Press release from Casas Novas, edited by World of Showjumping

A top-class competition took place in the CSI4* 1.50m Winner’s Round of the Longines Trophy, the main event on the second day of the CSI4* A Coruña in Spain. The final rider, Marlon Modolo Zanotelli (BRA), achieved what seemed impossible and claimed victory riding  the 11-year-old gelding Fusario d’Boissailles (Ogrion des Champs x Calido).

Ten pairs qualified for the Longines Trophy Winning Round. Maikel van der Vleuten (NED) took the lead in the provisional standings with the wonderful Beauville Z N.O.P. (Burstique x Jumpy des Fontaines), clocking a time of 40.25 seconds, which seemed unbeatable. However, the last two riders proved that it was still possible to go faster.

The first to achieve this was the Italian Emanuele Gaudiano on Esteban de Hus (Cornet Obolensky x Baloubet du Rouet), who managed to finish in under 40 seconds, clocking 39.94 seconds. But Marlon Modolo Zanotelli was still to come, and the Brazilian was not willing to settle. Pushing to the limit around the turns and galloping with tremendous intensity, Zanotelli achieved what seemed impossible: crossing the finish line in 39.51 seconds and taking the win ahead of Gaudiano in second.

Third place went to Maikel van der Vleuten and fourth to Sergio Álvarez Moya (ESP) and Be Blue (Brantzau x Böckmann’s Lord Pezi).

The afternoon programme had begun with a speed class, the CSI4* 1.45m Grupo EULEN Trophy, which featured the same riders battling for victory as in the Longines Trophy: Emanuele Gaudiano and Marlon Modolo Zanotelli. But on this occasion, it was the Italian who came out on top.

Gaudiano arrived at the A Coruña competition having won 30 international classes this season, and in the Grupo EULEN Trophy he added his 31st victory. He achieved this with the lightning-fast Vasco 118 (Vivant x Chacco-Blue), with whom he was the first of the 26 competitors to break the 60-second barrier. Another star of the CSI A Coruña, Marlon Modolo Zanotelli, also managed it later on, but the Brazilian, riding Rockwell RC (Kannan x Vink Guidam) finished 17 hundredths of a second behind the Italian.

Third place in the final standings went to a Spanish combination, the reigning national champion Álvaro González de Zárate and Casa Diva PS (Casallco x Silvio I). The rider from Álava produced a brilliant round, but stopped the clock at 60.04 seconds, having to settle for the third step on the podium.