Piia Pantsu Perfect at 2005 FEI Eventing World Cup Final, Malmö Sweden

Piia Pantsu of Finland

Eighteen riders lined up today for the first part the Dressage test of the 2005 FEI Eventing World Cup Final. With a result of 40.4 penalty points, Piia Pantsu on Ypäjä Karuso is well in the lead. She is followed by Beany Hughes of Great Britain (49.8) and young Polish rider Pavel Spisak (50.0).

“It was a much needed result,” a happy Piia said. She has not been at her best in Dressage throughout the season. “This year is the one between the Olympics and the World Equestrian Games and perhaps I was not working hard enough. The horse got hurt on his way to Athens and we never made it there. It was very sad and I wasn’t well for a while.” But thanks to the advice and motivation she is now receiving from the Finish National Stud Dressage trainer, Piia is back on track. She is confident about Cross Country as she has ridden the course for several years. “It feels like home,” she commented, “but we’ll see whether it’ll be good or bad.” After Malmo, Piia and Ypäjä Karuso will be on their way to Blenheim for the FEI European Eventing Championship. “The timing is just perfect. Some serious exercise here, two weeks of rest and off we go to Blenheim.”

Action will be getting even more exciting tomorrow as the serious contenders will be making their entry.

The full results are to be found on http://www.equipe.nu/MeetingDetails.aspx?mId=268

The FEI Eventing World Cup is the sport’s first linked series. The 2005 season consists of 17 qualifiers and a Final to be held in Malmö (SWE) from 11 to 14 August. It is organised at the highest level of the sport using the format without steeple chase. The series is designed in manner to encourage the participation of the world’s best riders and horses and thus promote such emblematic values of Eventing, as the constant quest for harmony between physical skills and mental balance, contact with nature, precision, stamina, agility and insightful training. The FEI Eventing World Cup i”\Ãw€ë s a showcase of a sport resolutely turning to the future.