FEI PRESS NEWS 24/03
5 AUGUST 2003
- Pan American Games Preview
- FEI Gandini World Riders Rankings
- FEI BCM World Dressage Riders Rankings
- Samsung Super League, Preview Dublin
- Samsung Nations Cup, 11th leg in Bratislava
- Samsung Super League Final event website
- 2nd International Horse Transport Conference
- In Memoriam: Rommel
PAN AMERICAN GAMES PREVIEW
(by Jennifer Ward, contact +1 (613) 569-2423, jward@iosphere.net)
On the eve of the equestrian events, the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic, are set to begin with competition in the sport
of dressage.
Opening with competition on August 6, dressage will run until August 10.
Teams from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, the
United States, Venezuela and the home country of Dominican Republic will do
battle for the Team medals while an additional six nations will be in the
hunt for individual medals. Held at the Intermediare level, results from
the Prix St. Georges will determine the team medallists while the
Intermediare I and Intermediare Musical Freestyle will decide the individual
winners.
As the defending gold medallists, the United States will be looking for
another win while Colombia, silver medallists in 1999, and Mexico, the
bronze medal winners, will both be looking to improve on their placings from
four years ago.
Officiating at the dressage events will be Mariette Whitages of Belgium who
will act as head of the ground jury, Lissette Purcell of the Dominican
Republic, Gotthilf Reixinger of Germany, Axel Steiner of the United States
and Cara Whitham of Canada.
Once the dressage medals are determined, the show jumping events will take
to the main arena from August 13-16. Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile,
Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and the United States will comprise the nations
competing. However, more than medals hang in the balance for these eight
countries, as only three will earn their Olympic qualification in Santo
Domingo. Under International Equestrian Federation (FEI) criteria, the gold
and silver medal winning teams will earn their ticket to the 2004 Athens
Olympics while a third country will qualify by totaling all four team
members scores. While Brazil, the United States and Canada claimed the team
medals in 1999, they will be hard-pressed to repeat those efforts this time
around.
Mexico's Javier Fernandez will act as course designer for the show jumping
events while respected Colombian course designer and architect by trade,
Juan Carlos Tafur, will design and construct the jumps. Sydney Olympic
course designer Leopoldo Palacios of Venezuela will be the Technical
Delegate. Officiating over the show jumping events will be Francois Ferland
of Canada, President of the Ground Jury, Colombia's Yolanda Matallana and
Bernardo Lopez Davidson of El Salvador.
The caliber of competition witnessed in the Dominican Republic will be
matched by the high standards the organizers have put into the preparation
of the equestrian site. Both the dressage and show jumping events will be
held at a brand-new competition venue designed in partnership with Palacios.
Footing expert Hugh Kincannon of the United States, renowned for his work at
the Kentucky Horse Park, has been retained to ensure that the arena surfaces
are truly of an international standard.
For further information on the equestrian events at the Pan American Games,
please visit the Dominican Republic Equestrian Federation's website at:
www.ecuestrerd.com and the official 2003 Pan American Games website at
www.santodomingo2003.com.
FEI GANDINI WORLD JUMPING RIDERS RANKINGS
FUCHS LEADS THE RANKINGS FOR THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE MONTH
Markus Fuchs (SUI) leads the FEI Gandini World Jumping Riders Rankings for
the second consecutive month with a total score of 3453 points. The 47 years
old Swiss rider, whose ambition is "to stay in the Top 10 for the next five
years", earned 160 points in Spruce Meadows (CAN) thanks to his victory in
the Derby with La Toya. He earned another 100 points by winning the Grand
Prix of Ascona (SUI) with his faithful Tinka's Boy.
Ludger Beerbaum (GER) follows in second position 312 points behind. The
defending European Champion, who will fight for his title in Donaueschingen
later this month, won one competition in Spruce Meadows with Champion Du Lys
and the Grand Prix of Haschenburg. He could recuperate the 295 points he
dropped from July 2002 at the end of last month.
Marcus Ehning (GER) firmly keeps his 3rd position. Jos Lansink (BEL) goes up
one place to steal Rodrigo Pessoa's (BRA) 4th position. Lansink scored 130
points in San Patrignano (ITA) and 80 at CSIO Lummen (BEL). Rodrigo Pessoa,
now 5th, lost 370 points earned in July 2002 and could only recuperate 245.
He won the Grand Prix of CSIO 5 stars Falsterbo (SWE) and earned 70 points
in the Nations Cup class (with one clear round and one 4 points penalty).
The American rider Beezie Madden-Patton continues her progression and climbs
to 6th place, despite the fact that she was loosing 288 points from last
year. He won two important competitions in Spruce Meadows and won the Derby
of CSI 4 stars San Juan Capistano (USA).
Lars Nieberg (GER) drops down from 6th to 9th place. He dropped 265 points
from last year and did not score any single point in July this year.
