ONLY promoted from Division 2 at the end of last season, Hans Horn’s Italian team bounced back to post a great win in the opening leg of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup at the Longines Spring Classic of Flanders in Lummen, Belgium, last Friday.
Horn’s side came out with all guns blazing to pin the host nation and Britain into joint-runner-up spot ahead of France in fourth.
Switzerland and The Netherlands shared fifth place while Sweden slotted into sixth ahead of the Irish, who finished last of the eight competing nations on 33 faults. Lummen proved uphill work for Robert Splaine’s team of Denis Lynch and Abbervail Van Het Dingeshof (8/8); Cameron Hanley and Living the Dream (9/4); Greg Broderick and MHS Going Global proved the stars of the Irish side with four faults in round one and a clear in round two while Billy Twomey and Diaghilev racked up 9/12.
However, the competition provided the perfect result for the Italians who collected the maximum 100 qualifying points on offer for the Furusiyya 2015 Final.
At the halfway stage, it looked like the French already had it in the bag when leading on a zero score, but many of the younger horses appeared to fade a little second time out over Lucien Somer’s 12-fence course.
Amongst the five nine-year-olds in action was Kevin Staut’s Ayade De Septon Et HDC who, along with Penelope Leprevost’s 10-year-old Flora De Mariposa and Jerome Hurel’s 11-year-old Quartz Rouge, made it look quite elementary at their first attempt.
The Longines triple combination at fence seven was influential from the outset, the opening oxer leading to a plank vertical and followed by another oxer. Time and again the middle element fell, and the following 1.60m vertical at fence eight also took its toll as did the double at fence 10.
When the second round got underway, the fences at the end of the track hit the floor repeatedly, and the six-stride distance that seemed to come up so effortlessly between the penultimate 1.60m vertical and the final oxer proved more difficult for some to get.
French chances faltered when Leprevost’s mare hit the oxer after the water and the final fence on their second tour of the track. And when Staut also returned with an eight-fault tally, the picture changed dramatically.
The Italians were trailing the leaders with just two time penalties collected by Danielle Augusto Da Rios (For Passion) and Piergiorgio Bucci (Casallo Z) after Lorenzo de Luca (Erco Van T Roosakker) kept a clean sheet first time out, and they were closely followed by the British carrying just four faults at the halfway stage. Belgium, The Netherlands and Sweden were next in line with eight faults apiece while Switzerland carried 12 and the Irish team had a first-round total of 21.
The Belgians rallied strongly with clears from Pieter Devos (Dream of India Greenfield) and Niels Bruynseels whose French-bred, Pommeau Du Heup, produced one of just two double-clear performances on the day, the other registered by French anchor, Hurel. Only third-line rider, Guy Williams (Titus) went clear for Britain second time out, and when pathfinder Luca Moneta collected 20 faults with Neptune Brecourt, it seemed the Italians were about to take a nosedive. But when de Luca left just one on the ground and Da Rios produced a second spectacular round, it was “game on”, because Simone Delestre’s Qlassic Bois Margot had three fences down and there was no way back for the French.
LUMMEN NATIONS CUP
1. Italy 6 faults: Neptune Brecourt (Luca Moneta) 4/20, Erco van T Roosakker (Lorenzo de Luca) 0/4, For Passion (Daniele Augusto Da Rios) 1/0, Casallo Z (Piergiorgio Bucci) 1/0
=2. Belgium 12 faults: Dream of India Greenfield (Pieter Devos) 12/0, Pommeau du Heup (Niels Bruynseels) 0/0, H&M Armstrong van de Kapel (Olivier Philippaerts) 4/4, Conrad de Hus (Gregory Wathelet) 4/4.
=2. Britain 12 faults: Dougie Douglas (Holly Gillott) 0/4, Utmaro d’Ecaussines (Joe Clee) 0/4, Titus (Guy Williams) 4/0, Fandango (William Whitaker) 8/8.
4. France 16 faults: Flora de Mariposa (Penelope Leprevost) 0/8, Ayade de Septon et HDC (Kevin Staut) 0/8, Qlassic Bois Margot (Simon Delestre) 8/12, Quartz Rouge (Jerome Hurel) 0/0.
=5. Switzerland 20 faults: Windsor XV (Niklaus Rutschi) 4/4, Aris CMS (Janika Sprunger) 8/8, Admirable (Marie Etter-Pellegrin) 8/0, Clooney 51 (Martin Fuchs) 0/4.
=5. Netherlands 20 faults: Emerald (Harrie Smolders) 0/8, GK Quentin (Frank Schuttert) 0/12, Vignet (Johnny Pals) 12/4, Eldorado vd Zeshoek TN (Willem Greve) 8/0.
7. Sweden 28 faults: Udermus (Douglas Lindelow) 4/16, H&M Flip’s Little Sparrow (Peder Fredricson) 0/12, Bonzai H (Helena Persson) 4/0, Jordan II (Angelie von Essen) 4/8.
8. Ireland 33 faults: Abbervail van het Dingeshof (Denis Lynch) 8/8, Living the Dream (Cameron Hanley) 9/4, MHS Going Global (Greg Broderick) 4/0, Diaghilev (Billy Twomey) 9/12.