Tag Archives: FEI World Cup

Top Class Lineup for FEI World Cup Driving Final in Bordeaux

Lausanne (SUI), 31 January 2012 – Driving fans will be treated to a thrilling finale of the FEI World Cup Driving 11th season in Bordeaux (FRA) on 3 and 4 February.

Six drivers – Boyd Exell (AUS); IJsbrand Chardon (NED); Koos De Ronde (NED); Tomas Eriksson (SWE); Jozsef Dobrovitz (HUN) and Zoltan Lázár (HUN) – qualified for the Final at the end of an exciting season that ran over seven events held in five European countries. They will be joined by home driver Thibault Coudry, who has received the wild card.

In Bordeaux the seven drivers all start from scratch and it will not be until the very last second of the Final on the evening of Saturday 4 February that the new FEI World Cup Driving champion will be crowned.

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FEI World Cup Vaulting Comes to Thrilling Climax in Bordeaux

Switzerland’s Simone Jaïser (SUI) heads to this weekend’s FEI World Cup Vaulting Final in Bordeaux after scoring the highest points tally in the first full FEI World Cup Vaulting series. Photo: Karl-Heinz Freiler/FEI.

Lausanne (SUI), 1 February 2012 – The first full FEI World Cup Vaulting season will culminate in a hotly contested Final in Bordeaux (FRA) this weekend (4-5 February), when the sport’s top male and female vaulters will compete to secure the World Cup title.

The series has been hard fought with 10 male and 10 female vaulters competing in five qualifiers in Kiel (GER), Munich (GER), Salzburg (AUT), Paris (FRA) and Leipzig (GER).

Six male and six female vaulters will now battle it out for the honours at the FEI World Cup Vaulting 2011/2012 Final in the Bordeaux Exhibition Centre.

World number one Patric Looser (SUI), who has announced his retirement after Bordeaux, heads to the Final after securing a six-point lead over Viktor Brüsewitz (GER). They will be joined by Lukas Klouda (CZE), Yvan Nousse (FRA), Lukas Heppler (SUI) and Remy Hombecq (FRA).

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Kutscher and Obolensky Are in a Class of Their Own at Zurich

YouTube: http://youtu.be/wK0-_t4Gq08

Photo: FEI/Karl-Heinz Frieler.

Zurich (SUI), 29 January 2012 – Germany’s Marco Kutscher steered Cornet Obolensky to victory in the tenth qualifying leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Western European League 2011/2012 series at Zurich in Switzerland this afternoon.  The 13 year old stallion produced an exhibition of effortless jumping to outclass the rest of the 40-strong field on a tough day that saw six riders opting to retire in the opening round.

Course designer, Rolf Ludi, really piled on the pressure with a colossal track that quickly separated the best from the rest.  But one man who was unfortunate to miss a place in the seven-horse jump-off was Belgium’s Ludo Philippaerts whose 14 year old Kassini Jac left all the fences intact, only to be penalised for crossing the finish line just outside the 69-second time limit.

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Ahlmann Takes the Win at Leipzig, but Eckermann Steals the Spotlight

YouTube: http://youtu.be/d9kwx59_26o

Defending series champions, Germany’s Christian Ahlmann and Taloubet, won the ninth leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping 2011/2012 series in Leipzig, Germany today. Photo: FEI/Karl-Heinz Frieler.

Leipzig (GER), 22 January 2012 – Defending champion, Germany’s Christian Ahlmann, returned to the scene of his 2010/2011 triumph to win the ninth qualifying round of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping 2011/2012 series at Leipzig, Germany this afternoon.

Host-nation competitors filled the top-three places, but both the winner, and third-placed multiple champion Marcus Ehning, had to take a back seat in the aftermath as the spotlight shone brightly on rising star Katrin Eckermann who was pipped for pole position by only the narrowest of margins.  The 21 year old from Muenster, who has just emerged at Senior level after a highly-successful career in Young Riders, produced a thrilling and polished performance to take runner-up spot and has put her name firmly on the German radar.  She said afterwards that today’s competition will be her last indoor outing of the season as she has other plans for her lovely grey gelding Carlson.  But everyone, including her German counterparts, agreed that this self-effacing young lady’s name will feature prominently in future years.  A new German jumping star has announced her arrival.

