Great Britain secure their place at the 2015 Furusiyya Nations Cup Final
Friday 07 August 2015
Great Britain secured their place on the 2016 Top Level Furusiyya Nations Cup series as well as a place in the Final at Barcelona in September by finishing 3rd on the European Division 1 League Table this afternoon as the series came to an end in Dublin.
Dublin Nations Cup
It was home team Ireland that took 1st place in the last Nations Cup qualifier of the 2015 series. They were greeted with a standing ovation when they held the historic Aga Khan Trophy aloft in front of the packed grandstands. Finishing with a fence in hand ahead of the Netherlands who took 2nd place it was then Switzerland who took 3rd on 13 penalties whilst Germany slotted into 4th on 16 penalties and Spain just a time penalty behind took 5th.
For Great Britain it was a day of mixed fortunes. First to go Scott Brash with Hello M’Lady owned by Lady Kirkham and Lady Harris jumped a superb clear in the first round giving GB a flying start. Following in their footsteps was Robert Whitaker with Catwalk IV, owned by Mandy Hall and Clare Whitaker, who also delivered a fantastic clear for GB. Spencer Roe, making his second appearance on a top level team this year had an extremely disappointing day returning with 20 penalties to become the drop score. Michael Whitaker with Cassionato, owned by Beverley Widdowson, returned home with 5 penalties having just lightly touched a fence plus a time fault.
The halfway stage saw the Brits sitting in 3rd place, however the second round saw them slip down the line to their eventual 6th place finish as a result of having to add a further 18 penalties to the initial 5 being carried forward. Scott and M’Lady accrued a 4 penalty score when a pole rolled and Robert returned home on a score of 9 penalties with a foot in the water and a pole at the water tray being lowered . For Spencer, he was once again the drop score when four fences lowered on the course to see him gain 16 penalties. Michael, once again came through the finish line just outside the time allowed which saw a time penalty added to four he picked up on the course to finish on a score of 5.
Barcelona and Beyond
With five of the teams, including Great Britain, eligible for points from this afternoons competition in Dublin all eyes were then turned to the overall league standings which play the crucial role in deciding which of the eight nations had done enough to secure their place for next year.
For Great Britain it was a positive outcome. Finishing in 3rd place overall they were assured of not only a place next year but also a place at the Final later this year in Barcelona which sees all of the qualifying teams from each of the leagues coming forward to contest the overall title.
Further information on the show and for full results please visit www.dublinhorsoeshow.com .Full information in respect of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup series can be found by visiting www.fei.org.
FEI TV will broadcast live footage from the event at www.feitv.org. The programme will also be shown at a later date on Horse & Country TV. Please visit www.britishshowjumping.co.uk and click on ‘What’s on TV’ for broadcast times.
The British Showjumping Teams are supported by the UK Sport National Lottery funded World Class Programme.
The World Class Development Programme underpins World Class Performance and, together with the Equine Pathway, they comprise the Equestrian World Class Programme, incorporating the three Olympic sports of dressage, eventing, showjumping and the Paralympic sport of para-equestrian dressage. The Programme has been funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, through Exchequer and National Lottery funds, via UK Sport since 1998.
