La Baule CSIO 5*: On the way to the Olympics 2012

Three months away from the London 2012 Olympics (August 2012), many riders will be dreaming of Olympic Gold…

Considering the roaster for the new 2012 edition of the Jumping International of France, chances of finding the successor to Canadian rider Eric Lamaze, Gold medal at the Beijing Olympics with his famous Hickstead is more than probable.

Looking for the ideal team at the eve of the Olympics, National selectors and coaches are going to use the Jumping International of La Baule, first outdoors competition of the season to test their best riders.

Over 4 days with a program similar to the Olympic Games format, the Jumping International of France is the crossroad for all London bound teams.

Pascal Dubois, National Technical Director (FFE): “Because it is the only CSIO 5* in France, we have to honor our nation with a most experienced team in La Baule. The program for the top ten rider-horse couples in France amongst which the Olympic team will be chosen is set. According to the results obtained in La Baule, we will recompose a team which will participate to the Rome CSIO 5*, to St Gall and to Rotterdam. The FEI Nations Cup circuit is the format which comes the closest to the Olympic Games, requiring both performance but also a good team cohesion. Evidently, we are going to be very attentive to each rider’s performance.”

The FEI Nations Cup Circuit, also calls “Top League” will be a decisive step toward not only the French but also the other nations teams. All are fine tuning their preparation before London.

As a circuit exclusively reserved to the elite, only the top 8 nations in the world are engaged in the 2012 edition, based on their 2011 results: Germany, The Netherlands, Great-Britain, Ireland, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Sweden.

The competition amongst these teams will take place over eight venues (including La Baule) in the following eight countries: La Baule, 10-13 May (FRA) / Rome, 24-27 May (ITA) / St Gallen, 31 May- 03 June (SWI) / Rotterdam, 20-24 June (NED) / Aachen, 03-08 July (GER) / Fasterbo, 12-15 July (SWE) / Hickstead, 19-22 July (GBR) / Dublin, 15-19 August (IRL).

For their Olympic preparation, the other world ranking teams, will take into account the FEI Promotional League as well as other 5* Grand Prix.