First, in Friday’s $25,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, it was Olympian Margie Engle and Hidden Creek’s Pamina L that took the blue ribbon in her first Pfizer Million Qualifying Grand Prix class of the season. Todd Minikus, who was an alternate on Team USA in 2000, grabbed the top prize in Sunday’s $50,000 EMO Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, aboard Pavarotti in the Strongid® C 2X Stadium.

Both riders have made it clear that they will continue to compete at HITS Saugerties en route to hopefully earning a ticket to compete in the biggest Grand Prix class that has ever been held in the United States. “We will be qualified by hook or by crook,” joked Minikus, who now has three of the eight Grand Prix classes needed to become eligible for the Pfizer Million under his belt.

Also excelling in the jumper ring this week was Michelle Spadone. The New Jersey native entered the week in the top 25 of the Eligible Rider Rankings for the Pfizer Million thanks to a successful winter at both HITS Thermal and HITS Ocala. After her second-place finish in Sunday’s feature class, Spadone jumped to 16th in the rankings on her leading horse Melisimo, on which she has earned an even $20,000 in prize money, so far this year at HITS. David Beisel and his mount Moet Walk completed their eighth qualifying Grand Prix and have entered the Pfizer Million Eligible Rider Rankings at number 32 with $6,750 in prize money. Beisel, Spadone and all the other High-Performance riders at HITS Saugerties will have four more opportunities to qualify for the Pfizer Million during HITS-on-the-Hudson II and III.

In order to qualify for the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix, a rider must compete in eight or more HITS Grand Prix classes. The Top 40 based on prize money won will then be qualified to compete in the historical event.

Stepping Up! Albany’s Stepping Stone Farm Shines at HITS-on-the-Hudson I

Amy Momrow and the rest of the team at Stepping Stone Farm seemed to have a stranglehold on the competition in the hunter rings during HITS-on-the-Hudson I. Early in the week, Momrow scored lots of tri-color ribbons in the Rated Hunter Divisions and won weekly championships in the First Year Green Hunters and the Regular Working Hunters aboard Deborah Brenner’s Star Quest Serenade. Momrow also piloted Sherrie Abbruzzese’s Into the Blue to the weekly crown in the Green Confirmation Division. Momrow and Brenner’s mare also placed in the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby on Saturday afternoon at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York.

“Amy has brought her along since she was a baby,” said trainer Monty Kelly, of Star Quest Serenade. “She has been circuit champion everywhere that she has shown this year. She is a very special horse.”

Speaking of the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby, Junior rider Kelsey Hart and her horse Agostino scored a major upset when she came from behind to win the class, thanks to a nifty hand gallop in the handy round. Hart, who will attend South Carolina University in the fall, scored an 87 in the second round as she got the best of the 27 starters to compete in the class, including her trainer Momrow.

Friday Funday!

HITS hosted a get together Friday night at the nearby family fun center, Puttin Plus! Exhibitors were treated to free go carts rides, laser tag, batting cages and mini golf,and the guest list included everyone from top Grand Prix riders like Charlie Jayne and Gavin Moylan, to short stirrup riders attending their first horse show!

The out-of-ring excitement continues this week when the popular Taste of HITS-on-the-Hudson kicks off at noon on Saturday. For a complete list of participating local restaurants attending, click here.

Looking Ahead!

Show Jumping at HITS Saugerties continues this week with HITS-on-the-Hudson II and features another installment of the $10,000 Devoucoux Hunter Derby on Saturday night. The road to the Pfizer Million also continues as prize money increases and High-Performance riders gear up for two more Pfizer Million qualifiers with the $25,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, on Friday and the $75,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, on Sunday.

Other Awards handed out at HITS-on-the-Hudson I Include:

Arenus Tack Room Award: Oak Meadow Farm, East Windsor, Connecticut

Arenus Performance and Conditioning Award: Gavin Moylan, Meadowville Farm, The Plains, Virginia

Groom’s Award sponsored by Odor-No-More: Chris Eguia, Riverstone Farm, Garrison, New York

©ESI Photography

©ESI Photography

©ESI Photography

©HITS Staff

©HITS Staff

©HITS Staff.

©HITS Staff

Oliver Townend (GBR) showed all the toughness for which event riders are renowned when he gave Ashdale Cruise Master a positive ride to score a convincing pillar-to-post victory at Tattersalls (IRL), the sixth leg of the 2010 HSBC FEI World Cup™ Eventing series.

Just five weeks ago he and the talented Irish-bred grey gelding, a new ride this season, took a bruising fall at the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, but the partnership was emphatically back on song at Ireland’s premier event where they led from the outset.

“It’s what I came to do,” said Townend, “and I now just want to put the fall behind me. He’s an unbelievable horse and is progressing all the time. I’m so grateful to the owners (Henry and Edna Harding) for giving me the ride.”

Mary King (GBR) was also at the top of her game on Apache Sauce, an occasionally headstrong chestnut gelding, which this time was on its best behaviour in all three phases to hold onto second throughout.

Michael Ryan (IRL), last year’s runner-up, performed the same feat of producing the first clear Jumping round and this elevated him a place to third on the exciting prospect Ballylynch Adventure, which he hopes will be a successor to his long-time four-star partner Old Road.

“It’s easy to look good on a good jumper like him,” said Ryan modestly. “My wife Trish rode him to start with but, luckily for me, he got too strong for her!”

Lucy Wiegersma (GBR) had an unfortunate Jumping round with three rails down on Granntevka Prince, dropping one place to fourth., but that result, added to the runner-up spot at Chatsworth (GBR) a fortnight ago, has propelled her into a valuable second place in the HSBC FEI World Cup™ Eventing rankings at this halfway stage in the season.

All the top four partnerships at Tattersalls are heading for Luhmühlen (GER) in three weeks time for the third leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™.

By general rider consensus, the Cross-Country course designed by Hugh Lochore (GBR) in his fifth and final year at Tattersalls – Ian Stark (GBR) is to take over in 2011 – had been softened from last time. However, it still caused one or two episodes of extraordinary drama.

The fence that had competitors scratching their heads on their first coursewalk was the double of brush corners at fence 5. These were preceded by a big table and a sharp right-hand bend, which meant considerable control and concentration was required.

World Champion Zara Phillips (GBR), fourth after Dressage, was an early victim when High Kingdom ran out, and both Fergal Nesbit (IRL) on Flamenco Star and Joseph Murphy (IRL) on Electric Cruise were eliminated for missing flags.

Ruth Edge (GBR), equal eighth after Dressage on Westwood Mariner, had a rare lapse of concentration and jumped the wrong first fence, while Captain Brian Curran Cournane (IRL), eventual eighth, incurred extra time penalties when Dunran Castle missed the sharp bend after the water and leapt over the string and off the course.

Andrew Nicholson (NZL), fifth after Dressage, lost his reins when Armada tripped into the water and took some time to re-organise himself after the powerful chestnut galloped off on the course and had to be brought back to jump the final element. The resultant run-out and time penalties dropped him to last of the 16 finishers.