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Chardon Steals the Show in Leipzig

IJsbrand Chardon, winner of the seventh FEI World Cup Driving 2011/2012 qualifier held in Leipzig (GER) this weekend. ©Rinaldo de Craen/FEI

Leipzig (GER), 22 January 2012 – IJsbrand Chardon (NED) won the seventh leg of the FEI World Cup Driving 2011/2012 in front of a super enthusiastic crowd in Leipzig, Germany this afternoon. Wild card driver Chardon stayed ahead of runner-up Tomas Eriksson (SWE) and second wild card driver Christoph Sandmann (GER), who placed third. With these results, Tomas Eriksson and Zoltan Lazar (HUN), who finished fourth, have secured their starting tickets for the Final in Bordeaux, France in two weeks’ time.

More training
IJsbrand Chardon, who had won the Hannover qualifier earlier this season, made great use of the invitation he had received from the Leipzig organisers and put on an excellent performance with his experienced team of Lipizzan horses. Chardon stole the show in the nearly sold-out Leipzig Messe, driving fast and taking sharp turns on the tricky course, designed by Dr Wolfgang Asendorf (GER). Four-time world champion Chardon had not been pleased with his horses after the last qualifier in Mechelen (BEL) at the end of December and had trained his horses three times a week in the lead up to today’s event. Chardon used today’s competition to put his horses to the test. His training efforts paid off as Chardon was on fire in Leipzig.

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Cornelissen and Parzival Do the Double in Amsterdam

Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival (NED) scored a back-to-back double when winning today’s seventh leg of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage series in Amsterdam. Photo: FEI/DigiShots.

Amsterdam (NED), 21 January 2012 – Adelinde Cornelissen and the 15 year old Jerich Parzival stamped their authority all over the seventh leg of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage 2011/2012 Western European League on home turf in Amsterdam, The Netherlands this afternoon.  With a display of supreme confidence, the defending champions threw down the highest score of the season so far to make it a back-to-back double following their victory in Mechelen, Belgium last month.

But with the maximum 20 points going to the second-place rider, as the previous year’s winners do not collect points during the following season, there was a tremendous battle for the minor placings.  And it was Helen Langehanenberg who came off best in a tussle with German counterpart Isabell Werth who had to settle for third place despite one of the most exciting performances of the day.

LEADERBOARD
Today’s result has moved Langehanenberg into third on the series leaderboard with just two qualifying rounds left to go.  And there is a new leader, as Italy’s Valentina Truppa, who finished fifth this afternoon, has ousted Sweden’s Patrik Kittel from the top of the table.

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FEI World Cup Dressage – Asia/Pacific and Central European League Updates

SANNA BOOKS HER TICKET TO DEN BOSCH WHILE LOIKA LEADS CENTRAL EUROPEAN SERIES by Louise Parkes

Rachael Sanna has earned a place at the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Final in 's-Hertogenbosch following her victory at the Asia/Pacific FEI World Cup Dressage Final. Photo: Derek O'Leary.

Lausanne (SUI), 19 January 2012 – Australia’s Rachael Sanna earned a place at the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage 2011/2012 Final at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands next April with a convincing victory in the Asia/Pacific FEI World Cup Dressage League which concluded at Werribee, Australia last month.  The series embraced six rounds of competition, all on Australian soil, and kicked off at Boneo in March 2011 before moving on to Werribee and Melbourne.

Sydney hosted two legs before the Final returned to the National Equestrian Centre at Werribee, Victoria in December. A strong favourite from the outset, the Australian National Champion, Sanna, dominated throughout.

The 39 year old Sydney native steered Jaybee Alabaster to win the opening Grand Prix with a score of 71.128% and, the following day, Ground Jury judges Mary Seefried (AUS), Helen Hughes-Keen (NZL), Katrina Wuest (GER), Susan Hoevenaars (AUS) and Alison Pauline King (HKG) awarded the winning mark of 75.125% in the Grand Prix Freestyle which was the FEI World Cup qualifying class.  The pair subsequently also went on to top the Grand Prix Special with a score of 71.000% to underpin a superb weekend.

