BRITS CLAIM VICTORY IN CSIO5* NATIONS CUP
Saturday 27 August 2016
Great Britain claimed a hard fought victory in Gijon, Spain this afternoon when they won the CSIO5* Nations Cup competition relegating the home nation into 2nd place and The Netherlands into 3rd.
First round
Tim Stockdale from Road, Northamptonshire set the standard for the team by delivering a foot perfect clear to return a zero penalty score in the first round with Marjorie & Clark Glasgow’s impressive 11 year-old bay mare Fleur de l’Aube.
Next to go for the team was Joe Whitaker from Barnsley, South Yorkshire with Lola V, an 11 year-old bay mare owned by Steven Whitaker and Dawn Makin. Making their debut on a team at this level it was an unfortunate two down that saw them become the eventual drop score at the end of the first half. Sam Hutton with Happydam, a 9 year-old chestnut stallion were also making their debut at this level and it was great to see them make this step by producing yet another clear for the team within the time allowed.
Rob Bevis from Wrexham, Clwyd with his own grey gelding Courtney Z looked set to match their performances at Dublin where they had jumped double clear, however a touch of a pole saw 4 penalties awarded.
Leading into the second half
Going into the second round as clear leaders on a team score of 4 penalties, with two jumps in hand, there were a number of nations all determined to not let a win out of their sights. The pressure was definitely on and the British team must have felt it as it seemed no nation was willing to stand and let us take the win easily.
Tim and Fleur de L’Aube picked up an incredibly unlucky 4 penalties in what was otherwise an outstanding and scopey performance by this mare that has really come into her own this year. For Joe and Lola, it just wasn’t their day, with 12 penalties being accrued. No doubt however, that this will have been a great experience for the pair stepping up to 5* level and one that they will both draw from in future team appearances.
Sam and Happydam, having produced such a brilliant clear in the first half were unlucky to return home on 8 penalties whilst Robert and Courtney Z returned a foot-perfect and much needed clear round to allow Great Britain to finish on a total of 16 penalties.
Robert’s performance was a pivotal one as it allowed the Brits to hold onto the lead by just 1 penalty ahead of Spain who had managed to climb their way up from joint 6th place. Spain, who had sat on 17 penalties at the end of the first round then went on to become the only nation to return three clear rounds in the second half and subsequently rise dramatically up the leaderboard to sit just one time penalty behind ourselves. The Netherlands who had finished the first round on 16 penalties accrued a further 4 penalties to give them a total score of 20.
It was a high scoring and tough Nations Cup this afternoon in Spain, and one that asked a lot of the horses being asked to take on the demanding course that had been set for them. The riders will now be setting their sights on the Grand Prix which takes place on Monday 29th August at 16:30 hrs local time.
For full results visit http://results.hippodata.de/2016/1217/docs/r_09_final.pdf
For further information on the show and full results, visit http://hipico.gijon.es/. Full information in respect of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup series can be found by visiting www.fei.org.
British Showjumping would like to thank Cavalor, who are the title sponsors of their Senior Nations Cup Teams. More information on Cavalor and their products dedicated to the nutritional needs of high performance horses can be found at www.cavalor.com/uk-en.
The British Jumping teams are also supported by the Equestrian World Class Programme.
The programme, which encompasses both Podium and Podium Potential squads, focuses on identifying talent, developing potential and maximising medal winning performances on the world stage. The Programme has been funded by the National Lottery via UK Sport since 1998 and is a portfolio within the British Equestrian Federation.
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