Tag Archives: Joanne Eccles

Competitions, FEI, Vaulting

Eccles Sisters Celebrate Double Victory in Paris

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World champion Joanne Eccles (GBR) captivated crowds at the FEI World Cup™ Vaulting 2014/15 second qualifier at the Salon du Cheval in Paris where, on WH Bentley and lunged by her father John Eccles, she won the female individual competition and the Pas-de-Deux with her sister Hannah. (Eric Malherbe/FEI)

Lausanne (SUI), 1 December 2014 – World champion Joanne Eccles (GBR) captivated crowds at the FEI World Cup™ Vaulting 2014/15 second qualifier at the Salon du Cheval in Paris at the weekend, winning the female individual competition, followed swiftly by the Pas-de-Deux with her younger sister Hannah (GBR).

Defending FEI World Cup™ Vaulting and former world champion Nicolas Andreani (FRA), known as “Nico” to his many fans, also stormed to male individual victory in Paris, where a total of 18 athletes from seven countries battled it out.

Joanne Eccles displayed her full range of style and skill on WH Bentley, lunged by her father John Eccles, earning an outstanding 8,828 points, which gave her 15 World Cup points as she targets the Final next year.

This was her first international competition since securing her second consecutive world title at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 this summer. Before heading to Paris, Eccles had said she wanted to show “how amazing vaulting is,” explaining, “When spectators enjoy my performances I enjoy them even more.” In Paris, she definitely reached her goal, impressing the audience with two clear and extremely difficult freestyles, including performing her unique one-handed handstand, which has become her trademark this season.

Individual vaulters now have an additional 20 seconds to impress the judges following a recent rule change to extend the one-minute routines. Eccles, the 25-year-old dentist from Scotland, said of these precious extra seconds: “It allows more time to really engage the audience and to truly feel the performance. It was a great competition in Paris as always, and the arena and organisation were brilliant for us and the horses.”

Corinna Knauf (GER) finished second with Echt Stark and her sister and lunger Alexandra Knauf, with Hannah Eccles (GBR) securing third on WH Bentley also lunged by her father John Eccles.

Highest score

Nicolas Andreani secured the male individual spot 705 points clear of his nearest rival. His classy performance on Just A Kiss with Marina Joosten Dupon, who has been his lunger and coach since he started vaulting as a child, earned him 8,933 points. “Thanks everyone for your great support!” said Andreani to his loyal fans, who came in droves to cheer him on in Paris.

Lukas Klouda (CZE) finished second with Echt Stark and his sister and lunger Petra Cinerova, with Lukas Heppler (SUI) also collecting vital FEI World Cup™ Vaulting points with third place on Waimar CH lunged by Barbara Zürcher.

Pas-de-Deux duel

The Pas-de-Deux competition in Paris ended with the same duel as last year, but this time Germany’s Pia Engelberty and Torben Jacobs on Danny Boy lunged by Patric Looser were denied the number one slot by Joanne and Hannah Eccles, who finished with a 285-point lead (8,828). Gera Marie Grün and Justin van Gerven (GER), training partners of Engelberty and Jacobs, finished third.

Next stop Salzburg

A total of 16 vaulters, including the reigning FEI World Cup™ Vaulting champion Anna Cavallaro (ITA), will now head to the third qualifier of this series at the spectacular Salzburg Arena Messezentrum (AUT), which has played host to the likes of Bryan Adams, Pink, Carlos Santana and Bob Dylan.

FEI TV Live

Tune in to FEI World Cup™ Vaulting in Salzburg live on FEI TV (www.feitv.org) on 13 December (13.00 local time).

Paris results

Male individual: 1. Nicolas Andreani (FRA), 8,933; 2. Lukas Klouda (CZE), 8,228; 3. Lukas Heppler (SUI), 8,037 (full results here)

Female individual: 1. Joanne Eccles (GBR), 8,828; 2. Corinna Knauf (GER), 8,248; 3. Hannah Eccles (GBR), 7,968 (full results here)

Pas-de-deux: 1. Joanne Eccles/Hannah Eccles (GBR), 8,602; 2. Pia Engelberty/Torben Jacobs (GER), 8,317; 3. Gera Marie Grün/Justin van Gerven (GER), 8,132 (full results here)

FEI World Cup™ Vaulting 2014/2015 series standings

Standings will be published here tomorrow.

About FEI World Cup ™ Vaulting 2014/15

FEI World Cup™ Vaulting sees the world’s best 30 vaulters from nine nations battle for points across a four-leg European city tour, before the Final in March 2015. The athletes from Austria, Czech Republic, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Netherlands and Switzerland competing in this challenging series are listed here. The top six female and male vaulters, and top four pas-de-deux, based on their best two results in the series, will then come together at the FEI World Cup™ Vaulting 2014/15 Final, where they will start from scratch.

