50 Horse&Hound1 August 2019
Pictures
by
Peter
Nixon
SHOWJUMPING
LONGINES ROYAL
INTERNATIONAL
Nations CupWHEN chef d’equipe Henrik
Ankarcrona was told Sweden had
never won Hickstead’s Nations
Cup trophy, he decided that
needed to change.
The Swedish side made short
work of the technical course,
finishing the first round on a clean
sheet with no need for fourth
rider Rolf-Goran Bengtsson (Oak
Grove’s Carlyle) to jump.
World Equestrian Games silver
medal winners Fredrik Jonsson
and Cold Play set the tone with
a polished clear. British-based
Angelie von Essen and Luikan
Q followed suit, as did Olympic
individual silver medallist Peder
Fredricson and Zacramento.
“It’s always an extra-nice
feeling to ride in a big grass
arena — it gives an extra
dimension — in a place like this
that’s historical,” said Peder. “To
have the Swedish name on this
trophy makes me really proud.”
The team’s four faults came in
round two, with Cold Play tapping
the upright on the turn-back at
fence three. Rolf-Goran gave
his ride a schooling round in
preparation for Sunday’s grand
prix, but the competition was
already won.
Always a strong jumping
nation, Sweden’s current form
is hard to match. In the past two
weeks they have also won their
home leg in Falsterbo, plus the
team competition in Aachen.
Their performance at Hickstead is
also interesting, given next year’s
Olympics feature teams of three
for the first time.
“It is every chef d’equipe’s
dream to have a strong list of
rider and horse combinations,”
said Henrik. “A lot of my work
is about planning for Tokyo. The
more combinations I can help
build up through the Nations
Cup, the more experienced
combinations I will have to choose
from next year.”
Last year’s winners Ireland
gave a strong performance, butThe experienced SwedishteamscoreyetanotherNations
Cup victory, while theBritishsuffermisfortune
hadtosettlefortherunner-up
position.ThebattlewithItalyfor
secondandthirdwasclinched
witha crackingclearfrom
IrishmanPaulO’Sheaandthe
scopeyImeraldVan’tVoorhof.
ThiswasthefirstNationsCup
coursefordesignerPaulConnor,
whichreceivedpraisefromriders.
Theearlycombinationatfour
provedinfluentialandfaults
werewellspreadthroughthe
course,withsevenpairssharing
the€50,000(£45,100)bonusfor
jumpingdoubleclear.DISAPPOINTMENT
FORTHEBRITS
FINISHINGatthebottomofthe
leaderboardwasnottheresult
Britainwantedorneeded.
TeamtrailblazersAmanda
DerbyshireandRouletteBHwere
enjoyinga fault-freerounduntil
the10-year-oldgeldingmadea
mistakeatthewaterandfell.
Amandawastakentohospital
witha facialinjuryandthehorse
wasassessedbyvets.
“Amandais oneofoursolid
performersandthisreallydid
knockthelegsfromunderthe
secondtworidersintheteam,”
saidteammanagerDiLampard.
JamesWilson(ImagineDe
Muze)andAmyInglis(Wishes)Formidable
Sweden makes
Hickstead history
FEI NATIONS CUP
OF GREAT BRITAIN- Sweden 4
- Ireland 8
- Italy 10
both gave improved second
rounds, while Ben Maher and Tic
Tac jumped double clear.
“It was a tough test on home
soil for James and Amy, but what
sterling work by Ben,” said Di.
“The encouragement and support
he gave the two young riders
was fantastic. It is only what you
would expect from him as a real
role model within the sport.”
Britain’s final chances to
qualify for Tokyo 2020 come
at next month’s Europeans in
Rotterdam and at the Nations Cup
Final in Barcelona in October.
This means the last leg in the
Nations Cup series in Dublin
(7-11 August) is crucial if Britain is
to be at that final.
While the Hickstead team
result was not what Team GBR
had hoped for, Di added there
were “definite positives” to
come from it, including team
spirit, support from Ben and the
experience for James and Amy.
“We have a big gap between
our top riders, our more senior
riders, to our younger riders,” she
said.“Experience doesn’t happen
in one, two, three years; this
happens over a length of time
with a number of horses. Unless
we start this process now, we will
never be a force in the future.”Paul O’Shea and the scopey Imerald Van’t Voorhof put in their best
performance for Ireland, as the team finish in second place‘To have the Swedish name on
this trophy makes me really
proud’: Peder Fredricson
and Zacramento produce a
double clear, helping Sweden
to the top of the podium