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The FEI has received notification of an additional and final doping/medication case at the 2008 Olympic Games involving rider Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) and his horse Rufus.   A test carried out on the horse following the individual final revealed an A sample that tested positive for the banned substance nonivamide, part of the capsaicinoid family and classified as a« doping » prohibited substance given its hypersensitizing properties, and as a « medication class A » prohibited substance for its pain relieving properties.
The sample was received by the laboratory on Saturday 23 August following the individual Jumping Final at which Rodrigo Pessoa and Rufus placed fifth. A preliminary hearing was held by teleconference at 17h00 on 28 August before a member of the FEI Tribunal and the suspension was confirmed on 29 August. 

The B sample test is scheduled for Tuesday 2 September in Hong Kong.
Should the B sample confirm the findings of the A sample the process will follow the Accelerated Medication Control Procedure during & after the 2008 Olympic Games which is part of the FEI Regulations for Equestrian events at the 2008 Olympic Games (Annex G), available on FEI Olympic website. 

Evidence and written submissions will be requested and a hearing will be held before the FEI Tribunal. However it is up to the Person Responsible whether or not they wish to exercise or waive their right to be heard. The panel will then, in light of all the evidence received, take a decision as to the applicable sanction if any.
An update will be provided by the FEI following the result of the B sample and subsequently further updates regarding the hearing and final decision.  

The competition results will be amended as indicated in the Tribunal’s final decision.

In terms of testing at the 2008 Olympic Games, all results have now been received, and there are no remaining cases to be reported.

The US may have edged out Canada for Olympic gold in the team show jumping event, but the individual competition belonged to Eric Lamaze and Hickstead of Canada. They helped anchor the Canadian team in winning the team silver, and kept up their consistent performances throughout today’s individual rounds.

After a two-way jump off for Olympic gold, Eric won while Rolf-Goran Bengtsson of Sweden took the silver. Beezie Madden and Authentic of the USA came out on top of a seven-way jump-off for the bronze.

Round A
The 34 riders (supposed to be top 35, but Will Simpson wasn’t allowed to ride as only three from each nation may compete in the individual finals) had their scores to date wiped and started fresh in Round A of the individual show jumping finals. Nine riders had clear rounds, while 12 were right behind them with four faults.

The clear rounds included Beezie Madden, Eric Lamaze, Rolf-Goran, Camila Benedicto (Brazil), Angelique Hoorn (Netherlands), Stein Endresen (Norway), Tim Stockdale (Great Britain), Mar Houtzager (Netherlands), Ben Maher (Great Britain), and Jos Lansink (Belgium).

22 total riders moved on to Round B, 10 clears and 12 carrying 4 faults to Round B

Round B
The Round B course was much less forgiving than Round A. It favored the horse and rider teams with slightly cooler heads, who sat back and relaxed through the course. The combinations were tight, and many horses dropped rails on the second or third fence because they had a little too much momentum and got too close.

Beezie Madden was one who was having an excellent go and just got a little too much momentum through the triple and dropped a rail on the third fence.

Dropping rails seemed to be a domino effect; if you dropped a rail in the beginning or middle of the course, you dropped rails on several subsequent fences. More than a few riders left the arena with over 12 faults.

A very cool, unusual fence designed as a dragon was the downfall for many riders. It’s height must have been deceptive, because rider after rider came in to close and dropped the top plank. The crowd picked up on its difficulty, and cheered racously every time a horse and rider navigated the dragon fence successfully.

Ludger Beerbaum, one of the favorites who hadn’t performed as well as expected to date, had the first clear round. He took his time on the course and it paid off.

Jill Henselwood’s horse, who went well in the team competition to help Canada take silver, fell apart in Round B. He dropped his back end mid air (strangest thing I’ve seen), literally dropping his back end below his shoulders over the fence. They dropped a few more rails after that and refused a fence. Jill bowed out gracefully, and retired from the competition without completing the course.

Many of the show jumping greats who’d been less than stellar thus far brought their top game today and went clear in Round B, including Ludger Beerbaum, Roderigo Pessoa, and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum.

With only two riders left go, and no double clear rounds yet, the competition came to a screeching halt due to a malfunction on course. A jump with water underneath it somehow overflowed, or a pipe burst, and a huge puddle instantly formed on the landing side of the fence. A handful of ring crew members ran out with rakes to clean up the mess. As soon as it was ready again, it started raining.

The delay definitely didn’t hurt the final two riders, as they both went clear, sending them into a jump off for the gold and silver.

Jump-Off
The jump-off began with the seven riders who were competing for the bronze medal: Beezie Madden, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Roderigo Pessoa, McLain Ward, Ludger Beerbaum, Marc Houtzager, and Angelique Hoorn.

The riders came in asking for a quick pace, cutting corners whereever possible. Ludger Beerbaum dropped a rail, and then Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Roderigo Pesso went clear, with Meredith taking the faster time.

Then McLain Ward and Sapphire came on course with the most memorable ride of the night. There weren’t many places the riders could take shortcuts to try to save time, so McLain made one. At one place in the course, riders had to turn back from an oxer to a vertical, going around some decorative landscaping in between. McLain turned Sapphire early, jumped the landscaping, took a few strides, and jumped the vertical — successfully. The crowd loved it. He started pushing to the final fence, a wall and they kind of crashed through due to the speed they took it at. Those final four faults kept them out of the medals, but it was a spectacular ride.

Two riders later, McLain’s teammate Beezie tried his approach, leaping the landscaping, clearing the vertical, and moving quickly through the rest of the course for a clear round. The shortcut shaved off just enough time for her and Authentic to come in one tenth of a second under Meredith’s time and claim the bronze.

