LGCT Riders Bid a Fond Farewell to Madrid
Marlon Modolo Zanotelli a great champion of the King’s Cup Caser Seguros Trophy
Marlon Modolo Zanotelli’s triumph in the most important event of the day brought an end to a new edition of the Longines Global Champions Tour in Madrid. The Brazilian stood out in the jump-off of the King’s Cup Caser Seguros Trophy 1.50m, where 40 riders of the international scene faced each other.
It was an unbeatable round for Modolo Zanotelli and mare “Obora’s Chloe”, #13 in the Longines FEI Rankings, who already savored victory on Friday with a second place in the Marqués de Riscal Trophy.
The French rider Kevin Staut was about to grab his second King’s Cup in Madrid, but he stopped the clock 32 hundredths after the Brazilian riding “Visconti du Telman”. Third place went to Marcus Ehning and his 18-year-old veteran “Misanto Pret A Tout” who started with many options to win the cup once more.
On this last day, all hopes were on the two Spanish riders, Eduardo Álvarez Aznar with “Legend” and Santiago Núñez Riva on “Valentino de Hus Z”, who competed in the jump-off and finished in seventh and tenth position, with 4 points each.
CSI5* 1.45m
In the first CSI5 * of the day, Ellen Whitaker lived up to her name and won the 1.45m Land Rover Trophy with “Colombia de Beaufour”, running without faults and at a good pace through the technical course designed by Santiago Varela. The Mexican Francisco Pasquel, riding “Naranjo” was only 76 hundredths behind the English rider to take second. The 22-year-old Japanese Mike Kawai, who had problems with the water of the LGCT Madrid Grand Prix on Saturday, dismissed Madrid with great feelings by getting third place with “Kahlua” and being one of the nine zeros among the 29 rivals.
1.40m Grand Prix
The Spanish dominated the 1.40 m Tatel Grand Prix, in which César Bascones and “Chocco” were the fastest in the competitive jump-off. Just 37 hundredths separated the Spanish rider from Tom Wachman and “H H Fireball”. The 16-year-old young Irish promise, European champion in the pony category, took second place and finished off three flawless days, also achieving fourth place in the 1.40 m Caixabank Trophy. Another Spaniard, Mario Villapalos Rodríguez, won a well-deserved bronze with “Ecoloco”, an unwieldy horse that passed the timer 69 hundredths later than Wachman. The winners stood out among the eleven riders, out of a total of 41 participants, who qualified as the best riders after successfully overcoming a 1.40 m course with double verticals and a triple.
CSI1 * 1.25m
Another Brazilian first place from Leandro José Abrahao who, although knocked down three jumps in the subsequent Land Rover Grand Prix jump-off riding “Disco”, had an extraordinary time with his mare “Bella des Causses” in the 1.25 m CSI1 * Club de Campo Villa de Madrid Trophy, beating the chronometer of the Monegasque Anastasia Nielsen and “Giro de la Luna” over 3 seconds. The Spanish Irene Mónica Horvath Jaume, who in the previous days obtained the first and third position on “Dismoitout de Blondel”, led the classification until the final stretch of the competition, when she was relegated to third place.
CSI1 * 1.15m
The first and only zero among the ten participants of the first class of the day, the 1.15 m CSI1 * Trophy Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, was signed by the Greek rider Milena-Maria Pappas and her 6-year-old mare “Pocahontas”. The Spanish Cristina Massó Gea has not gotten off the smallest podium during these three days and has made it by riding only “Iseca”. She won on Friday, silver on Saturday and bronze on Sunday, behind the American Veronica Bustamante and “Inos del Maset”.
On the last day of the Longines Global Champions Tour of Madrid at the Club de Campo, the anti-Covid security measures were maintained, through controls at the entrances to the famous grass arena to monitor the capacity limited to 50%. The signs distributed by the facilities reminded visitors of the obligation to wear a mask, maintain interpersonal distance and wash their hands with hydroalcoholic gel. However, the health situation did not prevent riders and the public from enjoying the best equestrian competition during three days.
You can see the videos of each of the event’s competitions on ClipMyHorse.TV.
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Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.