Published in Horse and Hound magazine: Bertram Allen takes the win at the Verona World Cup FEI Show Jumping event that took place at the Fierra Cavalli horse festival.

1. FOCUS
Results
CSI5*-W
7 Nov: Premio Carnia Welcome.—1,
JesusdelaCommune(LMMoneta)
ITA;2,LoroPianaViper(RArioldi)ITA;
3,QuadrigeduDon(RPrevitall)ITA;8,
Velini(MWhitaker)GBR.Premio Selleria
Equipe.—1,WildThing(BAllen)IRL;2,
Andrea(AAlsharbatly)KSA;3,Domingo
(NBruynseels)BEL.Premio Prestige.—1,
NiceStephanie(PLeprevost)FRA;2,
ClarimoAsk(RGBengtsson)SWE;3,Lord
SandroDDH(BBles)NED.8 Nov: Premio
Equiline.—1,FixdesignPopLadyd’Elle(G
MartinengoMarquet)ITA;2,Sultanedes
Ibis(PLeprevost)FRA;3,GrandBalou4
(GGulliksen)NOR.Premio Miasuki.—1,
ZoeII(LdeLuca)ITA;2,UpanisadDiSan
Patrignano(JRichardPhillips)SUI;3,Uptown
Boy(JSprunger)SUI;4,Fandango(W
Whitaker)GBR.Premio BMW.—1,Domingo
(NBruynseels)BEL;2,PinUpOuistreham
(KOffel)UKR;3,WingsSublieme(BMaher)
GBR;10,BowHouseRubis(WWhitaker)
GBR.9 Nov: Premio Fixdesign.—1,Moca
DeMescam(JCGarcia)ITA;2,Ornella
MailHDC(PDelaveau)FRA;3,Fleurde
Kalvarie(OPhilippaerts).Longines Premio
Fixdesign.—1,MollyMaloneV(BAllen)IRL;
2,VDLGroepVerdiTNN.O.P.(MvdVleuten)
NED;3,CornadoNRW(MEhning)GER;7,
Viking(MWhitaker)GBR.
Jennifer
Donald
Editedby
BEYONDTHE
JUMPING
THEWorldCupwasheldatthe
annualFieraCavalli(horse
festival),whereeverything
fromtheequestrianworldis
putonshowforthreedays.
Thegreyskiesandrainy
weatherthattheweekend
broughtdidn’tstopthe
crowdspilingintoseewhat
theshowhadonoffer.
Thenightlyentertainment
—theGalad’Oro—was
perhapsthehighlightofthe
weekend.
Thisyeartheshow,
“Visions”,featuredhorsesina
stunningchoreographed
performance,muchofwhich
wasfreereined.
Duringtheshowtheypaid
tributetothe100th
anniversaryofWorldWarI,
includingmuleswearingthe
originalharnesses.Forthe
finale,acrobatsspunand
flippedtheirwaythroughthe
arenawhilethehorses
seemedtodancegracefully
aroundthem.
70 HORSE & HOUND .13 NOVEMBER 2014 www.horseandhound.co.uk 13 NOVEMBER 2014.HORSE & HOUND 71Great deals on print and iPad subscriptions at www.horseandhoundsubs.co.uk/subs
TeenagerAllen
winslike‘oldpro’
VERONACSI5*-W,ITALY
7-9November
ByPhoebeTilelli
IRELAND’SBertramAllen,19,
madehisfirstappearanceatthe
LonginesFEIWorldCupJumping
qualifierinVeronathisweek.He
knowshowtomakeagoodfirst
impression.Aftertakingthewin
onSundaywithhisgreymare
MollyMaloneV,henowholdsthe
firstplaceJumpingVeronatitlefor
2014andpickedup€43,750
(£34,350)inprize-money.
TheGranPremiowasan
exhibitionof15ofthetop17riders
intheworldjumpingat1.60m,
whichAllenbreezedthrough.He
proceededtothejump-offwith
nineotherriders,where
spectatorswerekeptontheedge
oftheirseats.Competingsecond-
last,Allencuteverycornerand
gallopedeverystretchtohis
maximumabilitytofinishin
34.89sec,beatingDutchman
MaikelVanDerVleuten(VDL
GroepVerdi)intosecondby
0.33sec.
“It’smyfirst-everWorldCup
qualifiersoI’mveryproudofmy
mare,”saidBertram.“It’soneof
herfirstshowssincethesummer
seasonandshegave100%.I
didn’texpectthisresult,butI
knewshecoulddoit.”
