lying individually third after a spectacular first day with Utamaro D’Ecaussines, produced another fabulous run. There was no room for error as last-line rider Michael Whitaker he set off with the stallion Cassionato, and his reaction when retrieving the situation with an amazing ride epitomised the spirit and passion that has been rippling through the competition arena this week.

After leaving the arena, he said, “I’ve got a lot of confidence now in my horse; I didn’t know what to expect; he’s never been in this ring, and he’s never been under that kind of pressure, so I didn’t know how he would react and he actually rose to the occasion,” he said proudly. And then Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum, another much-respected elder statesmen of the sport, came up and shook his hand. “Great job,” he said. “I hope you make it through to the Olympics,” and Michael Whitaker burst into tears.

The 55-year-old veteran admitted that he had been feeling the pressure – “If I’d come out and messed it up, that was it actually; we wouldn’t be going to the Olympics but now we’re still fighting tomorrow – even for a medal,” he explained.

Storming up the leaderboard

Meanwhile, the Dutch were storming up the leaderboard with clears from Dubbeldam and his world championships winning ride SFN Zenith, Jur Vrieling with VDL Zirocco Blue and Gerco Schroder with Glock’s Cognac Champblanc. But the host nation lost their grip with single mistakes from their first two riders, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (Fibonacci) and Christian Ahlmann (Taloubet). Ludger Beerbaum was amazing yesterday with Chiara, and today he rode another stunning round with Chiara. “We need another good round; otherwise we are going down the ladder,” he said after coming out of the ring. But Daniel Deusser’s clear with Cornet d’Amour ensured Team Germany is still very much in contention going into tomorrow’s final team test.

The individual scoreboard hasn’t changed at the top end, with Leprevost still in pole position ahead of Beerbaum in second and Britain’s Clee in third. “My mare was just a dream today; he was so easy to ride, scopey, careful – everything was perfect for me!” the Frenchwoman said. But she knows that there is still plenty more to do before the medals are awarded. “Yes we are in the lead now, but we have one more difficult day tomorrow,” she pointed out.

For more information on the FEI European Championships 2015 in Aachen, visit www.aachen2015.de.

Full results of FEI European Championships Aachen 2015 here.

Facts and Figures:

92 horse-and-rider combinations started in today’s second competition of the FEI European Jumping Championships 2015 in Aachen, Germany today.

10 of the 92 were competing as individuals.

Teams competed in reverse order of merit.

Only three teams, France, Netherlands and Switzerland, produced three clear rounds today.

France heads the team standings going into tomorrow’s final round of the team competition with Netherlands in second and Germany in third.

On the individual leaderboard Penelope Leprevost FRA, Ludger Beerbaum GER and Joe Clee GBR have remained in the top three places but Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet has moved up to fourth ahead of Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya in fifth and Ukraine’s Cassio Rivetti in sixth.

Quotes:

Michael Whitaker GBR (about today’s course): “You couldn’t get it wrong; you had to ride every fence, think about the lines – even the last fence, the problems it caused. You had to get it all right. Joe was brilliant and Ben was brilliant – what the mare (Maher’s Diva) did was absolutely nothing to do with Ben. She just took it in her own hands to take off and Ben did unbelievable to stay on! He deserves a medal actually!”

Ludger Beerbaum GER: “Today is the team competition, and that’s what counts. I’m really pleased with her (Chiara) performance; it was harmonious, a really nice easy-going round.”

Jessica Sprunger SUI: “We knew it was like our final day today; otherwise the championship was over for us, so we did the best we could. We made three clear rounds and now we have to see how it is at the end of the day. After yesterday everyone was disappointed because the horses are in good shape, but yesterday not even one pair could bring a top result home. So it was difficult after yesterday, but we tried to put that aside and just focus on jumping clear, whatever it would take; we were fighting. I was very nervous – normally I’m nervous walking the course or before I go in, but today I was very nervous riding. We have fought our way back, and we won’t give up until the end!”

Jeroen Dubbeldam NED: “I didn’t have to do too much today because my horse did everything for me. Normally in a triple combination on two strides he comes out too fast, but he didn’t. The only thing I have to do now is not get too easy for tomorrow; I have to keep sharp.”

