Left to right: Nicolas Delmotte, Mathieu Billot, chef d’equipe Philippe Guerdat, Francois Xavier Boudant and Timothée Anciaume. Photo: FEI/Roland Thunholm.

Drammen (NOR), 10 May 2013 – Just seven days after coming out on top in Lummen, Belgium, French riders recorded their second win of the inaugural Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping series at Drammen, Norway today.  However this time they were pushed just about as close as it could get, with the runners-up from The Netherlands keeping them under immense pressure right to the very end of a gripping competition.

It was a last-to-go, foot-perfect run from French anchorman, Timothee Anciaume, that clinched it.  “I had a lot of pressure on my shoulders coming into the second round, but the objective had been clearly set by our Chef d’Equipe, Philippe Guerdat.  This is a new team, but we came here to win!” the 34-year-old Frenchman pointed out.

Sweden finished third ahead of the host nation of Norway in fourth, while Italy slotted into fifth ahead of Finland.  At this Europe Division 2 leg of the 2013 Furusiyya series, just six of the eight competing nations returned for the second round, and it was the sides from Russia and Belarus that watched from the sidelines when squeezed out after their opening effort.

The Longines timing equipment played an important role throughout the afternoon, as the time-allowed of 80 seconds proved very difficult to get.  And the Russians were unfortunate to miss their chance to return for the second round.  They were on level-pegging with Finland after collecting 16 faults in round one, but their slower times saw them having to settle for seventh at the end of the day.

Inviting Course

Course designer, Germany’s Stefan Wirth, set them an inviting course with a few interesting questions.  Straightness and balance were key to a clear jumping round, and many of those who angled the oxer at fence four paid the price, while many more took the following left-handed turn to the Longines double too sharply and found themselves off-balance over the opening triple bar and the following vertical.  It had been expected that the line from the 1.50m x 1.60m oxer at six to the open water at seven and the vertical at eight would present some problems, but although there were a few wet hooves, the distances rode perfectly for most.

It was the triple combination, three fences from home, that was the bogey of the day. Following the inviting previous oxer, riders were obliged to rein in their horses and approach with caution in order to correctly negotiate the single stride between the opening vertical and the oxer middle-element and the following two strides to the final vertical here. It had a significant impact in the first round, and continued to play its part again as round two unfolded.

The tight time-allowed however was also a major influence, as Stefan Wirth confirmed after the competition.  “It was one of the deciding factors today alright,” he said. “I noticed that experienced riders had less problems, and also there were less time faults in the second round,” he added.

In Control

With three first-round clears, the French were in control by the halfway stage, only the third-line combination of Francois-Xavier Boudant and the 12-year-old Amadeus Z faulting at the first element of the Longines double at fence five.  But the Dutch were stalking them closely, carrying just two time penalties after both Suzanne Tepper (KM Wish) and Henk van de Pol (Liberty Antara) each exceeded the 80-second time limit, while experienced pathfinder, Eric van der Vleuten, produced the only other fault-free first tour of the track.

Sweden lay third despite a difficult pathfinding effort from Royne Zetterman who returned with 17 faults on the board partnering the nine-year-old Echo de Laubry.  Single time penalties from Emma Emanuelsson (Titan) and Peder Fredricson (H&M Cash In) were the only additions to the four faults collected by Douglas Lindelow and Udermus for a mistake in the middle of the triple combination. So with six faults the Swedes were still well in the frame going into the second round, while the host nation was only two faults further adrift, counting the five collected by Dag Ove Kingsrod (Dimaro Vd Looise Heide) who also fell victim to the middle element of the triple combination as well as the timing equipment, and the two time faults picked up by Victoria Gulliksen (Urval) and the single penalty registered by her father, Geir Gulliksen (Edesa S Banjan).

The Italians were in fifth with 14 faults and Finland was in sixth carrying 16 as round two began, but only two of the four Finnish team members returned to the arena while, despite a much-improved single time penalty from anchorman Luca Moneta (Connery), the Italians couldn’t improve their situation when adding nine more to their scoreline.

Lost Their Grip

The Norwegians lost their grip with the addition of 10, and when Zetterman endured another punishing 13-fault result it seemed Swedish chances were also dashed.  But the potential of 23-year-old Lindelow was clearly evident in a foot-perfect second effort while Swedish Chef d’Equipe, Pether Marene, was given a further boost by the determination shown by Emanuelsson.  She looked well on her way to another fine jumping round until a strong check before the triple combination left her 10-year-old partner, Titan, without any stride at all.  Having sent poles flying at the first element, the 28-year-old rider pulled up and as soon as the course was ready she re-presented the brave grey who nonchalantly soared over all three elements this time around to cross the line with just six faults after a superb recovery.  And when Fredricson went clear that was all they had to add to complete with a final tally of 12.

