Meydan FEI Nations’ Cup™: Falsterbo Preview

Falsterbo, on the south-western tip of Sweden, plays host to the sixth leg of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ series this Friday when the home team will be under particular pressure.

Not only will they be attempting to put their best foot forward in front of their home crowd, but they will be trying to ensure they stay out of the relegation zone at the bottom of the series leaderboard.

The Swedes go into Friday’s competition carrying 11 points and in eighth place, only narrowly ahead of the British who are six points clear of the Italians at the bottom of the table. With the two bottom-placed nations facing relegation at the end of the 2009 season however, the British will be hoping for a significant result this time out when Tim Stockdale joins Geoff Billington, Philiip Spivey and Peter Charles.

The Italians meanwhile battle on gallantly, but with only four points to their credit at this late stage in the series they seem to be in serious trouble. Chef d’Equipe, Emilio Puricelli, has a new-look side this time out however and perhaps Bruno Chimirri, Gabriele Grassi, Massimo Grossato and Paolo Zuvadelli can pull off something special.

Little Better

The Irish fare only a little better than the Swedes. Their fifth placing in Aachen moved them out of the relegation zone but they are only 0.5 points ahead of Friday’s host side and while Aachen Grand Prix winner Denis Lynch has plenty of 2009 Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ outings under his belt and Capt David O’Brien lined out last time, Conor Swail will be making his 2009 debut at this level of team show jumping as will US-based Darragh Kerins.

The Belgians have made steady progress throughout the season and Lucien Somers has a great depth of experience in his side which includes Jos Lansink, Ludo Philippaerts, Peter Postelmans and Niels Bruynseels. In sixth place going into this week’s leg, they are however more than seven points behind the Swiss who look plenty strong with Daniel Etter, Steve Guerdat, Pius Schwizer and Jane Richard on call-up.

The Dutch, in fourth, are just one point further ahead and Nathalie van der Mei is back in action alongside Eric van der Vleuten, Vincent Voorn and Jur Vrieling.

Wish Come True

Philiipp Weishaupt said in Aachen that he hoped his team manager, Otto Becker, would overlook his high-scoring second-round performance there and choose him to jump for Germany once again and his wish has come true as he is named along with Carsten-Otto Nagel, Thomas Muhlbauer and Marco Kutscher. The Germans have a healthy 25 points on the board now and are sitting comfortably in third behind the French who have enjoyed a remarkable season. Chef d’Equipe, Laurent Elias, has made some big changes in his side for this leg of the series but it still seems very possible that Patrice Deleveau, Nocolas Delmotte, Fabrice Dumartin and Olivier Guillon could secure a back-to-back hat-trick of victories for France.

The Americans are sitting pretty at the top of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ league table with a three-point lead over the French and US team manager, George Morris, has a new rotation of riders this time out including Georgina Bloomberg, Charlie Jayne, Beezie Madden, Cara Raether and Michelle Spadone.

The draw for order-of-go takes place at 18.00 local time tomorrow (Thursday) and the sixth leg of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ kicks off at 14.30 local time on Friday.

Facts and Figures

Falsterbo is located on the south-western tip of Sweden

It is a popular holiday destination, with lovely white-sand beaches suitable for family-friendly bathing

It is also very popular with bird-watchers – many birds visit the Falsterbo area during migration, including large numbers of birds of prey

The Falsterbo area has hosted equestrian events since 1920.

In 1969 the now-famous Falsterbo Derby first took place.

In 1986 Falsterbo Horse Show AB took over the running of competitions, and the event has expanded rapidly ever since.

Falsterbo Horse Show is Sweden’s biggest equestrian event and the largest outdoor sporting event in Sweden.

A crew of 600 volunteers and officials are on duty during the show.

Apart from the Meydan FEI Nations Cup™, one of the highlights at Falsterbo Horse Show is the Bunny Jumping Championship which runs over three days and culminates in a Grand Prix on Sunday. Bunny jumping pilots of the past have included Swedish Chef d’Equipe Maria Gretzer and rider Linda Heed. The Bunny Jumping classes are taken so seriously that Sports Computer Graphics includes the results in its listings every year from Falsterbo Show!