Fransk seger i Världscupfinalen
Efter en oerhört spännande sista runda blev det fransk seger i årets
Världscupfinal.Bruno Broucqsault med Dileme de Cephe gick felfritt genom hela tävlingen.
- En värdig vinnare, gratulerade Meredith Michaels Beerbaum som förlorade segern med ett
nedslag fyra hinder före sista målgång. Klart att jag är lite besviken, fortsätter
hon, men det hör till spelets regler att någon får ett nedslag ibland och det är
tjusningen och spänningen med den här sporten.
- Jag är oerhört nöjd med Shutterflys insats under helgen. Han har varit super.
Finalbanorna var svåra och i första omgången var det bara fyra felfria rundor. Tyvärr
var ingen av dem svenska. |
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Malin Baryard hade två nedslag i första rundan och
rasade ner till en delad sjätteplats. Den delde hon med Rolf-Göran Bengtsson som trots
ett nedslag alltså avancerade några placeringar. I sista och avgörande finalrundan var
Malin felfri medan Rolf-Göran fick ett nedslag på sista hindret efter en annars fin
runda.
- Stolpe ut, sammanfattade Rolf-Göran helgen.
Han fick medhåll av förbundskapten Sylve Söderstrand som dock underströk att Sverige
har två ryttare bland de tio bästa i Världscupfinalen och gav beröm till Rolf-Görans
häst.
- Han har gjort en fantastisk insats, det är hans första mästerskapsliknande tävling,
och det ska bli mycket spännande att se honom på utomhusbanorna nu. |
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H&M Butterfly Flip var inte riktigt på topp denna
helg.
| - Hon känns inte riktigt som sig själv, även om jag inte kan sätta fingret på vad
det är, säger Malin Baryard och jämförde det med att få ett litet blåmärke. |
 |
- Hon har varit ojämn, håller Sylve Söderstrand
med, men tycker också att hon i sista finalrundan var tillbaka i den form hon brukar
vara.
I den andra omgången lyckades ändå ekipaget ta sig runt utan fel, en snygg avslutning i
Milano för Malin och H&M Butterfly Flip.
Men det var ändå långt till medaljstriden.
- Därför kan jag inte säga att jag är besviken, vi var helt enkelt för långt från
segern för att det ska kännas så. Vi slutade sexa och det är min näst bästa
placering i en världscupfinal, säger Malin som 2003 tog bronsmedaljen vid
världscupfinalen i Las Vegas.
Malin Baryard slutade på sjätte plats och Rolf-Göran Bengtsson på nionde i Milano.
Sverige har på senare år en imponerande rad i Världscupsammanhang.
Malin Baryard 7,7,3 och nu senast sexa
Rolf-Göran Bengtsson 7 och nu nia.
I Milano blir Sverige tredje bästa nation i den inofficiella
nationsrankingen, Frankrike etta och Tyskland tvåa.
Triumph for Bruno and heartbreak for Meredith as Dileme
de Cephe takes title for France
Resultat Världscupen efter tre finalomgångar: 1)
Bruno Brouqcsault, Frankrike, Dileme de Cephe 0 2) Meredith Michaels Beerbaum, Tyskland,
Shutterfly 4 3) Markus Fuchs, Schweiz, Tinka´s Boy 8 6) Malin Baryard, Sverige, H&M
Butterfly Flip 14 9) Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, Sverige, Mac Kinley 18
Resultat Finalomgång 3: 1) Eugenie Angot,
Frankrike, Cigale du Taillis 0+0 2) Gruno Broucqsault, Frankrike, Dileme de Cephe 0+0 3)
Juan Carlos Garcia, Italien, Albin III 4+0 7) Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, Sverige, Mac Kinley
4+4 7) Malin Baryard, Sverige, H&M Butterfly Flip 8+0
tr
Triumph for Bruno and heartbreak for Meredith as Dileme de Cephe takes title for
France
Bruno Broucqsault became the first Frenchman to claim the title when, thanks to sheer
genius of his 13 year old gelding Dileme de Cephe, he snatched victory in a thrilling
finish to the Sony Ericsson FEI World Cup Jumping Final in Milan today.
Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum was second, denied a two-way jump off with the
45 year old French rider by what seemed like nothing short of massive injustice when,
after a first-round effort that was nothing short of perfection, a slight second-round
error cost her dearly.
Markus Fuchs picked up just four faults on this final day with Tinka’s Boy to place
third ahead of Eugenie Angot and the brilliant Cigale du Tallis from France who were the
only partnership to match the winner’s double-clear performance.
Just four horse-and-rider combinations completed the first track without penalty as big
fences and tricky distances took their toll.
Meredith said afterwards "the first round today was very difficult – every fence
came up quickly after fence two and there were extremely technical distances with
questions about scope and carefulness – all the questions a good course should
have".
Many of the early runners tried to tackle the distance from the wall at fence two to the
oxer at fence three on four forward strides but it became clear that five shorter strides
was more suitable for most, as the front bar of the oxer fell time and time again, while
the line from the oxer at five to the double at six also proved a bit of a puzzle. A very
forward four strides left a lot of the horses too flat at the next fence while it seemed
almost impossible for many to shorten enough to put in five.
Laura Kraut however literally came unstuck at the very first fence, a triple bar, when the
horse seemed a little deep and, for the second time this weekend, decided to stop. However
fellow-American, Richard Spooner, put the record straight when producing the first clear
round. There are some horses that thrive on a challenge and, like all the best
Irish-breds, the bay gelding simply jumped his heart out despite some dangerous moments
and this partnership crossed the line to a storm of applause as the crowd recognised the
courage of both horse and rider.
Cigale is the French word for Grasshopper and Eugenie’s horse lived up to her name as
they popped around the track to put the second clear on the board but only Meredith with
Shutterfly and Bruno and Dileme de Cephe would follow suit as Markus Fuchs, lying
overnight third and just four points behind the leaders going into this final competition,
added four more to his tally when Tinka’s Boy clipped the second element of the
double.
So with no alteration to the overnight position for the leading three the second round
began, Eric Van der Vleuten and Audi’s Jikke finding the key this time for The
Netherlands along with Thomas Velin and Equest Carnute (Den), Malin Baryard with Butterfly
Flip (Swe), Italy’s Juan Carlos Garcia with Albin, and Germany’s Marco Kutscher
with Montender. It all fell apart for Richard Spooner however when, now lying seventh,
they plummeted down the leaderboard again when collecting 12 faults this time out but
Eugenie produced another great run from Cigale to complete with the nine penalties she had
collected over the first two competition.
This put real pressure on Markus Fuchs. He was now carrying eight and would slip right
down the order if he couldn’t hold it together, but the man who had to relinquish his
World No. 1 slot because of the injury-problems he has been battling with was not going to
go down easily. Looking uncomfortable and with Tinka’s Boy looking a little tired
Markus steered a crafty, cautious course to come home without incident and now he could
finish no worse than a very creditable third.
Second-last into the ring came Bruno with Dileme de Cephe and this extraordinary
partnership was nothing if not determined. A father of two who runs a big riding centre
near Lille in France, Bruno is a shy, private man but his relationship with his 13 year
old gelding is something special. Helped by Eric Navet in recent years the rider has risen
to the top of the sport in France, last year winning the Grand Prix classes at both Rome
and Barcelona but it is the depth of understanding between himself and Dileme de Cephe
which has brought him to the top – they don’t always seem to be working in
absolute harmony and at times seem to be decidedly at odds but they want to leave all the
fences standing no matter what happens and their belief in each other is unique.
Dileme tapped the vertical at fence one and then looked all wrong on his approach to the
oxer at fence five on the new track but, as always giving it everything he’s got, the
horse left it up and cleared the line to leave Meredith in the hot seat.
Shutterfly had not made a mistake all weekend and in fact Meredith’s opening effort
on this final day was stunning. Her eye for a stride had been spot-on all weekend and
Shutterfly seemed calmer and more confident than ever but, when meeting that same oxer at
five a little deep, the gelding put in a big effort which, as Meredith explained left them
long to the first element of the following double and there was a gasp of disbelief when
it fell.
