British Showjumping’s Team NAF 3rd in CSIO5* Abu Dhabi Nations Cup
Sunday 23 January 2022
The British Team finished in third place in the first CSIO5* Nations Cup of the year in Abu Dhabi (UAE) competing under the sponsor banner of Team NAF.
Seven teams came forward for the Nations Cup competition where Great Britain’s team-of-three were drawn third to go. The pressure was on for Great Britain who, as a team of three, knew that all scores would count as that they didn't have the luxury of a 4th team member which allows for a drop score in each round. Ireland took the victory with an impressive clean sheet, finishing on a zero score, and the home Nation, United Arab Emirates, took second place on a final score of 4 faults.
Donald Whitaker from Barnsley, South Yorkshire took pathfinder position aboard the 11 year-old bay stallion Di Caprio owned by Reitsportanlage Dagobertshausen GmbH & CO.KG. A superb double clear from this combination gave team GBR the best possible start in both rounds, and secured Donald’s share of the Double Clear bonus awarded by the show.
William Funnell from Dorking, Surrey with the 12 year-old home-bred and Billy Stud owned chestnut gelding Equine America Billy Diamo had a very unfortunate foot in the water in the first round to finish on 4 faults. Their return in the second round saw them post a fantastic clear to return home on zero penalties.
Georgia Tame from Horsham, West Sussex aboard the 11 year-old bay stallion Z7 Ascot, owned by Team Z7, picked up eight faults in the first round with a slight rub of the planks at fence four and a late falling pole at the tall upright at fence seven. A foot in the water and a lowered back bar at fence three saw the combination finish the second round on a total of eight faults.
The Chef d’Equipe for the team was Di Lampard, the World Class Performance Manager for Showjumping. Talking after the competition Di said "Congratulations to Donald Whitaker for producing a super double clear at his first 5* Nations Cup. He was the first rider of our three rider team and he got us off to a great start. I was really proud of the three riders today, they dug deep showing their determination and qualities for the future".
For further information on the show and full results visit https://www.adec-web.com/.
British Showjumping would like to thank NAF, title sponsors of the Senior Nations Cup Teams along with the Pony, Children, Junior, Young Rider and Veteran teams.
NAF’s premium range of Five Star brands include Superflex, Superflex Senior, PROFEET, Optimum, Magic, Oestress and Respirator Boost with quality at the heart of everything they do. They are a UFAS (Universal Feed Assurance Scheme), GMP+ (International Feed Assurance Scheme) and BETA NOPS (Naturally Occuring Prohibited Substances) accredited company and this enables them to guarantee full traceability on all the natural ingredients they utilise in their formulations, which are also selected in compliance with the FEI guidelines for Clean Sport. For further information, visit www.naf-equine.eu/uk/index.jsp.
.jpg "Thrilling Weekend Kickstarts the STX-UK Pony British Novice Championship Second Round")