It would be a fierce fight to the finish between the Dutch and the French however, pathfinding Frenchman Nicolas Delmotte recording the second part of his double-clear with Number One d’Iso Un Prince, but second-line rider Mathieu Billot, collecting nine faults this time around. And the tension became almost unbearable when Francois Xavier Boudant and Amadeus Z, clear first time out, made it all the way to the penultimate oxer only to leave that on the floor.

By this stage Van der Vleuten had returned a four, Tepper had picked up just one more time penalty and third-line rider Peter Bulthuis returned clear with Atlanta.  So although Henk Van de Pol’s Liberty Antara put a toe in the water, the final Dutch score of seven faults really put it up to the final French pair.  With the three best scores to count, France needed to drop the nine collected by Billot, and even one mistake from anchorman Timothee Anciaume would result in an eight-fault final result, presenting The Netherlands with victory.

Didn’t Flinch

Anciaume didn’t flinch however, even though it was the very first CSIO and first Nations Cup for his nine-year-old horse, Quorioso Pre Noir. Asked afterwards what it felt like to be under such enormous pressure, he said, “I just really focused on my ride and my round, I didn’t let myself think of faults or results, but I concentrated on feeling confident. I knew I could afford a time fault, so I just had to focus on what I was doing”.  As he broke the beam inside the time, the job was done, and French Chef d’Equipe, Philippe Guerdat, was rightly delighted.

Talking about his team, Guerdat said afterwards, “I asked Timothee to go last because he is the most experienced rider in today’s team.” And he was very happy with the performances of the rest of his side.  “For Francois-Xavier Boudant this was his first Nations Cup.  He had no experience at this level, so it is really good for him to start with a winning result!” he said.  “Nicolas Delmotte did a really good job there, and he definitely has a horse for the future, and Mathieu Billot is our youngest rider today.  He did very well.  He was a European Junior Champion eight years ago and will definitely be one for the future,” he added.  There were just two-double clear performances recorded today, and both by French riders – Nicolas Demotte and Timothee Anciaume.

For Norwegian Chef d’Equipe, Ulf Storemark, today was also a great day. Like so many other nations, the Norwegians are chasing points in this first Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup inaugural season, and the 75 they collected this afternoon have moved them into third place at this early stage on the Europe Division 2 league table.  Sweden heads that leaderboard, with Finland in second and Belarus in fourth.

It was a wet and cold day in Drammen today, but the excitement of another thrilling clash of nations ensured the spectators had plenty to keep them warm. And now the series heats up a whole lot more as the first leg of Europe Division 1 takes place next Friday at La Baule, where the French will be hoping to make it three-in-a-row with victory on their home turf.

Result:

1. France 4 faults: Number One d’Iso Un Prince (Nicolas Delmotte) 0/0, Pardoes (Mathieu Billot) 0/9, Amadeus Z (Francois Xavier Boudant) 4/4, Quorioso Pre Nois (Timothee Anciaume) 0/0.

2. Netherlands 7 faults: Wan Architect (Eric van der Vleuten) 0/4, KM Wish (Suzanne Tepper) 1/1, Atlanta (Peter Bulthuis) 4/0, Liberty Antara (Henk van de Pol) 1/4.

3. Sweden 12 faults: Echo de Laubry (Royne Zetterman) 17/13, Udermus (Douglas Lindelow) 4/0, Titan (Emma Emanuelsson) 1/6, H&M Cash In (Peder Fredricson) 1/0.

4. Norway 18 faults: Dimaro Vd Looise Heide (Dag Ove Kingsrod) 5/4, Urval (Victoria Gulliksen) 2/2, CC Top (Ole Kristoffer Meland) 9/4, Edesa S Banjan (Geir Gulliksen) 1/10.

5. Italy 23 faults: Loro Piana Acamar (Massimiliano Ferrario) 5/4, Baretto (Roberto Turchetto) 4/4, Silverstras (Giovanni Consorti) 5/8, Connery (Luca Maria Moneta) 16/1.

6. Finland 88 faults: Cue Channa (Sebastian Numminen) 13/Withdrawn, Elba (Niklas Aromaa) 2/16, Quenaro (Mikko Maentausta) 9/18, Celestine (Satu Liukkonen) 5/Withdrawn.

