William Fox-Pitt (GBR) has taken out the first leg of the HSBC FEI Classics, the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, with Cool Mountain, who was making his 4-star debut.
“He is a pleasure to train,” said Fox-Pitt. “He is very straightforward and genuine, and I have always felt there was more to come. I am absolutely thrilled with him, though – to win is beyond my wildest dreams.”
Fox-Pitt’s nearest rival, Kimberley Severson (USA) had a most unfortunate Jumping round – a total of 32 faults (24 jumping, 12 time) and plummeted to 25th, and it was the 2008 winner, and former Aussie Phillip Dutton (USA), who rose three places to second on Woodburn with a clear round.
Becky Holder (USA) retained third place on Courageous Comet with just one rail, but former Aussie Boyd Martin’s meteoric rise continued, up another four places to fourth on Neville Bardos, and Canadian Stephanie Rhodes-Bosch and Port Authority continued upwards, to eventual fifth place with a clean sheet. In addition, she won the HSBC Training Bursary for the best-placed first-time 4-star competitor.
Oliver Townend (GBR) was rushed to hospital after a fall in the cross country phase. He was discharged from hospital in the morning, but having sustained minor injuries, he could not jump his ODT Master Rose and so withdrew.
37 horses completed the competition with nineclear jumping rounds.
For the second year running, Megan Jones and Kirby Park Irish Jester have won the New Zealand round of the HSBC FEI World Cup Eventing.
Megan produced an effortless clear round in the final show-jumping phase to win the competition and finish on a final score of 43.0 penalties.
There was little pressure on Jones in the final phase, after errors by the riders sitting in second and third places.
Only 10 riders had gone through to the jumping phase after either elimination or withdrawal from the cross-country.
Heelan Tompkins and Major Difference moved into second place from fourth after producing a clear round to finish on 64 penalties, with Clarke Johnstone and the seasoned Oakley Vision retaining third (65.2 penalties), and Alice Montgomery and Gordon dropping from second to fourth (66.6 penalties).
The next round is in Sydney from 7-9 May 2010. Megan, who will start at Sydney with 71 World Cup points in hand ahead of her fellow Australian riders, also won in Sydney last year.
New Zealand and Australian eventers now have chance to compete for a share of US$180,000 in the HSBC FEI World Cup.
The FEI announced yesterday a new and exciting format for the HSBC FEI World Cup Eventing series. Riders will now be competing for a top 15 place in the overall standings to take home a share of the US$180,000 prize pool on offer, rather than having to travel to Europe to compete in the Final. Riders are allowed to compete in as many qualifiers as they like, but only the best two results will count towards the final ranking.
Event organising committees of the New Zealand and Australian rounds of the HSBC FEI World Cup Eventing qualifiers have welcomed the announcement saying it will make the series far more equitable and attractive to Australia and New Zealand riders. In the previous years riders and their horses would have had to travel to Europe to compete in the Final and a chance for the major prizes.
“This new format means that riders who place well at two qualifiers – such as Kihikihi in New Zealand (2-4 Apr) and Sydney in Australia (7-9 May) have a really good chance of collecting a share of the significant prize pool” said Bruce Bason, Kihikihi Event Director. “We expect that the new format will see riders on both sides of the Tasman travel to Kihikihi and Sydney in order to secure maximum points and increase their chances of being in the top 15” added Bruce.
“Unfortunately Megan Jones winner of both the New Zealand and Australian qualifiers last year could not go to the Final in Poland due to lengthy quarantine requirements, if this system applied last year, Megan would have placed 3rd overall (just 8 points behind the overall winner) and received a $US23,000 prize in addition to the significant prize money she collected at Kihikihi and Sydney” added Rose Read, Sydney Event Director.
Kiwi and Aussie riders who travel across the Tasman to compete at either Kihikihi or Sydney will receive assistance with local travel, stabling and accommodation costs during by each event organsing committee.
Full details of the revised rules can be found on the FEI website www.horsesport.org.