By Louise Parkes

Media Contacts:

At Aachen:

Niels Knippertz
Press Officer
nielsknippertz@chioaachen.de
+49 (0) 241 9171 182

At FEI:

Grania Willis
Director Media Relations
Grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
Email: ruth.grundy@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 145

Championships, FEI, Revolution Sports, Show Jumping

Penelope Leprevost Maintains Lead in Individual Competition at FEI European Championships

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Photo credit – ROLEX/Kit Houghton.

France takes control in the team competition

Aachen, Germany, 20 August 2015 – In a display of controlled and precise riding, France’s Penelope Leprevost, riding Flora de Mariposa, maintained her first place in the Individual competition at the FEI European Jumping Championships in Aachen today, whilst France took over from Germany at the overnight leaders of the Team competition.

The top four places remained unchanged from the first day of the competition with Penelope Leprevost, Ludger Beerbaum, Joe Clee and Gregory Wathelet all jumping clear on the second day of these Championships. Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya broke into the top five with a clear round aboard Carlo 273. In the team competition, Penelope Leprovost’s second clear round was matched by team mates Simon Delestre and Kevin Staut, and with the four faults accrued by Jerome Hurel dropped at this stage, the French now go into the final day of the competition as leaders on a score of 5.700, ahead of The Netherlands on 7.820 and Germany of 8.400.

For the full standings, please click http://results.aachen2015.de/show/7/schedule/.

Rolex Testimonees

Rolex Testimonee Kevin Staut, riding his mare Reveur de Hurtebise, enjoyed a superb clear round and leapt up to 16th place from an overnight position of 35th. In an illustration of how tight the level of competition is at the top, Bertram Allen riding Molly Malone V and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum on Fibonacci 17 both had one pole down and dropped to 20th and 32nd place respectively.

Quotes:

Penelope Leprevost

“With my mare it was just a dream. She was so easy to ride. In the team competition we have clear rounds today but it will be a difficult competition tomorrow.”

Ludger Beerbaum

“Today was the team competition, and that’s what counts. You need good rounds or you are going down the standings. I am really pleased with my horse and remain hungry for success, but there is still a long way to go.”

Joe Clee

“My horse has been jumping great – I was more relaxed today than yesterday, but the team is taking each day as it comes and with success here comes Olympic qualification but one job at a time. This is the most amazing show in the world and I am really enjoying being here with the public. It’s a bonus that everything is going so well but we have a job to do and we have to keep on thinking about the job in hand.”

For more information on the 2015 European Championships, please visit http://www.aachen2015.de/en/.

Rolex and the European Championships

Rolex is a major supporter of the biennial European Championships, an event which brings together Europe’s best equestrian pairs. For the first time, the FEI European Championships in Aachen, Germany, this summer (11-23 August) unites five equestrian disciplines – Show Jumping, Dressage, Driving, Vaulting and Reining. Competitors test their metal strength and show their equine discipline in front of crowds of up to 40,000.

Rolex is proud to support an occasion where the values that the leading luxury watchmaking brand holds dear – courage, precision, empathy, sportsmanship and passion – will be so clearly demonstrated.

*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, FEI, Show Jumping

Penelope Leprevost Takes Early Lead in Individual Competition at FEI European Championships

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Germany leads team competition

Aachen, Germany, 19 August 2015 – France’s Penelope Leprevost, riding her chestnut mare Flora de Mariposa, took the Individual lead in the first stage of the FEI European Jumping Championships in Aachen today, whilst Germany leads the Team competition.

Penelope Leprevost was the seventh horse and rider combination into the area, and went clear in a time of 67.67 seconds around the Frank Rothenberger designed course. She held onto her lead throughout the afternoon, ahead of Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum (riding Chiara 222) in second place and Great Britain’s Joe Clee (riding Utamaro d’Ecaussines) in third. A total of 94 horse and rider combinations from 23 nations took part in this first stage of the competition, with Nations Cup competitions on Thursday and Friday to decide the Team medals, and the Individual Final on Sunday.

For the full standings, please click http://results.aachen2015.de/show/7/schedule/.

Rolex Testimonees

Rolex Testimonee Bertram Allen riding Molly Malone V was one of 30 clear rounds in a time of 69.79, and is currently in fifth place in the Individual standings. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum riding Fibonacci 17 is in 11th place and Kevin Staut with Riveur is currently in 35th place.

