Maikel van der Vleuten wins the Qualifying Round in Beijing
Maikel van der Vleuten yesterday won the qualifying round of the LONGINES FEI World Cup Jumping — China League Final in Beijing 2014. After a clear round with the horse Ziemar which was provided by the Beijing International Equestrian Center he was faster than any other rider.
In the final competition only riders of the China League (China, Korea, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei), which is one of 17 leagues of the FEI, can collect World Cup points. Two of these did a very good job today: Lima Da with his horse Z Wellie und Huang Zuping with Branca made it on the second and third place which is a very great achievement against popular riders from all over the world.
The international riders of the world’s equestrian elite which compete in Beijing are Eric van der Vleuten und his son Maikel from the Netherlands, Captain Michael Kelly and Ross Mulholland from Ireland und Longines Ambassador Jane Richards from Switzerland. They all ride horses of the Beijing International Equestrian Center, because of the current quarantine situation in China.
Leading in the league standings with 37 points a piece is Liu Tongyan and Zhao Zhiwen. The final competition will give them 1.5 the value of the normal points, so the top five riders are not out of reach; Mei Mei Zhu, China National Games Champion is one of them, the student of the well-known Ludger Beerbaum.
After tomorrow’s final the overall champion will earn their place at next year’s final in Las Vegas. The only condition for the Chinese riders is that they have to complete one round in a North American or European four star Grand Prix.
Apart from the LONGINES FEI World Cup competition there were various other classes such as a Youngster Cup, a team competition and a class where riders from different nations presented the horses which were also ridden in the Youth Olympics in Nanjing a few weeks ago. Beside watching the competitions the Chinese spectators could experience much more. For example Maikel van Vleuten was available for an autograph session where he answered questions and took pictures with the people.
Within the Opening Ceremony the General Secretary of the FEI thanked all volunteers and people involved in the event. Also Volker Wulff, manager of the German organization team of En Garde Marketing gave a very positive feedback to the Chinese organizers regarding the development equestrian sector in China as well as the World Cup event. Especially by winning the sponsor LONGINES, which is already very famous in sponsoring equine sports made a big impact on the show.
Today’s final competition will start at 3 pm (Chinese time) and will bring out the winner of 2014 LONGINES FEI World Cup Jumping — China league!