Kürten surprised by her World Cup qualification
Sure, she had four opportunities to put points on the Western European League scoreboard in 2008 in what proved to be a barren winter.
But that was matched by a feast when in the space of seven days she destroyed the opposition twice, at Leipzig and Zurich, to book her place in the Las Vegas final.
Of course the difference was the dazzling Castle Forbes Libertina.
However, it leaves her in an awkward position: the beginning of the Global Champions Tour (GCT) clashes with the Vegas showcase. But with Quibell reputedly a bad traveller, a decision is required as to which side of the Atlantic Kürten should target Libertina.
Accordingly, we had her prevarication last Sunday following her Swiss triumph.
“At first, I didn’t plan to take Libertina to the final and Quibell flies really bad. After the trip to Doha [in 2008] I promised her that she would not fly again. But sometimes plans need to be revised, I didn’t expect to win two qualifiers in a row and have myself selected for the final. So we have to think and talk about this.”
Kürten’s spokesperson Martine Brüeske yesterday said a decision would be taken at next week’s World Cup show in Bordeaux, where owner Georgina Forbes will be on hand for the aforementioned talks.
Kürten finished runner-up in the World Cup final in Kuala Lumpur in 2006 and 14th in 2005 in Vegas with Quibell. Now, she must weigh up the chances of victory in Vegas (April 15-19) and its value relative to giving her best shot in the opening two legs of the GCT, at Arezzo (April 2-5) and Valencia, Spain (May 8-10).
With all due respects to Quibell, it is Libertina that is the star of the Kürten show. The latter gave ample demonstration in the past two weeks of her brilliance and earning capabilities, for example helping the 39-year-old Kürten to the keys of a Mercedes MPV last Sunday. Also, the GCT boasts massive prizemoney, as testified by the €300,000 garnered when Kürten won last year’s final in Sao Paulo.
So, the decision facing the German-based rider is the financial attraction of Europe versus the opportunity to be the first Irish rider to win the World Cup.
As an added consideration, there is the nations cup season. In that regard, Brüeske yesterday said that Kürten — who is in Nantes, France, this weekend — will be “available for nations cups, but we do not know what decision [manager] Robert Splaine will take”.
lNORMALLY a grand prix win at a four-star show would merit top billing, but the limelight was snatched from Billy Twomey by the aforementioned Kürten last weekend.
Nonetheless, the Corkman had every reason to be delighted with Amsterdam performance that netted what was his third international grand prix victory with his own Je t’Aime Flamenco.
He picked up €25,000, which was augmented by €10,000 as the show’s leading rider and the approximately €5,000 he won in other classes.
The nine-year-old stallion is to be given a break in the coming weeks, but the Cheshire-based rider is providing plenty of evidence he will form an integral part of Ireland’s Super League campaign this summer.
Twomey is not one for playing up his game, but after his latest win he had little hesitation in saying Je t’Aime Flamenco has the right credentials.
“The horse has superb ability. He is phenomenally talented and is capable of matching any horse at the highest level. He is only just nine and took quite a bit of producing.”
The Amsterdam grand prix also saw Denis Lynch return to the big time with Lantinus after the Olympics. Four faults put the Tipperary man in a creditable 14th place, while a similar score in a slower time left Cian O’Connor and Complete in 21st place.
Lynch, with 10 World Cup points to his credit, has been given the nod for the next three rounds: Bordeaux, France; Vigo, Spain; and Gothenburg, Sweden.
lTHE new ShowjumpingIreland website — www.sji.ie — was launched this week.
The site, which will be updated weekly, includes regional sections, while a classified section is also planned.
Footage of major shows will be available through ShowjumpingIreland’s partnership with Irishsport.tv. Contributions from spectators at shows are also be accepted.
Chairman Ronan Corrigan said: “We have seen significant traffic through our sites since the launch of ‘points online’ and ‘registrations online’. This site, which was mainly developed in–house, will help to increase public awareness of SJI and help us deliver ever-improving services to our membership.’’
Meanwhile, the first of the pony classes under the new pony metre system take place this weekend at nine venues countrywide.
ShowjumpingIreland hope the “system will raise the standard of pony show jumping in Ireland and therefore increase the chances of international success over the coming years”.
This system will be run in a similar format to the horse system, whereby ponies may jump within two height bands as with the horse classes, the pony may then move up grades in line with its capabilities.
ShowjumpingIreland Pony Committee chairperson Janet Currie said she hoped the transition would prove to be as successful as that in horses.
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