GREAT BRITAIN'S BRIGHT YOUNG TEAM WIN FEI FURUSIYYA NATIONS CUP IN ODENSE, DENMARK
Friday 16 May 2014
Thirteen nations with teams of four came forward for the CSIO3* Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup competition this afternoon in Odense, Denmark. At CSIO3* level the format is that same as it is at Top Level in that all four riders compete with one being a dropscore, however there is a difference in that only the top eight nations after the first round come forward for the second.
Rob Hoekstra, the World Class Showjumping Performance Manager, had selected a relatively new squad of horse and rider combinations to represent Great Britain and it was the following four riders that were then identified to compete on the team and in the following order of appearance:
Holly Gillott from Loughborough, Leicestershire with her own and Graham Smith’s 9 year-old liver chestnut gelding, Dougie Douglas
Tim Page from Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk with Santa Cruise II, a 10 year-old grey gelding owned by Sue Hodgson
Harriet Nuttall from Yeovil, Somerset with her father’s (Rupert Nuttall) 10 year-old chestnut gelding, A Touch Imperious
Jessie Drea from Haywards Heath, West Sussex with Touchable, a 13 year-old chestnut mare owned by Lynne Humphries and Equine America
First Round
By the halfway stage there was plenty for Chef d’Equipe Di Lampard to smile about as Great Britain were sitting in 2nd place just 4 penalties behind the leaders Switzerland and ahead of France, Poland and the Netherlands that sat in joint 3rd place on 8 penalties.
The course was both twisting and winding as well as well as being built up to height between 1.50m – 1.60m with some of the oxers having spreads at 1.8m wide. It was certainly a test for those tackling it and asked questions that some were just unable to answer; in particular the Chilean team who saw each of their riders either retire or eliminated.
Holly Gillott produced a foot-perfect clear for the team in her role as pathfinder with Dougie Douglas making it look easy. For Tim Page, he wasn’t quite as fortunate notching up an unexpected 16 penalties with Santa Cruise - however Harriet Nuttall who was next to go kept GB’s dreams afloat by coming through the finish line on a zero penalty score having put in another brilliant clear for the team.
Last to go, Jessie Drea also put in a solid performance but incurred an unfortunate 4 penalties when a fence lowered which saw GB finish just one fence behind Switzerland after all the riders had been.
Second Round
With only the top eight nations coming forward it was Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Australia and Ireland that made the cut alongside Great Britain.
For Holly Gillott, this will be a Nations Cup that she will remember for not only being her first appearance on a senior team but also for her performance in it. Jumping yet another perfect round she produced the first double clear of the competition which was met by much applause by those officiating and commentating at the event. Tim Page must have hoped to put his first round behind him when he came in for his second. Still very forward in his going, Santa Cruz definitely looked more settled though and this reflected in their performance with just a 4 penalty finish when they lowered a top rail having found themselves short on space.
Harriet Nuttall, also making her first senior team appearance looked set to produce a second double clear for Great Britain. However, it was incredibly bad luck that saw A Touch Imperious just fall short at the water and incur 4 penalties at what was otherwise a superb round.
With all of the third riders having competed, Great Britain found themselves in pole position with Switzerland having fallen into 4th place and France and Belgium having moved into 2nd and 3rd respectively. To say the closing stages had taken a shake-up would be quite an understatement and it was now a case of waiting to see what happened once Jessie and the remaining last riders had been.
It was only France that could have toppled Great Britain at this stage or have forced us into a jump off and with this in mind Jessie must have been on tenterhooks waiting to see how their rider fared. With two fences being lowered by their final rider Reynald Angot it quickly became apparent that Great Britain couldn’t be beaten and that there was no need for Jessie to jump.
It was an absolutely jubilant team that entered the arena for the presentation with Di Lampard. The youngest team of the competition and they played their hand perfectly. An absolutely brilliant performance by a team of horses and riders very much at the start of their careers.
The Competition Odense Show
The competition this afternoon was no exception in that the standings kept changing whenever a competitor left the arena during the latter half of the competition and team officials were left continually trying to keep track of their score cards.
Tensions were definitely high and showed on the faces of everyone connected to the teams and it is this, that makes the Furusiyya Nations Cup series such an exciting one to watch. For Great Britain, it was a perfect day. They had started out strongly, held their own and then positioned themselves into a safehouse that the other nations had found incapable of touching.
The next major competition at Odense is when all eyes will turn to the Grand Prix which takes place at 14:30hrs local time. Further information in respect of the show can be found by visiting www.csio-odense.dk . Full linformation in repsect of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup series can be found by visiting www.fei.org
The British Showjumping Teams are supported by Exchequer and National Lottery funding via UK Sport.
Results
1. GBR – 12 penalties
Holly Gillott / Dougie Douglas 0-0
Tim Page / Santa Cruise 16-4
Harriet Nuttall/A Touch Imperious 0-4
Jessie Drea/Touchable 0/-
2. Belgium – 16 penalties
Switzerland – 16 penalties
France - 16 penalties
5. Sweden – 20 penalties
6. Australia – 24 penalties
7. Ireland – 28 penalties
8. Netherlands – 36 penalties
Photo: Harriet Nuttall and A Touch of Imperious helped the British team to victory at the second leg of the Furursiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping 2014 Europe Division 2 League at Odense, Denmark today - FEI/Annette Boe Østergaard.
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