Equestrianism: Davies exceeds expectations in sharing trophy

Andrew Davies went far beyond his own expectations at the Olympia Show Jumping Championships yesterday, when he shared the honours in the Christmas Eve Six Bar with Germany's Olympic gold medallist and former world champion, Franke Sloothaak.

Davies had not intended to ride Captain Wellington in this contest, but it was the only option left for him. "I thought I'd be out in the first round," the 28-year-old Welshman said. But his 15-year-old mount, who had a disappointing four fences down on Sunday night, produced five clear rounds (at progressively increasing heights) over the straight line of fences that comprises the Six Bar course.

Afterwards Davies expressed his frustration at being overlooked for British teams, notably the selection that went to Dublin, where he particularly wanted to compete with his nine-year-old Limbo, now the best horse in his string. He claimed that the joint owners of Limbo, Mandy Hall and Nick Anderson, were so disenchanted with team selection that they are thinking of accepting one of the big offers made for the horse and that means that Limbo could be sold abroad. Given that the horse went so well to finish fifth in the World Cup Qualifier here on Saturday, that would be a serious blow for Britain as well as for Davies.

Derek Ricketts, who is in sole charge of selecting senior British teams, was, however, adamant that Davies had no cause for complaint. He said that the Welshman had declined to go to La Baule, in France, before accepting invitations to two other Nations Cup shows – at Linz, in Austria, where all the British riders went badly, and Lummen, in Belgium, where he contributed to a British team victory. Ricketts said that having been overlooked for Dublin, which had already been earmarked as a preparatory contest for the World Championship team, Davies turned down an offer to jump in the Rotterdam Nations Cup.

Toni Hassmann, a 27-year-old German who is competing here for the first time, won his second contest of the meeting with Landstreicher – also a victor here on Saturday – when he rode the 11-year-old stallion to victory in the Farewell Speed Stakes. Landstreicher, who also won the Hamburg Grand Prix this year, has been with him for seven years.

Hassmann, whose father show jumped and whose mother is a dressage rider, is another who knows all about the problems of getting on to senior teams. Although ranked 10th in the world, he thinks it unlikely that he will be chosen for next year's European Championships. However, Hassmann has already secured a place in the Las Vegas World Cup Final, in which he will ride Goldika with whom he was sixth in the equivalent contest last year.

OLYMPIA SHOW JUMPING CHAMPIONSHIPS: Christmas Eve Six Bar: 1= Captain Wellington (A Davies, GB) and Sheila (F Sloothaak, Ger) 5 clear rounds; 3 Lactic 2 (J Whitaker, GB) 4 clear rounds. Farewell Speed Stakes: 1 Landstreicher (T Hassmann, Ger) 53.37sec; 2 Championesse d'Amozones (M Diederichsmeier, Ger) 54.41; 3 Fresh Direct Glenwood Springs (T Stockdale, GB) 55.66.