Predictor Game

Switzerland
Takes Leg One
at Samorin

29 April 2018

It was a tightly contested event at the x-bionic sphere...

Team Switzerland has taken an early lead in the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ competition after winning the first of eight legs at Samorin, Slovakia.

 

In a tightly contested event, where the lead kept changing hands until the final round of jumping, Switzerland finished with only nine penalty points after two rounds of competition. Each of the eight countries participating had four riders circling the daunting course twice.

 

Ireland finished closely behind Switzerland with 13 points, and Belgium was on their tail with 16 penalty points in the end.

 

It was a gorgeous sunny day at the x-bionic sphere in Samorin, just outside the capital of Bratislava, where Slovakia has created a premier sports and entertainment complex, complete with football fields, cinemas, Olympic-calibre equestrian arenas, and equine veterinary facilities. The stands were full of happy families enjoying the balmy weather and the chance to see some of the world’s top show jumpers competing for their countries.

2904_BIGLETTERS

Fuchs kept Switzerland in the lead...

The colourful Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ turf course, designed by Uliano Vezzani of Italy, suited the spring weather. It featured 12 efforts and 15 obstacles, peppered with challenging verticals, double and triple combinations, and a water element. Spread across the enormous show ring, the jumps had to be completed in 77 seconds or less.

 

Time was generally not a factor for most riders, but there were rails that fell at just the slightest touch, resulting in four penalty points for each fault, and the same penalty applied to toes in the water.

 

At the end of Round 1, with the worst score for each team dropped, it was Switzerland in the lead with zero points, followed by Italy (4 points), Ireland (5), Brazil (5), Sweden (8), Belgium (8), Germany (20), and Spain (26).

 

Round 2 of the Samorin competition saw the lead shift multiple times.

 

 

By the time the final group of riders approached the course, Switzerland was holding onto the lead, thanks to a clear ride by Martin Fuchs in the penultimate group. But the other top spots were very much in contention, and Ireland, Belgium, and Italy had all turned in at least one clear ride.

 

Sadly for Belgium’s Pieter Devos, the first rail on the course came down, followed by another, and with a one-second time penalty, he landed on nine penalty points.

 

Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam rode next, and with only four points at the finish, cemented his country’s second-place score.  

 

Bruno Chimirri of Italy needed to jump clear to keep his country in third position, but with an oxer rail down, he gained four penalty points, and Italy dropped to sixth position, whilst Belgium hung onto third. ​

Switzerland's
Fuchs had
a clear ride

There's still seven more legs to go...

There was no need for Switzerland’s final rider, Steve Guerdat, to jump and risk accruing penalty points, so team Switzerland was able to win the event on only nine penalty points spread over seven rides.

 

Team Brazil, whilst not attempting to qualify through the European League, ended on 18 points. Sweden, Italy, Germany, and Spain had 20, 20, 24, and 38, respectively, a tough day for Spain during which one of their riders was eliminated after two refusals at a jump.

 

Whilst team Switzerland picked up 100 qualifying points at the Samorin event, the decision about which nations will go to the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Finals in Barcelona this fall is far from concrete. With seven more legs to go, from Leg 2 in La Baule in France in May to Leg 8 in Dublin in August, the competition is sure to heat up even more.

 

Follow the trail to Barcelona on FEI TV, and cheer for your favourite team whilst watching the world’s best riders give the performances of a lifetime.

 

Text by Patricia Salem

Images by Łukasz Kowalski 

Qualifiers
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Qualifiers
Final

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