Back-to-back FEI Nations Cup wins for Great Britain

After enjoying success at La Baule, France a week ago, it was another nail-biting competition that came down to a fierce battle with the reigning Furusiyya champions Netherlands, with the result not for the first time sealed by the legendary figure of John Whitaker.

Sweden lined up third behind the Netherlands while Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Qatar and Belgium filled the remaining places as Great Britain recorded their ninth victory in the 83-year history of CSIO Rome.

Located in the beautiful Villa Borghese in the heart of Rome, Piazza di Siena welcomed eight nations to compete. The Belgian team were defending the title they won a year ago, whilst for five nations - Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, the stakes were equally as high as they were chasing points towards qualification for the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup 2015 final which will take place in Barcelona, Spain from 24 to 27 September.

There were 11 clear rounds in the first round and six double-clear performances overall. At the halfway stage, the British were already out in front on a zero score after foot-perfect runs from Michael and John Whitaker, and John’s son Robert, as 25-year-old Holly Gillott on Dougie Douglas provided the British team’s discount score first time out of a single time penalty.

The biggest drama of the first round was provided by Italy’s Piergiorgio Bucci when, clear all the way to the final fence, his stallion, Casall Z, drifted to the right and galloped past it, picking a total of six faults from which their side could not recover.

The Swiss rallied superbly with three fault-free rounds second time out that included a double-clear for Jane Richard Philips and Pablo Virton, but it was all too late for them with 16 faults already on the board.

A fall for Jos Verlooy and Farfelu de la Pomme put paid to Belgian chances which then saw the team from Qatar inch ahead of them to fill seventh place, while the Spanish added just four faults to finish on a total of 12.

Sweden stood firm, thanks to superb double-clears from Angelie von Essen (on Jordan ll) and Henrik von Eckermann (on Cantinero), but it was the Dutch who chased the British all the way. Dubbeldam’s second four-fault effort followed by three great clears from Maikel van der Vleuten (on VDL Groep Verdi) and Jur Vrieling (on VDL Zirocco Blue) never touched a pole all day to leave them on their first-round four-fault tally.

Gillott produced a copybook second round to boost British chances, but a mistake at the very last fence for Robert Whitaker and Catwalk IV put the pressure on. Although Michael Whitaker and Cassionata were also free of jumping faults they passed the 80-seconds time-allowed to collect a single time fault.

It meant if last to go John Whitaker could not stay clear then Team GB would have to count that single fault and settle for runner-up spot with a total of five. However, with everything hanging in the balance, Whitaker and Argento ensured they left all the fences intact to complete Great Britain’s victory.

Following today’s third leg of the Europe Division 1, France still heads the league table with Italy in second and Belgium in third place. Although the British team have now won two consecutive rounds of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Europe Division 1 events, they were only eligible for points in Rome and did not bring any points from La Baule. France on the other hand picked up points both in Lummen and in La Baule and still lead the way.

The next leg of the Nations Cup is the third round of the Europe Division 2 League which will take place in Lisbon, Portugal on Friday 29 May.

Result:

1. Great Britain 1 fault

2. Netherlands 4 faults

3. Sweden 8

4. Spain 12

5. Switzerland 16

6. Italy 18

7. Qatar 21

8. Belgium 28

1. France 160 points

2. Italy 155

3. Belgium 150

4. Spain 135

4. Netherlands 135

6. Sweden 130

7. Ireland 125

8. Great Britain 100