Dateline: Spain

The Sunshine Tour has been good for one of the few Aussie's there. Big Tour A saw ex-pat Victorian, James Paterson-Robinson and Kipdu Priolet taking 8th place in the class won by Jordan's Ibrahim Bisharet riding Team Harmony Ghazel.

Then in the Big Tour C final James won the class in fine style with a lead of 1.26secs from John Whitaker and Robert Whitaker. Paterson-Robinson was riding Watch Me, owned by De Hertoghe to jump clear in 54.63secs.

John Whitaker took second place with Hugo de Huep with clear in 55.89secs, while son Robert slotted into 3rd place riding Nureev du Houssoit for a clear in 56.05secs.

Dateline: Fontainebleu, France

In a tragic accident in France on the weekend, Eventing lost another rider after Amelie Cohen fell from her horse at the seventh fence on cross country.

Amelie Cohen, 30, was competing at a National event when her horse somersaulted and landed on top of her.

Condolences to her family on such a sad loss.

Dateline: New Zealand

The Kelt Capital Horse of the Year Show has begun today and it promises to be a very well attended show. The Bell Tea Company has been sponsoring the event since 2000 with an ever increasing prize purse. This year (2007) the Horse of the Year Grand Prix class carries a purse of $100,000 with the announcement being made last week that the 2008 show will have a prize purse of $500,000.

The half million dollar prize purse puts the class in the top six showjumping events in the world and makes it one of the top cash sporting prizes in New Zealand.

Show Director, Kevin Hansen expects the money will attract top riders from the United States western aream Australia, Japan and Asia as well as attracting international media to to the event.

Mr Hansen made it clear though that "This is not about getting 25 top European and American combinations out here to compete, It won't change the focus of the show which is inclusive of all disciplines."

The prize purse would immediately make the class a CSI-5-star event -one of only a handful in the world. Show sponsor Sam Kelt, principal of Kelt Capital, has worked closely with the Hansen brothers to design the financial structure to allow a$500,000 class.

And while the rest of the world will no doubt flock to the beautiful shores of New Zealand as competitors and spectators for this 5* show, the New Zealand showjumpers will benefit from being able to compete at home against the best in the world, without the added expense of traveling horses to the northern hemisphere.

This will certainly give the New Zealanders an edge over their neighbours, Australia, who are "just across the creek".

Dateline: Ireland

SJAI ANNOUNCES NEW €135,000 PREMIER SHOW JUMPING LEAGUE FOR 2007

At a Press Reception in Palmerstown House, Johnstown, Co. Kildare today (March 12) the Show Jumping Association of Ireland (SJAI) revealed details of its 2007 Premier Grand Prix League series.

Jointly sponsored by the SJAI and Atec Trailers Ltd., the series, which will run from April to August, is designed to raise the standard of national competition to a whole new level and the combined prize fund will top €135,000, with a minimum of €12,000 on offer at each fixture.

“This headline event will bring a new dimension to Irish Show Jumping. It will take place at nine Premier venues across the four regions of Ireland. It is envisaged that The Premier League will act
as a pinnacle for Show Jumping in Ireland,“ said SJAI Chairperson Patricia Furlong.

Each show will also have a preliminary qualifying class with a minimum prize fund of €3,000, and in recognition of the hard work that goes into presenting horses in top-class condition, Bewleys
Hotel is sponsoring a weekend away for two for the Groom of the Leading Rider at the Premier League final in August.

To support Irish Sport Horses and Irish Draught Horsesin the Irish Register, The Irish Horse Board has agreed that €1,000 (€500 for the breeder and €500 for the owner) will also be allocated to each of
the nine Premier League competitions, provided horses registered on the IHR finish in the top two places in each venue’s Premier League class.

To ensure the status and high profile of the new league, the SJAI has implemented a strict criteria which can only ensure excellence. The Premier League promises edge-of-the-seat entertainment for all.

“The Introduction of the new Premier League is a great innovation to national show jumping in Ireland, and hopefully it will serve to bring us closer to European standards” said Edward Doyle, Chairman
of the Show Jumpers Club.

Another new feature of the series will be the availability of on-site Grand Prix betting facilities at each venue, supplied by Cill Dara Betting.

The new competitions will be showcased on national television; - this coverage will be captured by at least two cameras, mini cameras, roaming microphones and top commentators, to ensure that every angle is covered, and that maximum exposure is attained for the League’s sponsors.

Also confirmed today were the dates for the 2007 Boswell Grand Prix League, with 32 legs running from April to September.

PREMIER LEAGUE VENUES
•LOUTH COUNTY 28TH -29TH APRIL
•BARNADOWN 11TH- 13THMAY
•MULLINGAR 2ND-4TH JUNE
•BLESSINGTON 30TH JUNE- 1st JULY
•BALLINA 6TH JULY -8TH JULY
•NATIONAL BALMORAL 15TH- 19TH JULY
•BOSWELL 27TH - 29TH JULY
•SOUTH CO. DUBLIN 4TH-5TH AUGUST
•MILLSTREET 15TH -19THAUGUST

Dateline: Florida, United States of America

The Nations Cup held in Wellington, Florida saw the Canadian team win with just one time fault from the Irish team of Darragh Kerins (Orlando), Cian O'Connor (Echo Beach), Conor Swail (Mr President) and Jonathon McCrea (Costa) take second place to beat host nation, America who took out third place.

Ireland's Chef d'Equipe, Robert Splaine - pictured below left - was well pleased with his team and he explained that qualifying for the Olympic Games is high on the list of importance as is requalifying for the Samsung Super League competition.

Dateline: Beijing Olympic Games -

The FEI have announced the Course Designers for the Beijing Olympic Games and they are Venezuela's Leopoldo Palacios and Steve Stephens from the USA.

Steve is well qualified for the job as is Leopoldo. Steve's career includes being an International competitor himself for 20 plus years and then he went on to become a well respected Course Designer.

This will not be his first Olympic duty and he in fact worked with Leopoldo Palacios at the Sydney 2000 Olympics

Leopoldo - pictured below - is well known in the Southern hemisphere and regularly builds in Australia at the premier event, Tempo where he has a chance to enjoy the warmth of an Australian summer.