Equestrianism: Goldfever gives Beerbaum cause to celebrate

Football results were forgotten when Germany's favourite show jumping rider, the European champion Ludger Beerbaum, rode Goldfever with his usual panache to win yesterday's closing Grand Prix at the Aachen Nations Cup Show. For good measure his compatriot Otto Becker, the only other rider to reach the jump-off, was runner-up on this year's World Cup winner, Dobbel's Cento. Third place went to Switzerland's Markus Fuchs, who was left to rue his three first-round time faults on Tinka's Boy which denied him a place in the jump-off.

Beerbaum, who was enjoying his third win at this competitive meeting, said: "I had a good feeling at the start of the show, but I never dreamed it would be as good as this."

Britain's Tim Stockdale rode a splendid initial clear round on the grey Parcival, but slipped back in the placings to finish 17th with two errors on his next appearance. Scott Smith and Cabri d'Elle, who had the only double clear for Britain in Friday's Nations Cup, looked to be on their way to another faultless performance in the first round until they erred at the 10th and 11th fences and pulled up before the next. The stallion injured the heel of his near fore when over-reaching, probably when jumping the treble at fence nine, but Smith is confident the puncture wound will have healed well before September's World Equestrian Games in Spain.

Cabri d'Elle and Parcival now seem sure to be chosen for the Great Britain team to be named at the end of the month. Michael Whitaker's mount, Handel II, is another likely choice after his return to form was underlined here on Saturday when he finished fifth in the Ericsson Winning Round contest. The stallion jumped two excellent clear rounds to reach the final showdown between eight horses and would have defeated Beerbaum's winning mount, Frisky IV, but for lowering a pole into the final double.

Brazilian hopes of a Grand Prix victory fizzled out when their world champion, Rodrigo Pessoa, was eliminated when Baloubet du Rouet refused to go near a big water ditch that was part of the opening course.