The âHicksteadâ grass arena had its first use today at the Sunshine Tour, with the beginning of this weekâs the CSI3* events.
Valentina Rossini from Switzerland rode âBurgundy Rose Sowâ, to take the win in the 1.35m, Big Tour A class; whilst in the 1.40m B, the Swedish rider Jacob Hellström and âCaliban Hâ flew into first place with over 20s in hand from Lisa Cubitt (NZ), who was second on Warriorâs Glory.
The Brazilian rider Pedro Veniss was the winner of the biggest class today in the 1.50m speed test, in the main, grass arena âDavid Broomeâ. Pedro won in great style riding the mareâAnaya STE Hermelleâ, jumping an untouchable clear over the track designed by Louis Koninckx, who was the head course designer at the Riders Masters Cup.
âWhen you are designing a track, the first thing you have to consider is the size of the arena, and in this case the dimensions are very large. This is a big advantage when you come to design a course. Next I strive to use good related distances which allow a flowing canter and that are logically designedâ.
Louis went on to tell us that there were no notably difficult parts in todayâs course, which was reflected in the results, with 25 clear rounds, and also highlighted the excellent quality of the ground.
âI donât know of another arena that is so well maintained with this quality of grass, this really helps me to design the linesâ.
Luis also told us that he enjoys designing classes for this arena. âItâs not the first time that I have designed courses here but whenever
I do I find that the ground is well maintained and there are many new and beautiful jumps!â
Javier TrĂ©nor, is the Coordinator of the course designers here at the Sunshine Tour, he explained to us: âitâs important that the courses develop over the six weeks of the Tour. By the last week the Young Horses should demonstrate a considerable improvement in their performances and the adult horses should be ready to compete in the important events of this yearâs season.
The Young Horse classes continued today with many clear rounds in all three age
groups. Tomorrow the third FEI, Longines Ranking points class will be held.