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Fourth-in-a-Row Win for Boyd Exell

Boyd Exell (AUS), winner of the sixth FEI World Cup Driving 2011/2012 qualifier held in Mechelen (BEL) this weekend. ©Rinaldo de Craen/FEI

Mechelen (BEL), 31 December 2011 – Boyd Exell proved to be of a different class again in the sixth leg of the FEI World Cup Driving in Mechelen, Belgium. Exell remained untouched throughout the competition and stayed far ahead of his rivals Tomas Eriksson (SWE) and IJsbrand Chardon (NED). Mechelen is Boyd’s fourth consecutive win of the season after his victories at Stockholm, Budapest and Geneva. With only the Final in Bordeaux left for the triple FEI World Cup winner, Boyd can relax and enjoy his well-deserved holiday in his home country Australia for the next few weeks.

Exciting until the last moment

It was one of the best FEI World Cup Driving competitions ever in the Nekkerhal, which remained exciting until the very last moment. No less than eight drivers battled for a place on the podium. Second starter Georg von Stein drove a fast clear round, which more experienced indoor drivers like Koos de Ronde and Jozsef Dobrovitz were unable to beat. Tomas Eriksson was the first to beat Von Stein’s time and secured his place for the winning round. IJsbrand Chardon caused even more excitement by knocking a ball off the first obstacle, but finished only 0.48 seconds behind Eriksson and also qualified for the winning round. Boyd Exell finished the job without any hesitation and took the lead.

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Wathelet Wins on Home Turf at Mechelen

Gregory Wathelet and Copin van de Broy pictured receiving the winner’s prize of a Rolex watch from Mr Philippe De Baets, Managing Director, Rolex Benelux. Photo: FEI/Dirk Caremans.

Mechelen (BEL), 30 December 2011 – Gregory Wathelet scooped the honours for the host nation when coming out on top at the eighth leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping 2011/2012 series at Mechelen in Belgium this afternoon.  And he did it in style, throwing down an impossible target when first to go with Copin van de Broy in the eight-horse jump-off, and sitting back to watch the rest line up behind him.

It was 2009 individual European Champion, Kevin Staut from France, who filled runner-up spot with the grey mare, Silvana HDC, while Belgium was prominently placed once more when Rick Hemeryck and Quarco de Kerambars finished third.  Germany’s Hans-Dieter Dreher (Magnus Romeo) slotted into fourth, while the fifth-place result for Denis Lynch (Abbervail van het Dingeshof) has promoted the Irishman to second spot on the Western European League leaderboard as 2011 draws to a close with reigning European Champion, Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson, still at the head of affairs.

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Cornelissen and Parzival Are Mighty at Mechelen

Defending series champions, Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival from The Netherlands, were emphatic winners of the sixth leg of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage 2011/2012 series at Mechelen in Belgium today. Photo: FEI/Dirk Caremans.

Mechelen (BEL), 28 December 2011 – Defending series champions, Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival from The Netherlands, scored an emphatic victory on their seasonal debut at the sixth leg of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage 2011/2012 series in Mechelen, Belgium today.  With a performance that oozed class and confidence, they threw down a score of 85.325 that left them more than five points clear of the runner-up partnership of Patrik Kittel and Watermill Scandic.  But it was the Swedish rider who took maximum points to rocket even further ahead at the top of the leaderboard with just three more legs left to go.

As winner of the 2010/2011 Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage title, Cornelissen is already qualified for the 2011/2012 decider which will take place on her home soil at ‘s-Hertogenbosch next April, and is therefore not entitled to accumulate points in the current season.  Kittel, meanwhile, looks likely to have three horses to choose from going to the final following a highly impressive run of form in recent months.

Germany’s Nadine Capellmann slotted into third today with Elvis, while Dutchman Hans Peter Minderhoud finished fourth with Withney van het Genthof.  Best of the strong Belgian contingent was Jeroen Devroe who steered Apollo van het Vijvershof into fifth.

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