The ground had been spiked and watered, and overnight rain on Friday brought it to perfection. None of the 20 Cross-Country starters – there were three withdrawals, including Mary King, seventh after Dressage on Kings Temptress – achieved the optimum time of 7min 01sec. Townend, who retired his first horse Brigadier after a stop at the carved swan into the water, came closest with 4.8 penalties on Ashdale Cruise Master.

“He’s still a relatively new ride for me and I haven’t quite got to grips with the bitting department,” said Townend afterwards. “He’s not used to running so competitively and tends to tuck his head in and run on, but he’s got a fantastic brain and I’m thrilled with this round.”

1 Oliver Townend/Ashfield Cruise Master (GBR) 44.8 + 4.8 + 2 = 51.6

3 Michael Ryan/Ballylynch Adventure (IRL) 54.6 + 8.8 + 0 = 63.4

4 Lucy Wiegersma/Granntevka Prince (GBR) 48.8 + 8.4 + 12 = 69.2

5 Aoife Clark/Master Crusoe (IRL) 56.0 + 9.2 = 4 = 69.2

6 Andrew Downes/Loughnatousa Gyspy Diamond (GBR) 55.4 + 18 + 4 = 77.4

7 Suzanne Jordan/Carneyhaugh Conquistador (IRL) 53.0 + 22 + 6 = 81.0

8 Brian Curran Cournane/Dunran Castle (IRL) 60.4 + 19.6 + 4 = 84.0

9 Jayne Doherty/Ravenstar (IRL) 64.8 + 19.6 + 4= 88.4

10 Paul Donovan/Sportsfield Sandyman 63.0 + 25.2 + 4 = 92.2

Full results on www.tattersalls.ie

FEI TV: Highlights of Tattersalls will be shown on Thursday, June 3 (www.feitv.org)

Photographs: High-resolution photographs for editorial use only are available from the FEI Photo Catalogue at: www.feiphotos.org

Caption: Oliver Townend (GBR) and Ashdale Cruise led from pillar to post to claim the honours at the sixth leg of the HSBC FEI World Cup™ Eventing series at Tattersalls (IRL). (Photograph: Kit Houghton/FEI)

Calendar of events
1. Tallahassee (USA), 5-7 March 2
2. Kihikihi (NZL), 2-4 April
3. Sydney (AUS), 7-9 May
4. Marbach (GER), 7-9 May
5. Chatsworth (GBR), 15-16 May
6. Tattersalls (IRL), 27-30 May
7. Strzegom (POL), 24-27 June
8. Minsk (BLR), 21-25 July
9. Rebecca Farm, Kalispell (USA), 22-25 July
10. Malmö (SWE), 13-15 August
11. Haras du Pin (FRA), 18-22 August
12. Schenefeld (GER), 26-29 August
 

Standings (after 6 of 12 events)
1 Megan Jones (AUS) 138 points
2 = Clarke Johnston (NZL) 128

2= Lucy Wiegersma (GBR) 128
4 Sonja Johnson (AUS) 119

5 Andrew Downes (GBR) 104

6 Mary King (GBR) 74
7= Mara Dean (USA) 71
7= Chris Burton (AUS) 71
7 = Michael Jung (GER) 71

7 = Sam Griffiths (AUS) 71
7 = Oliver Townend (GBR) 71

Notes to editors
HSBC, the world’s local bank, is a platinum partner of FEI and global sponsor of the eventing discipline.
 
As part of this partnership, HSBC is title sponsor of the HSBC FEI Classics and HSBC FEI World Cup™ Eventing.
 
At the centre of all HSBC’s sponsorships is a commitment to youth, education and community. The Pony Club and HSBC have teamed up to create the HSBC Pony Club Eventing Training Programme.

The French team forged further ahead on the 2010 Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ leaderboard with a supremely confident second successive victory in Rome, Italy today.  In a contest that included the Italian team who were not challenging for points as they are ineligible for this year’s Meydan series, it was the British who lined up second ahead of Ireland and Spain in equal-third.  Germany finished fifth ahead of the USA in sixth while Italy claimed seventh spot, Switzerland finished eighth and the Swedish team was ninth. 

Once again The Netherlands and Poland enjoyed a short afternoon as neither qualified for the second round of competition, and, in an alarming turn of events for the reigning World Champions from Holland, they are now languishing at the very bottom of the leaderboard along with the rookie Polish side and in grave danger of losing their elevated status as Meydan series contenders.

Course designer Uliano Vezzani was clear about what he was trying to achieve over his 12-fence track at the lovely Piazza di Siena showground. “I prefer athletes to make small faults rather than big crashes. The safety aspect was very important for me, first that of the horse, then that of the rider” he said before the competition, and the only real drama of the day was the unexpected first-round elimination of the star American partnership of Richard Spooner and Cristallo.

PRINCIPLE PROBLEM-AREAS
The principle problem-areas on the track were at the triple-combination at fence five and the line through the double at fence 10 – vertical to oxer – which was followed by a water-tray oxer at 11 before turning for home over the final 1.60m vertical.  The double was approached on an S-bend left-hand turn, and when Spooner asked his 12 year old Holsteiner for a massive stand-off here, Cristallo decided it wasn’t going to work and slammed on the brakes, and he was still in no mood to take it on when requested to do so a second time so US faces were looking glum as the elimination showed on the scoreboard.

By the half-way point the formidable French were already sharing the lead with the surprising Spanish – both carrying just four faults – while it was a truly tight battle further down the order as Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain and Sweden shared third place with eight faults apiece.  Italy had already clocked up 12, and the USA was lying in ninth place with a total of 16 after four-fault results for both Beezie Madden (Mademoiselle) and Mario Deslauriers (Urico) and eight for McLain Ward (Sapphire).

With 17 on the board the Dutch day was done, but Poland’s learning curve is clearly continuing.  Pathfinder Andrzej Lemanski produced a superb clear jumping round with the powerful 11 year old Castiglione, collecting just a single time penalty.  However two 12-fault results and eight from Krzysztof Ludwiczak (Torado) proved too costly and they sat it out with the team from The Netherlands as round two got underway. 

SPIRITED RECOVERY
The Americans made a spirited recovery led by a brilliant clear this time out for Spooner and Cristallo who jumped the infamous double without even blinking and the USA finished on a total of 20 faults.  The Italians added 12 more to complete on 24, the Swiss lost their grip on joint-third spot when adding 20 to their tally but the Irish held firm thanks to clears from both Cameron Hanley (Southwind VDL) and Cian O’Connor (K Club Lady) and were always going to be in the running when adding just four from anchorman Billy Twomey with Tinka’s Serenade.

Janne-Fredericke Meyer (Cellagon Lambrasco) produced one of just three double-clears to help her team to a 16-fault finishing score but the British really rose to the occasion when Nick Skelton (Carlo), Peter Charles (Murka’s Pom d’Ami) and the veteran John Whitaker (Peppermill) all returned clean score-sheets this time out.