The final two riders were Eric Lamaze and Rolf-Goran fighting for the gold. Rolf went first, obviously playing it safe by keeping a slower speed. It was a solid run, but he came to the final fence at a little too much of an angle and dropped a brick from the wall for four faults. Eric knew he just needed to go clean, he keep his cool under the immense pressure and jumped a superb clear round to take the Gold Medal!

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All-in-all it was a very exciting competition for the 2008 Olympic show jumping individual medals.

Final Standings
1 Eric Lamaze (Hickstead), Canada
2 Rolf-Goran Bengtsson (Ninja), Sweden
3 Beezie Madden (Authentic), USA
4 Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (Shutterfly), Germany
5 Roderigo Pessoa (Rufus), Brazil
6 McLain Ward (Sapphire), USA
7 Ludger Beerbaum (All Inclusive), Germany
8 Marc Houtzager (Opium), Netherlands
9 Angelique Hoorn (O’Brien), Netherlands
10 Jean-Claude van Geenberghe (Quintus), Ukraine
10 Morten Djupvik (Casino), Norway
10 Steve Guerdat (Jalisca Solier), Switzerland
10 Edwina Alexandra (Itot Du Chateau), Australia
10 Camila Benedicto (Bonito Z), Brazil
10 Jos Lansink (Cumano), Belgium
16 Gerco Schroder (Monaco), Netherlands
16 Stein Endresen (Le Beau), Norway
16 Tim Stockdale (Corlato), Great Britain
19 Lotta Schultz (Calibra II), Sweden
20 Ben Maher (Rolette), Great Britain
21 Matt Williams (Leconte), Australia

The USA pipped Canada for team Jumping gold in a thrilling third-round jump-off at Sha Tin Stadium in Hong Kong tonight (Monday). And Norway climbed all the way up from overnight joint-sixth place to take bronze thanks to a spirited team performance.

The Swiss had to settle for fourth ahead of Germany and The Netherlands in joint-fifth while Great Britain, down to just three team-members due to the loss of John Whitaker and Peppermill, finished sixth. As Swedish luck ran out, they plummeted from third to eighth while the Australians slotted into ninth place but the Aussies, also with just three in their side, fought a tremendous battle after pathfinder Peter McMahon broke his collarbone in a fall in the practice ring.

To take a medal with just three riders however is a remarkable feat by any measure. Team Canada’s day began with the news that Mac Cone’s horse, Ole, would be withdrawn as he was unsound, but nothing was going to kill their hunger for a share of those Olympic medals. “The odds are that you have no chance with a team of just three but you gotta try,” said Canadian hero Ian Millar tonight, and try they did, to the very end.

TENSION

There was huge tension in the British camp right up to the start of the competition as they awaited the Appeal Committee decision in relation to John Whitaker’s participation. Whitaker’s 11-year old stallion was withdrawn yesterday because he was stiff and uncomfortable, but was considered fit for duty again today. And when the Ground Jury met this morning (Monday) at 11am to consider a request from the British team, it was agreed that the horse and rider could compete in tonight’s second round of the team event. 

However seven of the nine qualified teams then lodged a protest following which the Ground Jury upheld its earlier decision but when the teams formally launched an appeal to the Appeal Committee who met at Sha Tin at 4pm local time today the objections were upheld and the British rider was declared ineligible to jump.

The rule which was applied was Article 264.4 from the FEI Rules for Jumping Events which states that “a full Nations Cup team comprises four competitors each riding the same horse throughout the competition. All members of each team must take part in the first round, except as stated in paragraph 4.2 below and in paragraph 7.2″. Paragraph 4.2. states that “if a team, comprising four competitors, cannot improve its placing in the first or second round after its third competitor has completed his course, the fourth competitor may be withdrawn”. A clear or four-fault round from Whitaker yesterday would have improved the British result.

A 13-fault opening effort from Nick Skelton and Russel put the final nail in the British coffin as the competition got underway tonight.

THE TEST

Another track full of questions and surprises faced horses and riders once again - Leopoldo Palacios and Steve Stephens presenting them with flair, colour and creativity.

A left-hand turn after the opening vertical led to the triple bar followed by a dog-leg to the 1.50m white oxer at three and then a check of control and positioning at the skinny, snaky planks at fence four. A left-hand bend to the vertical at five was followed by another big question over the first of the three doubles on the track - would horses be distracted by the liverpool water-trays under both the opening oxer and the vertical second element? Now the pressure was full-on with acceleration required on approach to the narrow open water - 4.10m wide - with just four good strides to the next double, vertical to vertical, at fence eight. This would prove pivotal. A turn-back to the oxer at nine, a right bend to the planks at 10 and a left-hand turn brought horses down the final line. And here the brightly-coloured wall at 11 was followed by a double of oxers at 12 and then, on a curving line, the final vertical at 13.

“It’s a difficult track - it was very technical yesterday and even more so today,” said Belgium’s reigning World Champion Jos Lansink whose stallion Cumano is clearly really enjoying his jumping again after a long lay-off due to injury. “The course builder is using the water fences very cleverly,” he pointed out after putting in one of the earliest tours of the course, picking up just two time faults. “The water is going to be a problem for a lot of riders,” he added, and he was quite correct.

A GOOD START

The first-day joint-leaders from the USA made a good start when McLain Ward’s only mistake with Sapphire was at the water, and when Laura Kraut’s Cedric put in a spectacular clear they were looking very strong indeed. “Tonight he was completely relaxed,” Kraut said afterwards. “We had a mix-up in the practice ring when he thought a shadow was a groundline but things like that don’t bother him, it just made him more attentive, and he felt amazing in there. My biggest worry was about the liverpool double but he soared over it. It’s hard to believe how much he has come on over the last year. In May 2007 we jumped in the Super League in Rome and it was too much for him but he has decided to peak at the right moment - I’m thrilled with him,” she pointed out.

