Top Teams in La Baule
A star-studded cast of riders and horses will line out in the first leg of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ series in La Baule, France this week.
Teams from the 10 participating countries are already putting in their final preparations ahead of Friday's opening clash, and they are joined at the French sea-side venue by reigning Olympic champion Eric Lamaze from Canada who will compete individually throughout the fixture with his exciting gold medal winning ride, Hickstead.
THE LINE-UP
Germany dominated the final three years of the Samsung Super League which drew to a close in September 2008, and with a crack squad that includes World No. 3 Marcus Ehning, World No. 4 Ludger Beerbaum, and World No. 9 Marco Kutscher clearly means business once again as the 2009 Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ series gets underway. America's Richard Spooner is currently No. 8 on the Rolex World Rankings, and along with US colleagues Ashlee Bond, Lauren Hough, Laura Kraut and Christine McCrea gives team manager George Morris plenty of depth to his side.
The Italians make a welcome return to top-level team competition having disappeared from the radar after Super League relegation in 2004, and if current form is anything to go by they should be a force to be reckoned with in 2009. Piergiorio Bucci, Natale Chiaudani, Giuseppe D'Onofrio and Giulia Martinengo-Marquet will be determined to make their country's come-back an impressive one.
His recent victory in the Dutch National Championships has indicated Jeroen Dubbeldam's return to his best after a long struggle with a leg injury, and with Albert Zoer, Marc Houtzager, Harrie Smolders and Angelique Hoorn also on call-up, Rob Ehrens's side looks impressive. The Swiss selection includes the veteran Markus Fuchs along with Steve Guerdat, Werner Muff, Jane Richard and Pius Schwizer while Sweden's Maria Gretzer has a mixture of experienced campaigners and promising newcomers to choose from. Olympic team silver medallist Malin Baryard-Johnsson is joined by Peter Fredricson, Svante Johansson and Helena Lundback along with 19 year old rookie, Alexander Zetterman.
DYNAMIC
Belgium's Jos Lansink, Niels Bruynseels, Judy Ann Melchior, Peter Postelmans and Philippe Lejeune have plenty of mileage between them, and there should be an interesting dynamic between the British and Irish sides. Ireland's Shane Sweetnam is listed with the former British team horse Rolette which carried Ben Maher to 20th place at last summer's Olympic Games in Hong Kong while former Irish team member, Peter Charles, will be battling it out for Britain this time around having relinquished Irish nationality in 2007. Charles produced some excellent results at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida earlier this year and is joined by John Whitaker, who with Peppermill won last Saturday's second leg of the Global Champions Tour in Valencia, along with Michael Whitaker, Charlotte Platt and Guy Williams.
The Irish squad is completed by Cian O'Connor, Thomas Ryan, Kevin Babington and Denis Lynch.
All eyes will be on the host French team however and legendary 60 year old Michel Robert, currently ranked No. 7 in the world, can be expected to show his characteristic flair as he leads his country back to the sharp end of the sport. There was deep disappointment when France dropped out of the Super League at the end of 2007, but with a much-strengthened selection and renewed determination the French look set to make their mark as the 2009 Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ series gets underway.