Efforts being made to find a solution to German problem
Under Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) rules, Germany is barred from the final as a result of their actions, but efforts are being made to find a solution that could see it reinstated.
It is accepted by most that the series — which was launched this year with a €16m four-year sponsorship package from the Saudi Equestrian Fund — would be diminished without the Germans, who cited horse welfare and the quality of the jumping surface, which had been affected by rain in the preceding days, for their withdrawal.
However, Cian O’Connor, who produced a clear with Blue Loyd in the first round of the nations cup, pointed out in his blog that “the FEI, together with the course designer, ensured the course was built with the ground conditions taken into consideration”.
Even though the second round was reduced to a four-country, single-rider jump-off, he said: “As the horses’ wellbeing is our number 1 priority, we were happy that the decision to jump was the right one, as the lines were straightforward and there was no treble or water jump. It was far from ideal, but not dangerous whatsoever, which was proven by the fact that there were no injuries and all the Irish team horses came out of the competition 100% sound.”
O’Connor says the saga presents an opportunity for debate on the series, which he argues is flawed. He takes issue with the system that sees countries nominating four of the eight shows in Division 1 for the purpose of gaining points. This means the league table can be skewed, as some countries will have undertaken more point-gaining shows, possibly putting them at the top of the table, which would not be a true reflection of their overall performance vis-a-vis countries that have competed in fewer point-gaining shows.
“It will be interesting to see how this series plays out, but the thinkers behind it would need a wake-up call. We must make the game easy to follow. It’s far too complicated... For me it’s crazy to have a competition that some guys win, but whose points don’t count! It’s impossible for people watching at home to make sense of it all. Globalisation is important and we must strive to be inclusive, but not at the expense that no-one, including ourselves, understand the competition!”
He also contends that weather-disruption of nations cup shows is inexcusable, but asks, rhetorically, if the competition was a €300k grand prix would the weather have been a factor?
“Personally, I don’t think so. I think all competitors would have togged off, but the excuse of only jumping for points and less prize money was a good scapegoat for keeping one’s powder dry in order to chase the big bucks in the coming weeks.”
Understandably, though, Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum had a different take, claiming other countries buckled in the face of FEI coercion that they would lose their Division 1 status and not qualify for the final if they did not compete in the contest.
“For us, it was a real shame that the other nations didn’t speak up about the conditions during Friday’s nations cup in St Gallen — the footing was just too bad. In the beginning, three or four teams said that they wouldn’t compete, but then the FEI told us that the countries not competing wouldn’t have a chance of making it to the final and also that they probably would be out of the first division. That made the other nations changing their minds.”
He said the decision to withdraw was based on horse welfare, and he added that “the final will not be worth half as much” without a country such as Germany.
“There is so much talk about the welfare of the horses and that this always shall be the main priority, and then we are punished for prioritising exactly this,” he said, declaring the FEI “decision in St Gallen was based on anything but horsemanship”.
He also said the fact the second round was cancelled, as were the last two days of the show, was proof they made the right decision.
Meanwhile, the FEI’s director of jumping, Irishman John Roche, said it is likely Germany will not be relegated, as next year, “there will be 10 teams participating in division one”.
are the Irish flag bearers as the Global Champions Tour makes its London debut this weekend.
Lynch has made a solid start to the tour, lying eighth in the rankings following a fourth in Madrid with Abbervail van het Dingeshof and an eighth-place finish in Wiesbaden, Germany, last time out with All Star.
was announced yesterday. The championships take place in Arezzo, Italy, on July 23-28 and the Irish representatives will be:
Nessa Briody (Rathnaleen Dark Secret), Patrick Dennehy (Rose Down), Lucy Latta (Nono/Opan), Shannon Nelson (Millridge Buachaill Bui), Donnacha O’Brien (Ice Cool Bailey), and Holly Wray (Holiday Chase). The first non–travelling reserve is Sarah Connell (Greybrook Miller), with a second selected after Monart from the following: Sophie Buller (G Maha), Lucy Hancock (Newtown Westie), Jessica Kuehnle (Fernhill Ruby), Zoe Maher (Drop The Subject).
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