Quotes:

Penelope Leprevost

“I’m very happy with my mare as she didn’t jump the last show here. She feels very good here in this ring and it’s perfect for the team too. This is not her first time jumping in Aachen; she jumped here when she was eight. She has a lot of character, is sensitive and special.”

Ludger Beerbaum

“You could feel how much the crowd was cheering today and it is so nice to be here. Aachen is a great place for equestrian sport – most riders don’t get the chance to compete in front of a crowd like this – it’s just fantastic.”

Joe Clee

“I was aware that I had to go fast; he’s a great horse to go fast on; the faster you go the more he tries. I was a bit worried going in so fast as the faster you go the higher he jumps, and there were some big jumps in there, but he handled it really well and the further we went the more risks I felt we could take, so it was really nice.”

For more information on the 2015 European Championships, please visit http://www.aachen2015.de/en/.

Rolex and the European Championships

Rolex is a major supporter of the biennial European Championships, an event which brings together Europe’s best equestrian pairs. For the first time, the FEI European Championships in Aachen, Germany, this summer (11-23 August) unites five equestrian disciplines – Show Jumping, Dressage, Driving, Vaulting and Reining. Competitors test their metal strength and show their equine discipline in front of crowds of up to 40,000.

Rolex is proud to support an occasion where the values that the leading luxury watchmaking brand holds dear – courage, precision, empathy, sportsmanship and passion – will be so clearly demonstrated.

Championships, Competitions, FEI, Show Jumping

Germany Holds Team Advantage While Leprevost Heads Individual Standings for France

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French rider Penelope Leprevost galloped to victory with Flora de Mariposa in the first Team and Individual qualifier at the FEI European Jumping Championships 2015 in Aachen, Germany today. (FEI/Dirk Caremans)

Aachen (GER), 19 August 2015 – The FEI European Jumping Championships 2015 got off to a flying start in Aachen, Germany today with a brilliant victory for Frenchwoman Penelope Leprevost, while the host nation foursome of Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Ludger Beerbaum, Christian Ahlmann and Daniel Deusser took the early lead in the team standings.

The French lie second going into tomorrow’s first round of the team competition with the defending European champions from Great Britain in third. But there is less than a fence between the top six countries, with Spain in fourth, the Netherlands in fifth and Ukraine in sixth place.

A total of 22 teams lined out in this afternoon’s speed competition, and with four seconds added for every fence down, and results converted into points, just 1.33 separates Germany from France, while the British are only another 1.29 points further adrift.

And there is another sub-plot at play this week, with the last three team spots on offer for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and Ukraine are already qualified, but the defending Olympic champions from Great Britain are not. As it stands this evening, they lead in the race for those three Rio berths followed by Spain, while the seventh-placed Italians and eighth-placed Irish are also in hot pursuit.

Had to be sharp

Course designer, Frank Rothenberger, set them a straightforward 13-obstacle track, but they had to be sharp from start to finish, with two big oxers opening them up from the outset. The double of triple-bar to oxer at fence five and the following narrow red gate at six claimed a number of victims. But it was the next double, a vertical with water-tray to oxer on a one-stride distance, that hit the floor most often, while the following planks also took their toll. The track got progressively more difficult, and the left-bend turn to the vertical at fence 10 had to be managed carefully. The biggest drama of the day was a freak fall for Zuzana Zelinkova here. the rider from the Czech Republic ejected from the saddle when her fabulous bay stallion, Caleri, put in a typically enthusiastic leap.

It was Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum who opened the competition with an exhibition round from her lovely grey gelding Fibonacci. She set the pace in 71.85 seconds, and that gave the rest of the home team a great platform on which to build. Christian Ahlmann followed with a foot-perfect run with Taloubet Z in 70.80 seconds and when Ludger Beerbaum raced through the finish in 69.17 seconds he ensured not only a top team placing for his side, but individual runner-up spot in the competition. Fourth-line German, Daniel Deusser, had a single fence down with Cornet d’Amour.

