Set in the heart of the Tuscan landscape and close to the historic town of Arezzo, the Arezzo Equestrian Centre has become world renowned in the past ten years as a very desirable destination for international show jumping with a number of equestrian activities and services of the highest standards. The 2009 edition of the Global Champions Tour Gran Premio d’Italia will be held here from the 2nd to the 5th of April.

Saturday: more news from Arezzo

Noora and Mikael are both attending the full Global Champions Tour. The GCT is the most prestigious series, featuring by far the biggest price money in the outdoor season and consists of 9 of the world’s absolute top equestrian shows.

The Arezzo leg features both the 5-star main event and a supporting 2-star show. Noora’s horse for the 5-star tour is Evli Cagliostro and Mikael plans to jump with Evli Nandele and Vanity. In the 2-star show we have Quinault, Evli Maike, Evli Popcorn, Navarro and last but not least Calbay on the youngster tour.

Report

Thursday is the first day of the show. In GCT 5* we have Vanity and Evli Cagliostro on 1m40 level and Evli Nandele in 1m50. In the CSI2* classes on 1m40 level we should see Evli Maike, Evli Popcorn and Quinault. Calbay jumps in 1m35-40 class for 7-year olds.

Thursday was a fairly good a day, as Mikael and a very well progressed Calbay won the 7-year olds class. The Finnish national anthem was played for the second time, as Noora’s small and eager Navarro won the 1m20 against the clock. Noora and Navarro were the first to start and held the lead from the beginning to the end. Noora’s Evli Cagliostro took a placing in the Global Champions Tour 1m40 opening.

Noora’s Quinault did a good round in 1m40, where the rider took the blame for a rail down in second phase’s last fence, and falling out of a placing therefore. Also on Friday, Mikael jumped with Evli Maike an unhurried clear round on 1m40 level.  The mare seem to be on its way of a comeback, but it will obviously take more time before Maike will be fully fit for fight in bigger classes. Vanity did a splendid round in a fast and competitive 1m40 GCT-class,  taking a really unlucky rail on the last d-part of the special 4-combination often seen in Italy. 

Further on Friday, Noora and Quinault took a rail in 1m40 on the third fence after being a little deep on the distance. There after Noora downed the tempo for the remaining course. Calbay did again a splendid effort against the clock, but had a rail on the exit of a combination. On Saturday Mikael and Calbay settled the score by placing a fabulous third in the 7-year olds final class. It was a good reason for feeling satisfaction, as the gelding has been at Guttecoven since being only 2.5 year old.

On Friday Mikael and Evli Nandele were not sailing under lucky stars, as horse and rider first did a fabulous clean round in the GCT 1m55 class, but was then eliminated in the jump-off. At the second last fence, a combination, Nande did a refusal and managed to get Mikael of the saddle. Noora told this was an obvious continuing to the crash in s'Hertgenbosch, where horse and rider landed in the middle of the fence after the mare made a bad jump in the GP’s jump-off, leaving one leg dangling and therefore losing its balance. Now the mare seemed still a little insecure and tense, prompting Mikael to leave out Arezzo’s main class from their plans.

Noora and Evli Cagliostro finished the big GCT GP on 8 faults. Among the remaining classes we still have the CSI2* GP, where Noora jumps Quinault and Mikael Evli Maike.
 

Links to the show:

1. GCT LIVE
2. Global Champions Tour
3. Arezzo website

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