7. Russia 16 in FIRST ROUND: Like You 2 (Sergey Khomashko) 10, Pimlico (Anna Gromzina) 5, Triggy Puh (Olga Chechina) 9, Littlefoot 22 (Vladimir Beletsky) 2.

Belarus 30 faults in FIRST ROUND: Wacantos (Yahor Morotski) 15, Lodonkor (Vasil Ivanou) 14, Clooney (Ibragim Vaskov) 10, Colin (Maksim Kryna) 6. Detailed results here.

Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping 2013, Europe Division 2 Updated Leaderboard, after Drammen:

1. 1. Sweden       152 points (70 points in Lummen, 5th, and 82 points in Drammen, 3rd)
2. 2. Finland      141 points (75 points in Lummen, 4th, and 66 points in Drammen, 6th)
3. 3. Norway       139 points (64 points in Lummen, 8th, and 75 points in Drammen, 4th)
4. 4. Belarus      123 points (59 points in Linz, 10th, and 64 points in Drammen, 8th)
5. 5. Austria      75 points (75 points in Linz, 4th)
6. 6. Italy        70 points (70 points in Drammen, 5th)
7. 7. Denmark      66 points (66 points in Linz, 6th)
8. 8. Belgium      66 points (66 points in Lummen, 6th)
9. 9. Russia       65 points (0 point in Linz, 11th, and 65 points in Drammen, 7th)

Facts and Figures:

8 nations competed in today’s fifth leg of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping series at Drammen, Norway.

Drammen lies 40 kilometers south of the Norwegian capital city of Oslo.

5 countries – Belarus, Finland, Italy, Norway, Russia and Sweden – were battling for points towards the Final which will take place in Barcelona, Spain in September.

Father and daughter, Geir and Victoria Gulliksen, competed for the host nation team.

Course designer was Germany’s Stefan Wirth.

This was the second French win in the 2013 Furusiyya series.  France also came out on top in Lummen, Belgium last Friday.

The youngest horse in today’s competition was the 7-year-old Cue Channa ridden by Finland’s Sebastian Numminen.

The oldest horse in the class was the 16-year-old Pardoes ridden by Mathieu Billot for the winning French team.

Two double-clear performances, from French riders Nicolas Delmotte (Number One d’Iso Un Prince) and timothee Anciaume (Quorioso Pre Noir).

Quotes:

French Chef d’Equipe, Philippe Guerdat, talking about today’s course – “The level wasn’t too difficult but the time allowed was very short. Many mistakes came from the time. For the second round, we were not so lucky with our second horse, so I had to put a bit of extra pressure on horses three and four.”

Winning Chef d’Equipe Phillipe Guerdat, talking about his plans for the season – “I am new Chef d’Equipe for France and I am at competing in as many Nations Cup competition with as many riders as possible so that I can select the best.”

Stefan Wirth, course designer, talking about the ground conditions today – “I am very happy with it (the all-weather surface). It can take a lot of water/rain. Even if more rain is to come, we know the ground is good enough that it won’t influence the sport.”

Timothee Anciaume, France – “The whole purpose of coming to Drammen was to gain experience and build towards the future.  Today we were all thrilled with the result.”

For further information on the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping series, check out this link.

“Furusiyya” (Arabic: فروسيه) this single Arabic word conveys so much, embracing the idea of horsemanship, chivalry, and equestrian knowledge in general. The term is a derivation of faris, or horseman and faras, a horse.

Longines is the Official Timekeeper of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping series.

Longines has been based at Saint-Imier (SUI) since 1832. Its watchmaking expertise reflects a strong devotion to tradition, elegance and performance. It has generations of experience as the official timekeeper at world championships and as a partner of international sports federations.

Longines’ passion for equestrian sports began in 1878, when a timepiece was made with a horse and jockey engraved on the watch face. Over the years, the brand has built strong and long-lasting links with equestrian sports. In 1926, for the first time, the brand was involved as timekeeper for the Official International Equestrian Competition of Geneva. Today, Longines’ involvement in equestrianism includes Jumping, Endurance and flat racing.

Longines is a member of The Swatch Group S.A., the world’s leading manufacturer of horological products. With an excellent reputation for creating refined timepieces, the brand, whose emblem is the winged hourglass, has outlets in over 130 countries.

By Louise Parkes

Media contacts:

At FEI:

Grania Willis
Director Press Relations
Email: grania.willis@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 142

Malina Gueorguiev
Manager Media Relations
Email: malina.gueorguiev@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 133

At Drammen:

Therese Alhaug
Press Officer
therese@equilife.no
+47 414 13 747

At Revolution Sports + Entertainment:

Tim Welland
Email: tim@revolutionsports.co.uk
Tel: +44 7787 780 036

Pictured left to right – Pascal Bettschen, Christina Liebherr, Claudia Gisler and Theo Muff. Photo: FEI/Krisztian Buthi.