The Swedish team struggled in round two but put one more hard-fought point on the leaderboard while the Spanish couldn’t maintain the pressure on the French in the closing stages and dropped to equal-third.  Such was the supremacy of the winning side that when Penelope Leprevost (Mylord Carthago), Kevin Staut (Silvana) and Nicolas Delmotte (Luccianno) made it all look a little elementary second time out then Patrice Deleveau (Katchina Mail) didn’t need to return to the ring for a second time.

TOP OF OUR SPORT
Reigning European champion Kevin Staut put it in context when he said afterwards “we really are at the top of our sport in France right now and I’m really proud to ride in this French team.  We are full of new hopes and new dreams and we have come out this season knowing that four teams will go down from the Meydan series and so we are fully organised from the very beginning”.  He complimented the course designers work – “Mr Vezzani thinks always about the welfare of the horses, he doesn’t punish them but he still gets great results, that’s the measure of a good course designer” he said.  And he was particularly pleased with his mare Silvana who picked up just four faults on her Nations Cup debut.

Staut’s team manager, Laurent Elias said of his country’s double of wins, “it not down to chance, a lot of hard work has gone into achieving these performances, including the work of the French Federation.  And we also have a great horse-breeding culture in France – we have excellent horses” he added.

The next stop is St Gallen in Switzerland next week and with the 2010 Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ already nearing the halfway point it is already getting serious.  In a bizarre turn of events the European champions from Switzerland and the World Champions from The Netherlands are within the danger-zone of the last four places on the leaderboard along with Sweden and Poland.  All four nations will be hoping to made amends for that in seven days’ time. 

For further information on the Italian fixture go to website www.piazzadisiena.com or contact Press Officer Caterina Vagnozzi at Email: c.vagnozzi@gmail.com, Tel: + 39 335 6107070.  The NEXT leg takes place at St Gallen in Switzerland on Friday 4th June.  For all information on the Swiss fixture go to website www.csio.ch or contact Press Officer Peter Wyrsch at peter.wyrsch@sportinformation.ch

RESULT:
1.  France 4 faults – Mylord Carthago (Penelope Leprevost) 0/0, Silvana (Kevin Staut) 4/0, Luccianno (Nicolas Demotte) 8/0, Katchina Mail (Patrice Deleveau) 0/DNS.
2.  Great Britain 8 faults – Carlo (Nick Skelton) 4/0, Murka’s Pom D’Ami (Peter Charles) 0/4, robin Hood W (Ben Maher) 4/0, Peppermill (John Whitaker) 4/0.
Equal 3. Ireland 12 faults- Southwind VDL (Cameron Hanley) 8/0, Obelix (Darragh Kenny) 4/8, K Club Lady (Cian O’Connor) 4/0, Tinka’s Serenade (Billy Twomey) 8/4.
Equal 3. Spain 12 faults – Herald (Pilar Cordon) 0/0, Jarnac (Julio Arias Cueva) 0/4, Lord du Mont Milon (Jesus Garmendia Echevarria) 4/4, Julia des Brumes (Ricardo Jurado) 8/8.
5.  Germany 16 faults – Cellagon Lambrasco (Janne-Friederike Meyer) 0/0, Coeur de Lion (Max Kuhner) 8/12, Lassen Peak (Rebecca Golasch) 8/0, Souvenir (Philipp Weisaupt) 0/8.
6.  USA 20 faults – Cristallo (Richard Spooner) Elim/0, Mdemoiselle (Beezie Madden) 4/0, Urico (Mario Deslauriers) 4/4, Sapphire (McLain Ward) 8/4.
7.  Italy 24 faults – Aboyeur W (Gianni Govoni) 0/, Landzeu (Giuseppe D’Onofrio) 4/4, SNAI American Blu van Eeklelec (Gabriele Grassi) 8/4, SNAI Seldana di Campalto (Natale Chiaudani) 8/4.
8.  Switzerland 28 faults – Cantus (Niklaus Schurtenberger) 0/12, Zekina Z (Jane Richard) 8/8, Uptown Boy (Janika Sprunger) 4/8, Ulysse X (Pius Schwizer) 4/4.
9.  Sweden 32 faults – Lunatic (Jens Fredricson) 4/4, H&M Actrice (Malin Baryard-Johnsson) 8/8, Glory Days (Daniel Zetterman) 0/12, Bukowskis Erbblum (Helena Lundback) 4/Ret.
10. The Netherlands 17 faults in FIRST round – VDL Groep Utascha (Eric van der Vleuten) 0, VDL Groep Santana B (Leopold Van Asten) 9, Uraya (Albert Zoer) 12, Tyson (Leon Thijssen) 8.
11.  Poland 21 faults in FIRST round – Castiglione L (Andrzej Lemanski) 1, Just Cruising (Jan Chrzanowski) 12, Torado 2 (Krzysztof Ludwiczak) 8, Alekandra Lusina (Ekwador) 12.

2010 MEYDAN FEI NATIONS CUP™ – STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 2 IN ROME:
1.    France        -    20
2.    Great Britain    -    12.5
3.    USA            -    10
4.    Germany         -     9.5
5.    Spain        -     9.5
6.    Ireland        -     8.5
7.    Switzerland    -     4
8.    Sweden        -     2
9.    The Netherlands-     0
10.    Poland        -     0

Facts and Figures:
This was the 19th victory for the French team in the 78-year history of the Rome Nations Cup.
This was the second successive victory for the French team in the 2010 Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ series.
11 teams competed including the host nation which, however, was not eligible for points in the 2010 Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ series.
9 teams went through to the second round, and once again it was both Poland and The Netherlands that did not make the cut.
There were three double-clears in today’s competition – from French pathfinders Penelope Leprevost and Mylord Carthago, Spain’s Pilar Cordon and Herald and Germany’s Janne-Friederike Meyer with Cellagon Lambrasco.
There was one elimination – the USA’s Richard Spooner and Cristallo in the first round.  However they returned to jump clear in round two.

Quotes:
Show Director Antonio Govannoni:  “Competing in a team is not easy: riders sometimes have to sacrifice their individual competition strategy, but at the same time they have the possibility of other riders helping them to achieve the desired result.”
Course Designer Uliano Vezzani talking about the course before the competition began:  “It is not too big but it’s technical”.
Mr. Bosco, Head of Operation, Meydan: “I would like to thank the Organising Committee and the FEI for the very warm welcome we have received here. Everything was very well organised. I would also like the thank the course designer, Uliano Vezzani, for showing us around and explaining the course to us: it gives a whole new understanding of the competition.  France did very well at La Baule and have again given an amazing performance here. We wish all the competitors good luck for the rest of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup.”
Sven Holmberg, FEI First Vice-President – “this is the 78th Nations Cup that has taken place in Rome. Italy is one of the most prestigious countries in the equestrian world and I’m sure the Italian team will bounce back. The French were perfect – lining up clears as they did in the second round was really impressive and I can only congratulate them”.
 
