British Showjumping’s Team NAF finish 3rd in Linz CSIO4* FEI Nations Cup
Friday 05 May 2017
Thirteen teams came forward for this afternoon’s FEI 4* Nations Cup competition in Linz, Austria with all of them focused on picking up some of the lucrative league points on offer.
The British team of four, riding under the banner of Team NAF, produced some brilliant jumping with Robert Whitaker and Catwalk IV delivering one of only three double clears achieved throughout the entire competition.
The course, built at 1.60m, was designed jointly by Frank Rothenberger of Germany and Franz Madi of Austria was a long and testing one. Requiring fifteen jumping efforts across a total of twelve obstacles the time allowed of 78 seconds caught out many by requiring all competitors to keep moving on a forward pace without venturing off the recommended line set for them.
First Round
With only the top eight nations at the end of the first round being invited to continue into a second round it was five nations that were relegated out of the competition at the halfway stage.
The end of the first round saw Italy take a strong lead on just 2 penalties followed by Belgium on 4. Great Britain shared 3rd place with the Czech Republic and Hungary on 9 penalties whilst Austria sat on 13, Denmark on 14 and Germany on 17 as the eighth team to come forward.
Great Britain certainly delivered some solid performances in the first round. Trailblazer, Joe Clayton from Nottinghamshire with the 10 year-old bay gelding Con Man JX, owned by Sarah Billington, produced a foot-perfect round until the final obstacle, a double, which saw them pick up 4 penalties just outside the time allowed to finish on a total of 5.
It was Robert Whitaker, from Sidcup with the 14 year-old brown gelding Catwalk IV, owned by Clare Whitaker and Mandy Hall, that really opened up the competition for Great Britain when they jumped a superb clear within the time allowed to give the team their first zero penalty score on the result sheet.
Alison Barton, from Bradford with the 10 year-old chestnut mare Roma IV owned by Gaye Hartley made their debut on a senior nations cup team this afternoon as the third combination for the team. Their confident performance certainly didn’t lend to this when they finished on just 4 penalties when a touch in the middle section of the combination saw a pole fall.
Anchor rider Robert Smith, from Shrewley in Warwickshire, unfortunately didn’t have the best of first rounds with his own 12 year-old bay mare Bavi just not seeming her usual self. A finish score of 13 penalties saw them become the drop score for Great Britain to finish on a total of 9 penalties in joint 3rd position and secure in the knowledge that they were able to progress in the competition.
Second Round
Italy and Belgium’s fortune remained unchanged with Italy holding on to the strong lead they had secured at the halfway stage by taking the win on just a total of 3 penalties whilst Belgium stayed in 2nd place on their first round score of just 4 penalties.
The fight for 3rd place was one that was extremely hard fought and it was Great Britain that came out victorious finishing on a total of 14 penalties, relegating the Czech Republic into 4th on 15 penalties and Hungary in 5th on their score of 19 penalties.
Jumping in the same order, Joe Clayton and Con Man JX looked on great form and were extremely unlucky to lower a pole and pick up 4 penalties towards the latter end of the course. It was Robert Whitaker and Catwalk though that really did deliver the best two rounds of the entire competition in our opinion with their outstanding double clear which made the course look easy and as if they were jumping it for fun.
Alison Barton and Roma looked set to deliver a clear and it was devastating to see them pick up 4 penalties at the final fence just a second away from the finish line which they broke at dead on the time allowed of 78 seconds.
An immense amount of pressure would have been on Robert Smith's shoulders as he entered the arena for the 2nd time on Bavi with the knowledge that as the final rider for the team only a clear would do if we were to secure a 3rd place finish. Bavi, who looked so much happier when she came into the ring for the second time, couldn’t have jumped any better taking it all in her stride to jump an effortless clear just outside the time allowed to secure GB's Team NAF a place on the podium.
Talking afterwards Di Lampard commented “First off all I have to say how pleased I am with the entire team and also acknowledge the tremendous performance put in by Robert Whitaker. His first round was superb and his second brilliant, you could actually watch them just getting better and better as they continued. Robert Smith had a disappointing first round but his experience saw him put that behind him and come out and deliver what we needed to ensure us a 3rd place finish . The proven combination of Joe Clayton and Con Man took the role of pathfinder today and they played a great part in the team success. Alison Barton has stepped up to this level of competition in the way that she has with two great rounds in their first nations cup”.
The Grand Prix takes place on Sunday at 15:00 hrs local time and for further information on the show and full results once the show is underway, visit www.linzerpferdefestival.at. Full information in respect of the FEI Nations Cup series can be found by visiting www.fei.org.
British Showjumping would like to thank NAF, title sponsors of the Senior Nations Cup Teams along with the Children, Junior and Young Rider teams.
NAF’s premium range of Five Star brands include Superflex, Superflex Senior, PROFEET, Optimum, Magic, Oestress and Respirator Boost with quality at the heart of everything they do. They are a UFAS (Universal Feed Assurance Scheme), GMP+ (International Feed Assurance Scheme) and BETA NOPS (Naturally Occuring Prohibited Substances) accredited company and this enables them to guarantee full traceability on all the natural ingredients they utilise in their formulations, which are also selected in compliance with the FEI guidelines for Clean Sport. For further information, visit www.naf-equine.eu/uk/index.jsp.
The GBR showjumping teams are supported by the British Equestrian Federation’s World Class Programme, funded by UK Sport through the National Lottery. The Programme focuses on identifying talent, developing potential and maximising medal-winning performances on the world stage.
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