Linz (AUT), 3 May 2013 – The Swiss team won through in an edge-of-the-seat battle with Australia at the third leg of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping 2013 series in Linz, Austria this afternoon. Germany finished a close third ahead of the host nation in fourth, and the Polish team had to settle for seventh behind Denmark and Ireland when, despite threatening the leaders with a superb performance in the early part of the competition, their chances suddenly slipped away during the dramatic closing stages.

From a starting field of 11 nations, just eight returned to the second round. And although they didn’t manage to make the cut, the team from Belarus collected some of the precious qualifying points on offer in the tussle for a place at the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping Final which will take place in Barcelona, Spain in September.

Just four nations were in line for points at this fixture, and Austria collected 75 while Denmark picked up 66 and Belarus 59.  But a last-place finish for Russia left them on a zero score.

Perfectly Pitched

The first-round track designed by Austria’s Franz Madl was perfectly pitched for CSIO 3* standard.  Winning team member, Christina Liebherr, described it as “not so big, but very technical.  The ground was up and down so you could easily make mistakes with your distances, and some horses jumped a bit flat here and there – but there were mistakes everywhere on the course so it was definitely very fair,” the Swiss rider said.  And she recognised that today’s Swiss victory wasn’t easily earned.  “The Australian horses jumped really well and the Polish team might have won it too – it was a very exciting competition right to the very end,” she pointed out.

Madl sent them off over an oxer followed by a vertical with a bending line to the Longines double at fence three.  The following triple bar to vertical proved influential, with the latter regularly hitting the floor and then there was a full circle to the narrow wall at six which didn’t prove attractive to a number of horses. The oxer at seven was followed by the open water, and German chances were undermined when their second-line partnership of Joachim Heyer and Aquarell PW ran into trouble here, while the following triple combination would also penalise many before the oxer at fence 10 led to the final line.  Some riders chose to cut tight to the penultimate oxer, but time and again this proved to be a mistake as horses were asked to jump off-balance and riders paid the price, while the final vertical also hit the floor on many occasions at the end of an otherwise foot-perfect round.

Halfway Stage

By the halfway stage, however, the Australians were looking very good indeed with just a single time penalty between them.  The Swiss lay second, with five faults on the board, while Poland was in third carrying eight, Germany was next with 10 and the home team from Austria was on level-pegging with the Italians carrying 12.  The Danish side had already collected 16 faults while the Irish filled the last of the first-round qualifying spots with 21.  Great Britain’s 23 faults, the 31 accumulated by Belarus and the 32 picked up by the Russian side left these three countries on the sidelines as round two began.

There were just two double-clear performances on the day, and the first of these was recorded by the impressive 25-year-old Polish pathfinder Lukasz Koza with the athletic El Camp.  And when Igor Kawiak and his lovely grey, Centino du Ry, followed his double-error in the opening round with just a single mistake at the penultimate oxer this time out then Poland pulled out in front temporarily.  Even when third-line rider Ewa Mazurowska followed her first-round four faults with 20 at her second attempt there was still a chance they could come out on top because a clear, or as it turned out even eight faults, from last-to-go Piotr Morsztyn and Osadkowski van Hallen would be plenty good enough.  But it all fell apart for Morsztyn who couldn’t find a stride to the double at fence three, and when his horse, Ponita, dropped back to trot but still bravely attempted to take on the first element, it all ended with falling poles and an unseated rider for elimination.

Battle Continued

Meanwhile the battle continued to rage between the Australians and Swiss.  Australian opener, Alison Rowland, made her only mistake of the day when the busy little Bickley Brook Bella put a foot in the water second time out, but William James Passy followed his opening one-time-fault effort with Yirrkala Corina with two poles down and when Philip Lever became one of the very many to lower the first fence, but the only rider of the day to dislodge a brick from the narrow wall at fence six, then the Swiss began to sneak ahead.

Liebherr’s LB Callas Sitte Z faulted at the water in another otherwise copybook round, Muff hit the final element of the triple combination and Bettschen became yet another victim of the first fence before his horse, Milor Landais, also got his feet wet for a total of eight faults.

With just two riders to go it was still very much hanging in the balance.  Both Switzerland and Australia were on 21 faults now, so it was up to their anchor partnerships to decide the result.  A clear from Claudia Gisler and Touchable would pile the pressure on the final Australian duo by reducing the Swiss total to just 13, and it looked like they were about to do just that until the very last fence hit the floor to bring the final tally to 17 faults.

