FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing 2015: Irish Eyes Are Smiling At Boekelo While Britain Clinches Series Title

Ireland scored their first ever win in the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing in superb style at Boekelo (NED), final leg of the 2015 season, after four fine Cross Country performances over an influential track.

The USA finished second, which was also their best result since the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing began in 2012. New Zealand was third and, as a result, beat Japan in this Asia-Pacific Olympic qualifier to secure their ticket to Rio 2016.

Great Britain, the only nation to contest all seven legs this year, finished fifth at Boekelo after half the team completed the competition, but they easily sealed their place at the head of the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing final leaderboard by seven points over Germany.

Ireland’s team manager Nick Turner said he was “absolutely delighted” with the win. “We had a young rider competing in his first CCI3* and some exciting young horses and everyone pulled together and focused,” he added. “It’s a great note to finish on this season and it sets the team up in good spirits for Olympic year.”

It was a thrilling rollercoaster of a competition in which the scoreboard changed dramatically.

New Zealand led after Dressage with Jonelle Price in pole position on Cloud Dancer, the recent winner of the young horse CIC3* at Blenheim Palace (GBR). But although Price gave the black gelding a great ride across country, the Dutch warmblood looked a little green and clocked 14.8 time penalties.

The rest of the Kiwi team – Jesse Campbell on his CCI4* horse Kapaachino, Tim Price (Xavier Faer) and Dan Jocelyn (Dassett Cool Touch) – all went clear as well, but they couldn’t match the speedy Irishmen who were on a mission around Sue Benson’s twisting, technical course.

The 19-year-old Cathal Daniels (IRL), who making his CCI3* debut, set the competition alight with a blazing round on the eight-year-old Rioghan Rua which was the first of only four inside the optimum time of 10 minutes 32 seconds.

Jonty Evans, eventually eighth on another lovely young horse, Cooley Rorke’s Drift, Joseph Murphy (Westwinds Hercules) and pathfinder Padraig McCarthy on Simon Porloe were all equally committed and the Irish quartet shot up from seventh place after Dressage to overtake the New Zealanders by 0.3 penalties.

The American team, whose best rider was Matthew Brown, eventual sixth on Super Socks BCF, also had four clear Cross Country rounds. Marilyn Little withdrew RF Scandalous before Jumping, but Brown, Buck Davidson and Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp went on to ride solid final phase rounds. This was good enough to overtake the New Zealanders, who lost any chance of victory when they added a disastrous 40 penalties to their team score and dropped to third.

France, who have been a consistent presence in the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing 2015, finished fourth at Boekelo. Their anchorman, Cedric Lyard, retired Qatar de Puech Rouget after two refusals at the double of waters, but Astier Nicolas (Spes Addit d’Or) and Nicolas Touzaint (Crocket 30) finished in ninth and 10th places.

Britain had had four riders in the top 10 but, unfortunately, only two of them were team members: Dani Evans, fifth on Smart Time, and Izzy Taylor, seventh on Briarlands Birdsong. Nicola Wilson, who triumphed as the CCI3* winner on her other horse, Bulana, fell off her team horse Kiltealy Brief at fence seven and Emily Parker did not start across country on Diamond Sundance.

Germany was also down to two riders after falls for Marina Köhncke and Josefa Sommer and Australia crashed out when Paul Tapner withdrew Short Black before Cross Country and Sam Griffiths had a fall with Angelo. Australia’s woes continued when Christopher Burton, who held the individual lead after Cross Country with a superb performance on Monarch’s Exclusive, dropped to 14th with 17 Jumping penalties.

Alice Naber-Lozeman (NED) was crowned national champion when finishing 19th on ACSI Peter Park, but, sadly, the host nation, Netherlands, had no chance when two team members, Tim Lips and Merel Blom, withdrew.

