Text © World of Showjumping

The victory in Saturday’s feature class at the 2024-edition of Jumping Verona, the CSI5*-W 1.55m winning round presented by Crivelli, went to Brazil’s Marlon Modolo Zanotelli and the 12-year-old mare GB Diamantina (Diamant de Semilly x Silvio H).

While only three horse-and-rider combinations – Peder Fredricson (SWE) and Alcapone des Carmille (Diamant de Semilly x Heartbreaker), Emanuele Gaudiano (ITA) and Nikolaj de Music (Kannan x Nabab de Reve) and Lorenzo de Luca (ITA) on Violino Il Palazetto (Verdi TN x Jasper) – out of the 48 pairs at start cleared the first-round track set by Uliano Vezzani (ITA), the best twelve continued on to the winning round where the scores were set back to zero.

After qualifying for the winning round with a fast four fault performance, Modolo Zanotelli and GB Diamantina kept the score on zero the second time out – crossing the finish line in 37.59 seconds and taking home the win in this competition counting for Longines Rankings Group B.

“She is just an unbelievable mare,” Modolo Zanotelli said about GB Diamantina after their victory. “She came from Brazil at the beginning of the year in a crazy dream situation from an owner who knows me since I was a kid. He rode her himself until she was ten, and as he realized he had a very good horse in her, he sent her to me. They have done an amazing job producing her, and we started the year slow in Arezzo. I am still getting to know her, but she has kept improving and improving, she is just amazing, and I am just so proud of her. I never expected to be at this level with her so fast. She did a great job in the first round, it was my fault there with the three strides, and then for the winning round, I thought let’s just have fun here and get to know each other in a jump-off scenario, and she jumped even better in the second round.”

Andreas Schou (DEN) and Billy Matador (Billy Mexico x Animo) finished second with a time of 39.44, while a double clear for Fredricson and Alcapone des Carmille in 39.44 left them third, followed by Gaudiano and Nikolaj de Music in fourth and Kevin Jochems (NED) aboard Casillas van de Helle (Casall x San Patrignano Corrado) in fifth.

The second CSI5*-W class of the day, the 1.50m presented by Ego 7 – a competition counting for Longines Rankings Group D – saw Olivier Philippaerts (BEL) and the 9-year-old Kwik Tweet (For Pleasure x Twisther) take the top honours. With a time of 61.16 seconds in this class judged as a Table A, the Belgian rider secured the win ahead of his compatriot Jérôme Guery and Hoselinde (Campbell VDL x Zeus) in second in 61.32, while Simon Delestre (FRA) on Jiamo VDS (Thunder vd Zuuthoeve x Carolus H) placed third in 62.38, followed by Gregory Cottard (FRA) and Idylle Chavannaise (Peppermill x Graf Sponeck) in fourth in 62.72 and Jane Richard (SUI) aboard Fouego de la Closiere (Nabab de Reve x Landjuweel St Hubert) in fifth in 64.90.

“The class was a bit more tough than yesterday, there were not as many clears,” Philippaerts commented afterwards. “My horse is a very, very fast horse, a super winner for 1.50m classes. She is quick over the ground, I tried to keep it as smooth as possible and that is where she made the winning difference.”