The Australian’s could finish on 13 however if they could drop one eight-fault result and if their last rider could keep a clean sheet.  It was a big ask, but with the atmosphere at boiling point Rory Hovell and Yalambi’s Val d’Isere VDL made it all the way to the final element of the triple combination before that fell, and when the following oxer also bit the dust then it was all over.  Their 21-fault finishing score would relegate the Australians to runner-up spot behind the considerably more experienced Swiss side.  Germany was just one fault further behind with 22 faults while Austria finished a very creditable fourth on a total of 24.

Rallied Strongly

The Irish rallied strongly in round two to finish fifth, and the astonishing potential of 17-year-old Bertram Allen, who was making his senior team debut, was further underlined by his double-clear with Romanov which, when added to a second-round clear from Anthony Condon (Special Lux) and a much-improved four-fault effort from anchorman Capt Michael Kelly (Annestown) seriously bolstered the Irish position. Denmark finished with 28 faults on the board, Poland completed with 32, and Italy with 40.

Liebherr was delighted with the result which paves the way for her return to top-level FEI Nations Cup jumping at the Europe Division 1 Furusiyya fixture in Rome (ITA) later this month.

She took some time out of the top level of the sport to develop horses through 3* and 2* competition in recent years, “but I’m trying to move up again now,” she said today.  “I have some great new horses.  My father is also my sponsor and he is very motivated for me to be back at top level again.  I have three or four nine-year-olds coming along slowly this year with good results,” she pointed out.

Liebherr spent some time training with Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum, “and I’ve taken a lot from that time,” she said today.  “Ludger is fantastic; he doesn’t try to change the horse or the rider, but he gives you small tips that make a big difference; I learned so much from him,” said the unassuming Swiss Olympian.

Today’s leg of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping series at Linz was part of Europe Division 2.  The next leg of this series takes place on Friday 10 May in Drammen, Norway.

Result:

1. Switzerland 17 faults: LB Callas Sitte Z (Christina Liebherr) 0/4, Leszek (Theo Muff) 4/4, Milor Landais (Pascal Bettschen) 1/8, Touchable (Claudia Gisler) 4/4.

2. Australia 21 faults: Bickley Brook Bella (Alison Rowland) 0/4, Yirrkala Cortina (William James Passy) 1/8, Da Vinci’s Pride (Phillip Lever) 0/8, Yalambi’s Val d’Isere VDL (Rory Hovell) 4/8.

3. Germany 22 faults: Little Pezi (Mario Stevens) 0/4, Aquarell PW (Joachem Heyer) Elim/19, Cassydy (Markus Renzel) 6/0, Queen Mary (Jan Wemke) 4/8.

4. Austria 24 faults:  Glock’s Prince de Vaus (Dieter Kofler) 4/8, Duc de Revel (Astrid Kneifel) 8/4, Sterrehof’s Ushi (Julia Kayser) 8/0, Concordija (Stefan Eder) 0/8.

5. Ireland 25 faults: Je T’Aime Flamenco (Billy Twomey) 8/12, Special Lux (Anthony Condon) 13/0, Romanov (Bertram Allen) 0/0, Annestown (Capt Michael Kelly) 16/4.

6. Denmark 28 faults: Allerdings (Andreas Schou) 8/8, Kamila (Kim Kristensen) 4/4, Charly (Lars Bak Andersen) 8/4, Cartani (Charlotte von Roenne) 4/4.

7. Poland 32 faults: El Camp (Lukasz Koza) 0/0, Centino du Ry (Igor Kawiak) 8/4, Ponita (Ewa Mazurowska) 4/20, Osadkowski van Halen (Piotr Morsztyn) 4/Elim.

8. Italy 40 faults: Neptune Brecourt (Luca Maria Moneta) 0/4, Villeneuve D (Eleonora Zorzetto) 8/12, Chico Z (Riccardo Pisani) 4/12, New Zealand Delle Roane (Fabio Brotto) 8/12.

The following teams did not jump in the second round:

9. Great Britain 23 faults: Goodman Accobado (Jo Pay) 4, Winner (Louise Saywell) 4, Quentin Tarantino (Timothy Page) 16, Fandango (William Whitaker) 15.

10. Belarus 31 faults: Wacantos (Yahor Morotski) 17, Lodonkor (Vasil Ivanou) 12, Clooney (Ibragim) 6, Unique Cheval (Maxim Kryna) 13.

