Edited press release from Global Champions League

Madrid in Motion’s Mark McAuley (IRL) on GRS Lady Amaro (Amaretto Darco x Over The River XX) and Angelica Augustsson Zanotelli (SWE) on Kalinka van de Nachtgaele (Epleaser van'T Heike x Cicero Z) are on track to fight back from ninth position in the current GCL championship standings as they roar into pole position ahead of the GCL of Rome round two. Denying the home team Rome Gladiators' Nina Mallevaey on Crack d'La Rousserie (Quaprice Bois Margot Quincy x Apache d'Adriers) and Beth Underhill on Nikka vd Bisschop (Emerald x Nabab de Reve) an overnight lead, Madrid In Motion were eight seconds faster. 

A ferocious battle between teams played out in the most spectacular of showjumping arenas, the Circus Maximus – just one kilometre from the Colosseum.

Today's competition couldn't get any closer with six teams finishing on four faults and a further five teams just a single rail behind on eight. With such a large number of teams sitting on equal penalties, each one has championship points within reach setting tomorrow's second round up to be an exhilarating competition.

Speaking after their class-leading performance, Madrid In Motion’s Angelica Augustsson Zanotelli said: "The team feels great, the horses jumped great so it's exciting for tomorrow. We both had the plan to be a bit quick, we did the inside turns, we didn't want to take any risks – both of us also have naturally very fast horses."

Augustsson's teammate Mark McAuley was happy with his mare’s form and the team position ahead of round two. Talking about the tricky GCL double that he had down, Mark said: “I was a bit worried about the double in course walk and that's why I think I had it down, because I was trying a bit too hard to get it jumped. We have Eduardo Alvarez Aznar here as our third team member, so we will discuss this evening and decide a little bit later on who is going to jump tomorrow.”