|
|
The French come to Dublin next week heading the Samsung Super League leaderboard by a margin of seven points and looking for their third consecutive victory at the Irish venue.
In 2002 they claimed the Aga Khan Trophy for the first time in 45 years and they continued their winning ways when just pipping the British in the opening Samsung Super League season last summer.
Chef d’Equipe Jean-Maurice Bonneau fields a strong squad that includes Robert Breul, Patrice Deleveau, Christian Hermon, Jean-Marc Nicolas and Laurent Goffinet who, partnering the little stallion Flipper d’Elle, became a firm favourite with spectators at the 2003 Dublin fixture.
The British however should be in flying form following their doggedly determined winning performance in Hickstead and will be hoping to reverse the 2003 placings. Last Friday they showed the kind of courage and grit more normally associated with the Irish who seem to have lost their way in recent weeks, and Derek Rickett’s selection of Richard Davenport, John Whitaker, Robert Smith, Scott Smith and Nick Skelton can be expected to give a good account of themselves.
Although the Germans lie second behind the French on the league table after six of the eight legs of the series their performance at Hickstead was weak, and the same team that lined out at the British fixture will be hoping to do a great deal better this time out. Florian Meyer Zu Hartum, Eva Bitter, Rene Tebbel and Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst were at the bottom of the order at the end of the first round in Hickstead and finished sixth in the final analysis. Heinrich Hermann Engemann has also been named for the Irish fixture and Chef d’Equipe Sonke Sonksen will be looking for a considerably improved result.
The Dutch are currently lying comfortably in third in the rankings so Roelof Bril, Peter Geerink, Emile Tacken and Wout Jan van der Schans may not be feeling under great pressure. However they have only a slender one-point advantage over the British in fourth and will not want to slip any further down the order at the penultimate leg of the series.
Double-points at the Final in Barcelona in September could make a colossal difference, so a great deal hinges on how the nations are placed after Dublin – a bad blunder now could be very costly indeed for the top four teams.
The Belgians too appear to be in little danger. Carrying a total of 25.3 points to date they could still challenge the leading pack if they can produce one big result and Philippe Le Jeune, Bert Prouve, Marc Van Dijck, Jean-Claude Vangeenberghe and new recruit Koen Vereecke - who was most impressive with Qualite VD Begijnakker when collecting just four faults in each round at Hickstead - will be hoping to do just that.
Lying five points behind them, in sixth place at this stage, are the Americans. Molly Ashe, Sheila Burke, John French, Judy Garofalo and Lauren Hough have already all contributed greatly to the first-class American effort which has left them lying sixth of the eight competing nations at this stage in the 2004 series but they will be keen to remain ahead of the Irish and Italians who hold the last two positions.
With 15.5 points on the scoreboard so far the Irish have a 6.5 point lead over the Italians but they cannot afford to be complacent. A late Italian recovery would really shake things up and Andrea Bracci, Piergiorgio Bucci, Luca Carini, Roberto Cristofoletti and Alessia Marioni could save the day if they can get it together this time around. Duccio Bartalucci will be leaving his squad under no illusions about the fact that they are fighting for their country’s survival at Super League level and they may, for once, have something in their favour as course-designer for the week at Dublin is their fellow-countryman Uliano Vezzani - the 47 year old from Modena who made a huge impact at the FEI World Cup Final in Milan in April.
The Irish, of course, have their home crowd to cheer them on but the kind of fighting spirit usually connected with Irish teams seems sadly lacking this season. The destructive controversy which led to the removal of former Chef d’Equipe Tommy Wade and the imposition of a new management team led by Col Ned Campion and Eddie Macken seems to have taken a heavy toll. Campion and Macken looked devastated as they watched sure victory slip from their grasp at Hickstead and they know that another heavy defeat could spell disaster. They have the unenviable task of proving that the decision to replace the man who master-minded the great Irish successes of recent years was the right one.
So next Friday’s seventh leg of the 2004 Samsung Super League series will be as much about losing as winning. The French and British look particularly strong and may steal much of the limelight but the real battle will be going on between the Italians and the Irish. Neither can afford to finish at the bottom of the order this time around so the Irish side of Cian O’Connor, Billy Twomey, Jessica Kurten, Marion Hughes and Captain Shane Carey will surely be feeling the heat. The temperature is rising in the closing stages of the 2004 Samsung Super League series….
Dublin Horse Show – the seventh leg of the series takes place in Dublin on Friday August 6th.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE 2004 LEADERBOARD (AFTER ROUND 6 IN HICKSTEAD):
France – 37.3
Germany – 30.3
The Netherlands – 29
Great Britain – 28
Belgium – 25.3
USA – 20.5
Ireland – 15.5
Italy – 9.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE 2004 CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
ROUND 1, La Baule (Fra) 6-9 May; ROUND 2, Rome (Ita) 27-30 May; ROUND 3, Lucerne (Sui) 3-6 June: ROUND 4, Rotterdam (Ned) 17-20 June; ROUND 5, Aachen (Ger) 13-18 July; ROUND 6, Hickstead (GBR) 21-25 July; ROUND 7, Dublin (Irl) 4-8 August; ROUND 8 and FINAL, Barcelona (Esp) 16-19 September.
YOU CAN SEE IT ON TV:
The MBPtv schedule for Dublin Horse Show is as follows:
RTE (Host) Ireland - Live 6 August 13.25, Delayed Live 6 August 23.35
RAI (Italy) - Live/delayed live
TVE Teledeporte (Spain) – Live/delayed live
Equidia (France) – Delayed live 6 August 18.00, Repeat 8 August 21.30
VRT – Live/delayed live
Eurosport (Pan Europe) – Highlights 11 August 22.00, 12 August 09.00
Finnish Sport TV (Finland) - Highlights 16 August 19.00
Sport TV (Portugal) - Highlights
XXP (Germany) – Highlights 21 August 19.00
CNBC Europe – Highlights 21 August 15.00
Fox World (Middle East) – Highlights 2 September 22.00
Horse TV (USA) – Highlights 29 August 17.00, 4 September 17.00
CNBC Asia – Highlights 22 August 15.00
ESPN Star Sports (Asia, Taiwan, India) – Highlights 18 August 18.00, 19 August 07.00 and 10.00, 20 August 16.30, 21 August 07.00, 27 August 19.00, 28 August 04.00 and 29 August 04.00.
M-Net (Pan Africa) – Highlights 27 August 19.00, 28 August 04.00, 29 August 04.00 and 10.00, 30 August 06.00.
SAMSUNG SUPER LEAGUE – NATIONAL PRIDE, INTERNATIONAL PASSION!
© Copyright 2004 by SportHorseCM.com
Top of Page
 |
|
|
|
|
