2 wins for Britain at CSI Twente
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
CSI Twente began as a small national show jumping event and took place in the meadows surrounding Erve Maathuis, Geesteren in the east of the Netherlands. In 1975, CSI Twente gained international status and the 2007 CSI 4* ran from 13th to 15th July. As usual, the fixture attracted a field of top-class riders. National classes were held on the 12th and thoughout the show, which now has two arenas. The course designer was Olaf Petersen.
Friday morning began with the Wegener Huis aan Huiskranten Prijs, a faults and time 1.40m class, offering €1,000 to the winner. Exactly 1/3 of the 66 starters went clear, and the fastest came from the middle of the draw: Albert Zoer on Sam (8 year-old bay KWPN gelding by Calvados, out of a mare by Ahorn) whose time of 55.50 was 1.12 quicker than that of Jurgen Stenfert on BMC Chelina (9 year-old grey Holsteiner mare by Carthago). Michael Whitaker on Amai (7 year-old bay BWP gelding by Non Stop) had 1 time fault in 72.33, finishing 23rd. Nick Skelton on Rouge Orion (7 year-old bay SF gelding by Papillon Rouge, out of a mare by Kouglof II) was 40th, with 5 faults in 73.09. Ireland had a trio of representatives: Cian O'Connor on Splender (8 year-old chestnut KWPN gelding by Lester) was clear in 71.79, finishing 22nd; Denis Lynch on Hello Popsie was 60th, with 8 jumping faults and 6 time faults; and Ryan Crumley retired Wincent 28.
The Abbink Groep Prijs (1.45m) was a 2-phase with the 2nd judged under Table C. 36 of the 73 starters had 1st phase clears, and drawn 13th, John Whitaker on Cortaflex Utah van Erpekom (10 year-old skewbald BWP stallion by Landetto, out of Lakotah, a granddaughter of the famous coloured stallion, Samber) set a time of 24.11. The closest challenger was Eric van der Vleuten on Pitareusa (10 year-old bay KWPN mare by Andiamo) in 24.90, until the very last to go, America's Molly Ashe on Kroon Gravin (14 year-old bay KWPN mare by Grandville) sped round in 23.72 to take the €1,250 top prize. The other British riders all had 1st phase faults: Robert Whitaker on Prima Vera had 4 in 60.93, finishing 48th; Michael Whitaker on Lady de Hayettes had 5 in 62.53 and was 50th; and Robert Smith on Vangelis S was 70th, with 17 in 63.79. Denis Lynch on Lancelot 200 had a time of 34.45 and finished 30th. Cian O'Connor on Complete was 51st, with 5 faults in 63.26 and Ryan Crumley on Liffey Valley was 72nd, with 18 faults in 69.58.
The BMC Prijs was a 1-round class (1.50m), offering €9,000 to the winner. 6 of the 66 starters went clear and a further 6 incurred a single time fault. John Whitaker on Casino (12 year-old bay Irish-bred gelding by Cavalier Royale) had the disadvantage of being drawn 1st, but his time of 68.43 proved good enough to earn €7,250. The only rider to beat him was his former pupil, Sweden's Malin Baryard-Johnsson: starting 9th, she and Butterfly Flip (16 year-old bay SWB mare by Robin Z) were round in 67.36. For the Netherlands, Willem Greve on Perpetua (10 year-old grey mare by Lux, out of a mare by Cassini 1) took 3rd prize of €5,500 with the time of 69.38. Fastest of all was Beezie Madden on Judgement (65.86) but one mistake put her in 13th place. Robert Whitaker on Lacroix 9 had 8 faults in 66.81, Michael Whitaker on Suncal Portofino 63 had 8 faults in 67.68, and Robert Smith on Ronaldo had 11 faults in 85.14, finishing 35th, 37th and 49th respectively. Denis Lynch on Upsilon d'Ocquier had 10 faults in 78.81 and Cian O'Connor on Markopoulo had 20 faults in 88.79, finishing 47th and 62nd respectively.
Saturday's programme began with the Provincie Overijssel Prijs, a 1.45m 2-phase class, in which 28 of the 57 starters had 1st-phase clears, with 19 remaining fault-free. Near the end, Denis Lynch went into the lead with Hello Popsie (9 year-old grey AES gelding by Hairos, out of Hello Feliz, a mare by Dallas), in 25.57. However, the next but one to go was Maikel van der Vleuten with Ken Tucky (10 year-old black NRPS gelding) who was 0.62 quicker, snatching the €1,250. Denis's cheque was for €900. Luciana Diniz followed, with Dover (18 year-old chestnut Brazilian-bred stallion by Folclorico XX) recording a good time of 25.63 to earn 3rd prize of €700. Robert Smith on Spitfire (8 year-old bay KWPN gelding by Burggraaf, out of a mare by Concorde) finished 17th with a clear in 30.12. Those with 1st-phase faults included: Robert Whitaker on Lacroix 9 (7 in 65.70), Nick Skelton on Rouge Orion (8 in 54.72) and Cian O'Connor on Markopoulo (4 in 52.80), coming 47th, 50th and 39th respectively.
