Press Release

SEA League Showjumping Final postponed for at least 2 weeks

24 September 2006 -- Sunday’s Final of the FEI World Cup Showjumping, SEA League in Ipoh, Malaysia was cancelled due to the ground conditions.

The show officials and the event's organizers had reached a mutual understanding to postpone the show. The show, if approved by the FEI, will go forward as early as two weeks from now and will be organized at a new location, most probably at 3Q Equestrian Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The 2006 season of the SEA League, FEI World Cup Showjumping, consisted of 5 qualifying and one final competition. Under approval of the FEI, the SEA League Final will carry regular points, not 1.5 point as last year. Three best scores out of 6 competitions will be counted for the final standings.

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Thailand Akkara Konglapamnauy Wins the fifth qualifier of the FEI World Cup Jumping, SEA League

10 September 2006 -- Akkara Konglapamnauy riding his mare Celine, galloped away with his second win during the 2006 season, this time at the qualifier#5 held at 3Q Equestrian Centre, KL, Malaysia.

Press Release

20 August 2006 -- Australian Course designer John Valance built a testing  course for the Fourth South East Asian League FEI World Cup Qualifier at the Premier Cup Series recent competition held at the new Putrajaya Equestrian Park, that did not produce any clear rounds.

“After the triple the riders had to ride the distance” said Valance “the narrow gate amazingly did not pose much problems”.

Kim Sung Wan from Korea on Back Dao emerged the winner after the three four faulters went into the second round for the jump off. “I did not find the course too technical but bigger, said Kim, the distances were rideable, my horse was fresh so I had trouble in my turns as the course was a bit tight. Overall I think I can maintain my lead for the points and I am looking forward to the next”

Valance set up his course with an inviting upright at minimum height as first fence followed by a related four strides turning to a two stride combination and then to the Darul Ehsan wall with a left turn to an oxer and again left to number 7 then a curved line to the narrow gate, jump nine was the powerful triple and then riders had to check and recover to the twin tower vertical. This was the fence that tested both riders and horses.

 Kim was in first for the jump off and rode confidently for a clear in 42.27, Akkara Konglapamnauy from Thailand riding his grey mare Celine followed but could only clock in 42.86 and Charlotte Morse from Hong Kong had a hesitant moment at the rustic treble which caused her stallion Lanceretto to stop, wisely retiring as she was already placed third.

The riders with 8 faults Jennifer Chang from Hong Kong on Luc and Malaysian Quzier Ambak were fourth and fifth, based on their times in the first round.

“I find the league really good and gradually getting harder with more solid courses” remarked Akkara “ This one was quite tough, every fence seemed a related line, and so if you miss,  everything can go wrong” Akkara  is now in second placing so far in the points standing with 30 points behind Kim that has 35 points.

Malaysian Alex Maurer had an unfortunate ride with two stops so he did not gain any points from this qualifier. He has now dropped to third with 25 points. “I felt the course was good and big and pretty technical, I didn’t have enough space to the combination and came in too slow for the height, once it stops, it’s pretty much over” referring to his stallion Chivas.

Another casualty was Malaysian Rider Tunku Nazroff who had to dismount after his horse pulled up lame following a crash at fence 6. ¨My horse is ok, but the course is a bit big for him and it is his first world cup round”.

Quzier Ambak from Malaysia  ¨cool as usual rode steady but had two down as his horse did not put in that extra effort.  “The league has been good with a lot of consistency in terms of riders, the problem today is the weather, as it tires the horses,  the footing is good and the course was technical”,  said Quzier.

Magali Tong  from Hong Kong riding Open Treasure had an unlucky round with 12 faults “the course looked easy but when riding it you had to be more focused as all the jumps just kept coming”.

Most riders commented that the World Cup league this year is gradually getting harder and bigger. Overall they are all pleased and happy with the Premier Cup at Putrajaya and are looking forward to the next round at 3QE on September 9th, 2006.

