This was only the second time for a Dutch side to come out on top at the Piazza di Siena, and two of today's team - Jeroen Dubbeldam and Eric van der Vleuten - were also on the winning side back in 2004. The smoothness of their success was such that anchorman Dubbeldam did not have to return to the arena in round two because the result was already decided, and the Dutch now go to the next leg at St Gallen, Switzerland, next Friday lying third on the leaderboard, while the Belgians are in second and the Irish retain the driving seat.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Giovanni Bussu's 12-fence track provided plenty of food for thought, with faults evenly spread but the open water proving the bogey of the day.
The French were in charge at the half-way stage, counting just two time faults when both Penelope Leprevost (Mylord Carthago HN) and Simon Delestre (Couletto) missed the 80-second time limit in otherwise faultless runs, and anchorman Michel Robert (Kellemoi de Pepita) went clear. The Belgians were next in line carrying five while the USA was in third carrying eight. The Dutch and British were lying joint-fourth with nine faults apiece but the Irish had already accumulated 13, so seemed unlikely to repeat their spectacular win at the opening leg in La Baule two weeks ago.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day however was the fact that the crack German squad were already struggling after racking up 17 faults and were only trailed by Denmark and Italy in equal-eighth place.
ALREADY FAULTED
Marcus Ehning's Plot Blue had already faulted at the wall at fence three before the stallion lodged an objection between the vertical at five and the water-tray oxer at six. And when the final upright also hit the sand, he completed with a total of 17 faults. This meant that the better scores of the other German riders had to be taken into account including Daniel Deusser's 12 from Cabreado.
So Germany lay only one fault ahead of the Danes and Italians going into round two.
Big scores from all four riders put paid to Danish prospects second time out however, and the Italians, making a guest appearance in the series as they are no longer eligible for the FEI Nations Cup™ honours having been relegated from the Top League in 2009, also faded.
GOOD RECOVERY
The Germans made a good recovery when Ludger Beerbaum's mare, Gotha, was foot-perfect in round two, Philipp Weishaupt's Monte Bellini, a very handsome son of Montender, produced a second sensational round for just a single time fault and Ehning returned with just a foot in the water which ensured Deusser's nine faults could be dropped. Their final tally of 23 however would be matched by the British who added 13 to their first-round score of nine and the French who plummeted down the order as they collected 21 faults.
Leprevost fell foul of the water, Delestre lowered the oxer at four as well as the first element of the penultimate double and Kevin Staut repeated his eight-fault first-round effort with Banda de Hus. So when Michel Robert's mare, who had already dropped two fences, refused at the vertical after the water he retired because his score could now not improve the situation.
It has been a remarkably low-key start to the 2011 season for the country which has been so dominant over the last two seasons.
LOST THEIR GRIP
The Americans lost their grip when Charlie Jayne's Athena picked up 20 faults and Christine McCrea's first-round clear with Romantovich Take One was followed by 16 faults this time out. Margie Engle added just a single mistake to her opening clear from Indigo and although Rich Fellers and Flexible also faulted just once, the 24 additional penalties hit the US hard.
The Belgians added nine, Dirk Demeersman's 13 with Bufero VH Panishof discounted when Philippe Le Jeune produced one of only two double-clears of the day with Vigo D'Arsouilles, Judy-Ann Melchior collected eight with As Cold as Ice Z and Jos Lansink returned with just one time fault again with the big-jumping Cavalor Valentina Van't Heike. But this would still be good enough for runner-up spot.
The Irish put in another steady performance, with four faults for both Shane Sweetnam (Amaretto D'Arco) and Shane Carey (Lancero), and bolstered by the only other double-clear of the day from the on-form Billy Twomey (Tinka's Serenade) which allowed them to drop the nine from Cameron Hanley (Southwind VDL) and brought their total to 21.
DUTCH DELIVERED
Meanwhle the Dutch had already delivered - clears from Van der Vleuten (VDL Groep Utascha SFN) and Harrie Smolders (Regina Z) and only a single time fault from Gerco Schroder (Eurocommerce New Orleans) rocketing them up the leaderboard. Dubbeldam didn't need to come back to the ring with BMC Van Grunsven Simon who had been foot-perfect first time out. The maximum points were already in the bag.
Van der Vleuten compared this win with that of 2004. "Over the years one of the things that has changed in the sport is that the courses are more difficult now. It is not just the height - they are more technical - and the course designer has to find different things to catch the riders. You have to grow with this sport or you get left behind" he pointed out.
Chef d'Equipe, Rob Ehrens, was delighted with his side's result. "I always try to be optimistic, if you are not optimistic then you can never win and today my team did a great job" he pointed out. "I am looking forward to a good season. Last year was difficult but this year we have enough horses, enough brilliant riders and we have our sights set on the European Championships at Madrid later in the season. Our target is to get as many points as possible during the first three FEI Nations Cup shows, so we are doing well so far!" he added.
They are indeed, because this result has promoted them from equal-fifth on the series leaderboard up to third place going into the next leg in seven days time.
For further information on the second leg of the 2011 FEI Nations Cup™ series in Rome (ITA) consult www.piazzadisiena.com. The next leg takes place at St Gallen, Switzerland, on Friday, June 3. For information on the Swiss fixture go to www.csio.ch.
FEI Nations Cup 2011 - Standings after Round 2 in Rome:
1. Ireland - 16.0
2. Belgium - 14.0
3. Netherlands - 13.5
4. Germany - 10.0
5. Great Britain - 9.0
6. France - 6.0
7. USA - 5.5
8. Denmark - 2.0