Series hashtag: #WorldCupVaulting

By Daniel Kaiser

FEI Media contacts:

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
ruth.grundy@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 45

Denise Devillaire
Manager Press Relations
Denise.devillaire@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 57

*Featured/Spotlights, Vaulting, World Equestrian Games

Eccles Stretches Her Lead, Oese Springs a Surprise and Austrians Prevail in Pas-De-Deux

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Germany’s Erik Oese produced a surprise win with a brilliant performance in the Vaulting technical test at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy. (Jon Stroud/FEI)

Normandy (FRA), 4 September 2014 – A flawless Technical performance today confirmed Great Britain’s Joanne Eccles as firm favourite to take Female individual gold in Vaulting at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Caen, France tomorrow. The defending world champion showed all the grace, flair and confidence that has given her super-star status in the sport. And her adoring fans went wild with delight when she posted the winning score of 8.513 today.

“I feel so good in this arena!” she said. “I even treated myself to an extra few seconds at the end to savour the crowd’s applause and look out onto all the British flags in the stands and see all these people who follow Vaulting and Team GBR in particular,” she added. Eccles reckoned that this was a personal best result in the Technical test which encompasses five moves performed in any order.

Italy’s Anna Cavallaro finished second on an average score of 8.240 and the USA’s Mary McCormick finished third on 7.989.

French vaulter Anne-Sophie Musset was disappointed when slotting into seventh place. She said she had a last-minute issue which broke her concentration, so she was less focused than she needed to be. “Several figures didn’t go as well as they normally do in competition such as the front roll and the needle,” she explained.

Surprise

In the Men’s Technical competition there was a surprise when Germany’s Erik Oese pinned French vaulters, Nicolas Andreani and Jacques Ferrari, into second and third. Ferrari, who has been showing top form all week, still heads the provisional rankings but today’s defeat was something of a shock.

He said afterwards that he intends to turn this around. “It was the most inconsistent technical programme of the year so I’m obviously disappointed,” Ferrari said. Davy Delair, head of the French national team, pointed out: “This technical programme was difficult; we were apprehensive about it. It is both technically and artistically demanding. Our vaulters are without a doubt less flexible than the Germans, for example. Yet, nothing is set in stone.”

He predicted a recovery by the two French stars, Andreani and Jacques, before the medals are handed out tomorrow. Runner-up Andreani was emotional because it was his last time to perform his Marcel Marceau mime routine.

“The French mime deserved a stage like the Zenith to go out on,” he said. And he was delighted with the performance of his horse, Just a Kiss HN. “I am so pleased every time Just takes to the arena. Being his third WEG, I think it will be his last,” Andreani pointed out.

“Just is a saint who will keep fighting to the end and he showed it again today. He trots out willingly; there is no need to coax him out. He stays remarkably well concentrated throughout the programme,” Andreani explained.

Winner Erik Oese stole the limelight with a spectacular performance, but the crowd also reacted warmly to the result achieved by 17-year-old Lambert Leclezio who has been showing remarkable improvement all week. The vaulter from Mauritius really stole the hearts of the audience who gave him a standing ovation today.

Pas de Deux

In contrast there was no real surprise when Austria’s Jasmin Lindner and Lukas Wacher topped the first round of the Pas de Deux. The polished pair clinched the 2012 FEI World Vaulting Championship title in Le Mans (FRA) before storming to victory at the FEI European Vaulting Championships 2013 in Ebreichsdorf (AUT), and today they lived up to their billing as the hottest tickets in town when posting 9.083 for the win.

Germany’s Gera Marie Grun and Justin Van Gerven slotted into second on a score 8.631 while Joanne Eccles joined her sister, Hannah, to finish third on 8.570.

This the first time for Pas de Deux to be included in the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Vaulting schedule, and there is great anticipation ahead of the second round which, following the award of the Squad and Male and Female Individual medals tomorrow, will bring the Vaulting championships to a close.

Full results and startlists at www.normandy2014.com.

By Louise Parkes

Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy (FRA) on 23 August – 7 September brings together close to 1,000 riders and 1,000 horses from 74 nations for 15 days of world-class competition in Jumping, Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining.

For more information, see: www.normandy2014.com.

History Hub

The FEI World Equestrian Games™ are held every four years in the middle of the Olympic and Paralympic cycle. They were first hosted in Stockholm (SWE) in 1990 and have since been staged in The Hague (NED) in 1994, Rome (ITA) in 1998, Jerez (ESP) in 2002, and Aachen (GER) in 2006. The first Games to be organised outside Europe were the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Kentucky (USA) 2010.

Visit the FEI History Hub here.

Media contacts:

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

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
ruth.grundy@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 45

Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 Organising Committee:

Amélie Patrux
Press Officer
presse@normandie2014.com

*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Events, FEI, FEI, Vaulting

High-octane Action at FEI World Vaulting Championships in Le Mans

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Joanne Eccles (GBR) was in a class of her own when claiming individual gold at the FEI World Vaulting Championships in Le Mans (FRA). Teamed up with W H Bentley, lunged by her father John Eccles, she took the title by a massive margin. (Photo: Daniel Kaiser/FEI)

Lausanne (SUI), 21 August 2012 – The FEI World Vaulting Championships 2012, which were held in the horse sport centre Boulerie Jump in Le Mans, France (15-19 August) attracted a field of more than 150 athletes, 50 lungers and 56 horses from 17 nations. The Championships saw vaulters compete over five demanding days for squad and individual titles (male and female), as well as the top spot for the Pas-de-Deux, which was introduced for the first time this year in a World Championship.

