Van der Vleuten can consider A Coruña and Casas Novas his second home, since the Galician fashion company Massimo Dutti is his sponsor and his name is included in the list of winners at the equestrian center. His last triumph is very recent, as it was in the last winter edition, where he was awarded, precisely, with the Massimo Dutti Trophy.
The test began with the third series of the day, where Spanish and French were the majority; only Ismael García Roque managed to complete the course without faults. As expected, in the following series were added more riders with no penalties who accompanied García Roque. This helped them to earn a place in the tiebreaker for the riders like Gerardo Menéndez Mieres (also Spanish), Eric van der Vleuten, Alexis Deroubaix, Gerco Schröder or Alexandra Paillot.
The audience felt again something that they surely missed: the emotion of a tiebreaker in Casas Novas. And the six binomials that played in it did not disappoint, because they made their best effort on the track.
Ismael García Roque competed on the back of Astoria Jo but he knocked down a fence and could not take the victory. The following was Alexis Deroubaix, who would remain in first place with Secret du Pays d'Auge and 43.29 seconds until Eric van der Vleuten appeared in the track riding Wunschkind 19 and no one was able to overcome his 42.74 seconds. The third box of the podium was for the other Spanish of the race, Gerardo Menéndez Mieres, riding Costello DC and an excellent time of 43.33 seconds.
With 40 pairs and four series of bets plus the jump off, the Dachser Trophy was the perfect culmination of this Friday at the CSI, with the most awarded riders working their hearts out. There were demolitions and horses that stopped, which attests to the technical requirement of the route.
The event was played in jump off modality a total of 13 obstacles with a maximum height of 1.45 meters.
ITALIAN EMILIO BICOCCHI WINS THE NH COLLECTION TROPHY
The Italian anthem was played in A Coruña due to the victory of Emilio Bicocchi, who led the honor roll of the NH Collection Trophy.
The Italian rider won a very tight test, in which the first 3 riders classified only by a second difference. Bicocchi completed a brilliant tour with his equine Call Me, 11 years old, with a time of 63.43 without faults.
Only a couple of tenths of a second later was the Dutchman Eric van der Vleuten, who finally won the Dachser Trophy. He competed with Zigali P S, 14 years old, in a time of 63.62 seconds.
Another well-known competitor in Casas Novas, the Dutch Lisa Nooren, occupied the third step of the podium with VDL Groep Sabech d'Ha (12 years old) stopping the clock in 64.45 seconds.
In the starting order there were many of the great pairs of the national and international scene, most of them already experienced in Casas Novas: Sergio Álvarez Moya, Gerco Schröder or Philippe le Jeune.
The NH Collection Trophy was the second test of the opening day and the atmosphere began to heat up, with more spectators in the stands. The competition also meant the kick-off of the CSI betting system, whose profits are entirely allocated to social actions.
The Trophy was played under the modality fault & time with 1.50 meters of obstacles in a spectacular course designed by Javier Trenor, in which the binomials made a big effort.
GREAT VICTORY OF MARTIM PORTELA DE MORAIS IN THE INAUGURAL TROPHY
Successful beginning of the weekend for Martim Portela de Morais, who has won the Inaugural Trophy of the CSI 4 * of A Coruña in a tight competition.
The Portuguese rider came out twenty four and made a brilliant round on the back of Beau Goss, a 7 years old horse, stopping the chrono in 26.91 seconds without penalties.
In second position was the Spanish horsewoman Laura Roquet, which rode Dynamite Z and made a time of 27.20 seconds and zero points, so close of Portela de Morais. The podium was completed by the binomial formed by the also Portuguese Marina Frutuoso de Melo and Cantano, which ended the track in 27.58 seconds without penalties.
The outside track of the equestrian center of Casas Novas welcomed again the best riders of the modality and a great equestrian level. More than forty riders participated in the Inaugural Trophy, with a large number of Spanish representatives, including the leaders of the national ranking. The test was competed in two phases with an obstacle height of 1.35 meters.
TOMORROW, THREE TROPHIES AND A LOT OF EMOTION TO DISPUTE
Equestrian fans and those who simply want to enjoy the excitement and competitiveness of one of the most technical sports will have tomorrow-another day to enjoy.
At 11:30 a.m. it will be the turn of the Marqués de Riscal Trophy, afterwards at 2:30 p.m. the Lexus Trophy will begin. The highlight of the day will be the Longines Trophy at 5:30 p.m.
The luck was elusive in the inaugural day of the CSI 4 * of A Coruña for the Spanish horsemen, who tomorrow will have opportunity to hear the national anthem in the equestrian enclosure.
The organization has launched a streaming live on the web www.csicasasnovas.com with comments in Spanish and English to follow the development of all the tests of the contest.
