British Showjumping’s Team NAF retain 2nd place on League Table after Uggerhalne CSIO3* FEI Nations Cup
Saturday 03 June 2017
Ten nations came forward to contest the CSIO 3* FEI Nations Cup in Uggerhalne, Denmark this afternoon in a competition that saw fortunes change by the minute in the closing stages of the second round.
The winding course, consisting of twelve obstacles requiring fifteen jumping efforts, certainly took it’s toll on many riders and it was a surprise to see Ireland and Finland relegated after the first round.
For Great Britain, who compete under the title sponsor banner of Team NAF, three impressive clear rounds were posted by young horses making their debut at nations cup level. With this in mind it was naturally disappointing to finish in 5th place having shared pole position with Sweden right the way through until the last two riders for each nation were left to jump in the second round.
William Funnell from Dorking, Surrey with the 9 year-old chestnut gelding Billy Buckingham who had taken the role of anchor for the team delivered one of only three double clears achieved across the entire competition. Billy Buckingham looked incredible and certainly not like a horse that was just stepping up to this level such was the scope he showed throughout each round.
Matthew Sampson from Sheffield, South Yorkshire with the 8 year-old black stallion Jaguar VD Berhoeve, owned by Carron Nicol also made no hint to the fact that this was their first time across a nations cup course. Clear in the first round, they were unlucky to pick up 4 penalties at the rails which followed the open water in the second.
Louise Saywell from Retford, Nottinghamshire with the 9 year-old bay gelding Dassler, owned by Billy Twomey were the pathfinders for the team. Opening up the competition for the Brits in round one with just 4 penalties, their second round didn’t go quite as well with them finishing on a total of 12 penalties. Keith Shore from Northwich, Cheshire with his own British bred 14 year-old bay gelding Mystic Hurricane mirrored Louise’s performance with 4 penalties in the first round followed by 12 in the second when they had a foot in the water and three fences down.
As a result of both our and Sweden’s third round penalties, home nation Denmark found themselves in a position of celebrating their win having been elevated into 1st place without even needing to put their fourth rider through the start line. For great Britain, it had meant a slide down into 6th place prior to Will Funnell’s second round clear which saw Team NAF climb back up one place into 5th.
Great Britain currently sit in 2nd place on the FEI Nations Cup League table, just 45 penalties behind Belgium. Retaining their place in the top two on the league table by the end of the series is pivotal as the it is the top two teams that will receive an invitation to the Final at Barcelona where the highest placed Division 2 team at the Final will then be invited up into Division 1.
Talking after the competition about clear rounds achieved by Great Britain, Di Lampard, World Class Performance Manager for Showjumping, commented “Will Funnell’s round on Billy Buckingham was masterful today and to produce one of the very few double clears achieved only serves to highlight just how brilliant they were. Matt Sampson rode incredibly well also and I couldn’t be happier with the scope and talent Jaguar vd Berghoeve showed, even more so when you consider he is only 8 years-old"
FEI Nations Cup Division 2 League:
1. Belgium (350)
2. Great Britain (255)
3. Denmark (155)
4. Norway (120)
5. Poland (95)
6. Luxembourg (90)
7. Czech Republic (70)
8. Portugal (65)
Uggerhalne Nations Cup Results
1. Denmark (8)
2. France (12)
Sweden (12)
4. Belgium (16)
5. GREAT BRITAIN (20)
6. Germany (24)
7. Norway (50)
8. Netherlands (RET)
The Grand Prix will be on Monday 5th June at 14:30 hrs local time.
For further information on the show and full results once the show is underway, visit www.equitour.dk/en/. Full information in respect of the FEI Nations Cup series can be found by visiting www.fei.org. FEI TV will be showing live footage from the event. To access this please visit www.feitv.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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