Great Britain, the only nation to contest all seven legs of the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing 2015, were confirmed winners of this exciting series at Boekelo (NED) today (11 October 2015). (Eventing Photo/FEI)

FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing 2015: the breakdown

Great Britain has been committed to the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing since the concept started in 2012, always drawing from a pool of younger riders who have not had senior team experience. This year, they won at Ballindenisk (IRL) and Strzegom (POL) and were disappointed not to triumph on home ground at Houghton Hall (GBR) where they were beaten by Germany. They were also third at Fontainebleau (FRA) and fourth at Waregem and, by contesting all seven legs this season, were able to discard their eighth place at Aachen (GER) in the final scoresheet.

Germany have been Britain’s great rivals in the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing, topping the leaderboard in 2013 and 2014. They won three times this year, in Houghton Hall, Aachen and Waregem (BEL), but missed Fontainebleau and Ballindenisk and so could not overtake Britain this time.

This is the first year Australia has played such a prominent part in the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing and they have generally drawn on the same quartet of riders for the six events they contested, with their best results being second places at Fontainebleau and Strzegom.

France has been strong in the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing from the start, and heroically made the long journey to Ireland for Ballindenisk. Their best result in five starts was their win on home ground at Fontainebleau. The Netherlands, fifth in the final table, competed at six out of seven events, their best result being a third place at Waregem.

“This was a fantastic finale at Boekelo,” said the FEI’s Eventing Director Catrin Norinder. “The FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing continues to be an excellent series, especially now that so many countries are beginning to realise the benefits it offers in terms of giving championship and team experience to young horses and riders.”

Boekelo Results

1 Ireland 174.9
Jonty Evans/Cooley Rorke’s Drift, 54.5; Joseph Murphy/Westwinds Hercules, 60.1; Cathal Daniels/Rioghan Rua, 60.3 (Padraig McCarthy/Simon Porloe, 65.9)

2 USA 197.0
Buck Davidson/Copper Beach, 67.4; Matthew Brown/Super Socks BCF, 52.6; Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp/HHS Cooley, 77.0; [Marilyn Little/RF Scandalous, WD Jumping]

3 New Zealand
Jonelle Price/Cloud Dancer, 62.9; Jesse Campbell/Kaapachino, 64.5; Tim Price/Xavier Faer, 71.5; (Dan Jocelyn/Dassett Cool Touch, 81.6)

4 France 227.3
Astier Nicolas/Spes Addit d’Or, 54.6; Nicholas Touzaint/Crocket 30, 55.2;Jean-Lou Bigot/Focus, 117.5; (Cedric Lyard/Qatar de Puech Rouget, EL Cross Country)

5 Great Britain, 1,105.2
Dani Evans/Smart Time, 52.4; Izzy Taylor/Briarlands Birdsong, 52.8;
(Nicola Wilson/Kiltealy Brief, EL Cross Country; Emily Parker/Diamond Sundance, WD Cross Country)

6 Germany 1,122.5
Josephine Schaufer/Sambucca 10, 58.9; Anna Siemer/Butts Avondale, 63.6; (Marina Köhncke/Let’s Dance, EL Cross Country; Josefa Sommer/Hamilton 24, EL Cross Country)

7 Australia 1,123.0
Christopher Burton/Monarch’s Exclusive, 58.3; Andrew Hoy/Cheeky Calimbo, 64.7; (Sam Griffiths/Angelo, EL Cross Country; Paul Tapner/Short Black, WD Cross Country)

8 Netherlands 1131.6
Alice Naber-Lozeman/ACIS Peter Parker, 61.8; Andrew Heffernan/Millthyme Corolla, 69.8; (Tim Lips/Brent, WD Cross Country; Merel Blom/Chiccolino, WD Cross Country)

9 Japan 1,135.7
Ryuzo Kitajima/Just Chocolate, 77.6; Yoshi Oiwa/The Duke of Cavan, 58.1; Toshiyuku Tanaka/Ballastar Bay, EL Cross Country

10 Brazil 2,050.8
Gabriel Figueiredo Silva Cury/Grass Valley, 50.8; Ruy Fonseca/Korsica, RET Cross Country; Carlos Paro/Summon Up The Blood, RET Cross Country

FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing 2015 Leaderboard
1 Great Britain 52 points
2 Germany 44
3 Australia 40
4 France 39
5 Netherlands 32
6 Ireland 27
7 Belgium 17
8 New Zealand 17
9 USA 17
10 Sweden 11
11 Spain 6
12= Poland 4
12= Canada 4
13 Japan 2
14 Brazil 0

FEI Classics™: Michael Jung Makes History At Burghley And Ingrid Klimke Wins Series

A huge crowd rose to their feet in appreciation as Michael Jung (GER) and his wonderful horse La Biosthetique Sam jumped the perfect clear round to win the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (GBR), sixth and final leg of the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015.

