Boost as jumpers clear Dutch silver and gold
Jessica Kürten, Ireland’s in-form rider, was on target in a 1.40m jump-off class with her seven-year-old bay stallion Commandor.
The German-based Antrim rider had a second to spare over her nearest rival when clear in the competition at the three-star show in Gelderland.
Dermott Lennon tried to match her achievement in a 1.50m speed class, but had to be content with runner-up when just over a tenth of a second off the pace. Aboard I Caesar, the Dutch-based world champion clocked 57.47, with Briton Robert Smith taking top prize in 57.35 on Kalusha.
Lennon and Kürten join Harry Marshall and Corkman Robert Splaine at the European Championships in San Patrignano, Italy, next week. Kürten and Lennon played their part when Ireland won team gold in 2001 and will be hoping to buck this year’s trend that sees Ireland one from the bottom of the Samsung Nations Cup Super League.
In the three-star show in Vichy, France, Captain Shane Carey also had to settle for second place in a two-phase class. Jumping clear with Laughton’s Lass, the army rider had to give way to Dutchman Pascal Levy aboard Porn Star.
In dressage, Ireland’s Heike Holstein rode Welt Adel to second place in the grand prix at Hartpury, England, yesterday afternoon on a score of 67.41%. The class was won by British rider Carl Hester and Escapado on 72.38%.
Meanwhile, with just a fortnight to go, the European Dressage Championships have been transferred to
Hagen, Germany. The event was to take place at Bitsa, Moscow, on July 29-31. However, doubts concerning the organisers ability to finance the championships resulted in the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) withdrawing the championships from the Russian capital.
This organisational problem comes as equestrian sport comes to terms with the relocation of the 2008 Olympic competitions from Beijing to Hong Kong.
The decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) came amid worries surrounding the quarantine of horses in the Chinese capital.
The initial threat by the Beijing organisers (BOCOG) to transfer the competitions met with resistance from the FEI and national equestrian federations. An FEI proposal to move the disciplines to an alternative site just outside Beijing failed. BOCOG cited an inability to provide a disease-free zone, though the FEI questioned why this had not been addressed when the city was allocated the games.
While disappointed, the FEI has taken a pragmatic approach and its president, Her Highness Doña Pilar de Borbón, said: “We now have a big challenge ahead of us: to be at the heart of the 2008 Olympic Games despite the distance from the host city. We are confident that, with the help of the IOC and BOCOG, the media, spectators and television viewers will have the opportunity to enjoy the excitement of the Games, which has been part of our history and heritage since the Stockholm Games of 1912.”
