Edited press release from CSIO Rome Piazza di Siena
After the historical victory scored in the Intesa Sanpaolo Nations Cup on Friday, Ireland signed another success in the opening class of day three at the 90th of CSIO Rome Piazza di Siena.
The CSIO5* 1.45m KEP Italy Prize was won by Ireland's Jessica Burke and Inpulss (Dallas VDL x Indorado), after the pair stopped the clock at 53.50 seconds. The pair achieved a perfect and fast round, leaving behind specialist in speed classes such as Britain's Matthew Sampson and MGH Candy Girl (Sligo Candy Boy x Cruising) who finished as runners-up in 53.66, followed by Italy's Emanuele Gaudiano and Julius.D (Arezzo VDL x Gelha's VDL Emilion) in third with a time of 54.35.
It is a fantastic story with a happy ending for 31-year-old Burke: "It’s amazing… first participation in Rome, competing and winning on a fantastic stage like Piazza di Siena! Only four years ago I was still a high school maths teacher.... Then I had to make a choice and I decided to concentrate full-time on competitions. At this point, I can say that it was a good choice after all...".