Jung, who will be defending his European title next weekend, is the first German rider to win a British CCI4*, and he received a great reception from the crowd, who recognised a phenomenal horseman in action and had been surrounding him all weekend asking for ‘selfies’ and autographs.

“To come to Burghley is amazing, to ride the Cross Country was wonderful and to win here at an event which is such a great tradition in the sport is just fantastic. This will be one of the highlights of my life,” said Jung. “I really enjoyed it here and hope I will have horses for it next year.”

This is the 21st international event he has won with the 16-year-old Sam, which he describes as “being like a good friend – every time he gives me 100%.”

One of the all-time greats: Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam, winners of the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (GBR), sixth and final leg of the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015. Jung also finished second in the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015 behind his compatriot Ingrid Klimke. (Trevor Meeks/FEI)

Jung also finished second in the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015 behind his compatriot Ingrid Klimke, who was at Burghley to receive her cheque for $US 40,000 in the main arena.

Jung was under huge pressure coming into the arena as Tim Price (NZL) had conjured a beautiful clear round from the improving Ringwood Sky Boy to finish runner-up behind the German for the second time this year, following Kentucky (USA) in April.

“Sky Boy has been improving and I hoped that would show itself on the flat,” explained Tim. “He has always been a good Cross Country horse but to be still here today, in second place, is wonderful. He is not a natural showjumper but he is learning to try hard at the right moment.”

The talented Christopher Burton (AUS), who has never previously completed Burghley, had a perfect day with two clear rounds to finish third and fourth on TS Jamaimo and Haruzac.

“I haven’t had a very good run here before – I came here as a young rider from Australia in 2004 and fell off at the third fence, so just to see the finish flags was a pretty good feeling,” he said.

Jonelle Price (NZL) slipped from third to fifth when Classic Moet hit the first part of the treble, but clear rounds elevated Sir Mark Todd to sixth on Leonidas ll, Cedric Lyard (FRA) to seventh on Cadeau du Roi, Kristina Cook (Star Witness) to eighth and best British rider, and Sam Griffiths (AUS) and Paulank Brockagh to ninth.

William Fox-Pitt (GBR) had a fence down on Fernhill Pimms but still rose three places to 10th. However, for the first time since the inception of the FEI Classics™ in 2008 he missed out on a cash prize. The Badminton winner finished on the same score, 24 points, as Tim Price, but the New Zealander took precedent in fourth place on the final leaderboard as, according to the rules, he had gained his points at fewer competitions.

Ingrid Klimke (GER) is the first German rider to win the FEI Classics™ since the series began in 2008. She won Pau in 2014 (Horseware Hale Bob) and Luhmühlen (GER) this year on FRH Escada JS, and finished second (on Horseware Hale Bob) at Badminton. (Trevor Meeks/FEI)

How the FEI Classics™ was won

Ingrid Klimke (GER) is the first German rider to win the FEI Classics™ since the series began in 2008. She won Pau in 2014 (Horseware Hale Bob) and Luhmühlen (GER) this year on FRH Escada JS, and finished second (on Horseware Hale Bob) at Badminton.

Michael Jung (GER), second, won Kentucky on FischerRocana FST, and was third at Luhmühlen and first at Burghley on La Biosthetique Sam. Jonelle Price was fourth at Pau and second at Luhmühlen (Faerie Dianimo) and fifth at Burghley (Classic Moet). Her husband Tim was second at Kentucky (Wesko) and second at Burghley (Ringwood Sky Boy).

“I didn’t plan this or expect to win it,” said a delighted Klimke after receiving her cheque. “Now it seems that Germans are able to win CCI4*s! Chris Bartle [our trainer] makes us go all over the world and that gives us confidence. It’s great to win extra money like this, which will go straight back into my horses and therefore into the sport.”

