Press release from Longines Versilia Horse Show, edited by World of Showjumping

The first day of the CSI5* Longines Versilia Horse Show, presented by Giorgio Armani, in Lido di Camaiore, Italy, was met with great excitement by both the public and the riders.

The first CSI5* competition was won by the youngest competitor, 16-year-old Andrea Pisani (ITA), who was also competing in an event of this level for the first time.

Following in his parents' footsteps — his father is the Italian rider Riccardo, and his mother Silvia Bazzani — Andrea won the CSI5* 1.45m Longines Welcome Stakes, a two-phase category with 53 horse-and-rider combinations at start.

Riding the experienced grey Charlemagne JT Z (Cachas x Carthago Z), Pisani was both accurate and fast. With a clear round in 24.24 seconds, he beat Jérôme Guery of Belgium on Qartouche de la Pomme d'Or (Vigo d’Arsouilles x Ustinov) and Giacomo Bassi of Italy on Cape Cod (Tornesch x Kashmir van Schuttershof), who finished second and third respectively. Martin Fuchs (SUI) also broke the 24-second barrier with Falcon du Toultia Z (For Pleasure x HH Copin van de Broy) to place fourth, while Aurora Guaragno (ITA, also a youngster at 22, made it into the top five with Contento 23 (Contedros x Dobel’s Cento).

“I couldn’t have asked for a better debut than this,” said an excited Andrea Pisani, who is competing alongside his father, Riccardo, at the CSI5* in Lido di Camaiore. “I have to thank my family for supporting me in this sport, and of course my extraordinary horse, who was fantastic again today. It feels like a dream, but I must stay focused because it's only the first day of this fantastic event.”