The joint-leaders from Switzerland however were in trouble right away. Pathfinder Christina Liebherr had a nightmare ride with No Mercy who lived up to his name when dragging her at break-neck speed around much of the track and, having hit the oxer at three, put a foot in the water and lowered the oxer at nine she had to pull up in front of the second element of 11 before circling to finish. “He is either a genius or a crazy horse, and today he was a crazy, crazy horse,” the rider said in resignation after putting 23 faults on the board.

Team-mate Pius Schwizer meanwhile made an amazing recovery when Nobless M threw in an objection on the approach to the vertical at five, and did well to complete with just five faults this time out.

All eyes were on the Germans who, so surprisingly, were trailing the field after yesterday’s opening round but any hope of a rapid climb up the order would be halted by 19 faults for Marco Kutscher when, in an effort to take a sharp check after a strong ride to the water, he stopped Cornet Obolensky in his tracks. Clearly unsettled, the handsome stallion completed, dropping several fences on his way home.

RISING

The Australians however were really rising to the challenge and Laurie Lever’s excellent four-fault effort with the brave Drossel Dan was followed by a fabulous clear from Edwina Alexander and Itot du Chateau. If last man in, 23 year old Matt Williams, could hold it together they would be challenging for a medal at the end.

Lying fourth overnight, the Norwegians were also making good progress despite a 12-fault result from pathfinder Stein Endresen when Morten Djupvik and Casino lowered only the second element of the double at fence eight and Geir Gulliksen picked up just five with Cattani. The Dutch were unable to make any real headway, eight faults for Angelique Hoorn and O’Brien and a good five-fault round from Marc Houtzager and Opium followed by an unhappy 27 from Vincent Voorn and Alpapillon-Armanie. And the Swedes, in overnight third, were fading fast too, Peter Eriksson’s good opening four-fault result with Jaguar Mail followed by 20 from Lotta Schultz and Calibra and 17 for Helena Lundback and Erbblume - they couldn’t claw their way back from there.

The Canadians however were blossoming under pressure - Jill Henselwood paving the way with a superb clear, one of just five on the day, from the aptly-named Special Ed and Eric Lamaze keeping them right in the game with just a single mistake, at the second element of the penultimate double, with the big-jumping Hickstead. And as it came down to the closing stages it was clear that the weight of Canadian responsibility would fall on the mature shoulders of nine-time Olympian Ian Millar.

The line-up was already taking shape, the Germans finally finished off when Ludger Beerbaum’s All Inclusive stopped when the partnership could not find the distance from the water to the following double to complete with six faults while Australian hopes were finally dashed by 17-fault round from Matt Williams. “I did too much with my horse in the warm-up, and halfway around the course I paid the price,” the young man said philosophically.

A GREAT DEAL

The Dutch just couldn’t stay afloat despite just a single error for Gerco Schroder and Monaco but Norwegian anchorman Tony Andre Hansen produced another fabulous round with Camiro. Hansen has been training with former Irish rider Gerry Mullins for the last six years and he has honed to skills to great effect over the past 12 months - his one time-fault the only addition to the Norwegian scoreline. “I want to thank Gerry a lot,” he said today, “he pushed me and pushed me and here we are now - I owe him a great deal,” he added.

It was clear that Norway would now take bronze but it took a foot-perfect round from Ian Millar to secure the Canadian position and, if Beezie Madden could leave all the fences up when last to go with Authentic then the Americans would take gold ahead of them. But a foot on the tape at the bogey water ensured a jump-off instead, both teams now sharing a total of 20 faults apiece.

You could cut the air with a knife as McLain Ward led the way in the third and final round, throwing down the gauntlet with the coolest clear from Sapphire over the new track which asked for a strong gallop to the new final oxer, and when Henselwood hit the wall, now fence two, the Canadians began to look vulnerable. Laura Kraut piled on the pressure with an amazing ride with Cedric who also left the fences intact but Lamaze pulled it back for Canada when producing the quickest time, 36.35 seconds, with Hickstead. If Will Simpson made a mistake then it would all fall back on Millar again, but a powerful clear from Carlsson Vom Dach sealed the deal - it was all over and the US held that precious gold while the Canadians had to do with silver.  That wasn’t really a problem for them though, because they have waited a long, long time for this.

HISTORICAL

It was an historic Canadian moment because they have not held an Olympic medal since Tom Gayford, Jim Day and Jim Elder took gold in Mexico City in 1968 - a full 40 years ago. And at 61 years of age, the record-breaking Ian Millar was very happy with tonight’s result. “I’ve been riding on Canadian teams for 39 years” he said, “and there have been a lot of good days but the Olympic Games have never gone my way so to be part of this is remarkable. I want to say thanks to my great team and horses and to the team that have been behind us all,” he added.

“When Mac’s horse was out this morning it didn’t seem like we had any chance of a medal, and then Jill inspired us all with her great ride. She left us no choice but to have a real go - she set the standard and we had to follow” he explained. And, even though he will be 65 when the next Olympic Games are held in 2012, he is looking forward to it already. “I’m going to try again for London - I’ve picked out the horse already!” he said. 

The Norwegians meanwhile were relishing their bronze, a first-ever Jumping prize for their country which has not taken part in the equestrian Olympic contest since 1992. “When we qualified at the Europeans last summer we didn’t really believe we could go this far - you dream that it might happen but this, to us, is as good as winning gold!” said Stein Endresen.  “Finally we have a team riding at the same level at the same time - and the team spirit has been unbelievable” said Hansen while team manager, Sylve Soderstrand, added with some satisfaction “the team have stuck to the plan we made two years ago, and that is why we are here today.”

The Americans meanwhile were looking happy if a little stunned and Laura Kraut admitted that the whole of the final sequence of events had taken her by surprise. “I was a bit dazed and confused going into the jump-off, we weren’t really sure it was going to happen until the last minute and our horses were already going back to the stables - there was no time to think about it. I just knew, going in, that I needed to be clear and fast and it just turned into our night - the Canadians made us work for it though!” she pointed out. 