Press Release

Akkara Konglapamnauy from Thailand Wins the FEI World Cup Jumping, SEA League Qualifier #3

6 August 2006 -- Akkara Konglapamnauy was top at the STC Equestrian Cetre jumping his grey mare Celine. The Thailand rider recorded his first victory of the SEA League FEI World Cup Jumping winning the third Qualifier in the league.

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8 July 2006 -- the highlight of the day was the MTU FEI World Cup SEA League and controversy aside, there was some great riding from the local and international entries alike. In a relatively easy course full of technical lines, horse and rider needed good impulsion and smooth flow to post a clear. Many overrode the course however and out of 17 starters, the crowd only had 6 jump-offs to look forward to.

Jennifer Chang was first in but the new pairing with Luc Sky Walker showed some tension and they had 2 upright fences down. Korean Kim Sung Whan on his declared horse Baek Doo posted a perfect clear in a fantastic ride, although it was rather rushed at times. Also clear was third in, Charlotte Morse on stallion Lanceretto.

The Malaysian boys had a disappointing first round however, with Qabil overriding Opium Metodo from fence 5, trying to fit in six strides to the combination, which ended up in a refusal. After that, he didn’t make a mistake a finished the round clean but for that stop. Elder brother Quzier was just as unlucky, tapping fence 3 which stayed but having rushed the 7,8, 9 line, something was bound to come down and sure enough, 10c did the job to the crowd’s dismay. Syed Zain was careless in his ride resulting in a stop at 6a and a fall at 8, so was eliminated. Brother Mohsin gave the crowd a bit of a heart attack on the same line as well knocking 8 with the pole in front of him but still managed to jump 9 anyway, yet it was undone when 10b fell.

Putri Hamidjojo on her declared horse Fabiene had a good ride for most of the course although the misjudged speed approaching 10a caused a stop and so no clear round there. Alex Maurer has had a good show up til now, and his luck did not run out for this round. Although very scopey, Alex handled Chivas like a pro, with every line and distance inch perfect. His clear round was followed up by Charlotte Morse’s second ride O’Jasper. With his tongue hanging out, O’Jasper jumped a faultless round to become the 4th clear round of the class.

The next four riders were unlucky with their knockdowns and so Magali Tong, Akkara, Varat and Gaelle did not make it to the second round. Putri however, impressed on her second ride, having had the benefit of going round the course before, she was determined not to make the same mistake. Cartaro went clear! Two more riders to go, both on their second rides - Jennifer Chang on her second ride Sport Seeker and Kim Sung Whan on Hanra. While Jennifer’s luck flailed with two refusals at fence 1, Kim went for it like it was already a jump-off and cleared successfully.

The jump-off was going to be tougher, of course. With the treble 7 as the first jump, five strides to the 8 upright, turning left to number 5 and cutting around to jump 2 and a broken line to 3 and then a gallop all the way around to 11, this round was going to be very interesting indeed.

Kim Sung Whan on Baek Doo was first in, and for a while they looked fast and safe until they took a sharp turn at 2 and knocked the upright. His time though was 42.65 seconds. Fast. Charlotte didn’t take too many risks on Lanceretto but her carefulness did not pay off as they dropped one fence and completed the jump-off with a time of 45.83 and 4 faults. Would Alex be able to do it? With an easy flow and little pressure, Chivas sailed smoothly round the course with a clean 50.86 seconds to claim the lead!

Charlotte on O’Jasper was not to be outdone and took the inside line between fence 6 to jump fence 2 and gained a lot of ground in a clear 44.22 seconds. A new leader, but for how long? Putri on Cartaro looked like they meant serious business with a quick round and tight inside lines – in a blinding 40.22 seconds! While last rider Kim Sung Whan charged on Hanra, the horse was having none of it and collected 12 faults knocking jumps 8, 3 and 11 in 42.23 seconds.

And so, the 2nd SEA World Cup League qualifier was won by Indonesian Putri Hamidjojo, a former dressage rider who shows that dressage training is a definite advantage in the show jumping ring!

