September 30, 2013, Italy, Press Release Wrap ~The World Championships Young Horses held for the first time in our country ended last night with the closing ceremony and with the awards officialized by the FEI president Ian Williams. The World Champion title went to the French Aurelien Rocchia who rode Secret de mon Coeur. The second was the Spanish Silvia Yebra Altimiras, while the third was another French, Laurent Mosti.
There has been a strong urge and desire to impress and to leave the mark in occasion of the first World Championships Young Horses held in Italy. The dream of the organizing Committee of Garda Endurance Cup, the company which hosted the sporting event at the feet of the picturesque castle in Valeggio sul Mincio, has largely come true.
The special edition of the FEI World Championships Young Horses 2013 gave the thousands of people who rushed to the splendid Parco Giardino Sigurtà from Thursday to Saturday authentic, electrifying emotions.
The CEI4* X 120 km was undoubtedly the catalyst of the whole Garda event. The hard fought race ended in a photo finish and registered the absolute supremacy of France, able to place as many as four competitors within the first six positions. The French supremacy has brought some confusion among the 60 participants coming from 14 nations and in particular the Sheikh Al Hamed SH Khalifa Bin Mohd who was the favourite the day before the race but who failed to meet the expectations and even had to withdraw from the race.
To win the World title was Aurelien Rocchia who, with his loyal Secret de Mon Coeur, managed to snatch the victory from the Spanish Silvia Yebra Altimiras with Espoir De Bozouls. 6 hours, 10 minutes and 37 seconds for the French winner who galloped at an average speed of 19,029 km/h. Just one second less than the Iberian and three seconds less than his compatriot Laurent Mosti, who came third and who was also the winner of the Best Condition title.
The fourth position was won by another French female competitor Emilie Lambert with Birmany Font Noire who crossed the finish line almost eight minutes after the winner, at an average speed of 19.029, just one second ahead of the fifth, the Swedish Maria Hagman Eriksson riding Al Tayar. The first Italian to finish the race was Jacopo di Matteo with Saroual de L’Aigoual, who arrived the fourteenth.
During the award ceremony, Ian Williams, the president of the FEI endurance, warmly congratulated the athletes and organisers for the exciting edition, full of twists and turns, in which values like fair play and love for the horse have triumphed.
The 2013 edition of Garda Endurance Cup opened its gates on Thursday afternoon with the inauguration ceremony in the historical centre of Verona. A long cheerful and colourful parade marched from the Arsenale, crossed the Castelvecchio bridge heading to the central Piazza Bra near Arena, where the official ceremony was held in the presence of the mayor Flavio Tosi, of the FEI president Ian Williams as well as of other relevant authorities. The decision to celebrate this institutional moment in the heart of the city of Verona, which involved thousands of people and tourists attracted by the music and by the suggestive context, represents an opportunity to introduce this sport that manages to find a perfect balance between man and horse to a wide and heterogeneous audience.
On Thursday evening the gala dinner, which had a charitable purpose, had seen the participation of Katia Ricciarelli, the guest of honour of the event, and of more than 500 other people. The funds raised during the evening, organised in collaboration with the Lions groups from Verona and of the charity lottery during which one of the awards was an Arabian purebred, were entirely donated to the Association of volunteers Garibaldini a cavallo.
At the end of this international event broadcasted live via satellite by the UAE broadcaster Abu Dhabi Sports Channel both from the racing field and from the external race track with dozens of cameras, the organizing Committee hopes that Garda Endurance Cup could enter the circuit of the major classics of this discipline and is already thinking of an international event to be held in 2014.
The same Committee expressed its gratitude to all the sponsors, partners, volunteers and experts thanks to whom the World Championships were a brilliant success, recognising a special merit to the Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the main sponsor and great supporter of the Garda event.
Press Release via Matteo Scolari
Ufficio Stampa
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