MUNSTER TRIO SHANE BREEN, DENIS LYNCH AND BILLY TWOMEY IN ACTION AT GIJON 5 STAR THIS WEEKEND

WHILE TREVOR BREEN AND SHANE SWEETNAM PART OF IRISH SQUAD FOR SPRUCE MEADOWS NATIONS CUP NEXT WEEK

TEAM IRELAND EQUESTRIAN
 
WHO’S COMPETING
 
This Weekend – September 2nd – 7th

 
JUMPING: GIJON SPAIN – 5 Star Nations Cup
Nations Cup: Friday 13:30 GMT
Grand Prix: Sunday 15:30 GMT
Shane Breen with Carmena Z, World Cruise and Dorada; Dermott Lennon with Hallmark Elite, Turboko and Vampire; Captain David O’Brien with Kiltoom, Mo Chroi and Annestown; Cian O’Connor with Splendor, K Club Lady and Sebo.
Individual: Billy Twomey with Wild Thing L, Tackeray and Cavinem; Denis Lynch with Abberuail Van Het Dingeshof, Nabab’s Son and Tarpan.
 
PARA EQUESTRIAN DRIVING: BREDA NETHERLANDS - WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
James McCrae with Fruitvale Captain Morgan.
 
EVENTING: BURGHLEY GREAT BRITAIN – 4 Star
Captain Geoff Curran with The Jump Jet; Louise Lyons with Murphy’s Miracle; Sarah Wardell with Killeenduff Boy.
 
JUMPING: BRIDGEHAMPTON NEW YORK USA – 4 Star
Darragh Kenny with Obelix and Gael Force; Shane Sweetnam with Amaretto Darco and Rolette; Darragh Kerins with Lisona.
 
 
Next Weekend – September 9th – 14th 
 
JUMPING: SPRUCE MEADOWS CANADA – 5 Star
Nations Cup: Saturday
Grand Prix: Sunday
Trevor Breen with Adventure De Kannan; Nicola Fitzgibbon with Puissance; David Quigley with Ulot and Valetto JX;  Shane Sweetnam with Amaretto Darco and Traffic Boy.
Individual: Jennifer Crooks with SF Tin Tin, SF Sadin and SF Uryadi.
 
JUMPING: MADRID SPAIN – 5 Star
Grand Prix: Saturday 15:30 GMT
Shane Breen with Dorada, Carmena Z and World Cruise; Dermott Lennon with Hallmark Elite, Tolett and Valent; Cian O’Connor with K Club Lady, Sebo and Noctumble Courcelle; Captain David O’Brien with Kiltoom, Mo Chroi and Annestown.
 
EVENTING: BLENHEIM PALACE GREAT BRITAIN – 3 Star
CIC3*: Aoife Clarke with Valiance; Ciaran Glynn with Killossery Harvey and Don’t Tell Punch; Steven Smith with Robo Paddy; Suzanne Jordan with Carneyhaugh Conquistador; Sacha Pemble with Cleopatra.
CCI3*: Susan Shortt with Imperative; Aoife Clarke with Vaguely North and Master Crusoe; Philippa Peters with Upward Trend; Katie O’Sullivan with Shannondale Que; Jum Newsam with Laras Song; Ciaran Glynn with Killossery Kruisita; Jayne Doherty with The Only One; Michael Ryan with Old Road and Ballylynch Skyport; Melanie Ashe with Rathmolyon Flight.
 
JUMPING: PADERBORN GERMANY – 4 Star
Grand Prix: Sunday 11:00 GMT
Denis Lynch with Abbervail Van Het Dingeshof, All Star 5, Lacroix 9 and Lantinus 3.
 
JUMPING: HUMLIKON SWITZERLAND – 3 Star
Grand Prix: Sunday 13:30 GMT
Jessica Kuerten with Castle Forbes Vivaldo Van Het Costerveld, Miribel D’Auvray and API Largo.
 
JUMPING: PINEROLO ITALY – 2 Star
Grand Prix: Sunday
Thomas Ryan with Zingaro Z, Cruise On Clover and Lena 370.
 
JUMPING: HULSTERLO BELGIUM – 2 Star
Grand Prix: Sunday
Cameron Hanley with Complete, Bordeaux VDL, Callahan VDL and Zavall VDL.
 
 

 Meanwhile there are now three Munster born riders in the world's top fifty. Denis Lynch is ranked 13th, Billy Twomey 25th while Shane Breen has jumped to 45th. Cian O Connor 37th and Jessica Kurten 8th mean Ireland now has five riders in the top fifty. 

SHOWJUMPING LEGEND OKI DOKI PASSES AWAY

The owner of showjumping horse Oki Doki has announced the passing of his much
loved steed.

The bay 14 year old Dutch bred gelding injured a tendon while competing in
Cannes in June this year. The horse subsequently underwent surgery and
recovered well. Oki Doki was on post operative medication, following
standard procedure, but last night developed complications.

He was placed immediately under veterinary monitoring and was then
transported to Bern Clinic by the veterinary team who never left his side.
Despite the best possible veterinary care, tragically Oki Doki died due to
septic shock in the abdomen.

Oki Doki was a celebrity in the showjumping community and loved by people
all over the world, but most of all by his owner and former owner/rider
Albert Zoer, whom have been working together since ownership of the horse
changed.

 JOAN GREENE AND THOLM KEANE MAKE NATIONS CUP DEBUT

THREE MUNSTER RIDERS NAMED AS

HORSE SPORT IRELAND CONFIRMS SQUADS FOR FINLAND AND NORWAY NATIONS CUPS

HORSE Sport Ireland has confirmed the squads that will represent Ireland in the Nations' Cup of Finland and Norway.

These Nations' Cups are not part of the Meydan Superleague and of the squad of five riders heading to Norway, four will all be making their
Nations' Cup debuts - if selected as one of the four riders to jump in the competition.

The Nations' Cup of Finland tales place next weekend (June 20) in Ypaja while the Nations' Cup of Norway is the following weekend in Drammen.

A squad of five riders will travel from Ireland to Ypaja and these will be joined in Drammen the following week by Danish-based Shane Carey, who is currently on a year's leave of absence from the Army.

The Squad in full is:

Alexander Butler; Will Wimble (owner Harold McGahern)
Joan Greene; Biscaya d’Eversam (owner Tim O’Shea)
Tholm Keane; Warrenstown You 2 (owner Ronan Tynan)
Edward Lyttle; Kalvinretto (owner David Prentice)
Paddy O’ Donnell; Harristown Princess (owner Thomas Power)

Drammen Only
Shane Carey; Lancero (owner Steen Bundgaard)

The Chef d’Equipe will be Paraic Geragthy.

 MUNSTER PAIR SET FOR ST GALLEN AS

BREEN BACK IN IRISH SQUAD FOR SWISS NATIONS' CUP- TWOMEY RETAINS PLACE

TIPPERARY'S Shane Breen returns to the Irish squad for the Nations' Cup of Switzerland this week after a one-show break, riding Carmel Ryan's talented Irish stallion 'Carmena Z'.

Breen replaces Cameron Hanley, who has competed at the last two Meydan Superleague Nations' Cup fixtures - in Rome, Italy and La Baule, France.

The squad for St. Gallen in Switzerland, in alphabetical order, is:

Shane Breen (Tipperary); Carmena Z
Darragh Kenny (Offaly); Obelix
Capt. David O’Brien (Westmeath); Mo Chroi or Kiltoom
Cian O’Connor (Meath); K. Club Lady
Billy Twomey (Cork); Tinka's Serenade or Je t'Aime Flamenco

Team Ireland Equestrian's show jumping manager Robert Splaine said today (Tuesday): "Shane had a great start to the Nations' Cup season with a double clear round in the opening Meydan competition at La Baule. He returns to the squad this week with 'Carmena Z'. Cameron Hanley excelled in the last two Meydan competitions, and is now due a break, but the rest of the squad is the same as the one we fielded for Rome last week, where Ireland finished joint third.

"Billy Twomey and Cian O'Connor were exceptional in Rome, and Darragh Kenny has made a significant contribution to the last two Cups. This is Darragh's last outing before returning to the United States, where he is based. Capt. David O'Brien, who was fifth man at Rome, remains on the squad for St. Gallen."

The Swiss Nations' Cup takes place in St. Gallen on Friday (June 4), and is the third of the 2010 Meydan Superleague series, which features the world's ten best teams competing at the world's top eight show jumping venues, and which concludes at the Dublin Horse Show in August. Ireland is current sixth in the league table after finishing joint third last week at Rome.

THREE MUNSTER RIDERS NAMED ON LISBON NATIONS CUP TEAM

 IRELAND'S SQUAD FOR SECOND ROUND OF MEYDAN SUPER LEAGUE AT ROME ALSO ANNOUNCED

THE FIVE-strong Irish squad who will travel to Rome next week for the second leg of the Meydan Super League has been announced by Team Ireland Equestrian's show jumping manager Robert Splaine.

The squad, in alphabetical order, is:
Cameron Hanley (Mayo)
Darragh Kenny (Offaly)
Capt. David O’Brien (Westmeath)
Cian O’Connor (Meath)
Billy Twomey (Cork)

The five-star Rome show comes just two weeks after Ireland finished sixth of the world's top ten teams in the opening leg at La Baule, France, and the squad for Italy features two of those riders - Mayo's Cameron Hanley and Offaly's Darragh Kenny.

Splaine has drafted in Capt. David O'Brien, Cian O'Connor and Billy Twomey for Rome, and four of the five riders will be selected for the two-round Nations' Cup clash which takes place on Friday afternoon, May 28.

Splaine said today (Thursday): "Eleven teams will line out in Rome, with the home team, who were relegated last year, joining the other ten. This makes the challenge even more difficult as Italy won the promotional league Nations' Cup in Athens last week, and also won in Dublin last year. They are also on home turf with a lot to fight for. And I know other nations have made changes to their teams from La Baule. This will be a big challenge."

He added: “I have decided to keep Shane Breen and his horse Carmena Z until St Gallen because I want to pace this combination. Their results have been impeccable, but the year is a long one, and we have already pencilled in other shows where their presence would be required.

"Niall Talbot's horse got injured at La Baule and Shane Sweetnam is going to the Nations' Cup in Lisbon with Zamiro. It is good that I can call on such experienced riders as Billy, Cian and David and I am looking forward to seeing them in action,” he said.

