Spain dominate to win FEI Nations Cup leg in Lisbon

Alongside the host nation, were the only teams of the eight competing to chase points towards the Final which will take place once again in Barcelona, Spain, in September.

A great all-round showing from Marco Fuste’s quartet of Manuel Fernandez Saro, Paolo Amilibia, Sergio Alvarez Moya and Eduardo Alvarez Aznar saw them emerge clear winners ahead of Portugal shareing runner-up spot with Great Britain. Belgium finished fourth ahead of France in fifth, Italy in sixth and Ireland in seventh place. Brazil did not compete in the second round as two of their four riders were eliminated in the first round.

Portugal’s Bernardo Costa Cabral designed a course of twelve fences which had 15 jumps and a time allowance of one minute 23 seconds.

Four double-clear rounds were recorded in the competition including two for the winning team.

Spain and Great Britain shared the lead on a zero score after the first round, which saw a two-hour break between the two rounds, with the second half of the competition taking place under lights.

Spanish pathfinder, Saro, produced a second four-fault result when round two got underway, but that was followed by the second part of a double-clear round from Amilibia on Notre Star de la Nutria. Despite Alvarez Moya being unable to match his opening clear round with Arrayan, leaving two fences on the floor at his second attempt, Spain’s dominance was underlined by a another great double-clear round from Alvarez Aznar on Fidux which left the winners with a final tally of four faults.

Great Britain and Portugal battled it out for second place to finish on level pegging with 13 faults each, however France’s chances of success declined when Bernard Briand Chevalier’s Qadillac de Heup was withdrawn and the decision not to run their fourth-line partnership of Nicolas Deseuzes and Quilane de Lezeaux when they had three fault-free scores in the first round proved costly. The pair picked up 12 faults in round two which had to be added to the eight posted by Harold Boisset on Quolita Z and the four from Clement Boulanger on Sweet Phir for a total of 24.

Britain’s Anna Edwards kicked off round two with just a single time penalty with Blazer B, but Laura Robinson collected eight faults on her second tour of the track with Jonti. Tim Wilks produced one of the four double-clear performances of the day on Quelbora Merze to steady matters, but when Louise Saywell and Dassler followed their opening clear with a big score of 17 faults it meant Robinson’s eight had to be included.

After his clear first round, Portugal’s Antonio Matos Almeida with Nikel de Presle were elimination when the action resumed, but his team-mates held their nerve. Duarte Seabra on Fernhill Curra Quinn and Luis Sabino Goncalves on Filou Imperio Egipcio both faulting just once this time out while Mario Wilson Fernandes’ double-clear effort with Saltho de la Roque underpinned their final standing.

Belgium finished just ahead of the French with a total of 23 faults, while the Italians racked up 38 and the Irish finished with a final tally of 56.

The result sees Spain climb to the top of the leaderboard, pinning Ukraine back into second place ahead of next leg of the Europe Division 2 series in two weeks’ time on Friday 10 June, at Sopot, Poland.
Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping 2016 Europe Division 2 League
Result – Lisbon, Portugal

1. Spain 4 faults

2. Portugal 13
2. Great Britain 13
4. Belgium 23
5. France 24
6. Italy 38
7. Ireland 56
8. Brazil (first round only)1
Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Jumping 2016 Europe Division 2 League
Standings after fourth leg at Lisbon, Portugal

1. Spain 335 points
2. Ukraine 290
3. Poland 140
4. Austria 135
5. Portugal 132.5
6. Luxembourg 120.0
7. Norway 115
8. Russia 102.5
9. Hungary 92.5
10. Denmark 70
11. Finland 55
12. Turkey 47.5
13. Slovenia 35