Tryon, NC USA – September 20, 2018 – Switzerland will take a narrow lead into Friday’s eagerly-awaited team finale of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Jumping Championship at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 (WEG).
Italy’s Lorenzo de Luca heads the individual competition, which finishes on Sunday. The host nation of the United States also made its presence felt through brilliant displays by McLain Ward and Adrienne Sternlicht that pushed the team into second behind the Swiss, with Germany in third.
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Lorenzo de Luca and Irenice Horta ©Sportfot |
As he had done for the opening flurries on Wednesday, course designer Alan Wade (IRL) produced another immense course that tested combinations to the maximum.
So much so, there were only five clear rounds without time faults from the listed 122 starters – De Luca, third-placed Peder Fredricson, of Sweden, Germany’s Simone Blum in fourth, Irish challenger Cian O’Connor, who is fifth, and seventh-placed Max Kuhner of Austria.
Switzerland’s lead would have been more than just 0.95 penalties had overnight leader Steve Guerdat not had a fence down in his round, but Janika Sprunger led the way with just one fault, matching the scores of American pair Ward and Sternlicht.
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McLain Ward and Clinta ©Sportfot |
De Luca, meanwhile, was drawn right at the end of a long day’s action aboard Irenice Horta, and he said, “That was really difficult as I watched many riders and it was a long day, but I had a good chance to watch a few rounds and I know my mare so I figured out what I needed to do. She is in super shape, and she did another amazing round. She has a great mind – I just need to ride good and give her the chance to do her best.”
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Peder Fredricson and H&M Christian K ©Sportfot |
“He walked around the course. He jumped it easily,” O’Connor said. “He is an extraordinary athlete. He has learned to be a little more economical with his jump – when I got him, he jumped very high and up – so we had to teach him to relax and jump across the fences more, but now he can do everything.
“He has learned to compact himself like an accordion and make that spring off his hocks.”
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Italy’s Silvia Stopazzini, Lorenzo Lupacchini and Lunger Laura Carnabuci rejoice after receiving their medals.
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Lupacchini had set his own ambitions as an individual vaulter aside for the sake of the pair’s competition and it was worth it.
“We are really happy because we did what we prepared in training over this year,” he said.
In the end, it was the horse’s scores and a little wobble that put the Austrian title holders from WEG 2014 on Silver. Jasmin Lindner and Lukas Wache have trained together for eight years and won the first ever Pas de Deux World Championship title in 2012. Understandably they were quite disappointed after they lost first place by 0.014 point, finishing on 9.013.
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Jasmin Lindner and Lukas Wache
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Janika Derks and Johannes Kay ©Sportfot |
Derks is known for her power and strength in Vaulting, but could not quite stand her dismount from Carousso Hit. Despite this mishap her technical was the best of the day.
“The dismount was expensive. Touching the ground is one point off (from the performance score). But the others have to get everything right as well,” said Derks.
Italy’s defending WEG-silver medalist Anna Cavallaro injured a knee when dismounting, and although she is still ranked fifth overall, it is doubtful that she will participate in the final competition on Saturday.
“I just wanted to go out on the good vibes after the Freestyle yesterday, which was not good at all,” said 21-year-old Leclezio who had moved from the island of Mauritius to France for better Vaulting opportunities.
At his second WEG, the top technical score pushed Leclezio in the overall lead before the final Freestyle for the medals on Saturday.
Germany’s Jannik Heiland and Jannis Drewell are in second and third. The third German Thomas Brüsewitz, fourth at WEG 2014 and vaulting as the Prince of Bel Air in the technical, lost his lead and now ranks fourth.
“It is not all lost yet,” said Brüsewitz.
Austria (7.977) has more to catch up on if they want to improve their medal with Italy breathing down their necks (7.846), and it will be a hotly contested lungeing circle at TIEC’s Indoor Arena on Saturday, starting at 12:00 p.m. EST.
Race For Team Medals Underway In Adequan® Para-Dressage
Britain’s Para-Dressage team boasts one of the longest unbeaten records in sport, having won every Team Gold medal available at World, Paralympic and European levels.
Wells ensured a strong start for them at Tryon Stadium after posting a score of 77.233% to top Grade V by an emphatic margin from the Netherlands’ Frank Hosmar, riding Alphaville N.O.P.
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Team France leads the way after the first day of team competition. ©Sportfot |
France currently lead the way, but all four team riders have performed their tests, with the in-form Netherlands second and Japan third. Strongly-fancied trio Britain, Denmark and Brazil all have half their team line-ups still to ride, while the Netherlands are also strong Gold medal contenders.
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The Netherlands currently holds second place position. ©Sportfot |
For Pearson, who needs one medal in Tryon to become the most decorated Para-Dressage rider in FEI World Equestrian Games™ history, it was a case of him showcasing all his ability and experience to score 71.606% in a section that saw Individual Gold medallist Stinna Tange Kaastrup again come out on top.
“I was not worried about the placing today,” Pearson said. “I rode calmly and passionately in there, and said thank you to her (Styletta) on every transition. She has been brilliant here, with the environment, with the arenas. I thought she would be petrified, but she hasn’t been, and I do believe that she will be a fantastic championship horse for the future.”
Kaastrup, meanwhile, continued her impressive championship on Horsebo Smarties, recording a winning margin of almost two per cent from the Netherlands’ Nicole den Dulk, who finished second on Wallace N.O.P.
“Everything that we talked about that I was supposed to do in there, we did, and I am super proud about that,” Kaastrup said. “The horse is amazing and I learn a lot from him. I am feeling really good, especially with the score I delivered.”
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Team Japan rounds out third place heading into the conclusion of competition tomorrow. ©Sportfot |
Their score of 76.550% beat Brazil’s Rodolpho Riskalla and Don Henrico into second, with Belgium’s Manon Claeys taking third.
“The pressure is on the British now, and we like that. We came here with one aim, and that was to win a team medal to qualify directly for Tokyo.”
For more information on the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 and to view start lists and results, please visit www.Tryon2018.com.
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Tryon International Equestrian Center at Tryon Resort, host of the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018, is one of the world’s premier equestrian lifestyle destinations, with first-class facilities for all eight FEI disciplines. From carousel to competition, the mission of Tryon Resort is to celebrate the magic of the horse, grow equestrian sport, and increase access to this majestic animal. Tryon Resort is a spring, summer and fall haven for equestrian competitors and enthusiasts, and a year-round destination for connoisseurs of diverse cuisine and shopping, lodging getaways, and family entertainment. Learn more at www.Tryon.com.
The FEI World Equestrian Games™, held every four years in the middle of the summer Olympic cycle, is the property of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the world governing body for horse sport organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It is one of the biggest events on the global sporting calendar, combining World Championships in the Olympic disciplines of Jumping, Dressage and Eventing, the Paralympic discipline of Para-Equestrian Dressage, as well as Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining.
The inaugural FEI World Equestrian Games™ were hosted in Stockholm (SWE) in 1990. Since then the Games have been staged in The Hague (NED) in 1994, Rome (ITA) in 1998, Jerez (ESP) in 2002, and Aachen (GER) in 2006. The first Games to be organized outside Europe were the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Kentucky (USA) 2010. The Games came back to Europe for the 2014 edition, the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Normandy (FRA), which attracted more than 500,000 on-site spectators and a worldwide television audience of 350 million, as well as delivering an economic impact of €368 million to the French economy.
The Tryon 2018 Games offer qualifying slots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.