The holder of the Rolex FEI World Cup, Meredith Michaels Beerbaum, hoped to be able to defend her title from 14 to 18 April in Geneva, on one of her favourite courses. The American-born German rider, who gave birth to little Brianne Victoria on 27 February, is nevertheless forced to withdraw. While she rode Shutterfly and Checkmate over the Easter weekend at the national competition in Damme, even completing a clear round, the trial was not sufficiently conclusive for her to enter a final such as this one. “Between a clear round and such a final, thereʼs still a long road and I need at least a fortnight to get there. It wasnʼt easy for me to take this decision and Iʼm very thankful to my sponsor Rolex who supported me. Iʼll be in Geneva for the Rolex Clinic, a teaching lesson with Rodrigo Pessoa for the winners of the national competitions of the Jockey-Club,” declared the champion horsewoman, who plans to go on to Bad-Oeynhausen next weekend.
Conversely, the four other Germans who qualified, Ludger Beerbaum, Meredithʼs Olympic brother-in-law, Marcus Ehning, who won again in Paris, Marco Kutscher and Philipp Weishaupt, will be in the running in Geneva.
The best Americans from the East and West Leagues have also confirmed that they will be competing in the Geneva Palexpo event. The double Olympic team champion, McLain Ward, who came second in the 2009 final in Las Vegas, the hugely experienced Lauren Hough, Richard Spooner, Todd Minikus and Rich Fellers, as well as the Canadian defector Mario Deslauriers, who was the youngest rider to win a competition in the history of the World Cup (he was 19 in April 1984), will lead this very strong US delegation.
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