Karin Donckers (BEL), seen here en route to third place with Lamicell Charizard, claimed a top-10 placing with each of her three horses at Haras du Pin (FRA) to win the FEI World Cup Eventing title for 2012.
(Photo: FEI/Jean Morel)
Karin Donckers, Belgium’s leading lady rider, can add the 2012 FEI World Cup Eventing title to her long list of honours after scoring three top-10 places in a highly successful raid at Haras du Pin (FRA), the final leg of the season.
She was third on the 12-year-old thoroughbred Lamicell Charizard, a horse Donckers bought as a two-year-old at a racing sales in Germany, and eighth and ninth on two eight-year-olds, Lamicell Unique and Extebaria Van’t Verahof.
The first rider to win the FEI World Cup Eventing title, worth €9,000 this season, through scoring all points in just one outing, Donckers finished just two points ahead of Swiss rider Felix Vogg, who had headed the leaderboard after Malmö (SWE) earlier this month.
Vogg earned points at three events: Strzegom (POL), where he was the runner-up, Malmö, where he was seventh, and Haras du Pin, where he finished twelfth with Onfire.
Sandra Auffarth (GER), Olympic team gold and individual bronze medallist, stayed in third place in the FEI World Cup Eventing rankings following her win and eighth place at Strzegom, despite not contesting Haras du Pin.
The winner of the CIC3*-W at Haras du Pin was none other than Auffarth’s teammate, the reigning Olympic, World and European Champion, Michael Jung (GER), who once again impressed with his quiet horsemanship.
His winning mount this time was a young horse, Halunke FBW, by Heraldik XX. Jung said: “I liked the cross country very much. My horse is only an eight-year-old but he did it very well. I thought afterwards he was a bit tired, but in the jumping he showed that he was still fresh and powerful. He was a little bit nervous of the public, because he isn’t used to crowds.”
Jung also complimented the organisers, the Le Goupil family: “The ground was great and the organisation was fantastic, so I have really enjoyed it.”
Pascal Leroy (FRA), who finished second and best of the home nation, added to this, saying: “I am a big fan of Pierre Le Goupil’s courses. I was a bit nervous about the cross country because my horse Minos de Petra hasn’t jumped fixed fences for a while, but he is a good galloper and that’s what you needed on a course like this.”
Jung and Donckers (on Lamicell Charizard) were in equal second place after dressage; Donckers was fractionally faster across country, but hit one rail in the final jumping phase to slip to third. Nicolas Touzaint (FRA) and Neptune de Sartene, one of only three combinations to achieve the optimum cross-country time, slotted into fourth.
Emily Baldwin (GBR) and the veteran Drivetime, winners of Haras du Pin in 2010 and regulars on the FEI World Cup circuit, led the dressage phase but dropped to fifth place with 8.8 cross-country time penalties.
There were 52 starters in the CIC3*-W, of which 33 completed. The FEI Technical Delegate, Gillian Kyle (IRL), commented: “The cross country was well up to standard. We put up some black flag alternatives, as requested by the rider representatives, because horses have been short of runs this summer due to the weather. The course rode well and everyone had a happy day.”
Article by Kate Green
FEI World Cup Eventing final leaderboard
1 Karin Donckers (BEL) 86 points, €9,000
2 Felix Vogg (SUI) 84, €4,500
3 Sandra Auffarth (GER) 67, €2,500
4 Ingrid Klimke (GER) 65
5 Clayton Fredericks (AUS) 62
6 Frank Ostholt (GER) 56
7 Michael Jung (GER) 41
8 Maksim Vakin (RUS) 41
9 Pascal Leroy (FRA) 38
10 Dirk Schrade (GER) 38
FEI World Cup Eventing 2012 calendar
1 Chatsworth (GBR) – 12-13 May 2012 (cancelled)
2 Strzegom (POL) 1-3 June 2012
3 Minsk (BLR) 13-17 June 2012
4 Malmö (SWE) 10-12 August 2012
5 Le Pin au Haras (FRA) 22-26 August 2012
Further information on FEI World Cup Eventing can be viewed here.