The British, meanwhile, were also impressive. The big Aachen arena looks tailor-made for Michael Whitaker’s extravagant grey stallion Cassionato, and when their careful clear was followed by a much quicker one from Ben Maher and Diva, then Jessica Mendoza’s eight-fault effort with Spirit T could be dropped because Joe Clee produced the perfect end to their day. The 37-year-old galloped fearlessly around the track with Utamaro D’Ecaussines to break the beam in 69.67 seconds which slotted the pair into third place individually.

Poised

Defending individual European champion, Roger Yves Bost, was not selected for his side, but thanks to great back-up from Simon Delestre and Jerome Hurel, Leprevost looks poised to do big things for France this week.

She was delighted, and a little surprised, that she came out on top this afternoon. Her 10-year-old chestnut mare, Flora de Mariposa, began the year really well but picked up an injury in her left foreleg just before their home show at La Baule at the end of May. She was out for two months and only returned to action in July, competing in Germany and then travelling to Hickstead (GBR) where she showed she was right back to her best again when jumping double-clear in the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ before finishing second in the Grand Prix. Those results sealed the pair’s place in the French side.

“Flora came back so quickly once she returned to work, and she’s full of confidence and very fresh!” said the 35-year-old rider who finished second with Vagabond de la Pomme at the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in Las Vegas, USA three months ago. She didn’t think the Aachen arena would suit Vagabond, so Flora’s return to top action is very timely.

About her winning ride today, Leprevost said, “I had a good run, and my mare went very well. I was too long at the triple bar in the combination, but she jumped amazing and I didn’t think I was so fast!”

Naturally fast horses

Runner-up, Beerbaum, said, “Today’s course suited naturally fast horses like Penelope’s and mine. Knowing that this was just one-third of the team competition and there are two big rounds left, nobody went completely flat out today. I’m happy with my performance and with my team; we did four really good rounds,” he pointed out.

Joe Clee was more than pleased with his third-place individual finish for Britain, especially since the rest of his team was relying on his result. “Obviously when I went in the arena I was feeling the pressure. I knew I had to ride a good round, but he’s (Utamaro D’Ecaussines) great under pressure; the more pressure I put on him the better he jumps, and after fence four I felt myself relaxing and confident, and I knew I could take a few more risks. He answered all the questions I asked him today,” he said.

The Belgians didn’t enjoy the best of days and are lying tenth at this early stage but individual rider, Gregory Wathelet lies individually fourth ahead of Ireland’s Bertram Allen in fifth and Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya in sixth on the individual leaderboard.

Teams go in reverse order of merit in tomorrow’s first round of the team competition which starts at 13.45 local time.

For more information on the FEI European Championships 2015 in Aachen, visit www.aachen2015.de.

Full results of FEI European Championships Aachen 2015 here.

Facts and Figures:

A total of 94 horse-and-rider combinations were on the start-list for today’s opening Team and First Individual Qualifier at the FEI European Jumping Championships 2015 in Aachen, Germany.

First into the arena this afternoon was Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum with the fabulous Fibonacci.

Course designer Frank Rothenberger GER.

Table C 239/263 competition judged according to time with conversion of penalties into seconds added.

13 fences, 16 jumping efforts.

Amongst the individual competitors today were father and daughter, Geir and Victoria Gulliksen, from Norway.

30 clear rounds in today’s competition won by Penelope Leprevost and Flora de Mariposa from France.

Germany heads the team rankings going into tomorrow’s first round of the team competition.

Quotes:

Ludger Beerbaum GER: “Meredith started close to perfect today – a really accurate, nice round and the other three team-members as well. I think we can be really pleased with today’s performance.”

Joe Clee GBR: “The footing was fantastic today; I didn’t feel uncomfortable on any of the turns.”

Frank Kemperman GER, course designer: “It’s always difficult (building the course) for the first class. It is scheduled up to 1.50m and can’t go any bigger. The highest jump today was 1.53m and we had about one-third clear rounds – 25 percent is what you want but I’m pleased with how it went. When I was building the course I tried to avoid tiny turns and short turns because we have so many horses in the arena.”

Bertram Allen IRL: “My mare will probably take a good bit of work tomorrow morning – she’s fresher than normal so I suppose that’s maybe not a bad thing when you’re looking into a long week – I’ve plenty of horse left!”

FEI YouTube

By Louise Parkes

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