The 2010 Meydan Series runs through eight competitions at the world's top show jumping venues and finishes at the Dublin Horse Show in August, when the four lowest-scoring teams will be relegated to the Promotional Nations' Cup league.

Splaine also confirmed his squad for the Nations' Cup in Lisbon on Sunday May 30th as:Tipperary brothers Shane Breen and Trevor Breen, Dave Quigley and Cork's Shane Sweetnam.

“Lisbon is not part of the Super League so it gives us an opportunity to look at some new combinations at this level,” he said.

The squads, including horses, are:

ROME
Cameron Hanley: Southwind VDL
Darragh Kenny: Obelix
Capt. David O’Brien: Mo Chroi
Cian O’Connor: K Club Lady
Billy Twomey: Tinka's Serenade

LISBON
Shane Breen: Mullaghdrin Gold Rain
Trevor Breen: Adventure de Kannan
Dave Quigley: Ulot
Shane Sweetnam: Zamiro

GLOBAL CHAMPIONS TOUR OF GERMANY 2010
 
Hamburg (13/05/10)
 

Tipp's Denis Lynch wins Mercedes Benz Championship

 Photo: Karl-Heinz Frieler

The first day of the Global Champions Tour of Germany  opened in rather damp fashion but the jumping was exciting enough to brighten an otherwise grey day. The Mercedes Benz Championship of Hamburg was won last year by Meredith Michaels Beerbaum after a tough jump off but this year it looked for a long time as if there was not going to be a jump off at all. Leon Thijssen  was second to go on Who Cares, and left all the rails intact over Frank Rotherberger's course scoring only a time fault (which was later removed by the judges after they reassessed the time allowed). He remain the only clear for another 15 horses before Britain's Ellen Whitaker joined him. In the end there were nine through to the timed round including riders from Germany, Ireland, Great Britain  and the Netherlands. Meredith's chance of a repeat ended with two refusals on Checkmate.   
 This class had the added bonus of being the one which decided four wild card entries for the GCT Grand Prix so there was not just a new car to play for. However the jump off started with drama when Leon Thijssen's horse stopped and Ellen Whitaker's Equimax Ocalado slipped before the second last nad nearly came down. However fourth to go Nick Skelton on Carlo finally set a standard without penalty when clear in 44.9. But his lead did not last long, Denis Lynch had been in good form in Valencia with several placed rides and he powered into the lead with 44.36 on Nabab's Son. There were only two left to go after him and Estoril  GP winners Leopold Van Asten and VDL Groep Santana B tipped an oxer and then German Holger Wulschner was  not quite quick enough on Cefalo. So the man who finished GCT Valencia with a second place, started Hamburg by going one better and getting a new car as well!
 
Quotes
Denis Lynch-”To be honest I wasn't really pushing it particularly. I had a good shot to the first three and that is probably where I made up the time. I didnt think the arena was especially wet. I will do Turin next week on this horse and then probably think about saving him a little in case I need to take him to WEG. Latinus is my first choice for that at the moment but anything could happen before then.”
 
Max Kuhner- “There had only been one clear before me so I thought I would ride for a steadier clear and make sure of a good placing as I had not had the best feel from my horse in the first round so it was a better choice not to push it.”
 
Result- Mercedes Benz Championship of Hamburg
1.   Denis Lynch (IRE) Nabab's Son, 0,0, 44.36, Mercedes Benz
2.   Nick Skelton (GBR) Carlo, 0,0, 44.99, Euro 6000
3.   Max Kuhner (GER) Coeur de Lion, 0,0, 46.77, Euro 4500
4.   Holger Wulschner (GER), Cefalo, 0,0, 47.13, Euro 3750
 
Qualified for GCT Grand Prix of Germany
1.   Holger Wulscher
2.   Ellen Whitaker
3.   Johannes Ehning
4. Karl Brocks
 
 
The Global Champions Tour of Germany Grand Prix will be broadcast as follows:
NDR (Germany) Saturday 15 May from 15:00 to 17:00 and
Eurosport Saturday 15 May from 20:00 to 21:30
 

 MUNSTER TRIO HELP IRELAND CLAIM FAMOUS NATIONS CUP WIN IN BELGUIM

Equestrian sports on this Island received a huge early season boost yesterday, (Friday) when the Irish team beat off the challenge of 13 other top ranked countries to win the Belgian Nations Cup at Lummen.
 
At the halfway stage, Australia and Ireland were tied for the lead and the two could not be separated after the second round with Cork's Billy Twomey, Tipperary town's Denis Lynch and Cashel's Shane Breen all jumped double clear rounds to leave the Irish tied for the lead with the Austrailian's.
 
 After a late call up, Shane Breen was riding the Waterford owned stallion '' Carmena Z'', who produced an impeccable performance for owners Carmel and Dermott Ryan from Grange Park Road in Waterford City, and now looks set for a busy season with the Irish team.
 
 
 In a two way jump off against the clock to decide the winners, Cork's Billy Twomey and 'Tinka's Serenade' produced a fault-free round against Australia's four-faulting Chris Chugg and 'Vivant' to snatch a famous Nations Cup victory for Ireland
Afterwards Ireland's Show Jumping Team Manager Robert Splaine said: "This was a top display from our riders, and to finish on a zero score was a great achievement. It was a tough competition, and the Australians fielded a very strong team. We were here to try out some new horses with the Meydan Series in mind, and the exercise was highly successful from that point of view."
SHOW JUMPING RESULTS: CSI2*/4* LUMMEN BELGIUM APRIL 29 - MAY 2 2010
FEI Nations Cup of Belgium
International Jumping Competition
Table A 1m50 - 2 rounds
FEI 264
1) IRELAND 0 faults
Denis Lynch; Abbervail van het Dingeshof 0/0
Alex Duffy; Tampa 22/-
Shane Breen; Carmena Z 0/0
Billy Twomey; Tinka's Serenade 0/0/0
2) AUSTRALIA 4 faults
3) NORWAY 8 faults
4) FRANCE 12 faults
5) GERMANY 16 faults
6) SWEDEN 32 faults
7) GREAT BRITAIN 35 faults
8) BELGIUM 16/Elim
13 nations competed

PADDY O'DONNELL TAKES FIFTH IN MODENA JUMP-OFF

SHOW JUMPING RESULTS: CSI3* MODENA ITALY APRIL 22-25 2010

International Jumping Competition
Table A With One Jump Off
FEI 238.2.2
1m45
Saturday, 24 April 2010

1) GRATINA CH; NATALE CHIAUDANI (ITA) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 39.52
2) ULTIMATE; AUGUSTO DA RIOS DANIELE (ITA) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 41.75
3) BREEZER; FILIPPO CODECASA (ITA) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 41.83

5) HARRISTOWN PRINCESS (ISH); PADDY O'DONNELL (IRL) Faults 0.00/4.00 Time 38.86

 SHANE BREEN SEVENTH IN FRENCH JUMP-OFF

SHOW JUMPING RESULTS: CSI3* HARDELOT FRANCE APRIL 22-25 2010

CONSEIL REGIONAL Prize
International Jumping Competition
Table A With One Jump Off
FEI 238.2.2
1m40
Saturday, 24 April 2010

1) JUMPER PALUELLE; REYNALD ANGOT (FRA) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 31.93
2) UTAH; PHILIPPA DOBBY (GBR) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 31.96
3) GOODMANS FOR FUN II; JO PAY (GBR) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 32.06

7) CAMBLIN (ISH); SHANE BREEN (IRL) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 34.45

MARCUS EHNING WINS WORLD CUP FINAL

DERMOTT LENNON CLIMBS TO 5TH OVERALL

Click the links below to listen to latest audio interviews.

Marcus Ehning  http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/RGE_Ehning_end.mp3
Ludger Beerbaum http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/RGE%20Ludger%20Beerbaum.mp3
Dermot Lennon http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/RGE_Dermot_lennon.mp3
Chris Chugg http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/RGE_Chugg_end.mp3

BIRTHDAY-BOY EHNING TAKES HIS THIRD ROLEX TITLE

Germany's Marcus Ehning will celebrate his 36th birthday tomorrow as the newly-crowned 2010 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping champion.  In the Palexpo arena in Geneva, Switzerland this afternoon he kept the coolest head despite an early mistake and won through when those ahead of him faltered.  This was his third time to take the prestigious Rolex title and he said "it's really unbelievable - I thought I was too far behind going into the last round but this is how it works out - I am so happy!"

Germany dominated the winners podium when Ludger Beerbaum produced one of just four double-clear performances in today's competition to finish runner-up ahead of Switzerland's Pius Schwizer in third.  And the thrilling class highlighted some great characters and new arrivals, but shattered the dream of America's Mario Deslauriers who it seemed was about to re-take the title he first claimed 26 years ago in Gothenburg, only to see it slip from his grasp in the fading moments.

CLASSIC TESTS
Course designer Rolf Ludi presented two more classic tests, but only seven of the 29 starters got it right in the first round and when Deslauriers and his brilliant nine year old Dutch gelding Urico were amongst them it further bolstered their position at the top of the leaderboard after the first two legs.  The flimsy planks at fence four, the vertical following a tight left-hand bend at seven and the water-tray oxer at fence 10, ridden on a three-stride distance from the previous 1.60m FEI vertical, proved the bogeys here but when Ehning's Plot Blue clipped the very last - a wall with beautifully-carved Swiss cows decorating the top of it - then it seemed his chances were scuppered.  With only four points separating the top four riders going into the final day every mistake was critical, but third-placed Schwizer lowered the bogey planks while fourth-placed Patrice Deleveau of France kicked out the oxer at fence two, so Ehning only slipped one place to third at the end of the opening round of jumping.

Ahead of him now was Portugal's Luciana Diniz who set the opening competition alight with a super speed round from Winningmood last Thursday and whose grey stallion showed fantastic form again today when effortlessly clearing the first-round track to rocket up the order.  She was lying five points off Deslauriers' lead as the second round began over a completely new course, with Ehning in third, and Schwizer sharing fourth with Beerbaum whose mare, Gotha, made it all look elementary first time out. 

LEVEL PEGGING
It fell apart for Deleveau when Katchina Mail had two down over the final track,  but clears from both Beerbaum's Gotha and Schwizer's Carlina, who is also only a nine year old, left them on level pegging and piled the pressure on the remaining three.

