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Final Competition, WC
Final, Milan 2004 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. RESULT OF 26th WORLD CUP FINAL 2004 (after third final competition): 1, Bruno Broucqsault (Dileme
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