“I was sorry because I made my team jump in the jump-off - I should have sealed it in the second round, but I’m glad how it worked out” said Beezie Madden. Team manager George Morris was looking pretty pleased too, because it had worked out just fine.

An American triumph, a Canadian moment to remember and for Norway the reward of commitment and the willingness to work together to make the impossible dream into a reality.

HONG KONG - After nine Olympics, Ian Millar finally has a medal to call his own.

The equestrian rider from Perth, Ont., rode the anchor leg for Canada’s silver-medal winning show jumping team Monday at the Shatin Olympic Equestrian Venue.

Canada’s team of Eric Lamaze of Schomberg, Ont., Jill Henselwood of Oxford Mills, Ont., Mac Cone of King City, Ont., and Millar lost in a gold-medal jumpoff to the United States.

Millar, 61, made his Olympic debut in 1972 in Munich, Germany, and has competed in every Summer Games since - except for the boycotted Games in Moscow in 1980 - but had failed to win a medal every time. Until now.

The Americans - Ward Mclain on Sapphire, Laura Kraut on Cedric, Will Simpson on Carlsson Vom Dach and Beezie Madden on Authentic - were perfect in the jumpoff, while Henselwood had four faults for Canada on Special Ed. Madden and Millar didn’t have to ride in the jumpoff with the gold already clinched after three U.S. riders.

Canada came into the final round tied for fourth with 16 faults, four behind the United States and Switzerland, but were able to make up ground with a pair of clear rides in the final.

Only the top-three scores from the four-member team count, but Canada had no margin for error in the final as Cone’s horse Ole was injured and unable to compete.

The rest of the team came through with both Millar, aboard In Style, and Henselwood riding clear rounds. Lamaze, who was clear in the first round on Sunday, had four faults riding Hickstead on Monday.

Canada and the United States both ended the final round with 20 faults, prompting the jumpoff. Norway won the bronze with 27 faults and Switzerland struggled Monday, dropping to fourth with 30 faults.

Canada last won a team jumping medal in 1968 when the team of James Day, James Elder and Thomas Gayford took home the gold in Mexico City.

Veteran British rider John Whitaker may take part in the last phase of the Olympics equestrian show jumping team final on Monday, Britain’s team leader said, as his horse was showing signs of recovery.

Whitaker made his withdrawal from the first phase of the show jumping final on Sunday as Peppermill was “quite stiff”, Britain’s team leader Will Connell said.

“It just wasn’t right to ask it to jump [on Sunday]. He’s better this morning and we will see how he is this evening,” Connell said.

The withdrawal of Whitaker, 53, came only days after younger brother Michael, 48, was forced to pull out after his horse was found lame. Nick Skelton is riding in Michael Whitaker’s place.

The Whitaker brothers, who won team silver in the 1984 Los Angeles Games, were seen as the anchors of the British team, who include first-time Olympians Tim Stockdale, 44, and Ben Maher, 25.

Whitaker’s withdrawal was announced during the first phase of the Olympics equestrian show jumping team on Sunday, with no immediate reason given for the pullout.

Switzerland and the United States tied for the top spot with 12 penalties in the first phase of the show jumping final on Sunday.

Britain and Canada tied for fourth place on 16 penalties.

The qualifier determines which teams will compete in Monday’s final, as well as the 50 riders who will go on to the final individual event on Thursday.

Switzerland and the USA share the lead after the thrilling first round of the Olympic Jumping team competition which took place at Sha Tin stadium in Hong Kong tonight (Sunday). Sweden lies third ahead of Great Britain and Canada in equal-fourth, while the Netherlands and Norway are tied for sixth place. But the biggest surprise of the day was the German performance, as the giants of the sport barely qualified for tomorrow’s medal-deciding second round when collecting 20 faults, just squeezing into eighth place along with the Australians.

The Aussies were well-pleased with their result so far. They started with two 16-fault performances from Peter McMahon (Genoa) and Laurie Lever (Dan Drossel) but Edwina Alexander’s clear with Itot du Chateau, one of only seven on the day, lifted their spirits and then 23-year old Matt Williams produced the ride of his life with his 12-year old gelding Leconte when clear all the way to the very last fence for four faults. Australian team manager Stephen Lamb said afterwards “going last Matt had all the pressure on him, but he handled it brilliantly for a young guy – we are very happy!”

CLEVER COURSE

The 13-fence course designed by Leopoldo Palacios and Steve Stephens was a work of genius and quickly brought the cream to the top. Starting out over an oxer, there was a gentle right-hand curve to a red vertical and then a left-hand run to a skinny vertical at three. It was here that the real work began as the following open water, narrow on take-off but a full 4.5m wide, was on an acute angle with little room for preparation and the fence-judge was busy raising that red flag all evening.

The following narrow red gate had the most slender of pencil-poles on top, a trademark characteristic of Palacios courses, and onward-bound horses found themselves deep to this, and then it was on to a double off a right-hand turn at six. With a triple-bar first element and an oxer to follow this proved influential, and many of the riders reported that the candy-coloured poles were difficult to see - “you definitely needed a horse with good eyesight on this track!” Canada’s Ian Millar commented.

The following planks, flanked by a mighty dragon which, fortunately, the horses couldn’t see, stood a maximum 1.60 metres tall, thus testing control after a forward ride from the previous double, and then the track curved left to the oxer at eight and sharp-right to the line that included a 1.60 m wall at nine with four strong strides to the following 1.50m oxer at 10. The horses that managed to jump clear to here were doing well but the next trap was in the triple combination at 11. Jumped off a left-hand bend it consisted of a 1.55m vertical to a 1.50m oxer and then a 1.55m vertical to finish. Despite the fact that it quickly became clear that the distance inside was tricky, riders kept coming in too strong and suffered the consequences time and again. This was followed by a 1.55m oxer with a 1.80m spread and finally, turning away from the in-gate, the last fence was a liverpool vertical standing at 1.60m.