Ehning's 13 year old stallion was rock solid this time out however and when they crossed the line with nothing to add they threw down the gauntlet for the top two.   Diniz had little room for error with only a single-point advantage over the German two-time World Cup title-holder and although she survived a good rattle at the opening vertical her luck ran out when Winningmood hit the vertical at fence 10, just two from home.  Like Diniz, who changed from Brazilian nationality to ride for Portugal in recent years, Deslauriers recently opted to ride for the USA instead of his native Canada. And the 45 year old rider was hoping to bring home the coveted Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping title to the US for the first time in 22 years.  But the nine year old Urico, who had been so consistent all week, seemed to lose his rhythm halfway round the track and three fences down dashed the dream of reclaiming the title he previously won a full 26 years ago.  In the final analysis he had to settle for sixth place while Dermott Lennon enjoyed a meteoric rise up the leaderboard from joint-14th to finish fifth after two stunning round with Hallmark Elite who seems set to return the quiet Irishman to the top end of the sport after a long absence since his World Championship title win eight years ago.

Diniz slotted into fourth behind Schwizer in third and Beerbaum in second place.  The champion's glory all belonged to Ehning once again.

MOTIVATED
"After the first round I thought it was all over" he said afterwards, "but I motivated myself again and decided to fight back.  I would have been very happy to have finished second and I feel very sorry for Mario who had such a great show" he added graciously.  Ehning is the first-ever rider to win the World Cup title having jumped two different horses - Noltes Kuchengirl jumping in the first day's speed class and Plot Blue completing the job on Friday and again today. 

Ludger Beerbaum was well-pleased with his result with Gotha, a daughter of Goldfever, and he too was pleasantly surprised when finding himself so high up the order.  "I was hoping for a top-five place, so this is fantastic" he said.  And he was highly complimentary of Rolf Ludi's course-design skills.  "It is a difficult job when you have so many good riders and horses - when you try to challenge them things can easily go wrong but he got the balance right with nice courses, some new obstacles and plenty of drama right to the end - it was a perfect result" he pointed out.

This 32nd Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping final put the spotlight on many great characters of the sport including 46 year old Chris Chugg of Australia who, despite lying 267th in the world rankings, produced a series of brilliant performances from his 11 year old stallion Vivant and who was a crowd-pleaser every time he came in the ring.  Deslauriers too won his way into the hearts of the Swiss spectators who enjoyed a feast of fabulous jumping over the last five days but the star today was Ehning who now joins Austria's Hugo Simon, Brazil's Rodrigo Pessoa and fellow-German Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum as a three-time World Cup champion. 

Result: (After three legs of final): 1, Noltes Kuchengirl/Plot Blue (Marcus Ehning) Ger 6; Equal 2, Gotha (Ludger Beerbaum) Ger, Carlina/Ulysse (Pius Schwizer) Sui 7; 4, Winningmood (Luciana Diniz) Por 9; 5, Hallmark Elite (Dermott Lennon) Irl 10; 6, Urico (Mario Deslauriers) USA 13; Equal 7, Silvana (Kevin Staut) Fra, Cristallo (Richard Spooner) USA, Vivant (Chris Chugg) Aus 14; 10, Quintero la Silla (Rolf-Goran Bengtsson) Swe 15.  Full results at www.scg-nl.nl

DERMOTT LENNON THROUGH TO LAST LEG OF ROLEX WORLD CUP FINAL

Forty year-old Co. Down rider Dermott Lennon will be the sole Irish representative in Sunday's third leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup Final, when the top 28 riders now qualified at Geneva, Switzerland bid for the World Cup trophy.

Lennon dislodged a single pole in tonight's (Friday) jump-off class with Woods Rosbotham's gelding 'Hallmark Elite' and was therefore not in contention for the second round, which featured just nine riders from a starting list of 42. Now carrying 13 faults in total from the first two competitions, he will line out shortly before 1pm on Sunday at the Palexpo arena in an attempt to be one of the 15 riders who will go through to the second and final round of the last World Cup competition.

Offaly's Darragh Kenny, Ireland's only other competitor at Geneva, went out of the competition tonight when he had two fences down with 'Obelix' in the first round, not making the cut for either the jump-off or Sunday's final leg.

SHOW JUMPING RESULTS: CSI5*-W ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP FINAL GENEVA SWITZERLAND APRIL 15-18, 2010

Rolex FEI World Cup™ Final II
Second part of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Final
Table A 1m60 not against the clock with one jump-off
FEI Art. 238.1.2, 659.1.2.3
Friday April 16, 2010

1) Tresor V; Steve  Guerdat (SUI) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 36.12
2) Sapphire; McLain  Ward (USA) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 37.13
3) Urico; Mario  Deslauriers (USA) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 37.50

=12 of 12) Hallmark Elite; Dermott  Lennon (IRL) Faults 4.00/- Time 73.69
=26 of 5) Obelix; Darragh  Kenny (IRL) Faults 8.00/- Time 71.49

42 starters

SHOW JUMPING - LENNON BEST OF IRISH IN FIRST ROUND OF WORLD CUP FINAL

BANBRIDGE-born Dermott Lennon was best of the Irish after the first round of the Rolex FEI World Cup Final in Geneva, Switzerland last night (Thursday), finishing on a clear round in 13th place with Woods Rosbotham's talented gelding 'Hallmark Elite'.

Offaly's 22 year-old Darragh Kenny had two fences down in the class with Trade Winds Farm's bay gelding 'Obelix', and completed the competition in 28th place.

The competition's first prize of 25,300 euro was won by the USA's Rich Fellers and the Irish-bred stallion 'Flexible'.(pictured)

The world's best riders now move on to Friday night's second leg of the Final, carrying forward tonight's points, and the best 30 will then go through to the first round of Sunday's final competition, with the top 15 then battling it out for the World Cup trophy in the second round.

Though top of the European World Cup rankings, Ireland's Jessica Kurten was forced to withdraw from the Final in Geneva due to injuries sustained in a fall at her yard in Germany on Friday.

Ireland has never won the World Cup Final, though Eddie Macken finished equal third in 1979, Trevor Coyle took second place in 1999, with Kurten also taking the runner-up place in 2006.

The 43 finalists in Geneva are the top qualifiers from 121 competitions held around the globe during the last year.

SHOW JUMPING RESULTS: CSI5*-W ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP FINAL GENEVA SWITZERLAND APRIL 15-18, 2010
 
Rolex FEI World Cup™ Final I
First part of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Final
Table C 1m50 run over a Table A course
 FEI Art. 239 & 263, 659.1.2.2
Thursday April 15, 2010
 
1) Flexible (ISH); Rich  Fellers (USA) Time 70.63
2) Sapphire; McLain  Ward (USA) Time 71.13
3) Let's Fly; Rodrigo  Pessoa (BRA) Time 72.36
13) Hallmark Elite; Dermott  Lennon (IRL) Time 75.73
28) Obelix; Darragh  Kenny (IRL) Time 82.23
43 starters
 

ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING FINAL 2009/2010
Geneva (SUI), 13 April 2010

 
Watch the Excitement Unfold on FEI TV
The provisional FEI TV broadcasting schedule from the Palexpo Arena in Geneva is as follows:
Thursday 15 April 2010      -           19.10 to 21.15 CEST, Rolex FEI World Cup™ Final, Jumping
Friday 16 April 2010          -           19.10 to 21.45 CEST, Rolex FEI World Cup™ Final, Jumping
Saturday 17 April 2010      -           22.10 to 23.15 CEST, FEI World Cup™ Final, Driving
Sunday 18 April 2010        -           13.25 to 16.45 CEST, Rolex FEI World Cup™, Jumping
 

FASCINATING FINALE AT GLORIOUS GENEVA

The 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping final, which kicks off with preliminary classes at the Palexpo Arena in Geneva tomorrow (Wednesday), has been blown wide open by the late withdrawal of Ireland's Jessica Kuerten. When three-times champion Germany's Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, who gave birth to her first baby just six weeks ago, confirmed last week that she will not defend the title, then Kuerten's position as long-time favourite was further strengthened.  But the Irish rider who topped the Western European League qualifying series by a considerable margin is counting her lucky stars that the helmet she was wearing when she took a nasty fall while training a young horse last Friday did its job. It was completely crushed as it protected her from a serious head injury, and although she was hospitalised and doesn't feel well enough to compete this week Kuerten said yesterday that she will be back in action very soon.

SERIOUS CONTENDER
Kuerten had already decided that she would not bring her sensational mare, Castle Forbes Libertina, to Geneva so whether she would in fact have been a serious contender is a matter of conjecture.  In her absence however the spotlight moves across the vast field of talent that has emerged from the 13 leagues all around the world during the qualifying season - some young and relatively inexperienced, some considerably older and with a lot more mileage on the clock, but all dreaming the dream of holding that coveted trophy aloft, and many with an interesting story to tell.

Marcus Ehning's recent victory in the Grand Prix in Paris will have put the German star in the right frame of mind.  He claimed the Rolex FEI World Cup™ trophy with Anka in Las Vegas in 2003 and again with Sandro Boy in Kuala Lumpur in 2006 and he's hungry to do it all again.  It is 17 years since his German team-mate Ludger Beerbaum won the title riding the great Ratina Z but Ludger's latest lady, the lovely 10 year old mare Gotha, is really coming into her own this season and should prove a valuable asset to his week's work.  Four years ago it was Switzerland's Beat Mandli who headed the line-up with Ideo du Thot in Las Vegas but, on home turf and following a sensational run of consistent form, it is the man who stands top of the Rolex World Rankings for the third consecutive month, Pius Schwizer, who may prove the one to beat.

CHARM AND SUBSTANCE
Schwizer is no shrinking violet as anyone who has ridden against him in a jump-off can confirm, but this is a man of charm and substance.  He is firmly rooted in the Swiss soil where he used to work with his father, Leo, on the family pig-farm in his younger years - training as a butcher and living a lifestyle far from the glamorous world in which he competes today.  His grounded attitude and lively sense of humour are powerful tools for the 47 year old who put his country on the road to that historic victory at last summer's Alltech FEI European Championships in Windsor. And the Swiss challenge is firmly backed up by Steve Guerdat, while both Niklaus Schurtenberger and Jane Richard who have received wild-card entries.  Richard could hardly believe her luck when she got the late call-up last Wednesday.  "It was my birthday" said the Italian-based rider who had just turned 27, "and I couldn't have had a better present!"