MEYDAN FEI NATIONS CUP™
A Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ event is organised as a five-star Nations Cup, i.e. a competition in which official teams representing nations compare their merit. At each event the teams gain points according to their placing. At the end of the 2010 season the team with the highest points wins the Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ and the four teams with the lowest points are relegated to the FEI Nations Cup series (Promotional League). Following the Promotional League Final, the two best placed teams from that series join the Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ for 2011.

The World’s Top 10 Teams: France, the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, Spain and Poland.

The World’s Best Eight Venues:
La Baule (FRA), Friday 14 May; Rome (ITA), Friday 28 May; St. Gallen (SUI), Friday 4 June; Rotterdam (Ned), Friday 18 June; Falsterbo (SWE), Friday 9 July; Aachen (GER), Thursday 15 July; Hickstead (GBR), Friday 30 July; Dublin (IRL), Friday 6 August.

The complete rules, latest news, results, standings and photos are on www.meydanfeinationscup.org

To learn more about the FEI go to www.fei.org

To learn more about Meydan, the title sponsor of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup, go to www.meydan.ae

© ESI Photography.

Margie Engle Wins the $25,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at HITS-on-the-Hudson I SAUGERTIES, NY (May 29, 2010)–Margie Engle and Hidden Creek’s Pamina L, owned by Hidden Creek Farm, won the $25,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, in the first Pfizer Million Grand Prix qualifier at HITS Saugerties on Friday which doubled as a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. “It was a very nice opening course,” said Engle, of West Palm Beach, Florida. “It was big enough, with some tight combinations.” Engle and Hidden Creek’s Pamina L were one of 32 horse-and-rider teams to take the field on a course designed by International Course Designer Olaf Petersen, Jr. which saw an outstanding 10 riders return for the jump-off. Petersen’s 15-effort, first-round course produced seven clear rounds within the first 11 riders to take to the field. Among the early group advancing to the jump-off were Engle on Gladwinds Farm, Inc.’s Indigo, Charlie Jayne of Elgin, Illinois on Alex Jayne’s Urbanus, Jimmy Torano of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on Bynum Farms’ Vince, Jonathan McCrea of East Windsor, Connecticut on Candy Tribble and Windsor Show Stables’ Baloubet Junior Z, Kate Gerhart of Sellersville, Pennsylvania on Cathy Gerhart’s Timo, Jeffery Welles of Brewster, New York on Abigail Wexner’s Tango and Darragh Kerins of Wellington, Florida on Kevin Babington’s Lisona. After the initial swarm of clear rounds, the second half of the order produced the final four clear rounds from Megan Edrick of Agoura, California riding Procedures, Inc.’s Cadence, David Beisel of Goshen, Ohio riding Harlow Investment Enterprises’ Moet Walk, Kate Levy of Wellington, Florida riding her own Vent Du Nord, and finally, Engle on her second mount, Hidden Creek’s Pamina L. Kerins opted not to return for the jump-off, making it an even 10 for Petersen’s second-round course, which included eight efforts with one combination and a time allowed of 74.1 seconds. The beautiful weather provided an exciting day at the Strongid® C 2X Stadium, as High-Performance riders looked to capture their first win of the season. Starting the jump-off was Jayne and Urbanus. The duo set the pace with four faults at 49.221 seconds. Securing the first double-clear effort was Engle on Indigo. The team set the Great American Time to Beat at 50.890 seconds, which didn’t last long as Torano and Vince went clean in 50.853 seconds on the very next round. McCrea and Baloubet Junior Z were next to show. This duo really put the heat on, racing through the course in 49.781 seconds but two rails fell and they had to settle for a 10th-place finish. Gerhart was next and could have taken the lead with her 50.726 effort, but a rail down mid-way through the course kept her in ninth place. Welles and Tango followed Gerhart and produced the next double-clear effort in a speedy 49.699 seconds to capture the lead and set the new pace for the remaining four trips. Edrick and Cadence went clear on the very next round, but their time of 53.490 would settle them into sixth place. Beisel and Moet Walk were the next pair to go clear in 50.815 which helped them to finish third on the day. With just two riders left, Levy and her mount Vent Du Nord raced through the course an appeared to be on track to take the lead, but an unlucky rail down mid-way through gave them four faults and a seventh-place finish. Engle and Hidden Creek’s Parmina L were last to show, looking to beat the impressive time set by Welles four rounds earlier. Engle secured the decisive win with a fault-free ride in a blazing 47.213 seconds as the crowd cheered and the class came to an exciting finish. “He’s [Hidden Creek's Pamina L] a very fast horse,” said Engle. “He does much better going faster towards the jumps.” With seven more Grand Prix classes needed to become eligible, Engle plans on qualifying for the historic Pfizer Million. Engle, like many HITS exhibitors this season is enjoying the new changes made to the show grounds. “The footing is really great and there are some really nice changes that have been made to the site, with new and different classes added, it’s really nice to see.” Friday’s Grand Prix raised nearly $3,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, as exhibitors and spectators pledged donations for each jump cleared by their favorite riders in the class. Grand Prix youngster Taylor McMurty of Barrington Hills, Illinois raised over $800 in pledges from supporters who donated generously in her name. In addition, Engle generously donated $500 from her winnings to the cause. “Having cancer was a tempering experience,” said Karen von Bachella of South Windsor, Connecticut, an equestrian and horse show judge who is a survivor of Hodgkins Lymphoma. “I am lucky to have had the support of my family and friends, of whom several are HITS exhibitors. It’s great that HITS is supporting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

$25,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health

© ESI Photography.

Mr Philip Schaeffer, Director General Rolex France, presents a Rolex watch to Germany's Marcus Ehning, winner of the tenth qualifying leg of the 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping series at Bordeaux, France tonight. Photo: Christophe Bricot.

 
Germany’s Marcus Ehning has won a few Rolex watches in his time, but he has rarely had to work harder for one of the exquisite time-pieces than he did tonight when winning the tenth qualifying leg of the 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping series at Bordeaux in France.  At the end of the toughest competition of the series to date, where the course proved too much for the vast majority, Ehning went into a two-way jump-off against fellow-countryman Philipp Weishaupt.  And despite all his enormous experience, the man who was first to wear the new green and gold armband as leading rider in the Rolex World Rankings when it was first introduced last December, had to ride for his life to win by the miniscule margin of one-hundredth of a second with Leconte.

CHALLENGING ENOUGH
Course designer Frank Rothenberger thought he had built a challenging enough track at Leipzig two weeks ago, but it didn’t turn out that way when 16 horse-and-rider combinations went through to the jump-off won by Ireland’s Jessica Kuerten.  So this time around he was determined there should be no more than the ideal seven or eight in the second-round decider.  However once again it didn’t work out the way he expected.

This was the toughest of tracks, and although the eventual winner described it as “very fair” he was the only one of the eight riders from the top-eleven on the latest Rolex Rankings list to find his way home without incident.  Switzerland’s Pius Schwizer came into the ring wearing the coveted No. 1 armband after taking over at the top of the new rankings which were published two days ago, but it was a measure of the toughness of this course that Ulysse, that horse that took him to team gold at last summer’s European Championships in Windsor, Great Britain returned an eight-fault result. 