With the 13 individual riders going first, it was Ireland’s Denis Lynch who first found the key with a great round from Lantinus who picked up just a single time penalty. He had spotted the traps. He almost pulled Lantinus back to walk before tackling the triple combination and explained afterwards “you need to jump the first part as if it’s a fence on its own and then push on for the second two elements - if you go in too forward there, you are going to have some part of it down. The course is very technical and very light - you have to concentrate all the way,” he pointed out.

DRAMA

There was plenty of drama in the early stages, Azerbaijan’s Jamal Rahimov taking a fall from Ionesco de Brekka at the penultimate oxer when the stallion straddled the poles, and the rider was subsequently taken to hospital for check-up but was released soon afterwards. Alexander Onischenko, pathfinder for The Ukraine, only got as far as fence three with Codar as the stallion refused to tackle the following water but it was the eight-fault performance of Christian Ahlmann with Coster who fell foul of the dragon planks at seven and then hit the first element of the bogey triple combination, and the 12 collected by Marco Kutscher and Cornet Obolensky who went in the water and then added eight more en route, that shook German confidence.

The Swedes, in stark contrast, were looking quite solid when Lotta Schultz and Calibra picked up just four faults to add to Peter Eriksson’s eight with Jaguar Mail, and when Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum added another four faults to the German tally, lowering the opening vertical at the combination, there was a gasp of amazement. What on earth was happening to the hot favourites who normally prove so untouchable at this level of the sport? Even Meredith wasn’t really sure what was going on.

“It’s not like we are not used to pressure, it’s just a big surprise here today,” she said afterward. She was happy with her round with Shutterfly - “I was maybe too fast into the triple”, she admitted, but she had expected that her team would have produced better results. So had here been a German miscalculation about their whole approach to this Olympic contest? Had they been over-confident in the early stages? “We had a plan, that we would use the first competition to train a bit the other day - it wasn’t that we didn’t take it seriously but maybe we didn’t get that right,” she said. “We are going to have to go back and sit together and discuss what has happened - it’s certainly not what we expected,” she added.

She said the course was “well set, but when I walked it I thought 50% of horses will jump into the water - there is almost a 90 degree turn there - and at the triple at the end you need to jump in short. We’ve only seen one clear so far, its a good, fair course but we will have to prepare for the second round tomorrow - if we get into the top eight teams tonight. If we do get through we won’t be giving up, we will come out fighting,” she insisted.

BACK IN THE GAME

With three mistakes from Helena Lundback and Erbblume the Swedes began to falter, but then Rolf-Goran Bengtsson produced a sensational fault-free round from Ninja, the very first of the competition, and they were right back in the game - an extraordinary turn-around for the nation that has struggled so hard to survive in the Samsung Super League with FEI series this season and which is currently fighting relegation. With typical understatement Bengtsson said afterwards - “that went pretty well” - as his side registered a final score of 13 faults.

McLain Ward and the brilliant mare Sapphire soon followed with a pathfinding clear for the USA. “I hope the rest of the team has good fortune,” he said, but he wasn’t going to get too over-excited just yet. “It’s not easy out there, only two clears so far but we’ve been building for this for over a year now with a great back-up team - we’ve sacrificed a lot and we will be disappointed if we go home without a medal. The Olympic Games is all about peaking at the right time. Sapphire was less sensitive today and she went great,” he added.

The British were holding their own, Nick Skelton’s eight faults with Russel followed by just four for both Tim Stockdale (Corlato) and Ben Maher (Rolette) but they would soon be hit hard by the news that John Whitaker’s Peppermill was unwell and would have to be withdrawn. “He wasn’t right coming out of the stable,” said Chef d’Equipe Derek Ricketts, “we’re not sure what’s wrong, he may be tied up, but he couldn’t jump like that. John is really very disappointed” the team manager explained.

They would now have to settle for the 16 faults they had on the board which would leave them on level-pegging with the Canadians who were boosted by a fantastic clear from Eric Lamaze whose stallion Hickstead was jumping like a cat. Mac Cone had collected 12 faults with Ole, and things were not looking so good when Jill Henselwood and Special Ed left four on the floor but Lamaze’s clear was followed by just four faults, at the penultimate oxer, for Ian Millar and In Style. And he was in upbeat mood. “Our first two riders didn’t have a good day today but they will clean up their act tomorrow - so see you on the podium!” he said with a smile.

STAYING STRONG

The USA stayed strong, Laura Kraut’s bouncing grey Cedric clear all the way to the very last and Will Simpson (Carlsson Vom Dach) and Beezie Madden (Authentic) collecting eight faults each. Madden however seemed to be en route to a perfect clear only to have an odd moment just before the triple combination when Authentic suddenly shook his head and ground to a halt. “This has happened a couple of times before,” the rider explained, “if he gets an insect in his ear he goes crazy, and he started waving his head and didn’t even see the fence”. She circled and re-presented to finish the course. Without those eight faults the USA would be in the lead as tomorrow’s second round gets underway but instead they kick off with a score of 12.

The Swiss meanwhile were most impressive. Sheer consistency - with just four faults each from Christina Liebherr (No Mercy), Pius Schwizer (Nobless M), Niklaus Schurtenberger (Cantus) and Steve Guerdat (Jalisca Solier) - also registered a 12 fault tally and there is something quietly confident about them. They have been showing uneven results in this year’s Samsung Super League with FEI series, so how to explain this turn-up for the books? “Well we haven’t actually had a bad season at all,” said team manager Rolf Grass, “we were second in La Baule and second again at St Gallen and we haven’t always been in a position to use our best horses and our best riders. But we’ve worked very hard to prepare for coming here,” he said.