Impressive progression of the young Swedish star Malin Baryard, who goes up
from 29th to 14th place. She had a double clear in the Nations Cup of CSIO
5* Falsterbo, which saw the victory of the Swedish Team, and earned 100
points in Ascona, where she placed 4th in the Grand Prix.
Good performance also from Shuyler Riley who goes up from 25th to 18th place
thanks to her good results in Spruce Meadows which brought her 245 points in
July.
1 Markus Fuchs SUI 3453
2 Ludger Beerbaum GER 2765
3 Marcus Ehning GER 2223
4 Jos Lansink BEL 1951
5 Rodrigo Pessoa BRA 1938
6 Beezie Madden - Patton USA 1838
7 Otto Becker GER 1716
8 Robert Smith GBR 1586
9 Lars Nieberg GER 1535
10 Michel Robert FRA 1480
complete rankings available shortly on
http://www.horsesport.org/fei/consult/consult_02/con_02_01.html
FEI BCM WORLD DRESSAGE RIDERS RANKINGS
ULLA SALZGEBER STILL NUMBER ONE
Ulla Salzgeber still leads the FEI BCM World Dressage Riders Rankings with
an unchanged score of 80.293. She is followed by two US riders Lisa Wilcox
(78.788) and Debbie McDonald (77.544).
Most of the riders are preparing for the European Championship to start in
Hickstead this week and only a few events were organised last July. The only
important change in the July 2003 ranking list is the spectacular fall of
Rafael Soto Andrade who goes down from 6th to 56th place. This is due to the
fact that the Spanish rider now only has 9 results counting for the
rankings, as he did not return to CDI *** Balve (GER) this year and dropped
the results achieved there last year.
Website for the European Dressage Championship in Hickstead
http://www.edc2003.com/
complete rankings available shortly on
http://www.horsesport.org/fei/consult/consult_02/con_02_02.html
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE
TOP-HATS AND TAILS AT TRADITIONAL DUBLIN!
The Samsung Super League road show comes to Dublin this week-end with France
still holding the narrowest of leads over the Irish while the British
continue to gather pace. This promises to be one of the most exciting legs
of the series to date, with the host team determined to oust the French from
the head of the pack and the British in bullish form after their success in
Hickstead.
It's a festival of all that is good in equestrian sport and, after 130
years, it claims a special place in the Irish summer calendar. The first
Dublin Horse Show was staged in 1868 when hunting horses competed over the
"high leap", the "wide leap" and stone walls on the Lawns of Leinster House,
now Government Buildings, in the heart of the city. After three days of
competition, sheep-farmer Richard Flynn from County Roscommon in the west of
Ireland was awarded the world's first show jumping championship title. The
event moved to the Royal Dublin Society Showgrounds in Ballsbridge in 1881
and it was here, in 1926, that the first Nations Cup competition took place
with Switzerland claiming the honours.
The Swiss will be sadly missed this year as they did not qualify for the
Super League but the show goes on and, with just three more legs left in the
Samsung series its coming down to the wire.
For the French it's really a matter of pride now that they should stay out
in front. They have been there from the start, they have proven without
doubt that they belong in the elite group of international show jumping
teams and they like holding the whip hand. This time, team regulars Florian
Angot, Michel Hecart and Christian Hermon are joined by Super League
newcomer Laurent Goffinet.
For the Irish it's only a matter of time before they take over the lead. The
Irish line-up is altered again with Peter Charles side-lined in favour of
Robert Splaine whose early performances with the Irish Sport Horse stallion
Coolcorron Cool Diamond were nothing short of sensational and whose efforts
really boosted the Irish position.
The rock-solid partnership of Kevin Babington and Carling King have
campaigned the entire Super League series so far and they line out once more
along with Cian O'Connor and Waterford Crystal who were so impressive in
Hickstead and Billy Twomey with Luidam.
The traditional Anglo-Irish rivalry will be at an all-time high this year
after the recent controversies about horse-ownership and horse-transfers and
the Irish may have to suffer the irritation of seeing Michael Whitaker
lining out with the former Trevor Coyle ride, Fleur. It had been hoped that
Coyle would bounce back into the Irish team effort with the American-owned
mare this summer but the British rider, who competed with Fleur much earlier
in her career, has her back in his yard. British tails are up after their
convincing win on their home ground and another good result in Dublin would
bring a dramatic change to the leaderboard so Whitaker, William Funnell,
Nick Skelton and Robert Smith will be ones to watch next week.
Germany, comfortably holding fourth position on the league table at present,
sends Franz-Josef Dahlmann, Fritz Fervers, Andreas Ripke and Rene Tebbel but
the Belgians, lying fifth, must be feeling far from easy after their
disastrous elimination in Hickstead. The Super League series has been full
of frustration for them, with the Irish denying them victory in Aachen and
then stops for both Dirk Demeersman and Jean Claude Vangeenberghe leading to
elimination at the British fixture. Vangeenberghe, Jos Lansink, Philippe
Lejeune and Stanny Van Paesschen are likely to be in serious mood when they
ride into the Dublin arena.
