Rodrigo Pessoa brilliant winner of the Fixdesign Grand Prix at Arezzo
Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa stormed to victory in the Fixdesign Grand Prix at CSIO 3* San Marino, Arezzo in Italy today.
Riding Citizenguard Cadjanine Z, a mare he has had for only two months, the 40 year old multiple champion showed his class when beating all comers in a thrilling 15 horse jump-off against the clock.
Runner up spot went to Frederic Busquet and Plume de la Roque who produced a fantastic performance for France while Austria’s Dieter Kofler and Glock’s Prince de Vaux finished an impressive third.
The rising tide of Brazilian horse and rider power however was further bolstered by a fourth place result for Eduardo Menezes who was part of Friday’s winning side in the last qualifier of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ series.
Pessoa said, “I’m very happy, and really pleased to have come here to Arezzo. For us this show was all about preparing for the Nations Cup Final in Barcelona and the event has been very good for us. We have enjoyed success in all classes and it is always a pleasure to come to Italy where we are received so very well. The facilities at Arezzo are perfect and we were very happy to choose this destination to prepared for the Final in a couple of weeks”.
Jump – Off
Uliano Vezzani’s first round track produced 11 clears from a starting field of 60, but the three quickest fourfaulters joined them in the second-round jump-off against the clock. And it was Brazil’s Menezes who set the first strong target when producing the first double clear with his talented eight year old mare Quintol who broke the beam in 45.21 seconds.
Two horses later, Busquet surpassed that with a great turn off foot from his 10 year old Kannan mare who crossed the line in 44.47 seconds but his advantage was short lived as Pessoa followed the Frenchman into the ring.
The Brazilian had every inch of the track measured to perfection, and with the smoothest of roll backs from the double at fence five to the following vertical at six, and a heart stopping gallop to the last, he threw down the gauntlet when racing through the timers almost two seconds faster in 42.72 seconds.
And, try as they would, not even the super experienced Swedish duo of Malin Baryard-Johnsson with her lovely big stallion Baltimore, nor yesterday’s Small Grand Prix champion Rolf-Goran Bengtsson with his stallion Clarimo ASK, could better that.
In fact it fell to Austria’s Kofler and his couragous chestnut geldingGlock’s Prince de Vaux to fill third spot when second last into the ring when they posted a time of 44.71 seconds.
Ideal
Pessoa said “my mare has a very big stride so it was ideal for her in a big field like this where you can open up her stride”. This was his first Grand Prix victory since topping the line‐up at Caen, France last October with HH Ashley.
That’s quite a long time ago for a rider of his calibre, so today’s victory was all the sweeter.
His new ride, Cadjanine Z, was previously ridden by Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet. “I have her for just two months and we are still in the learning stages together, but we are going forward step by step. My father has helped me a lot. We still have a little bit of work to do but this has been a very rewarding win today for our staff and our team” said the man who has enjoyed many great achievements during his sporting lifetime,but who seems to be finding a whole new purpose in the new look Brazilian side that is, as Chef d’Equipe Jean Maurice Bonneau pointed out this weekend “currently under construction!”
Very Happy Trainer
Bonneau said this evening, “I am a very happy trainer today, and very happy to be with such a team. We have two very strong riders in Rodrigo and Doda (Alvaro de Miranda) but teams are not just about two people. The doors are open for many new riders now as Eduardo’s result has shown.” He clearly does not want any of the Brazilians to get over-excited about their successes over the last few days. “We need to stay calm because we still have a lot to do. Arezzo was a perfect step along the way but the message I want to send out to my riders is that victory is good when your team is strong because of the work you have done beforehand”.Pessoa meanwhile outlined the next step for the Brazilian squad. “It is not our objective to get into Division 1 (of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup series) next year despite taking part in the Final at Barcelona in two weeks’ time. We just don’t have enough riders for the rotation during the season but we hope to compete in a couple of the qualifiers next year to get ready for the WEG (World Equestrian Games).
Then in 2015 we have the Pan American Games but of course our big objective is the 2016 Olympic Games. Slowly, and step by step we are working towards that goal”.
A Job Well Done
There was a sense of a job well done all round at Arezzo this evening. The triumvirate of CSIO San Marino, the Pavarotti Foundation that has given its patronage to this show, and Arezzo Equestrian Centre looks like a very solid one.Lazzaro Volpinari, President of the San Marino Equestrian Federation, said this evening “it has been wonderful to put together the name of our little old Republic of San Marino and such important riders as Rodrigo Pessoa. I hope this is the beginning of a new era for our CSIO”.