After a gallop to the final line and a double-clear effort, the crowd at Lamplight Equestrian Center rose to their their feet and cheered for Giavanna Rinaldi and Dulf Van Den Bisschop. The 17-year-old was all smiles as she crossed the finish line, while her mount soaked in the applause and celebrated their victory in the $75,000 Grand Prix at the Chicago Festival of the Horse. “He knew he did well,” Rinaldi said of the 13-year-old Belgium Warmblood. “Every time the crowd goes wild, he goes wild, too. He knows he did his job well. He has such an amazing attitude and personality. He performed amazing today. He didn’t tug at one jump the entire day. He was jumping so well and listened to everything I asked of him. I’m still in shock about the win.” The $75,000 Grand Prix was not the first big win for the recent Auburn signee, who claimed the $50,000 Grand Prix the week before on Saturday, July 30 aboard the same mount. The motivated and skilled athlete plans to continue the winning streak through the final week of the Chicago Festival of the Horse in the final $25,000 Grand Prix of the competition. Rinaldi not only earned a blue ribbon, but also a third-place finish aboard her other mount, Thalys Z. Aboard the mare, Rinaldi was the first to go faultless in the jump-off after three athletes were unable to keep all the rails intact. The pair clocked in a time of 41.084 seconds to set the time to beat. Vasquez and Bachelor 4 entered the ring as Rinaldi and Thalys exited and stole the lead. Crossing the finish line in 40.133 seconds, Vasquez held on to the top spot until Rinaldi returned aboard the bay stallion a round later and beat his time by two seconds, galloping away with a time of 38.254 seconds. Eight horse and rider combinations advanced to the jump-off after clearing the first round of the Leopoldo Palacios-designed course. While Rinaldi secured first and third, Vasquez claimed the red ribbon. “The course rode just like it walked,” Vasquez shared. “Bachelor 4 listened to me, jumped well and felt great. There were a lot of good and seasoned riders in this class, and Gia is young and brave. I’m happy for her. She rode great. No one can take that away from her.” Vasquez was very proud of his 14-year-old Rheinlander, who earned a second-place finish in the $25,000 Welcome Stakes earlier in the week. The final rider of the jump-off was Amelia McArdle, who was the only other athlete other than Rinaldi and Vasquez to have a faultless speed round. She and Melody Des Hayettes Z locked in a time of 45.963 seconds to earn the fourth place spot on the leaderboard. RESULTS – $75,000 Grand Prix 1 DULF VAN DEN BISSCHOP RINALDI, GIAVANNA 2 BACHELOR 4 VAZQUEZ, FREDDIE 3 THALYS Z RINALDI, GIAVANNA 4 SENIORITA DE LA ROQUE MC ARDLE, AMELIA 5 UNDINE ATKINS, LIZ 6 BERKLEY III BOYD, DOUGLAS 7 MTM COMO NO FENNEY, TRACY 8 MELODY DES HAYETTES Z ZIEGLER, CAITLIN 9 EMIR D HICKS, SHANNON 10 ALONSO DU MONSELET CHESKA, RICHARD 11 MTM REVE DU PARADIS FENNEY, TRACY 12 PLAYBOY JAYNE, CHARLIE
