Giavanna Rinaldi pilots Caldaro van de Oude Heihoff to victory in the $31,100 Ingram Family CSIO3* Second Qualifier. Photo © Natalie Suto Photography.
Press release from Traverse City Horse Shows, edited by World of Showjumping
Giavanna Rinaldi (USA) and Caldaro van de Oude Heihoff proved Friday that age is just a number as they went up against a large field of international entries and took the win in the $31,100 Ingram Family CSIO3* Second Qualifier. At just 8 years old, Rinaldi believes her winning mount has a bright future and that Friday was just the start.
“I’m so proud of him,” Rinaldi said of the Zangersheide gelding (Chacoon Blue x Tinka’s Boy). “He has just started to move up to this level now. I was hoping we were going to get a win today because the horse has been jumping amazing. He’s stepped up so well. I know he’s been waiting for it and I gave him the chance to do it.”
Over Peter Grant’s (CAN) first-round track, Rinaldi was one of six to jump clear. The first course proved difficult enough, but Rinaldi had a prime position near the end of the order.
John Ingram, representing the Ingram Family, presents Giavanna Rinaldi with the winner’s award following her victory aboard Caldaro van de Oude Heihoff in the $31,100 Ingram Family CSIO3 Second Qualifier. Photo © Natalie Suto Photography.
“It was really tough,” she said of round one. “I walked the course and I thought it was a pretty big class for an 8-year-old but I trust him and he’s so brave. I trusted my plan and everything worked out just right. I was lucky to go a bit towards the end so I knew what I needed to do.”
Returning for the jump-off, she was up against Olympians Mclain Ward (USA) with A Man After Midnight Z (Aganix du Seigneur x Aldatus) and Cassio Rivetti (BRA) with Crispo R (Casall x Corrado I). No rider had yet produced a double-clear effort, but Rinaldi wasn’t about to play it too safe.
“I still had one after me and I thought, ‘If I happen to have a rail down I’m going to be behind them if I’m too conservative,’” she explained. “But I also didn’t want to push him too much because he’s still young. He handled it so well and he’s really a horse for the future.”
Her time proved more than enough to take the win. Clocking in at 39.19 seconds, Rinaldi beat second-place finishers Rivetti and Crispo R by nearly seven seconds. Mclain Ward appeared poised to challenge the time aboard A Man After Midnight Z, but a rail down left the pair third.
“It’s our first big win together,” Rinaldi continued of the partnership with Caldaro van de Oude Heihoff. “He’s really been knocking on the door for a while. He hasn’t actually done so many jump-offs. I just slowly produced him this winter and he just jumped his first ranking class a few weeks ago.”
Saturday hosts the $116,500 B&D Builders CSIO3* Grand Prix in the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel International Ring, as well as the $10,000 World Wide Technologies Non Pro Team Jumper Challenge.Fans and competitors can view full schedules, results, and live updates through the Traverse City Horse Shows Mobile App.
Then