18-year drought

The excitement was high-octane in the Le Mans arena on the final day of the Championships as two squads had a realistic chance of winning the title: Voltige Lütisburg from Switzerland and Germany’s RSV Neuss-Grimlinghausen squad. After scoring 7.77 for an amazing performance in the compulsory, the Swiss squad – coached and lunged by Monika Winkler-Bischofberger – had established a comfortable lead of nearly 0.2 points. After the two following freestyle rounds they cantered to victory on their horse Will Be Good.

The win put an end to an 18-year drought on the world stage. It was the first Swiss victory at the World Championships since 1994, when they won gold at the FEI World Equestrian Games in The Hague (NED), although they did claim the European title at the 2001 Championships in Poznan, (POL).

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Events, FEI, FEI, Vaulting

Male Champion Looser Retires at the Top While Eccles Family Dominate Female Final

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YouTube – http://youtu.be/AW8pQO2c4Cs

Patric Looser and his horse Record RS Von der Wintermuehle made an emotional retirement from the sport after winning the 2011/2012 FEI World Cup Vaulting Final. Photo: FEI/Christophe Bricot/Jumping International de Bordeaux.

Bordeaux (FRA), 5 February 2012 – Emotions ran high at the 2011/2012 FEI World Cup Vaulting Final in Bordeaux, France today where Switzerland’s Patric Looser made the perfect exit from the sport when taking the Male title in style, and Great Britain’s Joanne Eccles pipped her younger sister, Hannah, for the Female honours.

This first official FEI World Cup Vaulting season visited five qualifying venues over the winter months, and today’s closing stages saw the sport at its very best.  Looser was determined to produce a better result than he did in yesterday’s first round.  “I’m going to try to enjoy every second of my Freestyle today” he said before the competition began.  “Yesterday was not my best performance – I was a bit stiff in my body although I didn’t make any mistakes, but I’m in first position by a good distance as the competition begins today and I intend to be more relaxed and just enjoy my routine and my horse!” he explained.

He succeeded in doing just that, adding this new title to the one he earned at the Final in Leipzig, Germany last April and to his career-defining gold medals at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky in 2010 and last year’s FEI European Championships.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Events, FEI, FEI, Vaulting

FEI Open European Vaulting Championships for Seniors and Juniors 2011 – Le Mans (FRA)

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ECCLES AND LOOSER MAINTAIN SUPREMACY AND GERMANY CLAIMS DOUBLE TEAM GOLD by Louise Parkes

Great Britain's Joanne Eccles showing the spectacular style that helped her win her second consecutive Senior Female Individual title at the FEI Open European Vaulting Championships for Seniors and Juniors. Photo: FEI/ www.pixbank.org

Lausanne (SUI), 24 August 2011 – Great Britain’s Joanne Eccles and Switzerland’s Patrick Looser maintained the form that clinched their 2010 world titles when winning the Female and Male Individual gold medals at the FEI Open European Vaulting Championships 2011 at Le Mans, France last weekend.  German vaulters were strong however, taking both Senior and Junior Team gold, and the Pas de Deux and Junior Male titles, while Italy’s Silvia Stoppazzine claimed the Junior Female Individual honours.

Over 200 competitors from 19 countries – Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Denmark, Netherlands, France, Italy, Hungary, Great Britain, Russia, Republic of South Africa, Mauritius, Belgium, Czech Republic, Norway, Poland, Finland and Sweden – gathered at Le Mans for the 15th edition of these Championships. The success of the Vaulting competitions at last year’s Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, USA has led to a tremendous upsurge of interest in this sport which originally emerged from ancient Greece, where warriors were trained to ride independently of their horses as they brandished weapons.  Today it is a competitive discipline, open to both men and women, in which both dynamic and static gymnastic elements are combined and performed on a catering horse.  It demands outstanding physical fitness from the vaulter and a harmonious relationship with the horse and longeur.

SENIORS
Germany got off to a great start when pipping Switzerland in Thursday’s Senior Team Compulsory Test, but the result was reversed on Saturday when it was the Swiss who came out on top in the Freestyle while, once again, Austria slotted into third.  And it was a close-fought affair in Sunday’s decider with the judging panel of Veronique Girard, Elzbieta Dolinska, Gaby Benz, Heddy Boelsma Den Hartog, Ute Schoenian and Anna Kull unafraid to award high marks where appropriate.  The biggest score of the day came from Ute Schoenian, at E, who awarded 9.773 to the German side whose longeur Jessica Schmitz and horse Arkansas 51 rounded up a great performance.  The final German total of 8.300 left them just .053 clear of the Swiss silver medallists, while Austria completed in bronze medal position with 7.980 on the board.

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