May 08, 2006
© Asiapromote Ventures Sdn. Bhd.
Their thunderous hoof beats were magically symphonic. Their bodies glistened as beads of salty sweat dripped from their sides with each stride. They towered with an overpowering presence as they shuffled about anxiously before each showjumping performance. There was no doubt that the horses stole the show. It was quite a sight watching these beautiful animals move, gallop, and fly in a majestically magnificent fashion. In a make-believe world, it would have seemed as though Hollywood’s celebrity horses – Fury, Seabiscuit, the Black Stallion, Trigger, Flicka, and National Velvet – had come to strut their stuff. In the real world of the FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale) World Cup Jumping Final 2006, the most important single event on the world equestrian calendar, held in Kuala Lumpur from 26 to 30 April – the first time the world-class event has been hosted outside of the United States and Europe – the glitterati of the equestrian world gathered to earn points for the treasured challenge trophy. A few days after the event ended, the stars of the event – more than 100 prized horses – travelled back to their respective countries in First Class luxury while their owners, riders, and trainers celebrated the triumph of yet another successful show jumping event in Business and Economy Class ambiguity. For four consecutive days, tens of thousands of equestrian sports fans packed the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil to watch with restless excitement as the world-famous riders and their choice horses set new records, upset the punters’ predictions, and stumbled through fault points. Germany claimed the World Cup crown for the second consecutive year when Markus Ehning glided over the last fence astride Sandro Boy in a flawless finish, and in the fastest cumulative time, to narrowly defeat Ireland’s Jessica Kuerten for the World Cup title. This is Ehning’s second win in the World Cup Final. The event was a dream come true for equestrian fans and an entertaining show for spectators who had never before experienced such a graceful and powerful display of horsemanship. “It took us three years of painstaking work and organisation to make this event happen,” says Peter Imran Winton, Chief Executive Officer of Asiapromote Ventures, the event organiser. “Looking back on the success and the excitement it generated, It was worth every ounce of work that we poured into making this event a first-time triumph in Asia.” There were anxious moments, too, when some of the lead riders’ horses failed to make the veterinary cut for the final round. Last year’s FEI World Cup winner, Meredith Michael-Beerbaum, endured some suspenseful moments when her horse, Checkmate, passed the veterinary inspection only on re-inspection testing on the final day. The close competition between the top three contenders – Ehning, Kuerten, and Beat Mandli (SUI) – also held the audience in a state of speculative euphoria at the turn of each round. Asian riders had their share of the spotlight competing for the International Team Trophy and the Asian Classics Final. The Finnish-Malaysian pair of Mikael Forsten and Tunku Nazroff Tunku Mohsin won the International Team Trophy, with the second place going to Malaysia’s Oabil Ambak and the Philippines’ Michelle Barrera. The Malaysian-Russian team of Lea Tan and Vladimir Beletsky clinched third place. In the Asian Classics Final, the only Malaysian rider in the jump-off round, Syed Mohsin, took second place to Hong Kong’s Kenneth Cheng by a mere 1:04 seconds. Germany’s Oliver Hausner took third place. Off course, a record number of delegates representing 123 National Federations attended the FEI General Assembly to elect a new president. Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Al Hussein was elected the 13th FEI President for a four-year term, a position previously held by Her Royal Highness the Infanta Dona Pilar de Borbon since 1994. The newly elected President is the daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan and an accomplished international showjumper in her own right. The FEI World Cup Jumping Final 2006 attracted 52 top riders from all over the world, approximately 40,000 visitors, and more than 100 of the world’s best show-jumping horses. Twenty television stations beamed the event into the living rooms of 800 million viewers worldwide. For the first time in the history of the FEI World Cup, the event was broadcast live to Europe. It became the most televised equestrian event ever. The ripple effect of the event is slowly coming into play. Children enthralled by the performance of the beautiful creatures now want a horse in their backyards. While that may be wishful thinking, pony club centres are starting to report an upswing in student enrolments. The Equestrian Association of Malaysia is also getting into the act by proposing the idea of a regional showjumping championship. For equestrian fans, it’s all good news. If the FEI World Cup Jumping Final 2006 was the “pinnacle of power and grace”, there’s more thrills and excitement in store for equestrian fans. The reverberation of hooves will thunder across the nation again when the KL Grand Prix CSI 5* returns in 2007 and Malaysia hosts the FEI World Endurance Championship in 2008.