France will be represented by reigning European Champion Kevin Staut, Patrice Deleveau and the exciting Penelope Leprevost while the enigmatic Natale Chiaudani lines out for Italy.  Swedish chances have been bolstered by the late addition of Olympic silver medallist Rolf-Goran Bengtsson, winner of the last Western European qualifying leg in s'Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands last month who will join that other cool customer Svante Johansson to fly their national flag, while Michael Whitaker is Britain's sole representative.

BEST SHOT
The Irish were more than pleased when qualifying three riders for the final for the very first time and the remaining two will be giving it their best shot.  Dermott Lennon, who claimed the individual title at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain in 2002 has returned to centre stage as his partnership with Hallmark Elite has matured and their third-place finish at the penultimate qualifier in Gothenburg last month suggests they are "in the zone".  The surprise package however is 22 year old Darragh Kenny who has been taking the US circuit by storm.  The Irish lad's undeniable talent has blossomed under the expert guidance of trainers and horse producers Missy Clarke and John Brennan of North Run Farm in Vermont where he has been based since last year, and he has done extraordinarily well to earn his passage in the company of America's best. 

Double Olympic gold medallist McLain Ward brings the brilliant Sapphire with which he finished runner-up at last year's Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping final, and the fascinating US contingent also includes the "Master of Faster" Richard Spooner, 2008 runner-up Rich Fellers, Hillary Dobbs with the little 15.3hh Quincy B and the versatile Joe Gatlin.  She is as accomplished in the US hunter arenas as she is in the jumping ring, and she can turn her hand to a bit of stunt riding if required as she regularly works in the movie business with her father, Jerry, who is a stunt-coordinator.  Most fascinating of all perhaps is the presence of 45 year old Mario Deslauriers who was only 19 when he won the World Cup title with Aramis in Gothenburg in 1984.  He was competing for Canada then, but last year took up American citizenship and it will be quite something if he is in the shake-up next Sunday - 26 years after his first triumph.

CUT SHORT
Russia, Estonia, Venezuela, Lithuania, Portugal, Australia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mexico, The Netherlands and Canada will all be sending out riders but the Brazilian contingent has been cut short by the tragic loss of Yuri Mansur's Ideal de Balia which died last week following a colic operation.  The 30 year old rider from Sao Paolo learned his trade while working as a groom with Ludo Philippaerts in Belgium and, having finished second in the South American league, was relishing the thought of competing in the same ring as so many of his heroes this week, but fate has intervened to shatter that dream.  As former Swiss champion Markus Fuchs once said however, true champions are the ones who get back on their feet as soon as they fall to the ground, and Yuri intends to line out with his other horses in the ancillary competitions.  Carrying Brazilian hopes alone therefore is the only man who has ever won three consecutive finals - Rodrigo Pessoa who, with the great Baloubet du Rouet, was unbeatable between 1998 and 2000.

The stage is set.  Let the battle begin......

KURTEN WITHDRAWS FROM WORLD CUP FINAL AFTER FALL

IRELAND'S Jessica Kurten will not now be competing in the Rolex FEI World Cup Final in Geneva, Switzerland this weekend, following a fall from a horse at her yard in Germany at the end of last week.

The rider was hospitalised on Friday (April 9) and was released over the weekend, but she will be unable to compete at Geneva.

She said today: "I am very sore at present and while I expect to be back competing shortly, the Final is just too soon. While I'm obviously disappointed I feel a little lucky, because if it wasnt for my riding helmet things would have been a lot worse."

Kurten was joint fourth in the World Cup Final at Gothenburg in 2008, and runner-up in 2006 at Kuala Lumpur.

Ireland, however, will still be represented at the 2010 Final in Geneva by two riders - Dermott Lennon from Co. Down, and Darragh Kenny from Co. Offaly. The first round of World Cup jumping begins on Thursday evening (April 15) and finishes on Sunday.

FEI TO FREEZE ROLEX RANKINGS POINTS FOR RIDERS ON MATERNITY LEAVE
 
The FEI is to freeze the Rolex Rankings points for Jumping riders on maternity leave, starting with the April Rankings issued today. Under the new system, female riders will now lose only 50% of their Rolex Rankings points during their absence from competition while on maternity leave.
 
The new ruling means that former world number one Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (pictured)  moves up from 31st on the March Rolex Rankings to 20th following the reinstatement of 50% of her points. The German rider, who gave birth to her first child Brianne Victoria Beerbaum on 27 February, has announced that she will not be defending her Rolex FEI World Cup™ title in Geneva next week.
 
“This is great news for all female Jumping riders”, Meredith said today. “It means that we can take time out from competition to have a baby and not lose all our Rolex Rankings points while we’re off the circuit. It’s a really proactive move by the FEI and as far as I know they are the first international governing body to do something like this.”
 
Meredith, who is a Rolex Testimonee, had her last international outing at the CSIO Spruce Meadows Masters in September 2009. She is planning a return to international competition at Hagen in Germany at the end of this month.
 
The Rolex green and gold armband, which is worn by the leading rider in the Rolex Rankings, remains with Switzerland’s Pius Schwizer, who retains his world number one spot for the third consecutive month.

GREAT BRITAIN BACK IN SHOW JUMPING'S TOP DIVISION AS 

ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING 2009/2010  
's-Hertogenbosch (NED) 28 March 2010

IRELAND'S KURTEN FINISHES RUNNER UP AS
BENGTSSON BAGS THE HONOURS IN THE LAST QUALIFIER AT 'S-HERTOGENBOSCH

Sweden's Rolf-Goran Bengtsson scorched to victory in the last qualifying leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping series at 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands today when pipping Ireland's Jessica Kuerten by the smallest of margins.  In a thrilling 16-horse jump-off that kept spectators rooted to their seats it was Kuerten who seemed to have set an impossibly fast target for the rest when eighth to go against the clock.  But the coolest of cool Swedes cruised home to shave one-tenth of a second off her time when last to go with his 11 year old stallion Casall la Silla.

Australia's Edwina Alexander and Cevo Itot du Chateau slotted into third ahead of Ludger Beerbaum and Gotha in fourth while fifth place went to The Netherlands' Piet Raijmakers Jnr. whose father, Piet Senior, officially retired from international competition today and was honoured in an emotional ceremony after the World Cup class concluded.  In front of the packed stadium British legend John Whitaker told Raijmakers Senior "you were a very hard man to beat and you never gave up - until now!" whlle the Dutch veteran commented that "my riding career been a beautiful holiday for the last 35 years - now I must actually go to work!".


The 13-fence course designed by Holland's Louis Konickx proved a little too jumpable and allowed 16 through to the second-round jump-off which consequently turned into a relentless gallop against the clock.  But if there is one partnership that gets high on speed it's Jessica Kuerten and Lady Georgina Forbes' brilliant mare Castle Forbes Libertina who set off at a break-neck pace when eighth to go against the clock, and they shattered the target of 35.06 seconds set by Raijmakers Jnr when breaking the beam in 32.60 seconds. Germany's Marcus Ehning and Noltes Kuchengirl hit the very last fence while French rider Penelope Leprevost and Mylord Carthago hit the penultimate oxer, but Edwina Alexander and Itot du Chateau were foot-perfect to temporarily slot into runner-up spot - the size of the jump produced by this spring-heeled little chestnut at the final oxer drawing gasps of excitement from the crowd.

Ben Maher's chances disappeared when Robin Hood clipped the second fence while Dutchman Harrie Smolders and Exquis Powerfree clipped the first element of the double three from home, although their time was the quickest of the day as they broke the beam in 32.35 seconds. With just three left to go Ludger Beerbaum set off on a fabulous tour of the track with his nine year old mare Gotha who has been increasing in confidence all season and returned a competitive clear in 33.47 seconds to ensure a prominent place in the final line-up, and when reigning World Champion Jos Lansink from Belgium hit the Rolex vertical, now third on the track, only Bengtsson could prevent Kuerten - winner at both Leipzig and Gothenburg - from making it a hat-trick of wins in the 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping series.  

Even Bengtsson thought it was all done and dusted.  "I watched Jessica's ride on the screen and thought it was impossible to beat a horse so sensationally fast" he said afterwards.  "I knew it would be difficult to make the same seven strides from fence one to fence two but I thought I'd try - it was very long, but we made it - my horse has a long, slow canter so he is difficult to adjust and my job was to stay focused and to keep him jumping off that long stride, and then I got a great shot to the last and that was it!" he added, making it all sound very elementary.  This great result however has not earned the master horseman a starting spot in the final as he is lying 24th on the series table and only the top-20 are qualified.

For Kuerten today was another triumph, even if she had to settle for runner-up spot.  She has amassed a massive 90 points and heads the Western European League table with a nine-point advantage over next-best rider, Germany's Marco Kutscher.  She knows she is now a strong favourite to take the title in Switzerland in just over two weeks' time after an exceptional run of form that included five more top placings at this weekend's Dutch fixture.  She's not enjoying the pressure that puts on her however and insisted today that, although her three great mares are on top form, she prefers a single-competition challenge to the three-day test of a World Cup Final.  And she is feeling particularly protective of Castle Forbes Libertina who is not long back in work after a seven-month injury layoff.  "I think I will take her to Geneva but I am not finally decided" she said.


For Bengtsson, Casall la Silla's victory is the result of a patient wait for him to mature into a truly competitive jumper.  "I spent a long time building him up through young horses classes and I never pushed him to do anything before he was ready - I'm profiting from that now.  For the last three-quarters of a year he has been more and more consistent in jump-offs and I can trust him more to go quick and stay focused - we've had a very, very good late season" he explained.  Today he brought that great season to the perfect conclusion.

