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Posted: Friday, May 19, 2006 Germans
Do it on the Double in Aachen
The British were considerably more impressive than last time out when slotting into third ahead of Switzerland in fourth while the Swedes, who were dogged with misfortune in La Baule, also produced a much-improved performance to finish fifth. Just a single fault kept the French further down the line in sixth while the Irish were next in line ahead of the The Netherlands at the bottom of the order. Testament to the quality of this competition however, the Dutch were far from disastrous as none of their team members collected more than eight faults in any round of jumping but their final tally of 29 faults was only good enough for eighth place. The Irish meanwhile have now dropped to the bottom of the league table despite spirited second-round clears from their first two competitors. Following clears from pathfinder Ludger Beerbaum (L'Espoir), Christian Ahlmann (Coster) and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (Shutterfly) the home team was already in the lead on a zero score after three riders had gone, so Ehning found himself out of work as the first round concluded. The British were lying third with just seven faults going into round two after both Robert Smith (Marius Claudius) and Tim Gredley (Omelli) collected a single time penalty, and Michael Whitaker's double-error with Insul Tech Portofino was the drop score when his brother John returned with just five faults on the board for his new ride Peppermill. The French and Swedes were only a single point further adrift in fourth. Sweden showing far greater resolve on this occasion. The presence of Rolf-Goran Bengtsson seemed to be a steadying influence, and Malin Baryard-Johnsson and Butterfly Flip showed no sign of repeating the elimination incurred in La Baule when, like Bengtsson and Ninja La Silla, they picked up just four faults in their opening effort. Royne Zetterman secured the eight-fault score-line with a clear from Isaac. France counted single errors from both Eric Levallois (Diamant de Semilly Ecolit) and Herve Godignon (Obelix) when Michel Robert and Galet D'Auzay kept a clean sheet. Meanwhile the Swiss carried 10 faults to fill sixth place at the halfway stage. Beat Mandli's Ideo du Thot, third at the recent FEI World Cup Final, showed he can be just as impressive outdoors when caught only by the clock for a single time fault while Christina Liebherr's one error with LB No Mercy and Nicklaus Schurtenberger's five faults with Cantus completed the Swiss tally. Despite a clear from Albert Zoer and Okidoki the Dutch were hard-punished for double-errors from Leopold Van Asten (VDL Groep Fleche Rouge) and Gerco Schroder (Eurocommerce Berlin), carrying 13 faults after Jurgen Stenfert and BMC Octavia collected five more, while the Irish were lying last with 17 on the board, hampered by a surprising eight-fault result from World No. 2 Jessica Kuerten and Castle Forbes Maike and nine faults from the considerably less experienced Effective ridden by Edward Doyle.
The Swedes overtook the French when Baryard-Johnsson and Bengtsson held firm on four faults and Zetterman completed a double clear, Robert's unlikely 14-fault second-round result seriously spoiling French chances. Switzerland rocketed up to fourth when Liebherr was clear and Mandli again collected just a single time penalty, while the British cemented that third spot thanks to clears from both Whitaker and their very exciting new find, 20 year old Gredley. As the competition drew to a close it was still all to play for between the Americans and Germans and a clear round from last US rider Madden would have forced Ehning into the ring but it was not to happen. Hough had made a superb recovery to stay fault-free at her second attempt as did Ward, and the US could discard Goldstein-Engle's four-faulter if Authentic left all the fences up, but Madden retired as soon as she heard a pole falling and it was all over to leave the host team very happy indeed with the end result. "It was not the hardest course I've ever jumped in Aachen but it was a good track with problems everywhere and it made for an exciting competition because it came down to the last few riders in the end" Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum said afterwards. "Shutterfly jumped two beautiful rounds, so I am very, very happy but you have to admire those Americans - they are very strong this season. They have done a great job getting riders as good as these together - they are going to feature strongly this summer I think" she added. It was in Barcelona three years ago that the Germans last found themselves in the position that their final rider did not have to participate, but Marcus Ehning could not decide whether it was a good or bad thing that he never got to go in the ring - "I'm really not sure about that" he said with a grin. Christian Ahlmann said that Coster is "just getting better and better" while Ludger Beerbaum talked about his hopes of returning to the Aachen arena to fly his country's flag at this summer's World Equestrian Games. When asked whether she was focusing now on Sunday's Grand Prix, Michaels-Beerbaum replied that "what matters more is being proud to win with my team today" while German Chef d'Equipe Kurt Gravemeier returned to the theme of the American threat. There is nothing his country wants more than to win the WEG team title on their home ground this summer but the USA also have that honour in their sights. "The fact that the Americans are in such top form so early in the season is almost frightening" Gravemeier commented. So nothing is being taken for granted going into the third leg of the series at the Piazza di Sienna in Rome next Friday...... RESULT: SAMSUNG
SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI 2006 : LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 1 AT LA 1. GERMANY
- 20 SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE - NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION! For further information about the Samsung Super League with FEI at Aachen check out WEBSITE www.chioaachen.de. Show President is Klaus Peter Pavel, Show Director is Frank Kemperman and Press Officer is Niels Knippertz - email niels.knippertz@aachen2006.de or Tel: +49 24191710. The next leg of the series takes place at the Piazza di Siena in Rome, Italy on Friday 26 May. For all information about this fixture check out WEBSITE www.fise.it or contact Press Officer Caterina Vagnozzi at email c.vagnozzi@iol.it or Tel: +39 0636858321. SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE WITH FEI : 2006 CALENDAR OF EVENTS: ROUND 1
- La Baule (Fra) 4-7 May; ROUND 2 - Aachen (Ger) 17-21 May; ROUND 3,
Rome (Ita) 25-28 May; ROUND 4 - Lucerne (Sui) 1-4 June; ROUND YOU CAN
SEE IT ON TV - Broadcast Information LIVE SIGNAL HIGHLIGHTS 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. Want to know more? You can check the full RULES for the Samsung Super League series on the FEI website, www.horsesport.org - section jumping/rules. 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. For more
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The
Germans made it two-in-a-row when, following on their opening round
success at La Baule two weeks ago, they were triumphant once again on
their home ground in Aachen today. And World No. 1 Marcus Ehning found
himself surplus to requirements when not having to start with Gitania
in either round. The USA however were hot on German heels once more
when finishing second, and this summer's Samsung Super League with FEI
series looks set to turn into a real tussle between these two sides.
The
USA counted just four faults from McLain Ward and Sapphire after Margie
Goldstein-Engle (Quervo Gold) and Beezie Madden (Authentic) left all
the poles intact, but Lauren Hough and Casadora got their wires crossed
as they passed the pocket and the Dutch-bred horse stopped, picking
up 14 faults.
Not
even clears from both Shane Breen and World Cruise and Capt Shane Carey
with the brave and brilliant little Killossery could save the Irish
when Kuerten produced the double-fault discount score in round two and
Doyle improved with only a single mistake. Their 21 fault total kept
them ahead of the Dutch who added another 16 to drop to last, but bottom
place on the Samsung Super League with FEI leaderboard was beckoning
the boys in green after their consecutive second-last finishing places
in the first two legs of the series.
