Horse Ball – Lille HLB still in the lead!

LILLE HLB ALWAYS IN THE HEAD!
Press release from the French Equestrian Federation

The 8 teams of the Pro Elite circuit of Horse Ball met this weekend at the Pôle Hippique du Grand Est in Rosières-aux-Salines (54). Between the fight to maintain and the battle for the podium, the stakes were omnipresent in most of the meetings on the program… and the Pro Elite championship once again kept all its promises!

Before the stage, two teams stood in a pocket handkerchief at the top of the provisional classification: Lille HLB and Chambly. At the end of the matches, the leading duo remains the same… but the Lille players now have a 2-point lead over the Picard riders!

For the formation of Lille HLB, the stage of Rosières will have been beneficial with a victory by 11 goals to 5 against Nancy which allows them to obtain an additional offensive bonus point (the offensive bonus point is granted to any team victorious by 6 or more goals), as well as a small victory against the Cavaliers de Bordeaux (8 goals to 6).
On the Chambly side, the meeting also allowed them to collect precious points in order to consolidate their 2nd place in the provisional classification. With a victory against Ouest Lyon then against Angers, the Picard riders remained in the wheel of the Lille leader and widened the gap with their pursuers from Loire sur Rhône.
The Rhône-Alpes perform the best operation of the weekend by moving from 6th to 3rd place in the provisional classification. Loire sur Rhône won against the Angers players before sweeping the Paris Mash team. These successes, combined with the counter performance of the teams from Angers, Nancy and Ouest Lyon, allow Loire sur Rhône to have a 3-point lead over Nancy (4th).

For the premises of Nancy the balance sheet is more mixed… Although remaining in 4th place in the provisional classification, the Nancy did not manage to seize the opportunity to come and shake up the leaders of Lille HLB by losing heavily by 11 goals to 5. However, they manage to win against Ouest Lyon to settle alone at the foot of the podium with a 2-point lead over the Angevin players.
The Angers team is the big loser of the Rosières stage with 2 major defeats against Loire sur Rhône and Chambly. The Angevins fall from 3rd to 5th place.
With 7 points before the meeting in Rosières, the Ouest Lyon team did not manage to change their counter: 2 defeats, one against Chambly and the other against Nancy… the Lyon team lost 1 place in the provisional but still remains at a distance from the relegation zone.
Finally, at the back of the pack, the Bordeaux and Paris Mash teams had a strong program on the Rosières ground… and in particular a direct and decisive opposition. At the end of an intense encounter, the Bordeaux players got the better of the Parisians by winning 8 goals to 3. The Bordeaux riders signed their first victory since the start of the competition and pocketed 3 precious points which came add to 2 defensive bonus points obtained in previous matches (the defensive bonus point is granted to any team losing by 1 goal difference). Although still in penultimate place, the Rosières meeting allows the Girondins to return to only 2 points from non-relegation!
For the formation of Paris Mash, the record still remains 5 defeats and 1 victory (at the end of the golden goal test), in this 2023 edition of the French Pro Elite championship. With 2 points on the clock, the Paris Mash team is now alone in 8th place in the provisional classification but seems able to surprise the biggest cars on the circuit at any time!

It is in 4 weeks, on March 25 and 26, that the best stables in the discipline will meet, for some at the Pôle Hippique de Saint Lô (50)… and for others at the Haras de la Gesmeray in Vendres (34) . This next meeting promises to be exciting, especially as it will mark a decisive turning point in the season: the end of the “first leg” matches and the start of the “return” matches!

25/02/2023 RESULTS
BORDEAUX vs PARIS MASH : 8/3
LOIRE/RHONE vs ANGERS : 9/6
NANCY vs HLB / LILLE : 11/5
OUEST LYON vs CHAMBLY : 7/11

26/02/2023 RESULTS
CHAMBLY vs ANGERS : 9/5
HLB / LILLE vs BORDEAUX : 8/6
NANCY vs OUEST LYON : 7/5
PARIS MASH vs LOIRE/RHONE : 4/10

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. HLB / LILLE : 18pts
2. CHAMBLY: 16pts
3. LOIRE-SUR-RHONE: 13pts
4. NANCY GRAND EST : 10pts
5. ANGERS : 8pts
6. WEST LYON: 7pts
7. BORDEAUX: 5pts
8. PARIS MASH : 2pts

THE OTHER RESULTS OF THEANDTAPE DE ROSIÈRES AT THE SALINES

* Meetings culminating in the golden goal event.

Image: Cédric Valade on Hallochop for the Bordeaux team (copyright: Tiffou Photographie).