RESULT: 1, Casall La Silla (Rolf-Goran Bengtsson) Swe 0/0 32.50; 2, Castle Forbes Libertina (Jessica Kuerten) Irl 0/0 32.60; 3, Cevo Itot du Chateau (Edwina Alexander) Aus 0/0 33.32; 4, Gotha (Ludger Beerbaum) Ger 0/0 33.47; 5, Van Schijndel's Rascin (Piet Raijmakers Jr) Ned 0/0 35.06; 6, Opium VS (Marc Houtzager) Ned 0/0 38.42; 7, Caramell KS (Svante Johansson) Swe 0/0 40.47; 8, Exquis Powerfree (Harrie Smolders) Ned 0/4 32.35; 9, Noltes Kuchengirl (Marcus Ehning) Ger 0/4 33.72; 10, Mylord Carthago (Penelope Leprevost) Fra 0/4 34.30; 11, Robin Hood (Ben Maher) GBR 0/4 34.30; 12, Audi's Alpapillon-Armanie (Vincent Voorn) Ned 0/4 37.08; 13, Valentina Van't Heike (Jos Lansink) Bel 0/4 38.33; 14, Primeval Wings (Gert-Jan Bruggink) Ned 0/8 31.71:15, Ukinda (Hugo Simon) Aut 0/8 34.45; 16, Peu a Peu (Daniel Etter) Sui 0/8 35.02.  Full results at: www.scg-nl.nl

ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING 2009/2010 - Western European League Standings after Round 13 at 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands:
1.    Jessica Kuerten         -    90
2.    Marco Kutscher        -    81
3.    Pius Schwizer            -    77
4.    Edwina Alexander        -    75
5.    Marcus Ehning            -    74
6.    Rodrigo Pessoa        -    71
7.    Ludger Beerbaum        -    67
8.    Kevin Staut            -    59
9.    Beat Mandli            -    57
10.    Eric van der Vleuten    -    57
11.    Philipp Weishaupt        -    57
12.    Patrice Deleveau        -    55
13.    Penelope Leprevost        -    54
14.    Michael Whitaker        -    51
15.    Daniel Etter            -    50
16.    Svante Johansson        -    49
17.    Luciana Diniz            -    48
18.    Dermott Lennon        -    43
19.    Natale Chiaudani        -    43
20.    Steve Guerdat            -    39.
Complete standings at www.feiworldcup.org

KEANE THIRD IN PORTUGUESE SPEED CLASS

Waterford's Tholm Keane secured an impressive third place in today's (Saturday) feature class at the 4 star International show at Comporta in Portugal.

Riding the Ronan Tynan owned twelve year old stallion ''Warrenstown U2'', (pictured)  Aglish born Keane collected just short of 3,000 euro when finishing just twelve hundredths of a second behind World number five Kevin Staut who took runner up spot for France.

Ireland's Conor Swail claimed victory aboard ''Music Hill Cruise'' collecting the winners cheque of 4,000 euro

RESULT CSI 4* COMPORTA TABLE A 1m 45

1, Conor Swail (IRL) Music Hill Cruise C/C 60.68, €4,000

2. Kevin Staut (FRA) Major de Coquerie C/C. 61.26, €3,200

3. Tholm Keane (IRL) Warrenstown You 2 C/C, 61.38 €2,800

 MUNSTER RIDERS SEE ACTION IN SPAIN, PORTUGAL, ESTONIA, GERMANY AND USA THIS WEEKEND

SHOW Jumping at Comporta in Portugal moves up a gear to four-star level this weekend, and Team Ireland Equestrian is represented by twelve riders, including World No. 15 Jessica Kurten with five horses and former World Champion Dermott Lennon, who will line out with four.

The Spanish Sunshine Tour in Vejer de la Frontera runs at both three and four star level from tomorrow (Thursday) with six Irish competitors, including Cork-born Billy Twomey  and Derry's Trevor Coyle, who finished fourth in last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

Tipperary's Denis Lynch continues his German campaign in Dortmund after finishing third in last Sunday's Braunschweig Grand Prix, and will compete with 'Tarpan', 'All Inclusive NRW', 'Nabab’s Son' and 'Contiflex'. And in Tallin, Estonia, Clonmel born John Hickey and Eowen Earlie will fly the Irish flag at the three-star World Cup Central European League Final.

Meanwhile Kanturk's Shane Sweetnam and Carrick On Suir's Kevin Babbington will again be in action at Wellington in Florida..

TEAM IRELAND EQUESTRIAN

WHO’S COMPETING

This Weekend - March 18th- 21st

JUMPING: COMPORTA PORTUGAL – 4 Star
Grand Prix: Sunday 14:00 GMT
Thomas Ryan with Cruise On Clover (ISH), Quat, Zingaro Z, Quite Zero and Viera; Olive Clarke with The Butlers Pantry Paradise G, Starboard (ISH), Mark Q (ISH), Cobbydor, Zoltaire and Womanizer; Tholm Keane with Walterstown Clover (ISH), Warrenstown Well Aware (ISH), Warrenstown You 2 (ISH), You Two Kelly (ISH), Warrenstown Ard Cruise(ISH) and You Two Delilia (ISH); Fiona Campbell with Sallymount Touch Of Clover (ISH); Gerard Campbell with Landlord and Catch Me If You Can; Edward Little with Kalvinretto, Bagatelle, Qualisca De Vansichant, Couleur Fama SR Z, and Cesar Z; Mili McIntyre with Vrenske Drum Van Het Juxfchot and Atlantic; Kris Marshall with Zeven, Empire, Santa, Kingdom, Whisper and Kanada; Harry Marshall with CNC and Mandarin Smoke(ISH); Conor Swail with Jakar De Moyon, Chekhov PKZ, Anatevka, Kheelan, Cara Touche (ISH), Music Hill Cruise (ISH), Mojito, Sambucca and William Tell; Dermott Lennon with Castleblayney (ISH), Lanceretto, Riverland ROI and Vites BS; Jessica Kuerten with Castle Forbes Ogham, Fashion, API Largo, Miribel D’Auvray and Oceane Du Theillet.

JUMPING: VEJER DE LA FRONTERA SUNSHINE TOUR SPAIN – 3 & 4 Star
Kelly O’Connor with Doc Holiday, Diamond Crest and Punch De Sohan; Billy Twomey with Tinka’s Serenade, Cavinem (ISH) and Blue Thunder; Anthony Condon with Wertherroshen, Still To Come and Lanapoule; Trevor Coyle with Bijou Van De Vijfheeide, Valdorai and Cyrian; Paul O’Shea with Quiproquo De Ligny, Castlefield Eclipse (ISH), Cascaletto, Primo Level, Primo De Revel and Instant Karma (ISH); Sven Hadley with Vigo V.

JUMPING: TALLINN ESTONIA – 3 Star with FEI World Cup Central European League Final
FEI World Cup CEL Final: Sunday 13:00 GMT
John Hickey with Artiq and Ian; Eowen Earlie with Carry’s Son and Toronto S.

JUMPING: DORTMUND GERMANY  – 3 Star Grand Prix: Sunday 12:45 GMT
Denis Lynch with Tarpan, All Inclusive NRW, Nabab’s Son and Contiflex.

JUMPING: WELLINGTON FLORIDA USA – 2 Star
Grand Prix: Sunday 17:00 GMT
Darragh Kenny with Obelix and Gael Force (ISH); Shane Sweetnam with Zamiro 16, Little Emir and Rolette; Kevin Babington with Souvenir; Andrew Bourns with Gowran Park (ISH).

JUMPING: VIDAUBAN FRANCE -  1 & 2 Star
Alan Byrne with Lismore Coasting (ISH); Claire McDonnell with Annapurna (ISH).

TIPPERARY'S DENIS LYNCH THIRD IN GERMAN GRAND PRIX

CONDON AND TWOMEY FINISH IN SPANISH GRAND PRIX TOP TEN

WITH eleven through to the jump-off at Braunschweig's Grand Prix in Germany this afternoon (Sunday), it looked like Ireland's Denis Lynch had a good chance of snatching the first prize of a Volkswagen car when he went clear with 'Abbervail van het Dingeshof', but his stay at the top of the leaderboard was short-lived.

Britain's Robert Whitaker and the Irish-bred 'Casino' were first to beat the Irishman's time, but last man in Lars Neiberg trumped bothriders with a scorching finish on the bay gelding 'Lord Luis'.

Lynch and Thomas Straumann's ten year-old gelding ended up just over one-and-a-half seconds off the pace of the German winner, but a third place netted the Tipperary rider 9,000 euro in prize money and established one of his best results on the international circuit this month.

SHOW JUMPING RESULTS: CSI4* BRAUNSCHWEIG GERMANY MARCH 11-14, 2010

Volkswagen GRAND PRIX
International Jumping Competition
Table A, Art 238.2.2
1m55
Sunday, March 14 2010

1) Lord Luis; Lars Nieberg (GER) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 39.76
2) Casino (ISH); Robert Whitaker (GBR) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 41.26
3) Abbervail van het Dingeshof; Denis Lynch (IRL) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 41.45

38 starters

 TWO MUNSTER RIDERS IN SPANISH GRAND PRIX TOP TEN

DERRY-born Trevor Coyle was best of the Irish in the Spanish Sunshine Tour Grand Prix today (Sunday), finishing fourth on 'Bijou van de Vijfheide' with a single time fault in the nine horse jump-off at Vejer de la Frontera.

The 51 year-old, who was runner-up in the 1999 World Cup with the legendary Irish-bred stallion 'Cruising', nevertheless picked up 2,000 euro for his place.

In seventh was Ireland's 23 year-old Anthony Condon from Co Waterford, clipping a pole with 'Wertherroschen' in the jump-off to incur four faults, while Cork-born Billy Twomey settled for a tenth place after racking up a single time fault in the first round with Sue Davies's 'Tinka's Serenade'.

SHOW JUMPING RESULTS: CSI3* VEJER DE LA FRONTERA SUNSHINE TOUR SPAIN MARCH 11-14, 2010

GRAND PRIX
International Jumping Competition
FEI Art. 238.2.2
1m50
Sunday, March 14, 2010

1) THESAURA; Mark Armstrong (GBR) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 39.6
2) KELLEMOI DE PEPITA; Michel Robert (FRA) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 39.77
3) PEPPERMILL; John Whitaker (GBR) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 41.25
4) BIJOU VAN DE VIJFHEIDE; Trevor Coyle (IRL) Faults 0.00/1.00 Time 45.42

7) WERTHERROSCHEN; Anthony Condon (IRL) Faults 0.00/4.00 Time 39.6
10) TINKA'S SERENADE; Billy Twomey (IRL) Faults 1.00/-

75 starters

KANTURKS SHANE SWEETNAM AMONG TOP PERFORMERS AS

 IRELAND FINISH THIRD IN US NATIONS' CUP BATTLE

WITH the largest number of teams ever competing, the US Nations' Cup at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington Florida last night, saw Ireland punch its way up from fourth at the halfway stage to overall third when the competition finished in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The CN sponsored class with $75,000 up for grabs and saw last year's winners, Canada, hold onto their early lead to claim victory, with the home team battling it out for places against Mexico and Ireland. In the end, the Irish quartet proved stronger than the US team and edged ahead to take third behind Mexico in the 11-team competition.