Bertramandthe10-year-old
MollyMalonehavehadenormous
amountsuccessthisyear,
includingvictoryintheGrandPrix
atDublinHorseShowandseventh
placeindividuallyattheWorld
EquestrianGames.
“Myhorseisnaturallyquite
fast,”hesaid.“Ididonemore
stridethansomeoftheotherssoI
wasabletogetinagoodturnto
thesecondjumpandeverything
fromtherewasquitesharp.”
Germany’sMarcusEhning,who
camethirdonCornadoNRW,lives
andtrainsnearBertramin
THIShandsomenine-year-oldgrey
(pictured,left)wasafavourite
amongspectators,admiredforhis
strikingappearanceandstrong
jumpingability.
MeredithMichaels-Beerbaum,
thefirst-everfemaletowinthe
WorldCupfinalsthreetimes
(2005,2008,2009),found
FibonaccinearFalsterboin
Sweden.
“Therewasnoquestioninmy
mindthatIwantedhim,andhe’s
comesuchalongwayinsucha
shortspaceoftime,”shesaid.
“Ithoughtthatitwouldn’tbe
untilaroundthistimeofyearthatI
wouldstartjumping1.60monhim,
buthewenttoAacheninJuneand
jumpedclear[atthatheight]every
day.He’sunbelievable!
“Hehasanamazingmind,he’s
reallypositive,verykindandsweet,
yethasincrediblescope,andIfeel
reallycomfortableonhim.Ican
hardlybelievehowquicklyhehas
matured,andyetIfeelwearestill
onlygettingtoknoweachother.”
HORSEPROFILE
Fibonacci,MeredithMichaels-Beerbaum(Germany)
“Ididalotofjuniorclasseswith
WildThing—shewasmyfirstand
besthorseforafewyears,”said
Bertram.
The11-year-oldmareis
co-ownedbyIrishcompetitorBilly
Twomey,whohasservedasa
mentorfiguretoAllenthroughout
hisridingdevelopment.Twomey
pickedup56pointsinSunday’s
FixDesigncourse,finishing34th.
Williamsetsthebarhigh
WILLIAMWHITAKERwasasked
onthefirstdayofcompetition
abouthischancesofpickingup
themaximumWorldCuppoints
onSunday.
“I’llgiveitagoodtry,”hesaid.
HisuncleMichael,whotrained
Williamfromanearlyage,
responded:“AndsowillI!”
Theygaveitagobutitwasn’tto
be,withMichaelonVikingplacing
seventhandWilliam17thon
Fandango.
“Ithinkthecoursebuilder
[UlianoVezzani]didagoodjob
thisweek.Hiscourseswere
challengingfortheridersbutnot
unfaironthehorses,”saidWilliam.
InSaturday’sPremioMiasuki
mixedcomp(1.50/1.55m),
Williamsetthebarhighon
Fandangowiththefirstclear
roundandatimeof39.97sec—to
takeeventualfourth.
GreatBritain’sBenMaherled
mostofthecompetitionin
Saturday’s1.50mPremioBMW
onWingsSublieme,finishingthird
justover1secbehindthewinner,
Belgium’sNielsBrynseels.
UkrainianriderKatharinaOffel
wassecond.H&H
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Fromtop,BertramAllenwarmsup;
MichaelWhitaker(left)withBilly
Twomey;andWilliamWhitaker
MarcusEhningforGermanycame
thirdonCornadoNRW
PicturesbyStefanoSecchi
‘Knowshowtomakeagoodimpression’:
Ireland’sBertramAllentriumphsatthe
LonginesFEIWorldCupJumping
qualifieronMollyMaloneV
Challenging:William
Whitakerendedup
in17thplaceon
Fandango
It’smyfirst-ever
WorldCup
qualifiersoI’m
veryproudofmy
mare.Iknewshe
coulddoit
BertramAllenonhiswinning10-year-old
mareMollyMaloneV
Pippedintosecondplace:MaikelVan
DerVleutenonVDLGroepVerdi
Münster,Germanyandsaid:“I’m
delightedthatIcanhelphimafew
stepsalongthewayinhiscareer.
I’mnothisfull-timetrainerbutwe
haveworkedtogetherforafew
years,andwehaveagood
relationship.Hemademevery
proudtoday.”
Itshouldnothavebeena
surprisethatBertramraced
aroundthejump-offcourselikea
proafterhisbrilliantstarttothe
VeronalegonFriday.Hewonthe
1.50mSelleriaEquipeSpeedon
anothermare,WildThing,
collecting€6,250(£4,900).
Finishingwithaclearroundinthe
fastesttimeof58.23,hesmashed
thetargetof59.27setbyAbdullah
AlSharbatly.