11. Russia 32 faults: Like You (Sergey Khomashko) 16, Wilandra (Vadim Konovalov) 12, Kilar (Natalia Simonia) 8, Rocketman (Vladimir Beletskiy) 12. Detailed result here.

Facts and Figures:

11 nations competed in today’s third leg of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping series at CSIO 3* Linz, Austria.

The Linz fixture is part of the Furusiyya Division 2 – Europe series.

Course designer was Austria’s Franz Madl.

There were 12 fences on the first-round track.

There were four countries battling for the all-important qualifying points on offer at this fixture – Austria, Belarus, Denmark and Russia.

There were two double-clear performances in today’s competition – from 25-year-old Polish rider Lukasz Koza (El Camp) and 17-year-old Irish schoolboy Bertram Allen (Romanov).

Quotes:

Bertram Allen (IRL) – “Finishing with a double clear was an unbelievable feeling, hard to describe. I’ve only been with Romanov between six to eight weeks, but we seemed to click very quickly. He won the Grand Prix at Magna Racino (ITA) for me two weeks ago, and was very good here yesterday. I’m delighted with today’s result.”

Christina Liebherr (SUI), talking about the large number of faults at the first fence in today’s competition – “We were coming out of a corner and there wasn’t much space so some of the horses were a bit surprised by it and there were quite a lot of mistakes.”

For further information on the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping series, check out this link.

“Furusiyya” (Arabic: فروسيه) this single Arabic word conveys so much, embracing the idea of horsemanship, chivalry, and equestrian knowledge in general. The term is a derivation of faris, or horseman and faras, a horse.

Longines is the Official Timekeeper of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping series.

Longines has been based at Saint-Imier (SUI) since 1832. Its watchmaking expertise reflects a strong devotion to tradition, elegance and performance. It has generations of experience as the official timekeeper at world championships and as a partner of international sports federations.

Longines’ passion for equestrian sports began in 1878, when a timepiece was made with a horse and jockey engraved on the watch face. Over the years, the brand has built strong and long-lasting links with equestrian sports. In 1926, for the first time, the brand was involved as timekeeper for the Official International Equestrian Competition of Geneva. Today, Longines’ involvement in equestrianism includes Jumping, Endurance and flat racing.

Longines is a member of The Swatch Group S.A., the world’s leading manufacturer of horological products. With an excellent reputation for creating refined timepieces, the brand, whose emblem is the winged hourglass, has outlets in over 130 countries.

By Louise Parkes

Media Contacts:

At Linz

Nora Kronheim
Press Officer
Email: Press@linzerpferdefestival.at
Tel: +43 660 653 1825

At FEI

Grania Willis
Director Press Relations
Email: grania.willis@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 142

Malina Gueorguiev
Manager Media Relations
Email: malina.gueorguiev@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 133

At Revolution Sports + Entertainment

Tim Welland
Email: tim@revolutionsports.co.uk
Tel: +44 7787 780 036

Lausanne (SUI), 2 May 2013 – The fourth qualifier of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping 2013 will take place at the Lummen CSIO 4* in Belgium this Friday 3 May attracting a field of eight teams.

The starting order, which was determined by a draw held at Lummen today, will be as follows:

1. Sweden
2. The Netherlands
3. Finland
4. Norway
5. France
6. Switzerland
7. Belgium
8. Great Britain

Friday’s competition will begin at 15.30 CEST (local time in Belgium, GMT +2 hours).

The FEI is providing a wide range of online information resources in connection with the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping.

Dedicated webpage

Our dedicated webpage gives you access to useful information, including the calendar, latest results, updated standings, rules and news from the series.

Social Media

The FEI is posting news, images and videos on Facebook www.facebook.com/the.fei and Twitter www.twitter.com/myfei_home. Please follow us and share our content.

Our signature Twitter hashtags are: #Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup #Jumping.

“Furusiyya” (Arabic: فروسيه) this single Arabic word conveys so much, embracing the idea of horsemanship, chivalry, and equestrian knowledge in general. The term is a derivation of faris, or horseman and faras, a horse.

Longines is the Official Timekeeper of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping series.

Longine has been based at Saint-Imier (SUI) since 1832. Its watchmaking expertise reflects a strong devotion to tradition, elegance and performance. It has generations of experience as the official timekeeper at world championships and as a partner of international sports federations.

Longines’ passion for equestrian sports began in 1878, when a timepiece was made with a horse and jockey engraved on the watch face. Over the years, the brand has built strong and long-lasting links with equestrian sports. In 1926, for the first time, the brand was involved as timekeeper for the Official International Equestrian Competition of Geneva. Today, Longines’ involvement in equestrianism includes Jumping, Endurance and flat racing.