Team Ireland Equestrian were very pleased with their third place performance, especially considering that Richie Moloney was riding in just his second Nations' Cup and it was the inaugural Nations' Cup performance for Offaly's 21 year-old Darragh Kenny. Moloney and 'Brooke van de Zuuthoeve' had five faults in the first round. Team veteran Kevin Babington had nine faults and eight faults with 'Souvenir', while Darragh Kenny and 'Obelix' finished on four faults for each round. Shane Sweetnam and 'Rolette' also had four faults in both rounds. The Irish finished with 29 faults for third place.

Team Ireland Equestrian jumping manager Robert Splaine, said: "It's great that the USA has become home to some Irish riders. They have wonderful owners and some great horses. I'd like to thank them very much. They did a very good job for us. I was pleased with the results. To finish third ahead of the US team was a good outcome. We enjoyed it, and it was good fun."

SHOW JUMPING RESULTS: CSIO4* WELLINGTON, FLORIDA USA MARCH 4-7, 2010

FEI US NATIONS' CUP
Table A Two Rounds not against the Clock
FEI Art 264 1m50
Friday, March 5 2010

1) CANADA 5 Faults
2) MEXICO 13 Faults
3) IRELAND 29 Faults
Kevin Babington/Souvenir 9/8
Richie Moloney/Brooke van de Zuuthoeve 5/-
Darragh Kenny/Obelix 4/4
Shane Sweetnam/Rolette 4/4
4) UNITED STATES 31 Faults
5) GERMANY 46 Faults
6) VENEZUELA 56 Faults

11 Nations competed

 

      FRENCH RAIN FAILS TO DAMPEN SPIRITS, AS

TWO MUNSTER RIDERS NAMED AS SPLAINE DECLARES TEAM FOR FLORIDA NATIONS' CUP

SHOW Jumping Manager Robert Splaine has declared the Irish team that will take part in the four-star Florida Nations' Cup in Wellington, USA this week (Friday March 5) and included are Munster pair Kevin Babbington from Carrick On Suir, and Kanturk's Shane Sweetnam.

The Irish team is (in alphabetical order):
Kevin Babington; Souvenir
Darragh Kenny; Obelix and Gale Force
Richie Moloney; Brooke van de Zuuthoeve
Shane Sweetnam: Rolette and Zamiro 16

All of the team are US-based, and Robert Splaine welcomed the opportunity to see them in action at this level. He said: "While it is relatively easy to see the Irish riders who are based in Europe on a regular basis, only occasionally does the opportunity present itself to see the American-based Irish riders perform as a team. Wellington will give me that opportunity, and help me with my plans for the 2010 Meydan Series super league."

IRISH EYES ARE SMILING

ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING 2009/2010 
Gothenburg (Swe), 28 February 2010

JESSICA AND LIBERTINA TAKE GOTHENBURG BY STORM

Ireland's Jessica Kuerten nearly brought the roof down at the Scandinavium arena in Gothenburg, Sweden today with a rip-roaring ride from Castle Forbes Libertina that scooped their second victory of the 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping season.

Ireland's Jessica Kuerten and Castle Forbes Libertina with Magali Dubois-Vaucher of Rolex after their victory in the twelfth leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping series in Gothenburg, Sweden today.  Photo: Kit Houghton.

FEI

  It's getting down to the wire now with only one qualifying leg remaining and every precious point counting towards a place at the series final in Geneva, but Kuerten has cruised into a qualifying spot with the greatest of ease and today's victory suggests she will be one of the favourites when the final kicks off at the Swiss venue next month.

Germany's Marco Kutscher galloped into second place with the deceptively fast Cash while former World Champion Dermott Lennon slotted into third with the gelding Hallmark Elite (Pictured)  which, he says "has the makings of another Libertina".  If he is right about that then Irish show jumping is in very good shape indeed.

THE KEY
Course designer Rolf Ludi set them a tough task in the tight confines of the Gothenburg ring, but nine of the 39 starters found the key to go into the decider against the clock.  The unluckiest ones included Holland's Gerco Schroder with Eurocommerce New Orleans and Germany's Lars Nieberg with Levito who both missed out when picking up just a single time fault, while four other riders opted to retire when things simply weren't going their way. 

The bogey fence on the track was the triple combination at fence five which penalised 14 horse and rider combinations, while the plank on top of the first element of the double of verticals at fence seven also proved influential.  And amongst the nine four-faulters were reigning European Champion Kevin Staut, German star Marcus Ehning with his exciting bay mare Sabrina, Great Britain's Ben Maher with Robin Hood and Vigo winner Australia's Edwina Alexander this time riding Cevo Itot du Chateau.

SET THE TARGET
It was Portugal's Luciana Diniz who led the way against the clock with Winningmood who set the target with a clear in 39.78 seconds.  The jump-off course gave riders some simple but daring options however and Lennon had them well-measured when making a hand-brake turn after the vertical three from home which gave him a short but super-fast line to the penultimate new vertical before making the long run down to the last.  As he broke the beam in 38.52 seconds things were really hotting up.  But although the Irishman's round was strong and bold it paled in comparison to the drama of Jens Fredricsson's run which followed. 

The only Swede to make it through to the closing stages, Fredricsson was feeling the heavy weight of home expectations on his shoulders and was giving it everything he had as he raced down to the two remaining elements of the triple combination which were now third on the track.  He got his distance all wrong however and tried to chip in an extra stride, and there was a huge intake of breath around the ring as his aptly-named gelding Lunatic still tried to make the apparently impossible very possible indeed as he helicoptered his way upwards, landed without hitting the first element and somehow also managed to scramble over the next without touching a pole.  Remarkably unnerved, they crossed the line 38.76 seconds to slot into second place. 

A SHOT AT THE TIME
Great Britain's Michael Whitaker had a good shot at the time when bringing his Verona winner, GIG Amai, home in 39.98 seconds and when World No. 1 Puis Schwizer of Switzerland and the lovely mare Carlina could only manage a time of 39.44 seconds it seemed that Lennon had left no room for improvement.  But that didn't take Kuerten and Castle Forbes Libertina into account.  Even though things didn't work out exactly right on the tight turn to the penultimate vertical the 40 year old Irish rider and her flying machine were well up on time as they made one of their trademark heart-stopping runs down to the last to stop the clock on 37.42 seconds for the lead.

Marco Kutscher's time of 38.23 seconds with Cash pushed Lennon out of second place but that was where the challenge would end when fellow-German Ludger Beerbaum went out of the reckoning with a stop from his mare Gotha and seasonal double-winner Daniel Etter of Switzerland collected four faults with Peu a Peu despite the quickest round of the competition.

GREAT THINGS
"Libby is outstanding, amazing, a tiger, a diva, she's incredible - I can't say enough great things about her" said Kuerten afterwards.  "She's such a fighter, she knows exactly what to do in the ring - if she was a person she would be a highly successful businesswoman or a human athlete with a load of Olympic medals - when I get into a jump-off it's Libertina that wins, not me, I just sit there and let her do her thing!" she added.

Asked if his appearance on the podium was a bit of a surprise, Lennon said no - "my horse is very inexperienced and has learned everything he knows in just the last two years - he's been amazing so far".  Hallmark Elite jumped clear in the nations cup at the Spruce Meadows Master last September and over the winter months was fourth in the World Cup qualifier at Syracuse in the USA and third in the qualifier at Toronto.  So for the first time in many years Ireland may have three riders qualified for this year's Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping final as 21 year US-based Darragh Kenny has also made the cut.

Jens Fredricsson talked about his dramatic round which was good enough to leave him in fourth place in the final analysis.  "My horse helped me out" he said in what could well be the understatement of the century.  However he is a long way off the top-18 qualifying places on the Western European League leaderboard which will be contested for the last time at 's-Hertogenbosch in Holland in two weeks time and which does not yet include any Swedish contenders.  As it stands after today's competition Svante Johansson is closest in 20th place - there is still plenty of battling to do before the final line-up is decided.

The next leg of the 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping series, and the last qualifying event, will take place at 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands from 25-28 March.  For all information on the Dutch fixture check out website www.indoorbrabant.nl or contact Press Officer Denise van der Net at email denisene@xs4all or mobile +31 627 03 16 74.

RESULT: 1, Castle Forbes Libertina (Jessica Kuerten) Irl 0/0 37.42; 2, Cash (Marco Kutscher) Ger 0/0 38.23; 3, Hallmark Elite (Dermott Lennon) Irl 0/0 38.52; 4, Lunatic (Jens Fredricson) Swe 0/0 38.76; 5, GIG Amai (Michael Whitaker) GBR 0/0 38.98; 6, Carlina (Pius Schwizer) Sui 0/0 39.44; 7, Winningmood (Luciana diniz) Por 0/0 39.78; 8, Peu a Peu (Daniel Etter) Sui 0/4 36.97; 9, Gotha (Ludger Beerbaum) Ger 0/10 55.63; 10, Eurocommerce New Orleans (Gerco Schroder) Ned 1 fault; 11, Levito (Lars Nieberg) Ger 1 fault. Full results at: www.scg-nl.nl

ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP™ JUMPING - Standings after Round 12 at Gothenburg, Sweden:
1.    Marco Kutscher             -        81
2.    Pius Schwizer                -        77
3.    Jessica Kuerten            -        73
4.    Marcus Ehning                -        68
5.    Edwina Alexander            -        62
6.    Kevin Staut                -        59
7.    Beat Mandli                 -        57
8.    Eric Van der Vleuten        -        57
9.    Philipp Weishaupt             -        57
10.    Patrice Deleveau            -        55
11.    Ludger Beerbaum            -        54
12.    Rodrigo Pessoa            -        52
13.    Michael Whitaker            -        51
14.    Daniel Etter                -        49
15.    Penelope Leprevost         -        47
16.    Dermott Lennon            -        43
17.    Luciana Diniz                -        43
18.    Natale Chaiaudani            -        43
19.    Steve Guerdat                -        39
20.    Svante Johansson            -        39
Complete standings at www.feiworldcup.org

Facts and Figures:
39 starters, 9 through to the jump-off, 4 horses retired, 2 riders completed round one with just a single fault, 9 riders finished round one with just four faults.
The bogey fence in the first round was the triple combination at fence five - 14 horse and rider combinations were penalised at this fence
Jessica Kuerten and Castle Forbes Libertina previously won the eighth leg of the series at Leipzig, Germany in January.