TRICKIEST
The first of their two fences down was the trickiest on the 13-fence track, a massive triple bar which proved the undoing of many as the horses struggled to find the power to reach the back bar after a right-hand turn off the top of the arena.  The treble, at fence four and therefore a big test early on, also proved a major challenge and many horses arrived down the final line looking a little bewildered and leaving a lot of timber on the ground behind them.

German ace Ludger Beerbaum decided to call it a day when it all went wrong at fence seven where the stallion Couleur Rubin crashed through the poles after a muddle about the distance to this vertical.

Weishaupt’s clean-jumping stallion Catoki made it all look pretty elementary however when returning the first zero score when 18th of the 37 starters into the ring.  The 12 year old Holsteiner, owned by Kai Gerken, is a big power-house of a horse and yet had the athleticism and concentration to avoid all the pitfalls on his way around.  With just eight to go it seemed he might just win the class outright and without challenge, but then Ehning produced an equally crafty tour of the arena with Leconte to ensure at least a two-way jump-off.  Despite the best efforts of the remaining seven that was exactly what it would be.

DOOR OPEN
Weishaupt wasn’t hanging around as he headed out first against the clock, but a fence down in 39.36 seconds left the door open for Ehning, so as the double Rolex FEI World Cup champion went through the start it seemed a steady clear would clinch it.  But when Leconte also faulted at the halfway stage then Ehning had to radically alter his plan – “I really had to go for it over the last four jumps!” he said afterwards.  He went into over-drive and galloped down to the final oxer like his life depended on it, and, to his delight, found the clock showing 39.36 seconds – just 0.1 quicker than his German team-mate.

“This was a tough one to win” he admitted afterwards.  “It was a really tough course – everything came up so quickly and the oxers were big and wide in the first round.  With me for sure this is the biggest win with Leconte – I’m very happy with him” he added.  He got the horse, which competed for Australia at the Olympic Games in Hong Kong in 2008 with Matthew Williams in the saddle, at the beginning of last year.  “He did a few good things with me last season and he went well in the German Classics but this is definitely his best result so far” he pointed out.  And he added “I’ve been in close finishes before, but it can’t get any closer than this!”.

He has now pushed long-standing leader Eric Van der Vleuten of The Netherlands out of top spot on the series leaderboard while Weishaupt has moved into third ahead of Schwizer in fourth ahead of the next leg at Vigo in Spain next Saturday night.

The next leg of the 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping series will take place at Vigo, Spain from 11-14 February.  For all information on the Spanish fixture check out website www.csivigo.com or contact Press Officer Alejandra Mier Rodirguez at (mobile) +34 669 718 736 or (email) amier@csivigo.com.

RESULT:1, Leconte (Marcus Ehning) Ger 0/4 39.36; 2, Catoki (Philipp Weishaupt) Ger 0/4 39.37; 3, Katchina Mail Normandie (Patrice Deleveau) Fra 4/66.01; 4, Winningmood (Luciana Diniz) Por 4/68.17; 5, Cash (Marco Kutscher) Ger 4/68.55; 6, ideal de la Loge (Roger-Yves Bost) Fra 4/69.12; 7, Louis IV (Beat Mandli) Sui 4/69.98; 8, Ulysse (Pius Schwizer) Sui 8/65.18; 9, Silvana (Kevin Staut) Fra 8/65.66; 10, Quarco de Kerambars (Rik Hemeryck) Bel 8/67.06; 11, Cevo Itot du Chateau (Edwina Alexander) Aus 8/68.29; 12, Lamm de Fetan (Timothee Anciaume) Fra 8/69.64; 13, Tinky Winky (Leon Thijssen) Ned 8/70.80; 14, Gabelou des Ores (Stephan Lafouge) Fra 12/66.17; 15, All Inclusive NRW (Denis Lynch) Irl 12/66.20; 16, Tresor (Steve Guerdat) Sui 12/66.78; 17, Exquis Oliver Q (Harrie Smolders) Ned 12/67.86; 18, GIG Amai (Michael Whitaker) GBR 12/68.29; 19. L’Espoir (Geir Gulliksen) Nor 12/68.84; 20, Isaac du Jonquet (Mikael Forsten) Fin 12/69.17.  Full results at: www.scg-nl.nl

ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING - Standings after Round 10 at Bordeaux, France:
1.    Marcus Ehning                -    64
2.    Eric Van der Vleuten        -    57
3.    Pius Schwizer                -    57
4.    Philipp Weishaupt            -    57
5.    Jessica Kuerten            -    53
6.    Kevin Staut                -    53
7.    Marco Kutscher            -    52
8.    Penelope Leprevost            -    47
9.    Ludger Beerbaum            -    46
10.    Patrice Deleveau            -    44
11.    Natale Chiaudani            -    43
12.    Rodrigo Pessoa            -    41
13.    Daniel Etter                -    40
14.    Beat Mandli                -    40
13.    Edwina Alexander            -    40
16.    Michael Whitaker            -    39
16.    Svante Johansson            -    39
17.    Albert Zoer                -    34
19.    Luciana Diniz                -    32
20.    Timothee Anciaume            -    30
Complete standings at www.feiworldcup.org

Facts and Figures: 
There were 37 starters in the competition
Only two clear rounds
Marcus Ehning won by a margin of just one-hundredth of a second
5 riders collected just four faults
France had the largest number of riders, with 12 in total.
The next highest number came from Germany with 5
There was one elimination, and four retirements – including German star Ludger Beerbaum with Couleur Rubin

Quotes:
Ludger Beerbaum, who decided to retire with Couleur Rubin in the first round “today’s course was all about experience”
Marcus Ehning, tonight’s winner – “I’ve been in close finishes before but it can’t get any closer than this!”

Website: www.jumping-bordeaux.com

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR WESTERN EUROPEAN LEAGUE: 1, Oslo (Norway) 9-11 October; 2, Helsinki (Finland) 15-18 October; 3, Lyon (FRA) 28 Oct-1 November; 4, Verona (Italy) 5-8 November; 5, Stuttgart (Germany) 15-22 November; 6, London-Olympia (Great Britain) 15-21 December; 7, Mechelen (Belgium) 26-30 December; 8, Leipzig (Germany) 21-24 January; 9, Zurich (SUI) 28-31 January; 10, Bordeaux (France) 5-7 February; 11, Vigo (Spain) 11-14 February; 12, Gothenburg (Sweden) 25-28 February; 13, s’Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands) 25-28 March; FINAL – Geneva (Switzerland) 14-18 April.

Broadcast Schedule can be downloaded from www.feiworldcup.org

Photo Catalogue – Photographs of winning riders in high/low resolution can be downloaded from FEI Photo Calalogue at www.fei.org>Media>Photo Catalogue – no reproution fee ut photographer must be credited (name appears under picture).  Usage strictly for editorial purposes.

Media Guide – 2009/2010 Media Guide filled with useful facts, figures, statistics and contact details can be downloaded from www.feiworldcup.org – click on Jumping then Media.  Hard copy available from FEI Communications – Email olivia.robinson@fei.org.

