Samuel Parot of Wellington, FL, piloted his own Couscous Van Orti to a win in the $25,000 Omega Alpha Grand Prix at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) to conclude the 2016 Holiday & Horses competition. Parot and Couscous Van Orti dashed through the short course to finish with a time of 40.043 seconds. Eduardo Menezes of Carlsbad, CA, and Chacgrano rode to second place with a time of 42.237 seconds. Alvaro Tejada who rides internationally for  Guatemala and Voltaral Palo Blanco took third place after dropping a rail to add four faults to their time of 41.052 seconds. Parot has had a phenomenal week at PBIEC taking an FEI victory on Friday, as well as securing top honors in today’s grand prix aboard experienced mount Couscous Van Orti, a 2002 Belgian Warmblood gelding (Nabab De Reve x Cash). “It was a very good class with almost 45 riders. I think that with only seven clear out of that it shows how difficult the course was. For the money, I thought that it was a great and competitive class,” said Parot. “It was a very strong class and only two riders went clear in the jump-off round.” “This horse jumped the first day of FEI and I made a mistake at one jump and the second day I decided to retire. I won with the other horse I had in the class on Friday, but I thought that Couscous went well too,” added Parot. “Normally I don’t jump more than two classes with a horse per week, but I felt that he was ready to do this class today.” Parot noted that the course rode well and was a good test for his mount. The pair who started the week contesting the FEI classes, chose to compete in the $25,000 Omega Alpha Grand Prix to conclude their successful week. “I was really happy with the way that the class went today for us,” he elaborated. “All of the horses went very well this week and they will all get a vacation until January so that they are ready for the next circuit.” All three of Parot’s horses are quick by nature and incredibly efficient. Parot dicussed the similarities between each of his three top mounts in Atlantis, Quick Du Pottier, and Couscous Van Orti. “I like to ride horses that have a similar style. I try to ride all of the horses the same. I like the horses a little bit hot who are naturally fast,” he explained. After their return from a well-deserved break, Parot is looking forward to making his mark on the FEI competition to be hosted at PBIEC during the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) circuit.