Just a single fault separates the joint-leaders, Switzerland and America, from Sweden in third going into tomorrow’s (Monday) second round, while there is just a single fence between the joint-leaders and the fourth-placed British and Canadians. The Dutch and Norwegians carry 17 faults and the Germans and Australians carry 20 as Round Two begins. Rolf Grass was not going to get too carried away by his side’s good result today - “this is a Nations Cup, anything can happen and we are only halfway tonight,” he said, and his anchorman Steve Guerdat was also staying sensibly Swiss - “I feel confident for my team,” he said, “but tomorrow is another day and another course - let’s wait and see.”

And America’s McLain Ward expressed similar sentiments when he said “yeh, we just have to keeping chipping away here, take it one day at a time.”

Jill Henselwood of Oxford Mills, ON, won the 150,000 Euro King’s Cup Grand Prix held Sunday, May 18, at CSIO5* Madrid, Spain, while Eric Lamaze of Schomberg, ON, finished second.

A total of three Canadians advanced to the jump-off from the 53-horse starting field. Henselwood, Lamaze, and Mac Cone of King City, ON, were among the 11 riders who were able to complete the first round course without incurring any faults. Despite the deteriorating footing caused by rainy conditions, Henselwood riding Special Ed, a 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Juniper Farms, produced a clear jump-off round in what would prove to be the fastest time of 33.24 seconds. Lamaze and Hickstead, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion owned by Torrey Pines Stables and Ashland Stables, finished behind Henselwood in a time of 34.60 seconds.

Mac Cone and Ole, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Sara Houstoun and Larry Evoy, had one rail in the jump-off in a time of 35.64 seconds to place 11th overall.

Ian Millar of Perth, ON, riding In Style, a 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Susan Grange and Lothlorien Farms, had the last rail down in the first round for four faults.

“Canada was the only nation with three riders in the jump-off. This certainly makes up for our Nations’ Cup performance on Saturday,” remarked Terrance Millar, chef d’équipe of the Canadian Show Jumping Team, in reference to Canada’s ninth place finish among 14 nations in the 150,000 Euro Nations’ Cup. “Canada was gold today.”

Throughout the competition, the Canadian riders were hard to beat. Lamaze won the Cervezas Mahou Trophy as well as the King’s College Trophy riding Narcotique de Muze II, Ashland Stables’ 11-year-old Belgium Warmblood mare while Millar and In Style and Millar won Altae Banco Privado Trophy.

Michael Whitaker won the Royal Windsor Grand Prix on the eight year-old Insultech Amai, in the horse’s first Grand Prix.

After a strong start, Michael anchored back for the tall Land Rover upright which caught out so many, before pushing on for a flyer over the final vertical and oxer.

“He’s only had one fence down all week, and I think he’s pretty special. We’ll take it easy with him, but he’ll go to Rome and do some of the minor classes,” he said.

The bold winning round surprised William Funnell, who took the runner up slot with Julia Slade’s Cortaflex Billy Birr.

Duncan Inglis was the only other clear in the jump off and the first to set the standard with the home-bred Sunkist 3.

Last year’s winner Tim Stockdale and Fresh Direct Corlato fell victim to the other big upright in the jump-off, while setting the fastest time of the class for fourth place.

Accenture Young Riders’ Grand Prix

Nicole Pavitt crowned a successful week with a good win in the Accenture Young Riders’ Grand Prix on Maestro de la Rend Peine.

From a flying start, Nicole had to ride skilfully into the double and then take a pull down to the last.

Hailey Adams and the relatively inexperienced Quidditch gave a confident performance for second place.

Lola Wade went into the jump-off after an adjustment of the time allowed – she had originally been given a time fault – and her careful clear round paid off over a track that caught plenty out, taking third place.

Land Rover 6 & 7 Year-Old Championship

Mark Armstrong and Caleta reigned supreme in the six and seven year-old internationals, winning the final day’s class to add to an earlier win and placing.
The six year-old grey mare survived a late rattle in the first round before some impressive lines in the jump-off gave her rider more than 1sec in hand over David McPherson and Maxim Trijol.

Results

Land Rover 6 & 7 Year-Old Championship

1. Caleta (Mark Armstrong)

2. Maxim Trijol (David McPherson)

3. Argento (John Whitaker)

Martin Collins International Speed

1. Huron des Gerbeaux (Graham Lovegrove)

2. Raport (Ljubov Kochetova)

3. Royal Concorde (Shane Breen)

Accenture Young Riders Grand Prix

1. Maestro de la Rend Peine (Nicole Pavitt)

2. Quidditch (Hailey Adams)

3. William IV (Lola Wade)

Windsor Grand Prix

1. Insultech Amai (Michael Whitaker)

2. Cortaflex Billy Birr (William Funnell)

3. Sunkist 3 (Duncan Inglis)

Belgium’s Ludo Philippaerts and Cavalor’s Winningmood produced one of just two double-clears in the opening leg of the Samsung Super League with FEI series in La Baule, France. 

The Belgian team came out on top in the first leg of the 2008 Samsung Super League with FEI series in La Baule, France, today. This was a tough start to the season, with fortunes fluctuating as the competition progressed, but it was Ludo Philippaerts’ double-clear, one of the just two on the day, that sealed the result for the team which returned to the elite level of nations’ cup show jumping last season after relegation only in 2005.
Switzerland, Ireland and the USA shared runner-up spot while the Swiss rallied brilliantly after finding themselves at the bottom of the order at the end of round one, and the Irish survived some shaky moments thanks to solid performances from Edward Doyle and Denis Lynch.

It wasn’t a good day for Sweden. They have clung on desperately to their Samsung Super League with FEI status over the past two seasons, but although they were very competitive after the opening round, 12-fault second-round results for both Rigmor Arvidsson-Maggi and Lotta Schultz sent them plummeting to last place. It looks like they could be facing another uphill struggle as the 2008 series gets under way.