Quotes:
Jessica Kuerten - "I was second at the World Cup final in Kuala Lumpur and the last time I was here I finished fourth and in Las Vegas 14th - I'm not sure if I will be riding Libertina in Geneva - I might need to bring another horse to give her some help, we will see".
Dermott Lennon - "My horse jumps just as good outdoors - I think he has great potential and you'll be seeing a lot more of him"
Jens Fredricsson - "I really wanted to do well in front of the home crowd"

VIVE LE IRLANDE!

Day three of the 2 star International Show at Villeneuve-Loubet France saw Irish riders keep their good run of form going with a host of top ten placings.

IRISH SCORE ANOTHER WIN AND 2 RUNNER UP FINISHES AT FRENCH 2 STAR FIXTURE

Irish riders continued their remarkable run of form during today's
(Friday) second day of the 2 star International Show at
Villeneuve-Loubet France.
After picking up a number of top ten placings yesterday, Tipperary's
Trevor Breen moved up a gear today when winning the 1meter 30,  two
phase competition, against a top class line up that contained many of
the worlds top ranked riders including Switzerland's  Beat Mandli.
Riding Peter Boardman's ''Bonjour Vieux Pont'', Cashel native Trevor
Breen was the early pace setter and had a long wait before being
confirmed winner, after a foot perfect round stopping the clock in
31.15 seconds.

Older brother Shane Breen was a winner yesterday at the French venue
and followed that up with  2 runner up placings today beginning with
the qualifier for Sunday's Grand Prix. Thirty four year old Breen was
aboard last years Hamburg speed Derby winner ''Royal Concorde'' (pictured)

, who is owned by Carmel Ryan from Waterford City. A massive 88 horses and
riders went to post in the competition with home favourite Simon
Delestre scoring a win for France.

Shane Breen was back in the winners enclosure in the 1meter 35 where
he again finished second, this time with the Irish bred gelding
''Dorrada''

IRISH OFF TO FRENCH FLIER

Tipperary Show Jumping brothers Shane and Trevor Breen got off to an excellent start on the first day of the 2 star International Show at Villeneuve-Loubet in the South of France yesterday (Thursday).

 Shane Breen landed the biggest class of the day, when he piloted ''Mullahadrin Gold Rain'' to victory ahead of Brazilian Alvaro De Miranda in second with Trevor Breen taking third spot for the Irish with ''Old Town
Katie''. Alex Duffy ensured Ireland had 3 riders in the top 6, finishing in sixth of the 76 starters with ''Tampa''

Earlier in the day at the same venue, Balina born Alex Duffy finished
an impressive first place of the 51
starters with the Sandra Duffy owned ''Courtown'' in the 1 meter 35
competition, with Great Britain's Daniel Neilson just over half a
second slower in second.

CLICK BELOW TO WATCH VIDEO'S OF SHANE BREEN (IM 40) AND

 ALEX DUFFY'S (1M 35) WINNING ROUNDS IN FRANCE   

 http://wanevents.com/VLTTV/#

The Show Jumping action at Villeneuve in France continues for the next 3 weeks, full list of Irish participants below

Alexander Butler with Will Wimble (ISH), Crosstown Skylight (ISH), Carton Free (ISH), Kilcor Amber (ISH) and Coppindell (ISH); Shane Breen with Royal Concorde (ISH), Mullaghdrin Gold Rain (ISH), Camblin (ISH), Dorada (ISH), Andina Z, Cherubini Z, Cos I Can (ISH), Cor Dela Rossa Z, WCE Cruco (ISH) and Bluebai; Trevor Breen with Adventure De Kannan, Bonjour Vieux Pont VDM, Oldtown Kate (ISH), Oldtown KC (ISH), No More Talk (ISH) and Honeylands Douglason (ISH); Alan Byrne with Lismore Coasting (ISH); Claire McDonnell with Annapurna (ISH); Martin O’Dea with Paddy’s Dream Z; Tiernan Gill with Flogas Wodonja G; Alex Duffy with Courtown, Tampa, Ucorado B, BMC’s Chicago, Johnny Dublin (ISH), Jingle He Is (ISH), Hillstreet (ISH) and World Cruise (ISH); Niall Talbot with Tequi D’I CH, Global IT Onisha, Nina Des Ulis, Zipfield, Omnistar D’Esco, Bakerfield and Boneparte Z; Mark Cleary with Cycloon W.

 THE EUROPEAN EQUESTRIAN FEDERATION FORMED 
 
 
International horse sport has a new European association, the European Equestrian Federation (EEF). The new body was established today (18th February) by 27 European National Federations present at a meeting in Warendorf (Germany). This process commenced at a meeting of European National Federations in Deauville (France) in March 2009 and was agreed in principle in Antwerp (Belgium) in September 2009. The Federation was officially formed today (18th February 2010), following the signing of the Statutes by National Federations. It is anticipated that other European Federations and other representative groups, who could not be present at the meeting, will also adopt the new Statutes.
 
The European Equestrian Federation (EEF) will represent the interests of European horse sport within the FEI. It will also liaise with the European Union and other decision making bodies on matters of concern to the horse community.
 
Speaking after the meeting, the newly elected President Dr. Hanfried Haring (Germany) said „The EEF will help to ensure that European countries have a clear voice within the FEI. Our goal is to contribute positively to the FEI by improving communication, cooperation and understanding. EEF will try to ensure that the needs of all Federations and stakeholders in the European equestrian community are properly taken into account.”
 
Other elected members of the interim Board are Christian Paillot (France) and Ulf Helgstrand (Denmark) as Vice Presidents as well as Manuel Bandeira de Mello (Portugal), Andrew Finding (Great Britain), Michal Wroblewski (Poland) and Armagan Özgörkey (Turkey).
 
"The FEI welcomes this development," said FEI President HRH Princess Haya. "Like the regional associations already established in Asia and the Americas, this reflects the natural evolution of representation of the sport's interests at the regional level. We expect it to help address the numerous specific needs of European National Federations."
 

REFRESHED AND RENEWED – THE NEW www.fei.org REVEALED
 
The FEI is pleased to announce the launch of the refreshed and renewed www.fei.org, designed to provide greater flexibility in terms of content, display and usability.
 
A new hub for all information relating to FEI disciplines, series and events in terms of results and rankings, dates and locations, as well as qualification requirements. You will also find all the information you need with regards to FEI Standards, Profile and Governance as well as contact details for all FEI Members. The Rules and Regulations governing the sport are all easily accessible in one location as is all the documentation for Officials & Organisers – now with their very own dedicated section. If it’s the history of the organisation, the latest breaking news and videos from FEI TV, or new tools for the media – then www.fei.org is the place to go.
 
FEI Search Centre is continually being upgraded with new functionalities.
 
Having greater flexibility in terms of content display was one of the main objectives of the new website in order to better reflect and promote the many initiatives, major events and campaigns happening around the world, such as Clean Sport, the FEI Year of Youth and first ever Youth Olympic Games, the FEI Awards and the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games to name but a few.
 
“The new site goes live today, but it is by no means final and will continually evolve to meet the needs of the FEI Family and equestrian fans around the world. There are a number of updates scheduled over the coming weeks, and we hope these will provide the user with even greater ease when visiting the site and will also entice many of you to discover and learn about new events, disciplines and opportunities around the world,” commented Alex McLin, FEI Secretary General. 
 

MARCUS TIMES IT TO PERFECTION IN BORDEAUX

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.

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. 

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.

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

Tipperary’s Denis Lynch finished off an excellent weekends jumping at the four star show in Basel, Switzerland last weekend ,when taking fourth place in the Grand Prix with Nabab’s Son behind fellow Irish rider Cian O'Connor who took victory with Aileen Bryan's 'Rancorrado'.

.

LYNCH SECOND IN GUCCI MASTERS AS

WORLD CHAMPION LANSINK PIPS HIM AT THE DEATH IN PARIS

Tipperary's Denis Lynch produced another stunning display to take the runner up spot with All Inclusive, in the Gucci Grand Prix at Paris yesterday (Sunday). Indeed Lynch was only denied victory by last to go Jos Lansink who shaved .77 of a second off the target time with the chestnut mare 'Valentina van't Heike' (pictured). 

Lansink was awarded 50,000 euro for his win, but 33 year-old Lynch received 40,000 euro for his second place.

Also in the prize money was Meath's Cian O'Connor, who had an unlucky fence down in the first round with Aileen Bryan's 'Rancorrado', but was still fast enough to finish in 11th overall.

BILLY TWOMEY WINS GERMAN SPEED CUP

Cork's Billy Twomey scored Ireland’s best International result of the weekend when he scorched to victory in the Speed Cup at the Munich’s four star show in Germany aboard Ahmad S. Hamsho's 'Ceasar'.

The 14 year-old bay gelding had previously given the Cork rider speed victories at the Horse of The Year Show in Birmingham, and in Dresden just last month, with this latest win on Saturday night netting Twomey the 5,000 euro first prize when stopping the clock just over half a second clear of German runner-up Felix Hassman.

Tipperary's Denis Lynch placed 'Boemerang' seventh in the same class.

Earlier on Saturday Lynch had also finished seventh with 'Nabab's Son' in the Grand Prix Qualifier, while Twomey took fifth place on 'Montanus Colorado'.

SHOW JUMPING - TWOMEY EIGHTH IN GERMAN GRAND PRIX

 Twomey was also best of the Irish in Sunday’s Munich Grand Prix  with an eighth place after two rounds of jumping.

The 32 year-old Cheshire-based rider and Camilla Berger's 12-year-old grey gelding 'Montanus Colorado' (pictured)  had a single fence down first time out, and though qualifying for the final round with a very fast time, removed two poles to collect eight faults.

