Alena Tseliapushkina (BLR) led from the start to put her stamp on the fifth leg of the FEI World Cup™ Eventing held on her home ground at Minsk (BLR).

Riding her 2008 Beijing Olympic horse, Passat, she scored the only sub-50 Dressage mark and added just 1.6 time penalties across the country to finish ahead of Russian rider Mykhailo Nastenko on Coolroy Pit.

In what Technical Delegate Andy Griffiths (GBR) described as a first-class event, attended by the Belarusian Minister for Sport, there was an impressive 30 starters from Russia and Belarus. A total of 23 finished the Cross Country, with 15 of those clear over the fences and three also inside the time. Twenty-three horses completed the competition, which was televised.

Runner-up Nastenko also gained useful extra points with an eighth place, but it was Aliaksandr Faminou (BLR) who made the biggest impact on the FEI World Cup™ Eventing rankings by shooting into third in the standings when scooping fourth, sixth and seventh placings.

New Zealander Clarke Johnstone is still way out in front in the rankings, having won the first two events of the season. He is now based in Britain, from where he can easily compete at the next leg in Malmö (SWE) on 05-07 August 2011 and the final event at Haras du Pin (FRA) on 18-21 August to secure his pole position.

But reigning World Champion Michael Jung (GER) is not too far behind, and nor is German-based Japanese rider Yoshiaki Oiwa. Both may decide it’s worth a trip across the Baltic Sea to try and secure extra points at Malmö (SWE) next month, when Scandinavian riders will be having their first home run at the 2011 FEI World Cup™ Eventing.

Photo Catalogue: images for editorial purposes are available free of charge from www.feiphotos.org

Results
1 Alena Tseliapushkina/Passat (BLR) 49.6 + 1.6 + 0 = 51.0
2 Mykhailo Nastenko/Coolroy Pit (RUS) 50.4 + 4.4 + 0 = 54.8
3 Vlachaslau Poita/Arbat (BLR) 51.5 + 0 + 4 = 55.5
4 Aliaksandr Faminou/Ekstrakt (BLR) 64.4 + 0.0 + 0 = 64.4
5 Alekandr Markov/Go Ahead (RUS) 54.6 + 2.0 + 12 = 68.6
6 Aliaksandr Faminou/Helios (BLR) 62.0 + 8.0 + 0 = 69.1
7 Aliaksandr Faminou/Gorlinka (BLR) 58.0 + 7.6 + 4 = 69.6
8 Mykhailo Nastenko/Lankaster (RUS) 64.8 + 14.0 + 0 = 78.8

FEI World Cup™ Eventing Standings (after 5 of 7 events)
1 Clarke Johnstone (NZL) 118
2 Chris Burton (AUS) 108
3 Aliaksandr Faminou (BLR) 92
4 Michael Jung (GER) 79
5 Shane Rose (AUS) 70
6 Yoshiaki Oiwa (JAP) 66
7 Mykhailo Nastenko (RUS) 64
8 Alena Tseliapushkina (BLR) 41
9 Emily Baldwin (GBR) 41
10 Ruth Edge (GBR) 38

FEI World Cup™ Eventing Calendar for 2011
1    Kihikihi (NZL), 07-10 April 2011
2    Sydney (AUS), 06-08 May 2011
3    Chatsworth (GBR), 14-15 May 2011
4    Strzegom (POL), 23-26 June 2011
5    Minsk (BLR), 13-17 July 2011
6    Malmö (SWE), 05-07 August 2011
7    Le Pin au Haras (FRA), 18-21 August 2011

www.feiworldcup.org