May 20, 2006
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Cool enigmatic German Marcus Ehning thumped his fists in the air and hugged Sandro Boy when they cleared the last fence of the second round of the third final competition of the FEI World Cup Final in Kuala Lumpur to clinch the 2006 title, his second World Cup win. “He’s an unbelievable horse, it doesn’t matter to him where he finds himself – how short he is to the fence, how long he is or how big the fence is, he just jumps it and the feeling is unbelievable,” said the World’s No. 1 rider, a title he has held since August 2004.
Marcus, the 2003 World Cup Champion and his mount were in fine form sailing over every fence without a single error in the whole competition. The pair kept the audience enthralled throughout the competition with their flawless performance. Following closely on his heels was Irish lass Jessica Kurten who trailed only a point behind, denying Ireland’s chance of her very first World Cup Final victory. Though the Irish were delighted, their cup would have brimmed over if Kurten had scored. Kurten and Castle Forbes Libertina fought all the way to topple the joint lead of Ehning and Beat Mandli on the final day. “I never felt in any danger. I was worried in the first round that Libertina would take charge but she jumped sensationally – she just wants to do everything right.”
Kurten had a brilliant season, winning the Al Maktoum Memorial Grand Prix, the richest showjumping event in the world and this year’s Gothenburg Grand Prix. Defending champion Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum thought that Kurten would be the one to beat at the Final as “she is in unbelievable form and both her top horses are going to Kuala Lumpur”. Mandli fell to third place when Ideo du Thot knocked down a pole in the intense final round despite riding two perfect rounds in the first two final competitions, tying with Ehning for the lead. “I put too much pressure on my horse at the red oxer and that’s why he hit the next one,” said the disappointed Swiss. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum in fourth place, entered the final round of her defence of her title with four penalty points, but had a rail down at the fourth fence taking her total penalties up to eight, finishing in fifth place.
The course designed by Frank Rothenberger was a big and challenging one with 13 fences with heights between 1.60 to 1.70 metres for the first round. It required scope, caution and courage and was set to test the capability and skill of the riders. The first 10 riders into the ring could not go clear. Out of the field of 24, only seven riders did not incur any penalty and they were Pia-Luise Aufrecht, Michael Whitaker, Juan Carlos Garcia, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Jessica Kurten, Beat Mandli and Marcus Ehning. Five of them went clear in the final round which was over a course of nine fences where the 18 riders were tried and tested.
Mandli succumbing to the pressure incurred a four-faulter and lost the lead. Meredith and Checkmate got too close and lowered a rail at the red oxer which caused them four penalty points. With two clear rounds on the final day and 10 points from the conclusion of the second final competition, English legend Michael Whitaker astride Insul Tech Portofino finished sixth. Carrying six penalties into the make-or-break third final, Juan Carlos Garcia riding for Italy had two perfect rounds and overtook Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum for fourth placing. Gerco Schroeder from the Netherlands and American Margie Engle were the other two riders who managed to achieve a clear round.
The talented Schroeder aboard Eurocommerce Milano finished in equal eighth placing with Pia-Luise Aufrecht who has been dreaming all year to come to Kuala Lumpur. This young lady from Germany thrilled the audience with her beautiful performance aboard her talented Hofgut Liederbach’s Abrisca at her first World Cup Final outing. Margie Engle who carried 10 points into the third final competition collected another eight penalty points in round one and with her and Quervo Gold going clear in round two, she finished 11th, the highest placed US rider.
Clearly the Europeans once again dominated the FEI World Cup Final securing the first 10 places. It was an event that distinguished the best from the rest. However for the very first time, the FEI World Cup Final saw two South East Asian riders - Syed Omar Almohdzar, Malaysia’s only representative and Michelle Barrera from the Philippines - competing. The Kuala Lumpur Final was the first World Cup Final for both riders. Syed Omar, who had the misfortune to be the first draw in the first final, rode brilliantly and incurred only eight faults while some of the world’s best had 12 or more and two were eliminated.
Despite Syed Omar’s very stylish and professional ride in the second final competition Lui was not up to it. “I had to push and push. I had to really ride him to the fences. He gave me nothing. It’s something we have noticed with Lui – he has a very bad second day at shows. His energy levels go down on the second day, but he is always better on the third day.” Our other South East Asian representative, 22-year-old Michelle Barrera, had six fences down incurring 24 faults and a calculated time of 97.32 seconds in the first final. Michelle and her sensational Kayak van het Gravenhof were first into the ring at the second final competition.
Though they ended with 20 penalty points, they were able to negotiate the most technical lines without difficulty. Both our representatives proved that they could hold their own among some of the world’s top riders and their first World Cup Final outing is an invaluable experience that would put them in good stead in their preparation for the World Equestrian Games in Aachen in August 2006 – the first time for them and the first time that two South East Asian riders have qualified. The 2006 World Cup Champion rode home with CHF100,000 and the following 15 placed riders also finished in the money. For the third final competition the total prizemoney was CHF320,000.