However, on the difficult course, which decimated the 35 -strong field, it was good enough to give the Cork-born rider an eighth and a share of the prize money.

Cameron Hanley and 'Southwind VDL' failed to make the cut for the final round with a slower four fault tally, and settled for 13th place overall.

The Grand Prix's 25,000 euro first prize was won by Switzerland's Pius Schwizer and 'Ulysse' on a double clear round.

SHOW JUMPING RESULTS: CSI4* MUNICH GERMANY DECEMBER 3 - 6 2009

Munchen Grand Prix
International Jumping Competition over Two Rounds
Table A Art 273.3.3 1m55
Sunday, December 6th 2009

1) Ulysse; Pius Schwizer (SUI) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 34.39
2) Sandro Boy; Marcus Ehning (GER) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 34.93
3) Coupe de Coeur; Ludger Beerbaum (GER) Faults 0.00/0.00 Time 36.56

8) Montanus Colorado; Billy Twomey (IRL) Faults 4.00/8.00 Time 34.84
13) Southwind VDL; Cameron Hanley (IRL) Faults 4.00/- Time 71.28


SHOW JUMPING RESULTS: CSI4* MUNICH GERMANY DECEMBER 3 - 6 2009

Speed Cup
International Jumping Competition CSI4*
Table C FEI Art 239/263
1m45
Saturday, 5th December 2009

1) Ceaser; Billy Twomey (IRL) Time 62.01
2) Horse Gym's Caetano; Felix Hassmann (GER) Time 62.65
3) Newton de Vains; Katharina Offel (UKR) Time 62.89

7) Boemerang; Denis Lynch (IRL) Time 64.81

36 starters

FIVE IRISH NOW IN WORLD TOP 50

THE latest Rolex World Jumping Rankings released this week show that Ireland now has five riders within the top 50.

Highest-placed is Antrim-born Jessica Kurten at 16th, with Tipperary's Denis Lynch close behind in 18th place.

Cian O'Connor is ranked as 34th in the world, while Cork’s Billy Twomey is at 38th. Mayo's Cameron Hanley is in 50th place.

The rankings, which cover the period up to the end of November 2009, are compiled and issued by the world governing body, the FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Tipperary’s Denis Lynch has moved up six places in the latest Rolex World rankings announced this week. The Munster man (pictured)   is now the highest placed Irish rider in the world in 17th position, moving ahead of Jessica Kurten who drops two places to 19th. Ireland now has six riders in the top 100, with Cian O Connor in 30th, Cork’s Billy Twomey in 40th, Cameron Hanley(61) and Darragh Kerins in 97th.

MANDLI MAKES IT THREE FOR SWITZERLAND

In another afternoon of Swiss magic, Beat Mandli made it three-in-a-row for the European gold medal winning nation when galloping to victory in the third leg of the 2009/2010 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping series at Lyon in France.

Riding the relatively novice nine year old gelding Louis, who has been stepped up this season due to the absence of some of his other top rides, Mandli came into the 11-horse jump-off with all guns blazing and set them a blistering target that could not be bettered.  The result moves him into fifth place on the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping leaderboard which continues to be headed by fellow-countryman Daniel Etter who won the first two legs at Oslo and Helsinki.  The popular Dutch duo of Albert Zoer and Oki Doki slotted into second place today while Ben Maher and Wonderboy (pictured)  took third for Great Britain ahead of World No. 1 Marcus Ehning from Germany partnering his 2006 Rolex FEI World Cup™ ride, Sandro Boy, in fourth.

SWEETNAM AMONG PRIZES AT WASHINGTON 4*, WHILE

PESSOA STEERS NIGHT TRAIN TO RUNNER UP SPOT

 Co Cork's Shane Sweetnam has been in excellent form throughout the weekend at the Washington International Horse Show. First up for the Kanturk born rider was Thursday's $30,000 Open Jumper class where he got his weekend off to a good start with a 6th place finish aboard Zamiro. 

, 30 horses went to post in the first round. There were six clear rounds that returned for the jump-off, with the first horse in the ring setting the pace. Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) and new mount Night Train (formerly ridden by Darragh Kerins), owned by Double H Farm, were double clear and stopped the timers in the jump-off in 30.45 seconds. (photo above Shane Sweetnam and Little Emir by Jennifer Wood/PMG)

Next in, Hillary Dobbs (USA) and Quincy B had a fast time of 31.17 seconds, but a rail put them into fourth place at the end of the class. Jill Henselwood of Canada’s silver medal Olympic team followed with Bottom Line, owned by Bradon Construction. They were clear in 32.44 seconds to finish third. Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam on Zamiro, owned by Spy Coast Farm LLC, had eight faults in 32.00 seconds for sixth place.

The eventual winner, Ward and Couletto K James, owned by Katie Dinan LLC, were able to leave strides out, thanks to the horse’s large stride, and a sharp turn to the final vertical helped them bring the winning time down to 29.42 seconds for the win.

The final pair in the class, Marilyn Little-Meredith and Raylyn Farms Inc.’s Ragrusa H, had eight faults in 30.48 seconds for fifth place.

Meanwhile in the $25,000 puissance at Washington, Sweetnam steered Little Emir (pictured above) to an excellent 5th place after an unlucky rail cost them their chance of victory,

MUNSTER RIDERS IN INTERNATIONAL ACTION ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC THIS WEEKEND

The Munster province will be well represented on the International stage this weekend , not least in the United States where the  four-star World Cup event in Washington USA sees Tipperary's Kevin Babington and Cork's Shane Sweetnam competing under the Irish flag.

GLOBAL CHAMPIONS TOUR FINAL -  DOHA

The 2009 Global Champions Tour Final, for which Tipperary's Denis Lynch has made the cut, will open in Doha, Qatar (pictured) in just three weeks time.

Preparations continue apace at the Qatar Equestrian Federation Outdoor Arena in Al Rayan which will offer the ultimate in equine comfort and convenience. To complement the best in show jumping, Qatar has organised another excellent entertainment to whet the appetite of the sports fan. As part of their preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and to promote  Qatar's bid to host this contest in 2022, two soccer legends will play a friendly match prior to the GCT  Grand Prix. England v Brazil is always a contest to savour and should be a fitting warm up to the GCT Final. Entry to the Global Champions Tour Final is free for grandstand seating and there will be a shopping and entertainment village as well. The event is also one of the few sporting events in the city offering VIP hospitality and services throughout the competition and will be sure to attract the crème de la crème of the region’s VVIPs and international guests. 
The riders in the Final are continuing to demonstrate why they are the ones who have qualified for Doha by winning some big classes in the last week. Rolf Goran Bengsston won the Grand Prix at the Oslo CSI-W***** with Marcus Ehning in second. Then Daniel Etter continued his excellent season by taking the Rolex World Cup qualifier. Ben Maher and John Whitaker also had a successful week at Britains Horse of the Year Show.

Coverage of the grand prix will be broadcast live on Eurosport on Friday 13 November and Saturday 14 November and on other international networks, Universal Sports-USA and Al Jazeera Sport-Middle East Countries. The event will also be broadcast on Eurosport Asia-Pacific, Equidia-France and Supersport-South Africa.
More details available at www.globalchampionstour.com

ROLEX FEI WORLD CUP

A podcast featuring Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum has been created following a visit to her stables on Wednesday 7 October 2009 which she hosted to preview the 2009 - 2010 Rolex FEI World Cup. During the podcast she discusses a range of topics including her pregnancy and plans for the forthcoming season, plus her historic victory at the Rolex FEI World Cup Final in Las Vegas in April.

It can be found on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=313208812

It is also available to download as an MP3 file: http://www.mixbroadcast.com/podcasts/rolex_podcast_002.mp3

This podcast is copyright free.

Daniel Etter (SUI) (pictured)  

today (Sunday 11th October 2009) won the Oslo leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup^TM.

Riding Peu A Peu, Daniel had a clear round in the 12 horse jump-off ahead of 2nd place Pius Schwizer (SUI) and 3rd place Patrice Delaveau (FRA). 

 
FEI AWARDS: IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN www.feiawards.org
Lausanne, 13 October 2009
 
Meanwhile almost 900 nominations have been received from all over the world for the new FEI Awards in the seven weeks since they were launched, spanning the entire breadth of the FEI’s international, cross-disciplinary remit. The final countdown has begun — with less than a week to go until nominations close on 17 October, the numbers are expected to reach 1000.
 
The most popular category has been the Alltech Development Award — for a development project, individual or organisation which has shown exceptional skill, dedication and energy in expanding the sport. A massive 410 nominations have been received for this prize.
 
The Athlete of the Year — for a rider, driver or vaulter who has shown exceptional sportsmanship and ability — has gained 229 nominations so far.
 
The HSBC Rising Star Award — for a rider aged 14-21 who has not only demonstrated significant talent but also a love of the sport and great commitment — has also been popular, garnering 144 nominations.
 
Fifty-eight nominations have been made for Groom of the Year — for the often uncelebrated yet vitally important person who works behind the scenes.
 
And 29 nominations have come in so far for the Against All Odds — for a disabled rider of any age who has demonstrated that disability is no hindrance to sporting proficiency.
 
These awards have been designed to reward the fair play, team spirit, inspiration and prowess that equine competition espouses, as well as celebrating the outstanding achievements of our often-underrated athletes.
 
You’ve still got until 17 October to make a nomination. Each federation has its heroes and heroines — who has inspired and impressed you, either this year or over a period of time? There are great stories at every championship in every discipline about emerging talent, battles against adversity and unsung heroes. Now’s the time to shout about them, so visit the www.feiawards.org and make your nomination.
 
When the voting closes, the FEI will formulate a short-list, which the highly experienced international judging panel, chaired by FEI President HRH Princess Haya will use to make their final decisions. Her fellow judges include eventing and show jumping Olympian and multiple medallist Mark Todd, Dominican Republic dressage rider and judge Diana Ramos, Italian show jumping organiser and International Jumping Riders Club director Eleonora Ottaviani and German vaulting champion Kai Vorberg along with representatives from FEI sponsors Alltech and HSBC.
 
The awards will be presented at a glittering ceremony in Copenhagen on 19 November.
 
To put forward your nominations, go to: www.feiawards.org