FEI World Cup™ Jumping has entered its 32nd season. The series, created in 1978, today comprises 14 leagues on all continents. The best riders from 121 preliminary competitions will qualify for the final in Geneva, Switzerland which takes place from 14-18 April 2008.

The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), founded in 1921, is the international body governing equestrian sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and includes 133 National Federations.

Equestrian sport has been on the Olympic programme since 1912 with three disciplines – Jumping, Dressage and Eventing. It is one of the very few sports in which men and women compete on equal terms. It is also the only sport which involves two athletes – horse and rider. The FEI has relentlessly concerned itself with the welfare of the horse, which is paramount and must never be subordinated to competitive or commercial influences.

Pedro Reiser, Rolex Area Manager, Switzerland, presents Switzerland's Steve Guerdat - the winning rider of today's Rolex FEI World Cup qualifier at Zurich, Switzerland - with a Rolex watch. Photo: Dirk Caremans.

STEVE REIGNS SUPREME IN THE SWISS LEG AT ZURICH

Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat produced a supremely confident victory in the ninth leg of the 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping series on his home turf at Zurich, Switzerland this afternoon.  Last to go in a thrilling nine-horse jump-off he swept the rest aside with a blistering run from Tresor whose natural speed gave him a winning margin of almost one second ahead of Germany’s Lars Nieberg with Levito.

Guerdat was delighted with today’s result, but also much-relieved.  “This season I’ve been trying really hard to get the points so that I can compete at the final in Geneva in April, but things have not been going right for me.  Maybe now it will get better” said the 28 year old who has now risen to 22nd place in the series rankings, still headed by The Netherlands’ Eric Van der Vleuten.

FAIR COURSE
Winners have a habit of describing courses as “good” and “fair”, and that was Guerdat’s description of Rolf Ludi’s 13-fence track which included 17 jumping efforts and a double figure-of-eight as it flowed nicely around the arena.  However he also added that it was “plenty technical – enough to be sure there were many mistakes, but not bad ones that worried the horses.  It was nice to ride, and the course gave us great sport today” he pointed out.

He said it wasn’t over-big, but there were plenty of poles standing at 1.60m and the massive wall at fence 10 was a full 1.62m, although it created few difficulties.  It was the triple combination at fence 8 that tested them most – a two-stride distance from the first oxer to the middle element, and then a single stride to the final oxer just didn’t quite come up right for a large number of the 37 starters.  In fact 16 horses lowered at least one element of this.

JUMPABLE
Sydney Olympic champion, Jeroen Dubbeldam from the Netherlands, showed it was quite jumpable however when leaving all the timber intact when fourth to go with BMC Van Grunsven Whisper and he set the pace against the clock with a good clear in 38.39 seconds.  And when the host country’s Niklaus Schurtenberger and Cantus clipped the final element of what had been the triple combination first time out, now reduced to a double, it was still all to play for.

The crowd had been delighted when Austria’s Hugo Simon had brought Ukinda home clear in the first round.  This elder statesman of the sport remains highly competitive 31 years after he won the inaugural World Cup series back in 1979.  He was 36 years old then, but two months ahead of his 68th birthday he can still cut it with the best of them and he was unlucky to lower both elements of the double after a great roll-back from the wall.

With two members of Switzerland’s 2009 Alltech FEI European Jumping Championship gold medal winning team through to the decider the home fans had plenty to cheer for, and Clarissa Crotta set the arena alight when next in with the enthusiastic Westside v. Meerputhoeve.  The 11 year old chestnut shows all the flamboyance of his famous sire Baloubet du Rouet and seemed to be just playing around when clear first time out.  Against the clock the horse was still having fun, and a clear in 38.63 seconds put this partnership into second place temporarily.

SNATCHING THE LEAD
Sweden’s Svante Johansson changed the order when snatching the lead with a great run from the gutsy little Saint Amour who crossed the line in 38.20 seconds but was instantly demoted by Germany’s Lars Nieberg who scorched home with Levito to re-set the target in 36.70 seconds.  Timothee Anciaume and Lamm de Fetan were considerably quicker when stopping the clock in 36.22 but, really going for it down the final line, clipped the last for four faults, and when Beat Mandli picked up eight – hitting both the planks three from home and the final oxer – the crowd groaned in frustration.  But their moment was yet to come.

Guerdat rode into the ring with the look of a determined man.  He knows Tresor so well, this is a horse with extraordinary speed and all he had to do was ensure the fences would stay up.  The set of his jaw as he aimed for the first fence told the full story, and although they rattled the planks before turning to the double, they stayed in place and his run down to the final oxer was a thriller.  The crowd went wild as he broke the beam for a clear win in 35.93 seconds.

A GOOD CHANCE
“I knew I had a good chance when I was going in” he said afterwards.  “I didn’t need to see the others – I knew this was a good jump-off course for my horse and that the time was no so fast.  My plan was to bring the horse home clear and not worry about the time” he added, but you wouldn’t have guessed it.

Nieberg had to do with second place ahead of Johansson in third while Dubbeldam slotted into fourth and Crotta into fifth. 

Guerdat now heads for Bordeaux next weekend in search of some of those points which have proven so elusive this season.  He has competed in seven of the nine rounds to date, but still has plenty to do if he is to get to the final.  He needs to put up at least another 20 points on the leaderboard.  “I’ve got to keep the pressure on myself for the next few weeks.  I’m definitely going to Bordeaux and Vigo but I don’t plan to go to Gothenburg” he said.  He has three good horses to take to the next two legs of the series and is really pleased that Jalisca is back in action again.  His gold medal winning ride had to undergo an operation when a break in his metacarpal bone was discovered last September. “It’s great to have Jalisca back” he said.

The next leg of the 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping series will take place at Bordeaux, France from 5-7 February.  For all information on the French fixture check out website www.jumping-bordeaux.com or contact Press Officer Marie-Sol Fournier at (mobile) + 33 556 11 99 43 or (email) presse@bordeaux-expo.com.