Holland's Marc Houtzager won the Dublin Grand Prix last summer and returns
again with Jacomar but the Dutch are in that vulnerable bunch at the bottom
of the league table so along with Peter Geerink, Wim Schroder and Eric Van
der Vleuten he needs to give it everything he's got in the battle for the
Aga Khan Trophy.
With just 10.5 points on the board the Dutch are only a half-point ahead of
Sweden who are pulling no punches this time around and are sending out a
strong squad including Malin Baryard, Rolf-Goran Bengtsson, Maria Gretzer
and Helena Persson to try and retrieve the situation as they battle to stay
ahead of the Italians who are bringing up the rear.
Italy finished second in the Dublin Nations Cup last year but Super League
success has eluded them all season and they are trailing the pack with just
eight points so there is severe pressure on Roberto Arioldi, Bruno Chimirri,
Enrico Maria Frana and Massimo Grossato to produce something special and
save their side from relegation. With only one further leg before the final
in Barcelona in September, time is quickly running out.
The French are reigning Dublin champions. Almost as an advance warning of
how it would be at the 2002 World Championships in Jerez just a few weeks
later they produced five clear rounds to leave the result in no doubt and
they have hardly faltered since.
The Irish however are well-known for their fighting spirit and, to them, the
Aga Khan Trophy is more precious than any other in the world. World
Champion, Dermott Lennon, has not returned to the squad since the fall last
March which left him with a badly-broken arm but his mare Liscalgot is now
back in work again and although he will not be competing next week he may be
making a guest appearance in the interval between the two rounds of the
Samsung Super League when tenor Ronan Tynan, the Pavarotti of the Emerald
Isle, will also be entertaining the crowd.
Keep up to date with the latest news from Dublin Horse Show at website
www.rds.ie. For further information you can contact Press Officer, Niamh
Kelly, at Tel: 00 3531 2407227 or Mobile: 00 35386 3828531, Fax: 00 3531
6604014, Email: marketing@rds.ie.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE LEADERBOARD
1. France - 37 points
2. Ireland - 36.5 points
3. Great Britain - 26 points
4. Germany - 21 points
5. Belgium - 13.5 points
6. Holland - 10.5 points
7. Sweden - 10 points
8. Italy - 8 points.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE -
NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION!
You can access all the latest Samsung Super League news and information on
website www.samsungsuperleague.com and don't forget that Biographies on all
Riders competing in the series are available at http://bios.horsesport.org.
The Samsung Super League consists of the eight most prestigious horse shows
at which the world's eight best national teams compare their merit. The
Super League is connected to the Samsung Nations Cup Series through a
promotion/relegation system at the end of each season.
Samsung Electronics, one of the world's largest electronics companies, is
committed to supporting international sporting events thereby returning
corporate profits to the public and working towards a more harmonious and
equitable society.
To subscribe to the SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE PRESS NEWS: send any message to
fei.superleague-on@horsesport.org
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE FINAL EVENT IN BARCELONA
The new website of CSIO Barcelona is now up and running at
www.csiobarcelona.com.
Press accreditation request can be filled in online. For any further
information, you can contact the Show Director, Hanspeter Vogelsanger at
email: hanspeter@infonegocio.com.
SAMSUNG NATIONS CUP SERIES
CSIO-W**** Bratislava (SVK)
The 11th leg of the Series will take place this week-end in Bratislava. The
Samsung Nations Cup will be held on Friday 8 August at 10:00.
More information on the CSIO-W 4 stars Bratislava at www.jazdectvo.sk.
Switzerland is leading the Samsung Nations Cup Series standings with 34
points, ahead of the USA (24) and Spain (21).
SECOND INTERNATIONAL HORSE TRANSPORTATION CONFERENCE
The Second International Conference on the Transportation of Horses, funded
by the ILPH, FEI, MSPCA and supported by Peden Bloodstock, was considered a
resounding success by one and all when it concluded earlier this month.
Vets, shipping agents, insurers, regulators, engineers, flying grooms and
team managers came together with delegates from over 23 countries to
consider the best ways to transport top competition and breeding stock by
road, sea and air, and to discuss the various health and safety risks
involved.
Says Alex Atock, Conference Secretary, "This Conference has proved to be a
rare opportunity to compare notes with experts from around the world and to
identify opportunities to advance our mutual cause through better
collaboration."
More information at www.ilph.org
Please find below the correct text
IN MEMORIAM
Karol Rommel (POL), International Course Designer in Eventing, died in a car
accident on 25 July 2003 in Poland. He was 44 years old. Very charismatic
personality, Rommel was part of the Eventing Course Building Team for the
North American Young Rider Championship in Wadworth (USA) and designed many
courses in Eastern Europe. Another of his passion was caricature drawing and
some of his drawings illustrating the different equestrian disciplines are
on display at the FEI Secretariat in Lausanne.
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Muriel Faienza, FEI Communications
FEDERATION EQUESTRE INTERNATIONALE
