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| Christian Ahlmann, winner of the Helsinki World Cup qualifier, is presented with a watch by Rolex's Magali Dubois Vaucher. By FEI |
Germany's Christian Ahlmann and Taloubet Z made it two-in-a-row by victory in the second leg of the 2010/2011 Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping series in Helsinki, Finland, on 24 October 2010.
"I'm very lucky to have such a quick horse," said Christian, 35.
Having already taken the main honours in the opening leg at Oslo, Norway a week earlier, Christian has now accumulated 40 points and is well on the road to the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Final on his home turf in Leipzig, Germany, 24 April - 1 May 2011.
From a starting field of 39 there were 11 into the jump-off and Christian set the pace at the halfway stage and simply could not be caught. Further reinforcing the strength of the German challenge, it was fellow-countryman Philipp Weishaupt who slotted into runner-up spot with Catoki, while the Netherlands' Leon Thijssen and Tyson finished third. The Dutch duo look set to make a big impression on this indoor jumping season as the 10-year-old stallion, who finished fifth a week ago, was again one of the real eye-catchers of the competition.
The track
The 13-fence first-round track set by Finnish course designer Aki Ylanne was made all the more challenging by the close confines of Helsinki's Hartwall Arena and the bogey fence proved to be the middle element of the penultimate triple combination. However, there were plenty of questions earlier in the track, too.
Accuracy, agility and control were key to a place in the jump-off against the clock and Sweden's Malin Baryard-Johnsson was first to go in the timed round. The arena looked considerably less crowded with only eight sets of timber in place this time out, including a new first fence, a 1.57m vertical.
Jump-off
While Malin and H&M Tornesch returned in a good time of 35.52 seconds, they left the first part of the double on the floor and it seemed second-drawn Susana Epaillard was about to create a major sensation as she galloped to the last Rolex oxer with Hello Piereville.
The Spanish rider, a professor of political science at Madrid University who is married to French team member Julien Epaillard, only rides part-time and was justifiably ecstatic when fault-free first time out. But the telepathy between herself and her horse suddenly disappeared at the final oxer and he stopped, leaving her with 15 faults to add after they circled and popped over without the slightest hesitation at their second attempt.
The Netherlands' Wout-Jan van der Schans (Eurocommerce Seoul) faulted at the same fence as Malin and when Switzerland's Pius Schwizer (Nobless M) and France's world number one Kevin Staut (Banda de Hus) also collected four faults apiece there were still no double-clears on the scoreboard.
However, Christian was next in and changed all that with a clean tour of the track on Taloubet Z and wasted no time to cross the line in 34.36 seconds and go well into the lead.
Following suit
As so often happens, once the first clear is recorded, several others follow suit and Leon was also foot-perfect as he slotted temporarily into second place when finishing without fault in 35.40 seconds. He sees himself as slightly hampered by the sheer extravagance of the jump produced by his stallion Tyson, but he was more than happy at the end of the day.
"My horse spends too much time in the air over the fences," he said. "He over-reacts to everything, not just the fences, but he's getting so much faster every time he goes out, I'm delighted with him."
With just four left to go, the hopes of the home crowd were lifted when Nina Fagerstrom also made it to the end of the track without incident until the back rail of the Rolex oxer wobbled, fell back into the cups and then dropped on the floor. The cheers that had begun to ring out around the arena turned to gasps of despair as the home heroine's chances were dashed.
"When I crossed the finishing line I felt almost like I had won it, even though the last fence fell," she said. "It was just one of those light touches with no apparent reason. We just did not have that last little bit of luck today."
Philipp Weishaupt and Catoki however demoted Leon to third spot when slotting in behind Christian as he raced through the finish with a clear in 35.13 seconds.
"We jumped the first four or five jumps really well, but I put in too many strides to the last," said Philipp. "I wanted to keep him safe to the last, but I was really trying to win that Rolex watch!"
And when Frenchman Julien Epaillard (Mister Davier) and Germany's Lars Nieberg (Levito) both faulted, the final line-up was decided.
Win adds to grand prix victory
With Taloubet Z having also won Saturday night's Grand Prix, it was clear that the Hartwall Arena is very much to the liking of Christian's horse.
"It's a small ring, but that was no problem for him last night or today," said Christian. "He was a bit careful here on the first day but he was really happy yesterday and today."
He said the Grand Prix competition was "good, but no World Cup" and that the qualifier was "much more tough". And he added that the double of successes he has enjoyed over the last week means he can relax a bit now.
"There were lots of turns and with his scope I was able to turn very short without having to worry. I did not have to take all the risks and luckily it was enough today, even though I did not expect to win," said Christian
"The pressure [of collecting points in the series] is a little bit less now. I will have a chance to pick up a few more points later in the season."
Taloubet Z can now look forward to a break until Stuttgart at the end of November and Christian feels his partnership with the 10-year-old stallion is now truly cementing.
"He is getting better and better all the time and is able to jump anything and everything," he said. "At the beginning with him it was not so easy, but now we understand each other completely."
Second-placed Philipp joked that "it is good that we went clear but we got beaten by one rider and that is one too many. I really wanted that Rolex watch!"
For full results, click here
Western European League standings after two rounds
1. Christian Ahlmann GER - 40
2. Leon Thijssen NED - 27
3. Philipp Weishaupt GER - 24
4. Malin Baryard-Johnsson SWE - 23
5. Lars Nieberg GER - 22
6. Kevin Staut FRA - 21
7. Julien Epaillard FRA - 18
8. Ludger Beerbaum GER - 17
9. Ludo Philippaerts BEL - 15
10. Marco Kutscher GER - 13
10. Nina Fagerstrom FIN - 13
12. Wout-Jan Van der Schans NED - 11
13. Jessica Kuerten IRL - 10
14. Pius Schwizer SUI - 9
15. Edwina Alexander AUS - 7
16. Susana Epaillard ESP - 6
17. Daniel Deusser GER - 4
18. Alexander Zetterman SWE - 3
19. Shane Breen IRL - 2
20. Nina Braaten NOR - 1
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