Result:1, Tresor (Steve Guerdat) Sui 0/0 35.93; 2, Levito (Lars Nieberg) Ger 0/0 36.70; 3, Saint Amour (Svante Johansson) Swe 0/0 38.20; 4, BMC Van Grunsven Whisper (Jeroen Dubbeldam) Ned 0/0 38.39; 5, Westside v. Meerputhoeve (Clarissa Crotta) Ita 0/0 38.63; 6, Lamm de Fetan (Timothee Anciaume) Fra 0/4 36.22; 7, Cantus (Niklaus Schurtenberger) Sui 0/4 44.47; 8, Louis IV (Beat Mandli) Sui 0/8 36.0; 9, Ukinda (H Simon) Aut 0/8 38.63; 10, Ideal de la Loge (Roger Yves Bost) Fra 1 flt.
Full results at: http://eventcontent.hippoonline.de/458/458zeitplanDEU.htm

ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING - Standings after Round 9 at Zurich, Switzerland:
1.    Eric van der Vleuten                 -    57
2.    Jessica Kuerten                    -    53
3.    Pius Schwizer                    -    48
4.    Penelope Leprevost                -    47
5.    Ludger Beerbaum                    -    46
6.    Kevin Staut                        -    45
7.    Marcus Ehning                    -    44
8.    Natale Chiaudani                    -    43
9.    Rodrigo Pessoa                    -    41
10.    Daniel Etter                        -    40
11.    Marco Kutscher                    -    40
12.    Philipp Weishaupt                    -    40
13.    Michael Whitaker                    -    39
14.    Svante Johansson                    -    39
15.      Edwina Alexander                    -    34
16.    Albert Zoer                        -    34
17.    Beat Mandli                        -    30
18.    Patrice Deleveau                    -    29
19.    Ben Maher                        -    28
20.    Dermott Lennon                    -    28
21.    Lars Nieberg                        -    27
22.    Steve Guerdat                    -    26
Complete standings at www.feiworldcup.org

Facts and Figures: 
37 starters after the late withdrawal of both Michael Whitaker/GIG Amai (GBR) and Marco Kutscher/Cornet Obolensky (GER)
Roger Yves Bost from France missed out on the jump-off when picking up just one time penalty in the first round with Ideal de la Loge
A total of 13 horse-and-rider combinations collected just 4 faults in round one.
Two horses were retired in first round – Randgraaf ridden by Philippe Rozier for France and What’s Next ridden by Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya.
There were 13 fences, with 17 jumping efforts, on the first round track.
Course designer was Switzerland’s Rolf Ludi.
The bogey fence on the course was the triple combination at fence eight – 16 horses lowered at least one element of this fence.
A total of 9 qualified for the second-round jump-off against the clock – of these four were from Switzerland while there was also one each from The Netherlands, Italy, Austria, France and Sweden – a total of 6 nations.
12 of the riders in the first round were from the current top-20 in the Rolex World Rankings but none of those 12 qualified for the jump-off.

Quotes:
Steve Guerdat – “There is nothing more important to me right now than to qualify for the final in Geneva – its a final in my home country and I really want to be there”
Steve Guerdat – “Winning in front of the home crowd is always very special – the crowd were fantastic today!”

Website: www.mercedes-csi.ch

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR WESTERN EUROPEAN LEAGUE: 1, Oslo (Norway) 9-11 October; 2, Helsinki (Finland) 15-18 October; 3, Lyon (FRA) 28 Oct-1 November; 4, Verona (Italy) 5-8 November; 5, Stuttgart (Germany) 15-22 November; 6, London-Olympia (Great Britain) 15-21 December; 7, Mechelen (Belgium) 26-30 December; 8, Leipzig (Germany) 21-24 January; 9, Zurich (SUI) 28-31 January; 10, Bordeaux (France) 5-7 February; 11, Vigo (Spain) 11-14 February; 12, Gothenburg (Sweden) 25-28 February; 13, s’Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands) 25-28 March; FINAL – Geneva (Switzerland) 14-18 April.

Broadcast Schedule can be downloaded from www.feiworldcup.org

Photo Catalogue - Photographs of winning riders in high/low resolution can be downloaded from FEI Photo Calalogue at www.fei.org>Media>Photo Catalogue – no reproution fee ut photographer must be credited (name appears under picture).  Usage strictly for editorial purposes.

Media Guide - 2009/2010 Media Guide filled with useful facts, figures, statistics and contact details can be downloaded from www.feiworldcup.org – click on Jumping then Media.  Hard copy available from FEI Communications – Email olivia.robinson@fei.org.

FEI World Cup™ Jumping has entered its 32nd season. The series, created in 1978, today comprises 14 leagues on all continents. The best riders from 121 preliminary competitions will qualify for the final in Geneva, Switzerland which takes place from 14-18 April 2008.

The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), founded in 1921, is the international body governing equestrian sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and includes 133 National Federations.

Equestrian sport has been on the Olympic programme since 1912 with three disciplines – Jumping, Dressage and Eventing. It is one of the very few sports in which men and women compete on equal terms. It is also the only sport which involves two athletes – horse and rider. The FEI has relentlessly concerned itself with the welfare of the horse, which is paramount and must never be subordinated to competitive or commercial influences.

The ladies dominated the line-up at the eighth leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ series in Leipzig, Germany today where Ireland’s Jessica Kuerten produced a devastating burst of speed to pip runner-up Edwina Alexander from Australia and third-placed Frenchwoman Penelope Leprevost in a 16-way jump-off.  The girls simply out-galloped the boys against the clock, and this was a particularly notable victory for Kuerten who also won this leg of the series in both 2008 and 2009 and so made it a Leipzig hat-trick today.

Frank Rothenberger’s first-round track produced plenty of clear rounds but the big questions were all posed in the jump-off.  Riders had some tough decisions to make as the snaking second-round course asked for some super-tight turns.  As it emerged however, it was simply the exceptional speed of Kuerten’s Castle Forbes Libertina that would win the day.

BIG IMPRESSION
Kenneth Cheng, the 22 year old rider from Hong Kong who made such a big impression at last summer’s Olympic Games, was first out in the timed round with the aptly-named Jockey Club Can Do.  The 11 year old horse was courageous and willing all the way but, asked to stand a very long way off the oxer at fence six, he hit that for four faults in 42.75 seconds.  That would prove a competitive time however.

Australia’s Philipp Lever and the grey, Ashleigh Drossel Dan, were next to go and showed they too were well up to the challenge when producing a lovely clear to set the new target in 45.04.  Sweden’s Svante Johansson had two down with Saint Amour while Portugal’s Luciana Diniz and Winningmood left the vertical at fence four on the floor, but Germany’s Lars Nieberg increased the pressure when returning fault-free with Levito in 42.98 seconds to a great roar of encouragement from the crowd.  

Piergiorgio Bucci’s Kanebo clearly didn’t mean to refuse at the second fence but couldn’t believe he was being asked to jump it at such an acute angle and the Italian pair came home with six faults on the board, while Germany’s Max Kuhner was looking good right up to the final Rolex oxer only to loose it all there with Coeur du Lion who crashed through for four faults in 43.84.  His fellow-countryman Philipp Weishaupt however was foot-perfect when demoting Nieberg from pole position with a great run in 42.21 seconds.  His advantage didn’t last long though, as Marco Kutscher’s four-fault effort with Cornet Obolensky was immediately followed by a scorching round from Penelope Leprevost.

DARE-DEVIL
The key to the Frenchwoman’s edge was her dare-devil turn after the double which brought Mylord Carthago home in 41.13 seconds, and when home star Ludger Beerbaum failed to threaten that as he galloped through the finish in 41.96 seconds it seemed some serious risk-taking would be required to oust the French partnership from pole position.  There would be another Australian clear however, and as Edwina Alexander shaved almost a full second off the target with a fabulous round from the diminutive Cevo Itot du Chateau there were only four more left to go – and plenty of excitement still to come.

