“I think we are getting better and better all the time. He's a lovely horse, with a good mentality," Brazil’s João Victor Castro Aguiar Gomes De Lima said after the 11-year-old gelding Kenzo Quality Z won Sunday's CSI3* 1.50m CHG Grand Prix in Oliva Nova. Photo © Hervé Bonnaud / www.1clicphoto.com.
Press release from the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour
The third and last week of competition at Autumn MET II 2025 in Oliva Nova, Spain, concluded with a Brazilian one-two in Sunday’s CSI3* 1.50m CHG – Construcciones Hispano Germanas S.A – Grand Prix.
“Me and Stephan, we are like brothers – but we always try to beat each other in the ring. He knew how important this win was for me and I could see he was happy for me,” Brazil’s João Victor Castro Aguiar Gomes De Lima said after he and the 11-year-old gelding Kenzo Quality Z (Kannan x Con Air) clocked the winning time of 44.89 seconds to beat his compatriot Stephan de Freitas Barcha with Dinozo Imperio Egipcio (Diamant de Semilly x Urbain du Monnai). With a time of 45.07, de Freitas Barcha placed second, while the host nation’s Mariano Martinez Bastida aboard Classic Dakota (Casallco x Check In 2) finished third after crossing the timers in 45.87 seconds.
Nine horse-and-rider combinations from the 53 at start cleared the first-round track set by Christian Wiegand (GER) and joined the deciding jump-off, where the winner made the most of his horse’s huge canter. “I knew that it was going to be a very fast jump-off, especially when I had Stephan right after me,” Castro Aguiar Gomes De Lima explained. “When I saw the course, I saw there were some long gallops that would help my horse, because he has a very big stride, and I tried to benefit from it. My plan was to leave strides out a bit everywhere, and it worked.”
“Me and Stephan, we are like brothers – but we always try to beat each other in the ring. He knew how important this win was for me and I could see he was happy for me,” Brazil’s João Victor Castro Aguiar Gomes De Lima said. Photo © Hervé Bonnaud / www.1clicphoto.com.
“With Kenzo, I did the Nations Cups in St Gallen and in Falsterbo, and we were also on the Brazilian team at the Stephex Masters,” he continued. “I think we are getting better and better all the time. He's a lovely horse, with a good mentality. He tries hard, and always gives his best. Today, I was very happy with his performance.”
The top five was completed by France’s Marie Demonte and Epona du Quesnoy (Ogrion des Champs x Nabab de Reve) in fourth in 46.43 ahead of Great Britain’s Jonathon Buxton and Strides Josie (Don VHP Z x Quattro 7) in fifth in 50.59.
The winner was happy with his triumphant return to Centro Ecuestre Oliva Nova. “I haven't been to Oliva since 2022, and now I'm back again,” he said. “It's a lovely place, very clean, everything is super organized and the classes are competitive. We are able to go to the beach with the horses during the week, which makes them happy and keeps them fresh. I think that's very important. I don’t think the venue could be better!”
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