The host team from France had plenty to celebrate. The 2003/2004 series winners may not be part of the Super League family this season but they showed they they remain seriously competitive. A copy-book display from 59-year-old Michel Robert riding Koro d’Or produced the only other double-clear of the afternoon and helped secure joint-fifth for France along with the surprisingly erratic Dutch, while Great Britain started strongly but fell back to finish seventh ahead of Germany in eighth and the trailing Swedes in ninth.

Course designer Frederic Cottier presented a straight-forward test with no nasty traps but, as always, when the action moves outside to big grass arenas after the restrictions of the winter indoors then horses and riders have to adjust and Cottier came up with a master plan to help them do just that. The Samsung vertical at fence five hit the ground more than once as anxiety about the following water took hold, while the penultimate triple combination also claimed plenty of scalps. However problems were widespread throughout the 12-fence track.

At the end of round one it was the British who held the whip hand with just six faults on the board after a clear from Nick Skelton and Russel, a single time-fault form Ben Maher and Rolette and five faults for Robert Smith with Ronaldo, Tim Gredley providing the drop-score with four fences down for Omelli.

But the Belgians were already looking strong and lay second following clears from both Philippaerts and his stallion Cavalor’s Winningmood and Judy-Ann Melchior with Aktion Pur Z so that they only counted the eight collected by Philippe Le Jeune and Vigo d’Arsouilles as the three mistakes from Niels Bruynseels and Item de Quintin were discarded.

The French were also impressive, Kevin Staut and Kraque Boom Bois Margot bringing a roar of approval from the packed stands as he kicked off for the host country with a clear and Robert bringing up the rear with Koro d’Or in exactly the same fashion while Timothee Anciaume registered nine faults with Jarnac and Patrice Deleveau left two fences on the floor with Katchinamail Normandie.

Sharing second spot with the Belgians and French at the half-way point were Sweden and the USA also on eight faults - Sweden’s Peter Eriksson (Jaguar Mail) and Lotta Schultz (Calibra) making just single errors, and Helena Lundback going clear with Bukowskis Erbblume to discard the 12 recorded by Rigmor Arvidsson-Maggi with Gentano.

Anne Kursinski was the American pathfinder and the 49 year old showed the wealth of her experience with a four-fault result for Roxana before Charlie Jayne collected eight with Urbanus. Kate Levy and Vent du Nord left just one on the floor and then Will Simpson rounded up the US effort with a great clear from the little Holsteiner gelding El Campeon’s Carlsson Vom Dach.

The Irish slotted into equal-fifth after four fault results from Edward Doyle (Sequoyah Farms Utopia), River Foyle (Capt Shane Carey) and Denis Lynch (Lantinus) allowed Cian O’Connor’s 12 with Irish Independent Echo Beach to be dropped, and also sharing a score of 12 faults at this stage were Germany’s Thomas Voss (Leonardo B), Thomas Muhlbauer (Asti Spumante), Max Kuhner (Arcantus GK) and Otto Becker (Dobel’s Cordina) - Voss picking up five faults while the remainder collected just four.

Second-last at the end of round one were the Dutch - Angelique Hoorn (Blauwendraad’s O’Brien) and Gerco Schroder (Eurocommerce Berlin) with four faults apiece, Marc Houtzager (Opium) with five and Vincent Voorn (Audi’s Alpapillon-Armanie) providing the drop-score with 12 while Switzerland languished at the bottom. Both pathfinder Christina Liebherr (LB No Mercy) and anchor-man Steve Guerdat (Jalisca Solier) had just one fence down but two errors from both Jane Richard (Jalia de Gaverie) and Pius Schwizer (Nobless M) left the Swiss carrying 16 faults into round two.

Clears from Richard - who showed real promise with a good performance in the Samsung Super League with FEI in Dublin last August - and Guerdat second time out raised Switzerland’s profile dramatically in the second round when they added just four more to their tally to finish on a score of 20. The Dutch added eight - Houtzager keeping a clean sheet this time out but Hoorn and Voorn having one down while Schroder dropped two - to finish on 21.

The Germans couldn’t produce a single clear - Voss and Becker collecting eight and Muhlbauer and Kuhner four apiece to complete with 28 while the Irish were saved by a superb last-to-go clear from Denis Lynch after Doyle held firm with another four, Carey picked up a dangerous 16 and O’Connor recovered to leave just one down this time out.

American hopes were high when Kursinski repeated her first-round performance of four and then Jayne produced a spectacular clear. If Levy’s 12 could be dropped and if Simpson could go clear then they would finish with 12 on the board and that would really put the pressure on those ahead of them. But two mistakes proved costly although the 20-fault result which left them sharing second place at the end of the day was creditable for this very new American selection.

The Swedes meanwhile were in all kinds of trouble, losing their grip completely when adding 24 faults in round two, while the French looked much more vulnerable second time out until rescued by Robert’s great second clear to finish on 21 faults. Now it was down to the leading nations and when Le Jeune kicked off with a clear this time out, Melchior had just one down and Philippaerts re-enacted his foot-perfect first effort then Bruynseels eight could be dropped to give them a final total of 12.

The British still had some leeway but any more than one fence down would threaten their advantage. Russel landed in the water and also picked up a time-fault for Skelton, Gredley collected another nine faults, Maher picked up eight and as Smith entered the ring the chance of taking runner-up spot hung in the balance. If he could stay clear then Britain would complete on 19 faults and that would be good enough to slot in behind the Belgians but a fence down on the last line put paid to that.