Kate Green

FEI Classics™: Klimke Is Unbeatable At Luhmühlen, Germany

Ingrid Klimke (GER) rode brilliantly to produce a clear round under huge pressure to win her home CCI4* at Luhmühlen (GER), presented by DHL, for the first time and set up an unassailable lead in the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015.

In a thrilling finale, her flawless round on the spring-heeled 11-year-old Hannoverian mare FRH Escada JS denied New Zealander Jonelle Price her first CCI4* victory by just one-tenth of a penalty.

Klimke’s trainer, Kurt Gravemeier, had promised that he would come and help her on the final day if she was in the top three. “So I said to him, fill your car up with gas and come here!” said a smiling Klimke.

“We have trained together for so long and when he said to me: ‘You must go for it!’ I was full of confidence. I’m really thrilled with my fantastic horse. She felt so full of herself today.”

Ingrid Klimke and FRH Escada JS power into the lead after Cross Country at Luhmühlen (GER), fifth leg of the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015. (Hanna Broms/FEI)

When Klimke entered the arena, she could not even afford a single time fault because Price, on her exciting Olympic prospect, the 10-year-old Dressage-bred Faerie Dianimo (by Keystone Dimaggio out of a Catherston Dazzler mare), had ridden a perfect round.

So, too, had Michael Jung (GER) and his wise 15-year-old gelding, La Biosthetique Sam FBW, third, Christopher Burton (AUS) on the rising star Graf Liberty, fourth, and Sir Mark Todd (NZL) with NZB Campino, fifth, which meant that, unusually for this level, there was no change to the top five after Cross Country.

Heiko Wahler’s Jumping course invited forward riding, but there was a tricky treble combination and the time was tight – 12 of the 25 finishers had time faults. Nicky Roncoroni (GBR), lying 17th on Stonedge, was the first to produce a completely penalty-free round and this elevated her to 12th place.

The young New Zealander Jesse Campbell, sixth after Cross Country on Kaapachino, had an unfortunate 21-penalty round which dropped him to 16th place and allowed the American combination of Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen to rise a place to sixth with their clear.

World team bronze medallist Tim Lips (NED) is well known for his prowess in the Jumping ring and a clear on Bayro lifted him five places to seventh. World team gold medallists Dirk Schrade and the aptly named Hop and Skip also rose five places with a fault-free round, to eighth.

Looking towards the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015 finale at Burghley (GBR) in September, Klimke is out in front but her peers, such as second-placed Michael Jung, who has now overtaken four-times series winner William Fox-Pitt, Christopher Burton, Mark Todd and Tim and Jonelle Price, will be in fierce and fascinating competition for the other cash prizes.

Ingrid Klimke (GER) is flawless to win her second CCI4* of the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015 with a confident clear Jumping round on FRH Escada JS at Luhmühlen (GER) presented by DHL. (Eventing Photo/FEI)

Final results

1 Ingrid Klimke/FRH Escada JS (GER) 32.7 + 0 + 0 = 32.7

2 Jonelle Price/Faerie Dianimo (NZL) 32.8 + 0 + 0 = 32.8

3 Michael Jung/La Biosthetique Sam FBW (GER) 34.2 + 0 + 0 = 34.2

4 Christopher Burton/Graf Liberty (AUS) 36.4 + 0 + 0 = 36.4

5 Sir Mark Todd/NZB Campino (NZL) 36.5 + 0 + 0 = 36.5

6 Clark Montgomery/Loughan Glen (USA) 37.1 + 0.4 + 0 = 37.5

7 Tim Lips/Bayro (NED) 40.8 + 2.4 + 0 = 43.2

8 Dirk Schrade/Hop and Skip (GER) 44.4 + 0 + 0 = 44.4

9 Niklas Bschorer/Tom Tom Go 3 (GER) 40.7 + 0 + 4 = 44.7

10 Rebecca Howard/Riddle Master (CAN) 42.5 + 0 + 5 = 47.5

Kate Green