World Champs Jumping Team Announced

Richard Sunderland can hardly contain his excitement.

The Equestrian Sports New Zealand (ESNZ) showjumping high performance leader says he is naming one of the nation's strongest ever showjumping teams for next month's World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.

Samantha McIntosh (Waikato/Belgium) on Loxley 38, Katie McVean (Mystery Creek) on Dunstan Delphi, Guy Thomas (California) on Peterbilt, and Maurice Beatson (Dannevirke) on Apollo van Evendael make up a team of talent unseen in New Zealand showjumping circles in recent years.

“Potentially this is the best team I have ever had anything to do with, and reflects the new direction the ESNZ High Performance Programme has taken, to ensure that those selected have the ability to achieve the high targets set,” says Sunderland.
“We've got three who are consistently jumping clear at 1.6m and a fourth with a young horse coming into his own now.”

Sunderland said that while Apollo was the most inexperienced horse, Beatson was a superb horseman with top international experience and was also a past Olympian.

Beatson rode for New Zealand at the 1988 Olympics and 1994 World Games, Thomas rode at the 2004 Olympics and McVean the 2008 Olympics. McIntosh competed at the Sydney 2000 Olympics for Bulgaria and is considered one of the most successful showjumping riders to have come out of New Zealand. She has also competed at World Championships, a World Cup final and European Championships and returned to New Zealand colours earlier this year.

All four riders named are experienced international riders who are no strangers to riding as a team, which can often throw up quite different challenges than riding as an individual. Having four in the team allowed a drop-off score, with just the three best counting.

However, having recently been at Aachen and Spruce Meadows where he saw the best in the world compete, Sunderland has no doubt the Kiwis slot in just fine.

“But it all comes down to the day,” says Sunderland. “These are horses, you have to remember that, but we have excellent horse men and women.."

The four will compete individually as well as in the team event. It's a grueling process, with a week of jumping 1.5m-1.6m courses daily with just one day off between the team and individual events.

“We have to concentrate on getting through to the second round of the team competition – just 10 nations go through - but I am quietly confident you'll see the silver fern amongst them.”

The New Zealand showjumping team for the World Equestrian Games is:

Maurice Beatson (Dannevirke) Apollo van Evendael

Samantha McIntosh (Waikato/Belgium) Loxley 38

Katie McVean (Mystery Creek) Dunstan Delphi

Guy Thomas (California) Peterbilt

Chef d’equipe: Richard Sunderland

Trainer: Butch Thomas


ENDS




Notes

a) The World Equestrian Games, being held in Kentucky, USA, run from September 25 to October 10, and feature eight disciplines – showjumping, dressage, endurance, eventing, para dressage, reining, driving and vaulting.

b) These will be the sixth world games and the first staged outside of Europe. The games are held every four years and are expected to attract more than 900 riders and 1300 horses from 60+ countries as well as more than 600,000 spectators.

c) WEG is a qualifying event for the London 2012 Olympics.

d) Showjumping is a separate discipline to eventing - the latter contains showjumping, dressage and cross country but the riders and horses are not the same as compete in ‘pure’ showjumping.

e) ESNZ has already announced the NZ endurance team, comprising three horse and rider combinations.

f) The NZ eventing team will be announced on September 1, 2010.