Longines is a member of The Swatch Group S.A., the world’s leading manufacturer of horological products. With an excellent reputation for creating refined timepieces, the brand, whose emblem is the winged hourglass, has outlets in over 130 countries.

Media contacts:

At FEI:

Grania Willis
Director Press Relations
Email: grania.willis@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 142

Malina Gueorguiev
Manager Media Relations
Email: malina.gueorguiev@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 133

At Lummen:

Edith de Reys
Press Officer
Email: edr.press.service@gmail.com
Tel: +32 475 65 92 81

At Revolution Sports + Entertainment:

Tim Welland
Email: tim@revolutionsports.co.uk
Tel: +44 7787 780 036

The fabulous new Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping trophy will be claimed by the winning team at the Final of the inaugural Furusiyya 2013 season in Barcelona, Spain next September.

Lausanne (SUI), 1 May 2013 – The Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup 2013 series resumes in earnest this week, with simultaneous action at both Lummen (BEL) and Linz (AUT) on the afternoon of Friday 3 May. Both events are part of the Europe Division 2 series – CSIO 4* Lummen hosts eight teams while a bigger field of 11 nations will line out at CSIO 3* Linz.

The FEI Nations Cup Jumping series celebrates 104 years of team competition in 2013, and in this inaugural season of the new-look series under the Furusiyya banner a total of 41 nations will compete at 22 qualifiers around the globe leading up to the world final in Barcelona (ESP) in September.

Furusiyya is the brand name for the commercial arm of the Saudi Equestrian Fund, which finalised a €16 million four-year sponsorship package with the FEI in November 2012. The series began at Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates in February where The Netherlands came out on top and both Saudi Arabia and Qatar qualified for the Final, while the USA claimed victory on home ground at the second leg in Wellington, Florida in March.

Teams at both venues

Great Britain and Switzerland will field teams at both venues on Friday afternoon. There are 11 events in Division 2, with Lummen and Linz followed by Drammen (NOR), 10 May; Copenhagen (DEN), 24 May; Lisbon (POR), 7 June; Sopot (POL), 14 June; Budapest (HUN), 12 July; Bratislava (SVK), 2 August; Gijon (ESP), 30 August; Arezzo (ITA), 6 September; and Kiev (UKR), 13 September.

Each country can only accumulate points in one of the six different leagues, and can only earn those points at designated fixtures. In Division 2, each country has been allocated five legs at which they can pick up their points, and the four countries chasing down those points in Lummen will be Belgium, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

The other teams competing at the Belgian fixture are France, Great Britain, The Netherlands and Switzerland and the competition promises to be hot, with so many top riders in action. The Belgian squad consists of Dirk Demeersman, Francois Mathy Jr., Olivier Philippaerts and Annelies Voselmans along with reigning world champion Philippe Lejeune.

The team from Finland is made up of Anna-Julia Kontio, Henri Kovacs, Kaarlo Kovacs, Mikko Maentausta and Maiju Mallat, while the experienced French contingent of Aymeric de Ponnat, Marc Dilasser, Julien Epaillard, Olivier Guillon and Jerome Hurel can be expected to make an impression.

Guy Williams, Joe Clee, Simon Crippen, Philip Miller and Daniel Nielsen have been named by the British, while Roelof Bril, Peter Bulthuis, Anne-Liza Markinga, Henk van de Pol and Leon Thijssen will be vying to take one of the four spots available on the Dutch team.

The Norwegian team will be selected from Victoria Gulliksen, Tony Andre Hansen, Cecilie Hatteland, Ole Kristoffer Meland and Line Raaholt, while Switzerland’s Romain Duguet, Martin Fuchs, Andreas Ott, Carlo Pfyffer and Aurelie Wetttstein will also be hoping to impress. Lisen and Peder Fredricson are listed for Sweden along with Niklas Arvidsson, Anders Lidbeck and Angelie Von Essen.

The draw for the order-of-go takes place in Lummen tomorrow, 2 May, at 12.00 CEST (local time) and the competition begins on Friday at 15.00 CEST.

Linz

The action in Linz will begin an hour earlier, at 14.00 CEST (local time), and the order-of-go has already been decided following the draw this evening:

1. Switzerland
2. Austria
3. Germany
4. Poland
5. Italy
6. Russia
7. Ireland
8. Denmark
9. Great Britain
10. Belarus
11. Australia

Course designer in Linz is Austria’s Franz Madl, and Australia will field four riders from their squad of six that includes Evie Buller, Rory Hovell, Sarah Isbister, Philip Lever, William James Passy and Alison Rowland. The host nation will choose from Stefan Eder, Julia Kayser, Astrid Kneifel, Dieter Kofler and Christian Schranz, and they will be sure to put their best foot forward on home turf.

