Graham Fletcher shares his thoughts on the new-look Nations Cup and dealing with pressure
I was with David Broome recently as we celebrated his 84th birthday. He always has a balanced view on the sport of yesteryear compared with today. Indeed, it wasn’t long before we were talking about the FEI’s new Longines League of Nations (LLN) versus the Nations Cup format we’d known for years.
In particular, we reminisced about Hickstead and Dublin. I was lucky enough to be on the winning team at both. It’s obviously great to win in front of your home crowd – but the Aga Khan Trophy in Dublin is such a special day when the whole nation seems to come together in the hope of an Irish victory. Whatever the result, it never dampens the spirits of the evening’s get-togethers and parties. It always made me realise why, when it comes to selling, the Irish are in a different class than any other creed or country.
Nations Cups have historically been the FEI’s jewel in the crown and they’ve updated the system and prize money for this season to give it more worldwide recognition. The first of this year’s LLN series was in the UAE, with Ocala to come followed by St Gallen, Rotterdam and the final in Barcelona. I can appreciate how the FEI has made these revisions to keep pace with the prestige and prize money offered by the Global Champions League and Rolex Grand Slam.
In with the new
My son Olli was part of the Monaco Aces, competing in the first of the Globals at Doha in Qatar. He said that the pictures of the Al Shaqab stadium simply didn’t do it justice; everything from the decor to cleanliness of the whole building was mind-blowing.
The show was held over two consecutive weeks with €800,000 (£680,000) to be won across two grands prix. With the Cheltenham Festival on this week, it’s interesting to reflect that the Cheltenham Gold Cup has a prize fund of £625,000 while the Champion Hurdle is for £400,000 – statistics that reveal just how far showjumping has come.
The FEI has also changed the format for the new LLN. It used to be the three best scores from four riders to count for both rounds. Now, the first round is the same, but only three go in the second round with all to count. Many riders would have preferred to keep the old system, as would some chefs d’equipe who used it to give young riders valuable experience. I can understand their concerns.
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However, it was some three years ago on these very pages that I suggested the idea of three-to-count second rounds because the Nations Cup was becoming too boring and confusing for modern sport. Let’s remember that the idea for team jumping came from early army competitions when they often struggled to get three out of four to finish!
A change for the better?
In recent seasons, we’ve heard commentators’ enthusiasm wane when one team was so far in front that their last rider didn’t even need to jump. Imagine how a Formula 1 crowd would react if Max Verstappen was leading with five laps to go – so they called him in saying, “You’ve obviously won, so save yourself for another day.”
Of course, there will be more pressure under the new format. But that’s what modern sport is all about. Take the penalty shoot-out in football… if only three out of four counted, the competition would go on all night.
I remember the England manager Gareth Southgate talking me through the penalty kick he so famously missed. “When I started walking from the halfway line, I knew I was going to score,” he told me. “But the closer I got to the goal, the smaller it seemed to get.”
I’ve never heard pressure explained better – and that’s what the three riders in a team will feel. Some riders will be better suited to it than others, and there will be big disappointments along the way. But at least nobody will be leaving their seat until the last one jumps.
● Do you agree with Graham about the new-look LLN? Let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and country, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine
This exclusive column will also be available to read in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 14 March
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Graham has been involved in the sport of showjumping at the highest level for several decades. The Olympic silver medallist is retired from international competition, but he continues to train and produce young horses. He and his wife Tina Fletcher now support their sons Will and Olli who are two of the leading young riders in the country. A regular Horse & Hound columnist, you can read Graham’s views in the magazine and online.