The Eurocommerce Prijs (1.45m) offered €6,000 and was run using the Groups with Winning Round format. It was contested by 65 and the winners of each of the 9 groups (the highest ranked rider starting last in each) plus the next best 8 on faults and time qualified for the Winning Round jump-off. They started in reverse order of scores and the result was another win for 36 year-old Molly Ashe. This time she was riding Lutopia (14 year-old chestnut KWPN mare by Gentleman), her partner in winning last year's Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Hickstead. Albert Zoer on Lincoln (14 year-old bay KWPN stallion by Faldo) was 1.69 slower and 3rd prize went to Germany's Daniel Deusser on Hooligan de Rosyl (12 year-old SF stallion by Inschalla A), a further 0.35 in arrears. John Whitaker had the fastest of the 4-fault rounds, taking 6th (€1,000) with Casino, whose consistency seems to be improving as he gains valuable experience. Robert Smith was 7th (€500) with the attractive stallion Vangelis S (9 year-old bay BWP by Non-Stop, out of Regina S), and Robert Whitaker 14th (€150) with Vicky van de Grundeval (9 year-old black BWP mare by Skippy II, out of a mare by Ramiro Z) who had 8 faults. Those with faults in the initial round included Michael Whitaker on Amai (8); Denis Lynch on Lancelot 200 (4); and Cian O'Connor on Splender (5).
The Roelofs Prijs (1.50m) had 72 starters, 15 of whom went clear, with 6 going clear again in the jump-off. This time the draw was more favourable to John Whitaker and he rode Cortaflex Utah van Erpekom to take the lead from Gerco Schröder on Eurocommerce Monaco (16 year-old bay Holsteiner gelding by Lacato) by a margin of 0.43. This earned the €7,000 winner's prize and was the 1st international victory of the year for Cilla Humphreys's much-admired stallion, who has sired some promising coloured youngsters. 3rd place went to Sweden's Erika Lickhammer on the 17 year-old grey gelding, Irco Mac. Robert Whitaker on Prima Vera (10 year-old bay KWPN mare by Concorde) finished 15th (€100), having been eliminated. Those not in the jump-off included: Michael Whitaker on Lady des Hayettes (27th with 5 faults); Robert Smith on Ronaldo (46th with 10 faults); Nick Skelton on Russel (equal 67th having retired); Ryan Crumley on Baltimore (21st with 4 faults); Cian O'Connor on Complete (52nd with 12 faults); and Denis Lynch on Upsilon d'Ocquier (equal 67th).
There was another win for Britain on Sunday morning when Robert Smith won the BMC Prijs, adding €1,500 euros to Vangelis S's winnings. Sharon Baldwin's stallion was graded with the Sport Horse Breeding and with the Anglo European Studbook as a 3 year-old. His dam was by Feinschnitt and his paternal grandsire was the great Darco. The class was an Accumulator (1.45m) with Joker, and 23 of the 53 starters achieved the maximum score of 65 points. Albert Zoer and Sam failed by 0.83 to match Robert's time. Michael Whitaker on Amai scored 64 points, finishing 27th, and Robert Whitaker on Vicky van de Grundeval just 21 points to finish 47th. Cian O'Connor on Splender was 19th and Denis Lynch on Lancelot 200 scored 25 points to finish 46th.
The Rabobank Prijs was a 1.40m Table C (worth €1,800 to the winner) in which 51 started. This was won by Italy's Gianni Govoni with Zamar Porn Star (10 year-old chestnut KWPN gelding by Concorde, out of a mare by Nimmedor) who was a remarkable 3.51 faster than Denis Lynch on Hello Popsie, with Luciana Diniz and Dover again taking 3rd place. Robert Smith and Spitfire added a 4 second penalty to their time of 71.67 to finish 39th. As Robert Whitaker wanted to jump a schooling round on Prima Vera, they went 1st and had no fences down, but incurred time faults, finishing 48th. Cian O'Connor on Complete made 2 mistakes and Ryan Crumley retired Wincent 28.
The Grand Prix (1.60m) for the Grolsch Trophy was open to all the riders. The starting order was in reverse order of points scored in the 1.50m classes held on Friday and Saturday. 60 started and 6 went clear, 1 had 1 time fault and together with the fastest 8 of the 16 4-faulters, they qualified to jump in the 2nd round over a different and shorter course. They started in reverse order of 1st-round faults and time, with placings to be decided by their aggregate penalties over both rounds and their 2nd-round times. There were only 2 double clears and Gerco Schröder on Eurocommerce Milano (13 year-old chestnut KWPN mare by Indorado) was 3.14 faster than Albert Zoer on Oki Doki (11 year-old bay KWPN gelding by Jodokus). His reward was a Volvo S80 car worth €44,000, and Albert's was €20,000. 3rd prize of €12,500 went to the 18 year-old American rider, Addison Phillips on Trezebees (11 year-old chestnut BWP mare by Cash) who had 4 faults in the 2nd round. John Whitaker on Casino had 4 faults in the 1st round and won €5,000 for 5th place. Those with 1st-round faults included: Michael Whitaker on Suncal Portofino 63 (23rd with 4 faults); Nick Skelton on Russel (41st with 8 faults); Robert Smith on Ronaldo (42nd with 9 faults); and Denis Lynch on Upsilon d'Ocquier (35th with 8 faults). Neither Cian O'Connor nor Ryan Crumley participated.
