21/08/2024, Castiglione del Lago, Italy ~ A spectacular race to the finish was the final for the Test Event for the Zigulì FEI Endurance European Championship 2025 in Castiglione del Lago (Italy) on 31 August, 2024.
After the CEI3*160 kilometer day, the ride was spectacularly finished with a three-rider sprint which showed the winner to be the gritty and determined multi-champion, Costanza Laliscia with her nine-year-old Arabian, Zagara di Chia. This competition qualified as the Test Event for the 2025 European Championship, Laliscia left behind the Spanish duo, Omar Blanco Rodrigo riding Fatal and Maite Pradera Ledo on Sarabi d’Abalume, who finished quickly in that order.
For the leading trio, an overall average of 17.097 km/hr was the time on trail for 9 hours, 21 minutes and 30 seconds with the final, sixth loop, ridden at an average of 22.684 km/hr.
The competition started at dawn, with the first rays of the sun. This was a testing competition not only for the ordinary stamina required for a top-level CEI3* (160 km.), but also for the very high temperatures.
“I am very happy,” said Costanza Laliscia, with great emotion. “My mare immediately gave me the feeling that we could vie for a result, but when you compete, you know, nothing can be taken for granted until you cross the finish line. The key to this test happened in the penultimate loop. Twenty-six kilometres away from the finish line at the water point, I realised that the Spanish riders ahead of me had not stopped to allow their horses to drink, so I did the same. I caught up with them shortly thereafter and we rode through the last loop together”. Laliscia will compete next week with the Italian team in the World Championships in Monpazier, France.
The CEI3* 160 km Test Event was the highlight of the program that included two other categories on the same day. The 120-km CEI2* conquered by the Italian Nicola Erculei with Shamal dei Laghi (14.754 km/h), and the 101-km CEI1* won by Valentina Galli (ITA) riding Burgos (17.048 km/h).
2025 Championship Details:
Castiglione del Lago: a ‘technical, testing and tough’ course
Date in 2025: Saturday June 21, 2025.
The green region of Umbria, the heart of the ‘Bel Paese’, will host the Zigulì FEI Endurance European Championship 2025 in Castiglione del Lago, near Perugia.
The Test Event for this eagerly awaited continental event has taken place today through the course that will decide the 2025 title and medals in just over ten months’ time.
Technical, testing and tough. These are three words used by riders, technical officials and insiders at the end of the competition about the course characterised by long flat stretches and slight ups and downs with a view of Lake Trasimeno winding through a landscape of rare beauty.
“The competition today was tough and technical” says Rocio Echeverri, president of the ground jury, appointed by FEI. “It has been very hot all day. The riders that came in the first places in the CEI3*, in the 160-km competition, are those who demonstrated throughout the entire day that they managed well their horses well. They did an outstanding job in these very difficult conditions. The horses that we saw finishing are the horses that are fit to continue, that are in top condition, and it has been a very good day because of that, because riders took care of their horses, especially in the CEI3*160 km. The venue is amazing. I think it’s definitely a world championship venue. It’s very well organized. When we have a test event, we test everything, the officials, the system, the venue so as to make sure that everything runs smoothly when the championship actually comes. The organizing committee has a lot of experience, so they know how to set it up. I’m very happy and very excited that this will be the host venue for the European Championship in 2025”.
The former Eleuteri airport was the starting and finishing point of a course that is already highly appreciated for the quality of the ground and for the gently sloping terrain that makes it a most suitable location for top-level endurance competitions.
More about Endurance at Castiglion del Lago
A total of 31 international competitions have been organized in Castiglione del Lago (Italy) since the year 2000, including 12 Italian Championships. The FEI Endurance European Championship 2025 (June 21,2025) will be the second edition of the continental championship hosted in the Castiglione del Lago venue and the third in Umbria, considering the Meydan FEI Endurance European Championship 2009 Open in Assisi.
~ end FEI report