Family Fredericks takes control
Friday, September 19, 2008
The Australian Olympic husband-and-wife duo, Clayton and Lucinda Fredericks, are leading the 39-strong field at the HSBC FEI Eventing World Cup™ Final at Deauville (FRA) at the completion of the first, dressage phase.
It is a third final for Clayton and the Irish-bred Ben Along Time, who won the title at Malmo (SWE) in 2005, and, most recently, was a member of Australia’s silver medal team at the Olympics.
Clayton, who immediately afterwards went off to make the most of the sunshine and the beautiful nearby golf course, produced the morning’s most attractive, supple test to score the only sub-40 mark. He now has a convincing lead of 4.1pen over his wife, who is also riding her Olympic horse, the mare Headley Britannia.
“Both our horses feel as though they’ve been on holiday,” said Lucinda. “They seem fine after their travels to Hong Kong. I was on the waitlist to come here (to Deauville) and am delighted to get the opportunity. We came here last year and enjoyed it so much that we wanted to come back. I’m not feeling under any pressure.”
Allison Springer (USA), winner of the recent Norwood qualifier on the nine-year-old Irish-bred gelding Arthur, made an impressive HSBC FEI World Cup™ Final debut and is lying in equal third with Pippa Funnell (GBR) on Ensign, the horse she owns jointly with her mother, Jenny Nolan.
“He has been a great horse for us,” said Mrs Nolan. “He’s really earned his keep this year with all his World Cup placings, especially when runner-up at Martinvast (FRA).”
With a field comprising several less experienced eight- and nine-year-old horses, the ground jury of Anne-Mette Binder (DEN, president), Michel Asseray (FRA) and Angela Tucker (GBR) only gave four more horses less than 50pen.
The seasoned pair of Olympic gold medallist Frank Ostholt (GER) with Air Jordan are fifth, equal with compatriot Kai Ruder on the elegant young stallion Le Prince des Bois, a son of Marie-Christine de Lauriere’s famous Olympic eventing stallion Yarlande Summersong.
Another German, Michael Jung on the Fontainebleau winner, La Biosthetique Sam FBW, is seventh; and the reigning FEI World Cup™ Champion, Nicolas Touzaint (FRA), is best of the home side in eighth place on his Badminton winner, Hildago d’Ile.
Some riders, such as Stephen Bradley (USA), whose Brandenburg’s Joshua missed Burghley due to an abscess in a hoof, are making the most of a last-minute invitation to compete in the French sunshine.
Laura Collett (GBR), at 19 the youngest rider in the field, had to make a quick turnaround at the start of the week. She was lying in second place in the dressage phase at Blenheim CCI*** (GBR) on Fernhill Sox when the event was cancelled due to torrential rain. She is now well in touch in 18th place on 52.8pen.
“I just brushed off the mud and came,” said the British teenager. “The cross-country looks quite tricky; there are lots of arrowheads.”
Problems on Pierre Michelet’s beautifully presented cross-country course, which loops around within the tree-lined racetrack, start with a big corner at fence 4.
A particularly difficult stretch is the water at 20, which has a steep drop in to an arrowhead and no alternative, to a tricky pair of hedges on top of a bank, the second of which is right on the edge and requires commitment.
Standings in the HSBC FEI Eventing World Cup™ Final after dressage:
- 1: Clayton Fredericks/Ben Along Time (AUS), 36.1pen
- 2: Lucinda Fredericks/Headley Britannia (GBR), 40.2pen
- 3= Allison Springer/Arthur (USA), 41.1
- 3= Pippa Funnell/Ensign (GBR), 41.1
- 5= Frank Ostholt/Air Jordan (GER), 43.3
- 5= Kai Ruder/Le Prince des Bois (GER), 43.3
- 7: Michael Jung/La Biosthetique Sam FBW (GER), 45.0
- 8: Nicolas Touzaint/Hildago de l’Ile (FRA), 45.7
- 9= William Fox-Pitt/Kaleidoscope (GBR), 50.0
- 9= Andrew Nicholson/Henry Tankerville (NZL), 50.0
