3 June 2004

- FEI Gandini World Riders Rankings: Marcus Ehning is new World No 1
- FEI BCM World Dressage Riders Rankings
- Samsung Super of Lucerne
- 1st Latin American Dressage Forum
- In Memoriam

FEI GANDINI WORLD RIDERS RANKINGS - MARCUS EHNING (GER) IS NEW WORLD NO 1
With 2800 points, Marcus Ehning is the new leader of the FEI Gandini World Riders Rankings. Member of the winning German team of the first Samsung Super League of the season in  La Baule (FRA), he also won the Grand Prix of Aach CSI 4* (GER) and scored some 90 more points at CSI 4* Wiesbaden (GER).

Marcus Ehning, 30 since last April, started to ride at 8, and was six times team gold at European Championships for Ponies, Juniors and Young Riders. He was the 2003 World Cup Champion and earned the Team Gold and Individual Bronze medals at the European Championships in Donauschingen with For Pleasure. In a recent interview, Marcus Ehning was explaining that  Ludger Beerbaum - who is also his trainer - was his most looked up rider, not only because he was on top of the World Rankings for such a long time, but also because of his style and professionalism.

More information on new World Number 1 on his personal website.

Ludger Beerbaum (GER) is now second of the World Rankings. He earned 300 points during the month of May and almost got back the 305 points dropped from the month of May 2003. He earned 110 points in La Baule with one clear round in the Samsung Super League and a 4th place in the Grand Prix. He also
scored 150 points at CSI 4* Hamburg (GER) where he placed second in the Derby and in the Grand Prix.

Beezie Madden-Patton (USA) seized the 3rd position from the Swiss Markus Fuchs thanks to her 255 points won at CSI 4* San Juan Capistrano (USA) where she won the Grand Prix and the Derby. With 9 years old Dutch Warmblood gelding Authentic, she is now on the short list of the US Olympic Show jumping team.

Many changes can be expected at the end of June, as the four riders on top of the rankings will each drop an important number of points earned in 2003 at Spruce Meadows, Cannes and Aachen (Marcus Ehning will drop 375 points, Ludger Beerbaum 456, Beezie Madden-Patton 515 and Markus Fuchs 574). Rodrigo
Pessoa, presently in 4th position in the rankings, 80 points behind Fuchs, might take advantage of the situation, as he will only drop 85 points at the end of the month.

Peter Wylde (USA) entered the Top Ten. He is now placed 9th, thanks to his good results in San Juan Capistrano. Peter Wylde, 39, living in the Netherlands, is on the short list of the US Olympic Show Jumping Team with his 13 years old Holsteiner mare Fein Cera. Beezie Madden, Peter Wylde qualified for the Short List by finishing first and second respectively in the six Olympic Selection Trials held on 14 and 15 May in Del Mar, California, and on 22 and 23 May in San Juan Capistrano, California.

The complete rankings (PDF).

FEI BCM WORLD DRESSAGE RIDERS RANKINGS

Ulla Salzgeber (GER) leads the FEI BCM World Dressage Riders Rankings with an unchanged score of 79.762. She is followed by Debbie Mc Donald (USA) with 77.852 (unchanged) and Anky Van Grunsven (NED) with an improved score of 77.722 thanks to her good results in Wiesbaden.

The complete rankings (PDF).

SAMUSNG SUPER LEAGUE LUCERNE (SUI)

Samsung Super League leaders, Germany, look set to forge further ahead on the leaderboard as they send out their big guns for the next leg of the 2004 series in Lucerne next Sunday.

In the driving seat after victory in the opening round at La Baule, they finished joint-fourth in Rome which proved good enough to maintain their position at the head of the league table but just 1.5 points now separate them from the Dutch who stole the show at the Italian fixture.

The Dutch were inconsistent throughout the 2003 series, winning on their home ground in Rotterdam but finishing well down the line elsewhere. They put in a truly solid performance to come out on top last Friday however and Jan Tops, Piet Raymakers, Wim and Gerco Schroder and Leopold Van Asten will be hoping to consolidate their position this week-end.

SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE 2004 LEADERBOARD (AFTER ROUND 2 IN ROME):
1. Germany 13 points
2. Holland 11.5 points
3. Great Britain 11 points
4. France 10 points
5. USA 6 points
Equal 6. Belgium and Italy 5.5 points
8. Ireland 2.5 points.

FEI EVENTING WORLD CUP QUALIFIER AT LUHMUEHLEN ON TELEVISION

The FEI Eventing World Cup Qualifier at Luhmühlen (GER), which will take place from 18 to 20 June 2004, will be covered on German television. The Host Broadcaster will be NDR in Hamburg and a highlight programme covering the event together with CSI Redefin is scheduled on Saturday 19 June at 15:00 and Sunday 20 June at 14:15.

1st LATIN AMERICAN DRESSAGE FORUM
The 1st Latin American Dressage Forum took place on 22 and 23 May, in São Paulo (BRA).

The Forum was divided in two parts. The first theoretical part included lectures by professionals in the Dressage discipline such as  Mariette Whitages, Jacqueline Braissant, Angelika Fromming, Gerd Heuschmann and Jean Bemelmans.

The second part of the Forum was organised in the Sociedade Hípica Paulista (indoor), where Jean Bemelmans and Angelika Fromming showed practical aspects of evaluating, teaching, helping and guiding horses and riders.

The Forum, organised on the initiative of the Dressage Director of the Brazilian National Federation, Claudia Moreira Mesquita, was a great success and welcomed no less than 200 participants from the following countries: Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Canada, Belgium, Germany, Republic Dominican, Bolivia and Brazil.

IN MEMORIAM
Jonas Borup (FIN), President of The Equestrian Federation of Finland, passed away on May 21st, 2004 at his home in Lahti, Finland at the age of 64.

Mr. Borup was elected President of The Equestrian Federation of Finland in 2002. He was responsible for starting an open discussion concerning visions for the future, strategies and values of the Federation and was appreciated by the whole Finnish riding community.  Mr. Borup was a renowned international equestrian judge whose vast experience was highly regarded by international organisers all over the world.

Mr. Borup had been a member of the FEI Jumping and Finance Committees and was re-elected a member of the FEI Finance Committee at the General Assembly in Paris this year.


Nills Gyllensvaan (SWE), a prominent Swedish coachman, died recently at the age of 85. He owned the horses driven by Bengt Bloqvist and Billy Gustafsson at several Four-in-Hand World and European championships. At the European Championships in 1979 and at World Championship in 1980, Gyllensvaan, who was already 60 years old at that time, drove his horses himself.

Bernard Geneste (FRA), a French Nations Cu rider in the sixties and seventies, died recently, aged 70. From 1962 to 1970, he rode in 12 Nations Cups for France and represented his country in the 1970 Jumping World Championships in La Baule, finishing 7th on Odeon K. Among the horses Geneste rode was the famous breeding stallion Almé.

Dr Willard Ommert (USA), the chief Veterinary Officer at the 1984 Olympic Games and for many years an FEI Veterinary Delegate at numerous events, died recently, aged 86. During more than 60 years of practicing equine veterinary medicine and surgery Dr. Ommert was a pioneer, improving and contributing to
the equine industry in many areas.