FEI World Cup focus moves to Amsterdam

Ireland will be represented in dressage and show jumping at this weekend’s Amsterdam round of the FEI World Cup as the 2018/2019 qualifying series moves closer to conclusion.

There are only three qualifying rounds left in dressage and just two in show jumping before the final points tallies reveal who gets to contest the Gothenburg finals in April. As yet no Irish riders have secured a ticket, though many riders contest individual rounds without seeking to follow through to the final itself as many have other goals on their minds in what is becoming an increasingly congested equestrian calendar, especially in show jumping.

Bertram Allen added to his total two rounds back when picking up ten points for an eighth-place finish in Basel. The Wexford rider wasn’t in action at the past weekend’s German leg in Leipzig which saw Billy Twomey and Denis Lynch exit in the first round, though Lynch managed to scrape into the points as his relatively fast four-fault first round on Dito was good enough for 15th and worth two points.

Lynch has done most of his world cup jumping this season with The Sinner but the ride has now gone to high-flying Swiss competitor Martin Fuchs.

The Leipzig round saw a crowd-pleasing last gasp win for Germany’s Christian Ahlmann who tops the qualifying table after his second victory in recent weeks in the series, this one coming on Caribis Z following a Belgian round triumph on Clintrexo.

Ahlmann said he would probably skip the last two rounds now that he has an abundance of points in the bag. “I have two horses in great shape at the moment, so I’m really looking forward to the final now!” he said.

Bertram Allen is within striking distance of a place in the final but would need two decent showings between this weekend’s Dutch round and the last qualifier in Bordeaux, France next month. This time around he is set to compete with GK Casper, Christy JNR and Molly Malone V. Also at the meeting will be Michael G. Duffy with Chappo Chey, Jaguar vd Berghoeve and Ugo de la Tour Vidal.

The Amsterdam event will see dressage rider Judy Reynolds making only her second appearance in the qualifiers this season. It’s late, but not too late, to harbour hopes of making the final. The twelve points she picked up with Vancouver K in the Belgian round in Mechelen at the end of last month give her a squeak if she can build on that this weekend, but in reality she’s chasing a load of riders who have contested most of the rounds she missed.

After Amsterdam there are two more opportunities left in the dressage series with the action moving to Neumunster in Germany next month before reverting to The Netherlands for the final leg at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in March.

The third week of the show jumping Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida begins today with the action this time moving up a notch to three-star level. The highlight will be Saturday night’s Adequan Grand Prix with a prize fund of $134,000 (€119,000). Irish riders managed a slice of the Grand Prix purses in each of the first two weeks of the festival, Daniel Coyle and Farrel claiming second in the first week’s showpiece, and this past weekend Capt. Brian Cournane finished third with Armik while Shane Sweetnam collected a few dollars as well with Kirschwasser SCF in seventh.

In the UAE this weekend the focus is on the three-star meeting at Sharjah with Shane Breen, Trevor Breen, David Simpson and Mark McAuley continuing their involvement in the Emirates fixtures.