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9th World University Equestrian Championship

Sangju, Korea - October 30th to November 2nd, 2010

The town of Sangju staged superb games to close the 2010 World University Championships

The 2010 season of World University Championships closed beautifully with equestrian in Korea in the town of Sangju.

It is paradoxical to see that the Korean University Sports Association which had already organized two Universiades – in Muju-Chonju in the Winter of 1997 and in Daegu in the Summer of 2003 – and is now preparing to host a third one in Gwangju in 2015, had only taken charge of a single World University Championship: judo in Suwon-Seoul in 2006, a magnificent tournament that shows that Korea has nothing to envy our other member associations when it comes to the excellence of the preparation of the university competitions.

Dressage competitionIt must be said that we were very lucky to put a beautiful end to our championships this year thanks to the enthusiasm of the little agricultural town of Sangju located in the centre of the Korean peninsula. In fact the entire town was entirely devoted to the championship. There was not a spot without a banner or a decoration referring to the student athletes. The organizers also provided truly excellent conditions for the competition in a brand new venue (finished in 2010) with the active help of the Korean Equestrian Federation.

Since 1988 and the first edition of the World University Equestrian Championships in Saumur, France, our riders have only had one opportunity to travel to Asia – in 2004 they went to Tokyo.

With 19 countries enrolled, this competition was of average size, with 22 men and 44 women. It is interesting to see that of all our mixed competitions, equestrian is the only one where more women compete than men.

Among the countries present were those with a strong riding tradition like Germany, France or Switzerland, without forgetting Korea that also has excellent riders, as well as less experienced countries like the Philippines and Chinese Taipei. On the whole, this combination gives a well balanced, colourful competition. The horses made available to the riders were another source of satisfaction; they were unanimously appreciated for their quality.

The opening ceremony was a delight to the spectators with a traditional riding show emphasizing the bold style of the local riders.

A large part of the meet was broadcast live on Korean television (KBS) which was only possible thanks to a few adjustments in the programme made by our technical delegates.

The competition was marked by the ladies' control over the podiums and the good performance of the host country. In dressage, British Rebecca Woolven took first, followed by Sara Glyyn (IRL) and Nicolette Schipper (NED).

In Jumping, Bo-Seon Kim and Shunsuke Terui carried the Asian colours high respectively taking gold for Korea and silver for Japan. Swiss Corina Sorg came in third. Finally, in the combined event, Belgian Leen Geysen who had barely missed the podium for dressage, made up for it masterfully by taking gold in front of Sara Glyyn and Saito Koki (JPN).

The same countries took the team competition for a podium consisting of Korea, Ireland and France in Jumping, Belgium, Great Britain and Germany in dressage and finally Ireland, Belgium and Germany in the combined event.

That was the close of a magnificent meet and an eventful year of World University Championships in 2010.

Aachen, Germany is our next appointment in 2012 for the 10^th edition of our World University Equestrian Championships.