Vasil Ivanou, Maxim Kryna, Yahor Morotski and Ibragim Vaskov are listed for Belarus, while the Danish contingent consists of Lars Bak Andersen, Kim Kristensen, Charlotte von Ronne and Andreas Schou. The British have sent Graham Lovegrove, Timothy Page, Jo Pay, Louise Saywell and William Whitaker – the latter a member of the world-famous family that has made such a massive contribution to the sport of Jumping over a long number of years, particularly through the achievements of senior members John and Michael.

There are some familiar names amongst the German crew of Joachim Heyer, Markus Renzel, Mario Stevens, Maximilian Weishaupt and Jan Wernke, while Billy Twomey will undoubtedly be lending his not-inconsiderable leadership skills to the Irish side that includes two of his own protégés, Anthony Condon and 17-year-old wonder-boy Bertram Allen, who will be joined by Irish army rider Captain Michael Kelly.

Fabio Brotto, Davide Kainich, Luca Moneta and Eleonora Zorzetto will fly the Italian flag, while the Polish team will be Igor Kawiak, Lukasz Koza, Ewa Mazurowska and Piotr Morsztyn. The five listed for Russia are Vladimir Beletskiy, Olga Chechina, Sergey Khomashko, Vadim Konovalov and Natalia Simonia, and Switzerland looks very strong indeed with Pascal Bettschen accompanied by Claudia Gisler, Christina Liebherr, and Werner Muff.

The four teams battling for points in Linz are Austria, Belarus, Denmark and Russia.

Allocation of teams to Division 1 Events Europe – here
Allocation of teams to Division 2 Events Europe – here

Linz will be broadcast live on FEI TV – don’t miss a hoof-beat; watch every exciting moment on www.feitv.org.

Facts and Figures:

Both of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup competitions taking place on Friday 3 May 2013 are part of the Europe Division 2 series.

A total of eight nations will line out at the CSIO 4* in Lummen (BEL) – Belgium, Finland, France, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and Sweden.

There will be 11 nations in action at CSIO 3* Linz (AUT) – Australia, Austria, Belarus, Denmark, Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Russia and Switzerland.

The FEI Nations Cup Jumping series celebrates 104 years of team competition this year.

The 2013 season comprises 22 qualifiers in as many countries.

Swiss watchmakers Longines are the official timekeepers for the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping series.

41 nations will seek a place at the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping Final 2013 which will take place in Barcelona (ESP) in September.

Furusiyya is the brand name for the commercial arm of the Saudi Equestrian Fund which finalised a €16 million four-year sponsorship package with the FEI in November 2012.

For further information on the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping series, check out this link.

“Furusiyya” (Arabic: فروسيه) – this single Arabic word conveys so much, embracing the idea of horsemanship, chivalry, and equestrian knowledge in general. The term is a derivation of faris, or horseman and faras, a horse.

Longines has been based at Saint-Imier (SUI) since 1832. Its watchmaking expertise reflects a strong devotion to tradition, elegance and performance. It has generations of experience as the official timekeeper at world championships and as a partner of international sports federations.

Longines’ passion for equestrian sports began in 1878, when a timepiece was made with a horse and jockey engraved on the watch face. Over the years, the brand has built strong and long-lasting links with equestrian sports. In 1926, for the first time, the brand was involved as timekeeper for the Official International Equestrian Competition of Geneva. Today, Longines’ involvement in equestrianism includes Jumping, Endurance and flat racing.

Longines is a member of The Swatch Group S.A., the world’s leading manufacturer of horlogical products. With an excellent reputation for creating refined timepieces, the brand, whose emblem is the winged hourglass, has outlets in over 130 countries.

By Louise Parkes

Media Contacts:

At Lummen

Edith de Reys
Press Officer
Email: edr.press.service@gmail.com
Tel: +32 475 65 92 81

At Linz

Nora Kronheim
Press Officer
Email: Press@linzerpferdefestival.at
Tel: +43 660 653 1825

At FEI

Grania Willis
Director Press Relations
Email: grania.willis@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 142

Malina Gueorguiev
Manager Media Relations
Email: malina.gueorguiev@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 133

At Revolution Sports + Entertainment

Tim Welland
Email: tim@revolutionsports.co.uk
Tel: +44 7787 780 036