Phlippaerts said the course was ideal. “It was a really nice track - not too big but technical enough for the horses and riders here - the Chef de Piste did a great job!” he said. And he believed that this was a big day for Belgian show jumping because his country has never won a Samsung Super League with FEI competition before - “I believe we won the Nations Cup here in La Baule in 1999, but it was not the Super League then” he pointed out. He complimented his fellow-riders - “Judy-Ann was very good and Philippe too with eight faults and then a clear - also Niels - he is a young rider and he did a good job,” he insisted.

He was delighted with his nine year old stallion Cavalor’s Winningmood who lived up to his name this afternoon. “I bought him when he was six months old so I have him a long time and I always thought he was a special horse - today he proved it,” and now he says Belgium looks forward to more good results in the 2008 Samsung Super League with FEI series. “We can put together teams and with some older and some younger riders and it will work well,” he said.
1. BELGIUM 12 flts - Vigo d’Arsouilles (Philippe Le Jeune) 8/0, Item du Quintin (Niels Bruynseels) 12/ 8, Aktion Pur Z (Judy-Ann Melchior) 0/4, Cavalor’s Winningmood (Ludo Philippaerts) 0/0.
Equal 2. SWITZERLAND 20 flts - LB No Mercy (Christina Liebherr) 4/4, Jalia de Gaverie (Richard Jane) 8/0, Nobless M (Pius Schwizer) 8/4, Jalisca Solier (Steve Guerdat) 4/0.
IRELAND 20 flts - Sequoyah Farms Utopia (Edward Doyle) 4/4 , River Foyle (Capt Shane Carey) 4/16, Irish Independent Echo Beach (Cian O’Connor) 12/4, Lantinus (Denis Lynch) 4/0.
USA 20 flts - Roxana (Anne Kursinski) 4/4, Urbanus (Charlie Jayne) 8/0, Vent du Nord (Kate Levy) 4/12, El Campeon’s Carlsson vom Dach (Will Simpson) 0/8.

Equal 5. FRANCE 21 flts - Kraque Boom Bois Margot (Kevin Staut) 0/8, Jarnac (Timothee Anciaume) 9/5, Katchinamail Normandie (Patrice Deleveau) 8/8, Koro d’Or (Michel Robert) 0/0.
NETHERLANDS 21 flts - Blauwendraad’s O’Brien (Angelique Hoorn) 4/4, Audi’s Alpapillon-Armanie (Vincent Voorn) 12/4, Opium VS (Marc Houtzager) 5/0, Eurocommerce Berlin (Gerco Schroder) 4/8.

7. GREAT BRITAIN 22 flts - Russel (Nick Skelton) 0/ 5, Omelli (Tim Gredley) 16/9, Rolette (Ben Maher) 1/8, Ronaldo (Robert Smith) 5/4.

8. GERMANY 28 flts - Leonardo B (Thomas Voss) 5/8, Asti Spumante (Thomas Muhlbauer) 4/4, Arcantus GK (Max Kuhner) 4/4, Dobel’s Cordina (Otto Becker) 4/8.

9. SWEDEN 32 flts - Jaguar Mail (Peter Eriksson) 4/8, Gentano (Rigmor Arvidsson-Maggi) 12/12, Calibra (Lotta Schultz) 4/12 , Bukowskis Erbblume (Helena Lundback) 0/4.

LEADERBOARD AFTER FIRST LEG:
1. Belgium - 10 points
2. Switzerland, Ireland, USA - 5.33
5. The Netherlands - 3
6. Great Britain - 2
7. Germany - 1
8. Sweden - 0.5

Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum claimed the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping title for the second time in her career today with a magical performance from Shutterfly.

America’s Rich Fellers created a huge sensation when finishing second with Flexible, a horse who has achieved success against the most incredible odds, while Germany’s Heinrich-Hermann Engemann and Aboyeur W slotted into third.
Britain’s only representative, Michael Whitaker, finished ninth with Suncal Portofino.
Course designer Rolf Ludi built tracks asking huge questions about the rider’s ability to be accurate and the horse’s willingness to stretch themselves to their limit for this 30th anniversary fixture.
But Shutterfly proved more than equal to all of these questions, even when Meredith left the 15-year-old gelding with a lot to do at the triple combination in Sunday’s opening round but the horse just opened up his jump a little more to bring her home clear.
The second round track was shorter but the questions were still big with few able to master the awkward distance to the final fence. Last in to the ring, Shutterfly was like a piece of precision equipment and the crowd rewarded the German partnership with a huge roar as the horse and rider executed the last distance on a perfect four strides.
“I’m very proud to win my second world cup title,” said the rider who previously topped the line-up in Las Vegas in 2005. “Shutterfly showed he was in great form over three days and at 15 he is not young — he was super and he never had a rail down.”
American rider Rich Fellers was a surprise second with Flexible, an Irish-bred 12-year-old stallion by Cruising.
“You don’t know what they can do until you ask them, and when I asked him this week to jump higher and go wider he just kept saying ‘OK’,” the delighted American explained. Their success was all the more incredible because Flexible had previously been operated on for a blocked artery in a foreleg, as well as breaking his shoulder in a freak accident.
Results
1, Shutterfly (Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum) Ger 4/0/0 – 4

2, Flexible (Rich Fellers) USA 2/4/0 – 6

3, Aboyeur W (Heinrich-Hermann Engemann) Ger 5/0/4 – 9

=4, Ideo du Thot (Beat Mandli) Sui 4/8/0 – 12

=4, All Inclusive NRW (Ludger Beerbaum) Ger 4/4/4 – 12

=4, Castle Forbes Libertina (Jessica Kuerten) Ger 0/8/4 – 12

=7, Esplanade (Peter Wylde) USA 3/12/0 – 15

=7, Tresor (Steve Guerdat) Sui 10/0/5 – 15

9, Suncal Portofino (Michael Whitaker) GBR 8/5/5 – 18

10, Ninja la Silla (Rolf-Goran Bengtsson) Swe 15/0/4 - 19