Sweden Jumps Back into the Big Leagues

By Louise Parkes October 3, 2011

The Swedish team came out the winners at the Promotional League Final in Barcelona, Spain, Sept. 25, and will now rejoin the elite eight-nation FEI Nations Cup series in 2012. It took a monumental effort from last-line Swedish rider Rolf-Goran Bengtsson to seal the coveted qualifying spot.

Despite the fact that three of the opposing sides were reduced to just three team-members, and were therefore unable to discount one performance, the four-strong Swedish team relied heavily on the man who, just seven days ago, claimed the Individual gold medal at the FEI European Jumping Championships in Madrid.

The host nation of Spain finished second, with just a single-fault advantage over the third-placed Ukraine. The Canadians lined up fourth ahead of the Italians who looked threatening to the very end but who had to settle for fifth. The last two places in the seven-nation line-up were filled by Poland and Russia, each hampered when fielding just three riders, but showing flashes of form that would suggest future promise.

For the Swedes, the result was an enormous relief.  Last Sunday, Bengtsson pointed out during at a press conference in Madrid that despite his personal triumph and the Olympic qualification earned through the fifth-place finish in the FEI European Team Championship, there was still another big job to be done this weekend in Barcelona. So for the 49-year-old newly-crowned European champion and reigning Olympic silver medalist it was a case of “mission accomplished,” with strong support by Malin Baryard-Johnsson, Angelica Augustsson and Svante Johansson. Of his nation’s return to the premier ranks of team show jumping, he stated simply, “I’m very happy.”

Of Course…

At the final, Spanish course designer, Javier Trenor, set a 12-fence track that asked for lengthening and shortening in equal measure, and fences fell all around. The opening oxer proved testing in both rounds, while the vertical at fence four and the triple combination –vertical, oxer, vertical – also hit the ground consistently. Lining up for fences proved part of the test, with the turns to the wall at fence 10 and down the final line, which included the double at fence 11 and the following oxer, spoiling several tours of the track which otherwise looked set to finish with zero faults.

In fact only three riders ― Sweden’s Baryard-Johnsson (H&M Tornesch), Spain’s Julio Arias (Murat de Reve) and Italy’s Julia Martinengo (Loro Piana Chiclana) ― managed to leave all the timber intact in the opening round at the end of which the Swedes already had the whip hand with just eight faults on the board.  However Italy, Ukraine and Spain were just five faults behind, sharing a score of 13 faults apiece, while Canada was next in line with 17.  Russia and Poland were already well in arrears, carrying 30 and 35 faults respectively.

Foregone Conclusion?

What had seemed like a foregone conclusion for the Swedes however did not quite materialize that way as the second round progressed, with single mistakes from Baryard-Johnson and Augustsson – both at the penultimate double – causing some concern. And when Johansson’s grey mare Caramell, who has only recently returned to action after a long layoff, produced a lackluster round for eight faults, a steady effort from Bengtsson became essential. If the 16 extra faults already collected in round two were to be added to their first-round total of eight, the Swedish dream of elevation would be sunk. The Spanish piled on the pressure when anchorman Sergio Alvarez Moya steered Wisconsin home clear to complete their final tally at 21 faults.

Bengtsson had only one fence in hand as he rode into the ring for the last time. His 13 year old stallion, Quintero La Silla, had lowered the triple bar in the opening round, and the pair also collected a time fault. This time, the quiet Swede steered a tighter line and carefully presented his horse in just the right spot at each obstacle for a foot-perfect run that decided the contest. He admitted afterwards that, although he wasn’t fully aware of the situation on the scoreboard prior to his final run, he knew exactly what was required after seeing Moya’s result, and mentally steeled himself to deliver just that.

“We really tried hard this year because we all wanted to come back to the Top League next season,” Augustsson pointed out that evening, predicting Sweden will be highly competitive in 2012 series. “It is difficult of course to field enough horses and riders for all of the top events in the year, but we have plenty of promising partnerships coming along for the team next season. The situation is getting better for us now,” she explained. She is aiming her mare, the feisty, unorthodox but brilliant Mic Mac du Tillard, at both the FEI Nations Cup and the Olympic Games in 2012. “Mic Mac is my Olympic horse, and by next year she will be better in terms of her rideability. It is improving all the time, and I already have more control,” she added.

In 2012, Sweden joins Germany, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, France and Switzerland in the annual battle of the world’s team jumping giants for the FEI Nations Cup 2012. If the U.S. and Canada want to regain that status, they’ll have to duke it out in next year’s Promotional League.

RESULTS:
1.  Sweden 16 faults – H&M Tornesch (Malin Baryard-Johnsson) 0/4, Mic Mac du Tillard (Angelica Augustsson) 4/4, Caramell KS (Svante Johansson) 4/8, Quintero La Silla (Rolf-Goran Bengtsson) 5/0.
2.  Spain 21 faults – Nectar du Plessis (Rutherford Latham) 1/4, Al Capone (Antonio Marinas Soto) 12/5, Murat de Reve (Julio Arias) 0/4, Wisoncin (Sergio Alvarez Moya) 12/0.
3.  Ukraine 22 faults – Verdi (Cassio Rivetti) 4/5, Comte D’Arsouilles (Oleksandr Onyschenko) 21/Ret, Niack de L’Abbaye (Bjorn Nagel) 4/4, Vivant (Katharina) 5/0.
4.  Canada 25 faults – Cruise (Chris Pratt) 4/0, Zeke (Jenna Thompson) 5/8, Atlete Van T’Heike (Eric Lamaze) 8/0.
5.  Italy  26 faults – Loro Piana Chiclana (Julia Martinengo Marquet) 0/4, Neptune Brecourt (Luca Maria Moneta) 8/12, Wivina (Luca Marziani) 5/0, Moka deMescam (Juan Carlos Garcia) 12/9.
6.  Poland 68 faults – Trojka (Antoni Tomaszewsi) 8/20, Wavantos Vd Renvillehoeve (Lukasz Wasilewski) 15/9, Urbane (Msciwoj Kiecon) 12/4.
7.  Russia 75 faults – Amsterdam (Olga Chechina) 17/12, Littlefoot (Vladimir Beletsky) 4/16, Amarok (Vladimir Tuganov) 9/17.

 

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