A new worldwide Eventing Risk Management Policy and Action Plan aimed at reducing cross-country horse falls was launched at the third annual FEI Safety meeting in Malmö, Sweden, today. Based on a six-year statistical study of the sport, the Action Plan will be a functional and reliable system that will be used to monitor risk factors in Eventing, and to streamline international data and ideas to further understand the root causes of falls.
The FEI Eventing Committee has set the target to reduce horse falls by 10% (and by 20% at 4-star level) over the next three years. Already, data for the period from 2004-2009 shows that, despite a significant increase in the popularity of the sport – a 35% increase in the number of competitions and a 22.5% increase in the total number of starters – the percentage of horse falls has decreased from 2.02% to 1.73%. This is the first time that a statistical database has monitored the sport on a global basis.
The Action Plan includes:
·Statistical database, to include medical and veterinary data on falls
·A standardised template to achieve consistency in the collection of international data (this will be produced twice a year)
·Compulsory appointment of a National Safety Officer (NSO) by all countries organising international Eventing fixtures to collate statistics and gather information for the FEI in the event of a serious accident
·FEI guidelines on cross-country course design aimed at minimizing risk
·Continuing work on frangible pins and deformable structures for cross-country fences
·Education of everyone involved in the sport of eventing – riders, officials and course designers; risk management will become an integral part of all national seminars
·Increased focus and education about the definition of dangerous riding
·Twenty-two nations were represented at the NSOs’ seminar in Malmö, where delegates demonstrated the greatly heightened awareness of risk management shown over the last two years and also the continually evolving nature of Eventing.
·Steps taken include trials with and the patenting of deformable devices in Sweden, Britain, Canada, Netherlands and Italy; initiatives by the German and Czech Republic National Federations to teach riders safer falling techniques; emphasis on style in competitions in Canada and Germany; rider licensing, exams and rule changes in France; twice yearly medical examinations in Poland and a fitness badge in Germany, plus several other national projects.
·Canada’s National Safety Officer Peter Gray commented: “The forum has exceeded my expectations and it will make my job easier. The presentations from each country were really useful - it’s a great opportunity to see how the sport is developing worldwide and to share problems and ideas.”
Australia’s Sam Griffiths and Happy Times finished in third place in the 2009 Burghley Horse Trials.
This follows the pairs third placing at Badminton earlier this year.
The event was won by Oliver Townend and Carousel Quest (43 penalties), by eight penalties from Polly Stockton and Westwood Poser (51.7 penalties). Sam Griffiths had four penalties in the showjumping to finish on 52.3 penalties.
Sam Griffiths is currently ranked third in the HSBC FEI Classics standings after 4/5 events. The other Australian in the top 10 is Lucinda Fredericks, who is on fourth place.
Oliver Townend is currently leading the standings. After his wins at Badminton and Burghley, Oliver Townend will also be in contention for the coveted Rolex Grand Slam. The deciding event, the Rolex Kentucky Horse Trials, is scheduled for April 2010.
Australia’s success in international events continued over the weekend, with Clayton Fredericks and Ben Along Time placing third in the 2009 HSBC FEI Eventing World Cup in Strzegom, Poland. The pair had previously won the event in 2005 and 2008.
Clayton was in third place after dressage. He added 5.6 in cross-country time faults and 4 faults in the show jumping.
The event was won by rising star Michael Jung (GER) and La Biosthetique Sam, with second place going to the leaders following the cross country phase, Frank Ostholt (GER) and Air Jordan.
Suspense was maintained to the end, as Air Jordan looked as if he would go clear, but then hit the troublesome middle part of the treble.
Other Australian competitors in the final included Paul Tapner and Tiger Flynn who were eliminated in the cross country and Lucinda Fredericks and Headley Britania who withdrew before the cross country.
Final top five placings:
Michael Jung/La Biosthetique Sam (GER) 36.4
Frank Ostholt/Air Jordan (GER) 37
Clayton Fredericks/Ben Along Time (AUS) 41
Andreas Dibowski/Euroridings Butts Leon (GER) 44.8
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