It seemed incredibly unfair that this sensational duo should be punished so harshly but,
at the end of the day, show jumping comes down to leaving the fences up and Meredith was
gracious in defeat.
"Bruno deserved his win today" she said afterwards. "I was a little
disappointed to have lost and I think I was a bit unlucky but I am so pleased with my
horse’s performance all weekend long. He was so good – the fault in the final
round was unfortunate but that’s what happens in this sport! I have to say that the
problem really occurred at the oxer before the planks that we hit – Shutterfly gave
an unbelievable jump over the oxer and the crowd made a loud gasp – he is very
sensitive to sound and pulled me past the correct distance to the planks. When we had that
fence down it was a terrible feeling but I knew I had to concentrate and get him home, its
easy to get distracted in those circumstances and things then can go very wrong".
Delighted but perhaps somewhat shell-shocked at finding himself the newly-crowned FEI
World Cup Jumping Champion, Bruno is clearly not going to let this success go to his head.
When asked how he felt about his historic victory he commented "I’m just still
little Bruno, nothing changes. I am very happy. When I came here I hoped to finish in the
top five but I never expected to win so I want to thank everyone who has helped and
supported me here".
It certainly was not the result that had been expected but Markus Fuchs said "we
often have surprises in our sport. Two days ago I was impressed with Bruno’s
confidence when he said he would not feel the pressure going into the last day – this
is a big, big performance and I would like to congratulate him".
Under the most extreme pressure Bruno and Dileme de Cephe never faltered in their absolute
faith in one another and France has now found another super-hero to further boost the
incredible run of French form on the international stage.
The Sony Ericsson FEI World Cup Jumping Final was a great success, particularly taking
into account the fact that the Milan organisers agreed to stage it only eight months ago.
In typically direct fashion Max Amman, who resigned last year after 25 years as World Cup
Director, gave a concise critical analysis of the 26th World Cup Final.
"The organisers did a great job technically – the warm-up area, stabling and the
surface in the arena were excellent - but they failed to provide enough professional staff
for the event. There was a large number of volunteers and their lack of experience was
very evident at the beginning of the show – the welcome just was not there for many
of the riders. However we should be grateful to the Italian Federation who took on this
adventure. Italy is not like Germany or Ireland where show jumping is so popular. Here it
is a high-society sport".
Commenting on the lack of spectators over the first few days of competition he said
"on the early days most of the spectators were not Italian – instead they were
from other countries around the world. For six years a World Cup qualifier was staged in
Bologna and there was no public support over the early days but on Sunday the seating was
full to capacity – that’s the way it tends to be in Italy".
He was upbeat about the future for the series. "The World Cup is solid – it is
the best thing that the FEI has. If we had a major sponsor, as we did for 20 years with
Volvo, we would have the money to do additional things like producing the Media Guide,
organising press receptions etc. but without that we have to just settle for the basics
– hopefully a major sponsor will be found" he added.
John Roche, FEI Technical Manager for the World Cup series, is now Co-Ordinator for all
matters in relation to the World Cup said "what Max has done for equestrian sport in
developing the World Cup series is immeasurable. He gave the indoor season a focus –
a sense of purpose – and he directed and consolidated the sport in a way that was
badly needed. He invested a wealth of creativity, dedication and enthusiasm and we are now
reaping the benefits of that – we are greatly in his debt".
Those watching today’s competition were indeed treated to a great sporting moment.
Ställningen efter två omg: 1) Bruno Broucqsault,
Frankrike 0 fel 1) Meredith Michaels Beerbaum, Tyskland 0 fel 3) Markus Fuchs, Schweiz 4
fel 4) Malin Baryard, Sverige 6 fel 5) Ludo Philippaerts, Belgien 7 fel 6) Wim Schröder,
Holland 8 fel 7) Eugenie Angot, Frankrike 9 fel 7) Marco Kutscher, Tyskland 9 fel 7)
Michael Whitaker, Storbritannien 9 fel 10) Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, Sverige 10 fel 10) Juan
Carlos Garcia, Italien 10 fel 10) Marcus Ehning, Tyskland 10 fel |