The Netherlands’ Gerco Schroder and Eurocommerce New Orleans picked up eight faults but, third-last into the ring, Marcus Ehning set his home crowd alight with a thrilling run from Plot Blue that would very likely have challenged for the win if they had mastered the turn after the penultimate double.  Leprevost executed this perfectly, cutting inside the vertical that stood in the way of a clear run to the last, but Ehning very nearly collided with the upright and lost precious fractions of seconds before untangling himself and racing down to cross the finish-line in 41.19 seconds. 

THOUGHT ABOUT IT
Kuerten thought about it long and hard before she set off.  She knows she is riding arguably the fastest show jumping horse in the world, and Castle Forbes Libertina returned to action after a seven-month injury layoff with all the joie de vivre that makes her such a sensation to finish second in the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping qualifier at Mechelen in Belgium just after Christmas.  “I didn’t like the look of the turn after the double, so I took a line that nobody else, except Delestre, tried to do between the first two fences and it paid off” she explained afterwards.  Her new route gave her some leeway later on the track so she let Libertina do what she does best, taking the longer route to the final oxer but galloping like the wind all the way.  And when Delestre and Napoli du Ry left two fences on the floor the victory was an Irish one.

The German crowd was more than happy to celebrate the victory of the rider who has made Germany her home for many years now and, like Kuerten, they applauded her brilliant 14 year old mare.  “She was smooth and fast and absolutely brilliant!” Kuerten said afterward, “I’m so happy with her!”. 

This result now shoots her up to second position on the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping leaderboard which continues to be headed by Holland’s Eric Van der Vleuten, and with 51 points to her credit Kuerten is well-qualified for the series final in Geneva in April.  For those who have not quite made the cut yet there are still five more qualifiers remaining, and the next thriller is set to take place in Zurich, Switzerland next weekend.

Result: 1, Castle Forbes Libertina (Jessica Kuerten) Irl 0/0 40.52; 2, Cevo Itot du Chateau (Edwina Alexander) Aus 0/0 40.71; 3, Mylord Carthago (Penelope Leprevost) Fra 0/0 41.13; 4, Plot Blue (Marcus Ehning) Ger 0/0; 5, Couleur Rubin (Ludger Beerbaum) Ger 0/0 41.96; 6, Catoki (Philipp Weishaupt) Ger 0/0 42.21; 7, Levito (Lars Nieberg) Ger 0/0 42.98; 8, Ashleigh Drossel Dan (philipp Lever) Aus 0/0 45.04; 9, Jockey Club Can Do (Kenneth Cheng) HKG 0/4 42.75; 10, Coeur de Lion (Max Kuhner) Ger 0/4 43.84; 11, Cornet Obolensky (Marco Kutscher) Ger 0/4 44.12; 12, Winningmood (Luciana Diniz) Por 0/4 46.83; 13, Kanebo (Piergiorgio Bucci) Ita 0/6 58.31; 14, Napoli du Ry (Simon Delestre) Fra 0/8 41.08; 15, Svante Johansson) Swe 0/8 46.74; 16, Eurocommerce New Orleans (Gerco Schroder) Ned 0/8 52.05.  Full results at www.engarde.de

ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING - Standings after Round 8 at Leipzig, Germany:

1.    Eric Van der Vleuten            -    57
2.    Jessica Kuerten                -    51
3.    Pius Schwizer                -    48
4.    Penelope Leprevost            -    47
5.    Ludger Beerbaum                -    46
6.    Kevin Staut                    -    46
7.    Marcus Ehning                -    44
8.    Natale Chiaudani                -    44
9.    Rodrigo Pessoa                -    41
10.    Daniel Etter                    -    40
11.    Marco Kutscher                -    40
12.    Philipp Weishaupt                -    40
13.    Michael Whitaker                -    39
14.    Edwina Alexander                -    34
15.    Albert Zoer                    -    29
16.    Patrice Deleveau                -    29
17.    Patrick McEntee                -    28
18.    Dermott Lennon                -    28
18.    Ben Maher                    -    28
20.    Svante Johansson                -    24

Facts and Figures: 
This was the third consecutive year for Ireland’s Jessica Kuerten to win the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Qualifier at Leipzig.
A total of 9,000 spectators enjoyed today’s competition.
A total of 16 riders jumped clear to go into the second-round jump-off.
The first three places went to lady riders.
Great Britain’s Ellen Whitaker was unlucky to miss out on the jump-off when picking up just a single first-round time penality with Equimax Ocolado.
A total of 14 horses made a single mistake in the first round.
Three riders retired – Germany’s Felix Hassmannn (Horse Gym’s Lianos), Denmark’s Thomas Velin (Godsend du Reverdy) and Austria’s Thomas Fruhmann (The Sixth Sense).

Quotes:
Edwina Alexander who finished second with Itot du Chateau – “In the jump-off there was nothing I could do but to ride as quickly as I could – and I couldn’t have gone any faster!”
Jessica Kuerten, when asked what her plans are for the 2010 season “We are not making any big plans right now, we’ll just keep jumping and see how it goes”.

Website: www.engarde.de

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR WESTERN EUROPEAN LEAGUE: 1, Oslo (Norway) 9-11 October; 2, Helsinki (Finland) 15-18 October; 3, Lyon (FRA) 28 Oct-1 November; 4, Verona (Italy) 5-8 November; 5, Stuttgart (Germany) 15-22 November; 6, London-Olympia (Great Britain) 15-21 December; 7, Mechelen (Belgium) 26-30 December; 8, Leipzig (Germany) 21-24 January; 9, Zurich (SUI) 28-31 January; 10, Bordeaux (France) 5-7 February; 11, Vigo (Spain) 11-14 February; 12, Gothenburg (Sweden) 25-28 February; 13, s’Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands) 25-28 March; FINAL – Geneva (Switzerland) 14-18 April.

Broadcast Schedule can be downloaded from www.feiworldcup.org

Photo Catalogue – Photographs of winning riders in high/low resolution can be downloaded from FEI Photo Calalogue at www.fei.org>Media>Photo Catalogue – no reproution fee ut photographer must be credited (name appears under picture).  Usage strictly for editorial purposes.

Media Guide - 2009/2010 Media Guide filled with useful facts, figures, statistics and contact details can be downloaded from www.feiworldcup.org – click on Jumping then Media.  Hard copy available from FEI Communications – Email olivia.robinson@fei.org.

FEI World Cup™ Jumping has entered its 32nd season. The series, created in 1978, today comprises 14 leagues on all continents. The best riders from 121 preliminary competitions will qualify for the final in Geneva, Switzerland which takes place from 14-18 April 2008.

The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), founded in 1921, is the international body governing equestrian sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and includes 133 National Federations.

Equestrian sport has been on the Olympic programme since 1912 with three disciplines – Jumping, Dressage and Eventing. It is one of the very few sports in which men and women compete on equal terms. It is also the only sport which involves two athletes – horse and rider. The FEI has relentlessly concerned itself with the welfare of the horse, which is paramount and must never be subordinated to competitive or commercial influences.