Press Release

Kim Sung Huan (KOR) Wins the First FEI WC Jumping SEA League Qualifier in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

9 July 2006 -- The FEI World Cup Jumping TM, SEA League kicked of its first qualifier on Sunday, 9 July at the 3Q Equestrian Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  

19 riders from Malaysia, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia came together to compete in the first SEA League Qualifier 2006. Regrettably, previous stalwarts and winners Helena Gabrielson (SWE) and Toni Leviste (PHI) were absent this year, with Helena being in the US at this time, and Toni feverishly searching for a replacement for her superstar mare, Maktub.

But welcome new competition has come in the form of experienced rider Kim Sung Whan, who brought 3 horses from Korea, all for the world Cup, and at the other end of the experience scale, Indonesia's Putri Hamidjojo, who made an exciting World Cup debut with a 5th placing on her 7 year old mare, Fabiene. Putri has 3 lovely horses, and is one of the region’s most promising and dedicated riders.

This year, almost resident Course Designer, Werner Deeg was unable to attend, having a prior commitment to build at the prestigious Spruce Meadows Tournament in Canada. His place was taken by Joseph Maler from Germany. The WC track of 11 fences and 14 jumping efforts designed by the first time to Asia German CD Joseph Meyer proved to be a tough one and produced no clear rounds with the 4 four-faulters, Opium Metado (Qabil), Hanra (Kim Sung Whan) Capital Star and Open Treasure (Magali Tong) jumping off.

Qabil led off with a beautiful clear, with him riding as well as I've ever seen him on this sometimes technically problematical, careful horse. Qabs is obviously benefiting with time now spent with Dermott Lennon. Kim Sung Whan needed all his vast experience, including an Olympics, to shave less than 1/2 a second of Qabil's time when also jumping clear. Magali on Open Treasure took a bit of a wild line on the turn up to the bright yellow and black vertical, 4th fence in the jump off, and paid the price with a run out for eventual 3rd place, then Capital Star, a little horse that is all heart, looked a bit tired to pull 2 rails and slot in 4th.

Putri on the young Fabiene pulled the first fence and the third, but otherwise jumped all difficult lines well to come in 5th, to come in faster than Kenneth Chang, also on 8 faults, but having big problems with the brakes in this class who was 6th, and the slowest of the 8 faulters, Kim Sung Whan again, 7th.

About FEI WC Jumping TM - SEA League.
SEA League runs its 9th year in 2006. The SEA League 2006 will consist of 6 competitions - 5 qualifiers and a Final. The SEA League Final will be counted as 1.5 points. Four best scores out of 6 competitions will be counted for the final standings.

Kim Sung Huan (KOR)

Press Release

8 July 2006 -- The FEI World Cup Jumping TM SEA League 2006 will consist of 6 competitions - 5 qualifiers and a Final. Under approval of the FEI, the SEA League Final will carry regular points. Three best scores out of 6 competitions will be counted for the final standings.

Press Release

6 July 2006 -- The SEA World Cup Jumping Committee is pleased to announce the launch of the official SEA League's web site for the FEI World Cup Jumping TM - www.seawcjumping.com.

The development of an SEA League web site has been a long time in the planning. The SEA World Cup Jumping Committee is committed to ensuring the continuing success and development of the FEI WC Jumping SEA League.

The web site provides information about the SEA League, its structure, rules, news, and calendar as well as serves for direct communications channels between the SEA WC Committee and the WC riders and organizers. Information about WC related publications, web links, results and current standings are all among the material available on the site.

SEA League President Rafiq Radinal said "I would encourage riders and organizers alike to have a look at the site and feedback their suggestions as to how we can further develop it to meet our needs".

For additional information, contact Aditha Indra, FEI World Cup Jumping TM - SEA League Office, via e-mail at aditha@seawcjumping.com or via phone at +62 21 754-7024.