Saturday was a career day for Maria Gabriela Brugal Gasso (DOM), as the 27-year-old rider recorded her first career World Cup victory in unconventional fashion. Producing the only clear round of the competition, she rode her longtime partner J'adore Flamenco to the top of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Puebla (MEX) at Quintas Ecuestres.
Jumping at the midway point of the first round, Brugal was the first to crack the code to a clear effort over Marina Azevedo's (BRA) delicate course, but she did not expect to be the last. Still, it became increasingly apparent that matching her feat would be mightily difficult. The educated crowd at Puebla was all but silent as the final few riders entered the arena with the hope of ensuring a jump-off. Ultimately, one wouldn't be necessary, as Brugal's first round score was enough to secure a victory.
Alejandro Mills (MEX) managed to keep all the rails up with Bretzel du Marais, but two time faults ultimately relgated him to secod. Miguel Maron Kahwagi (MEX) finished third with Cayene de Boisquillon as the fastest of three four-fault efforts (4/78.66s).
"I was too nervous to watch [the last few riders], honestly. I knew a couple riders had some very cheap rails, so I really thought there was going to be a jump-off...It was a tough test out there, and I'm very, very grateful that I happened to have a clear round today.
Maria Gabriela Brugal Gasso (DOM)
Brugal has made her presence known in World Cup competition, boasting an eye-opening record. In just two career World Cup starts, she has never finished worse than second, having secured runner-up honors with J'adore Flamenco in their World Cup debut at Ocala (USA) in 2023. At that point, Brugal envisioned a long and successful career for her horse. But later that year, an infection nearly cut her partner's career short. J'adore Flamenco was hospitalized for two months after a laceration suffered on a trailer ride became infected, leading to complications and ultimately keeping him out of the sport for more than a year.
Brugal's focus shifted from international success to simply keeping her horse comfortable, but "Sparky" had other ideas.
"Once he was released from the hospital, I went to visit him a couple of times, and I could see the fight in his eye. He was not having a good time, but he was telling me, 'I'll be ready. You just wait,'" Brugal reflected. "We took it slow, and for me, it was just about giving him a high quality of life. The truth is, he enjoys showing. He doesn't like to be at home. He doesn't like to train.
"The first day I took him [back] to a show, we jumped 1.10m, and he thought he was jumping a Grand Prix, so that solidified to me that he was going to make a full comeback eventually."
A 13-year-old Anglo Arabian gelding, J'adore Flamenco will enjoy a few quiet weeks before attacking another goal, with hopes of pursuing more World Cup events next season. Brugal considers the World Cup Finals to be among her goals but expressed that she'll let her horse tell her if the timing is right.
"I've had my horse since he was 8 years old—a very green 8-year-old. We've had a long trajectory together," Brugal shared. "I'm just extremely grateful to have him back, because he gives me wings."
Narrow Misses
For Mills, the class was won and lost in the first line. His strategy to start calmly and build up was successful when it came to the fences but left him two seconds short of clear effort on the clock.
"He's a really powerful horse [but] not the fastest in the world," Mill shared of the 14-year-old Bretzel du Marais. "I saw two riders have faults in the first line, so I [rode patiently in that line] and after fence two, I said, 'Let's keep calm and try to jump a clear round.' It was a big course, and the oxers were wide. It was a super design from Marina...I could have made up time [between the first two fences]."
A single knockdown guaranteed a top five finish, and Kahwagi was best of that group. Securing a podium placing, his only fault came at the triple combination.
"I made the [forward] seven strides in the line before that, and I think I just got a little bit of a deep distance inside the triple," he detailed, "but I'm really happy with my horse. He jumped great, and it was a tough course."
Setting the stage
The 2024/25 North American League season will come to a thrilling conclusion in a week's time, as the World Equestrian Center - Ocala hosts its first World Cup leg on 15 February 2025, determining the final list of athletes that will qualify for the Finals in Basel (SUI).
Kent Farrington (USA) enters the finale on top of the series leaderboard. While tied on 54 points with Daniel Bluman (ISR), Farrington owns the tiebreaker with his two World Cup victories this season at Traverse City (USA) and Thermal (USA). Kristen Vanderveen (USA) sits third with 35 points.
Jumping at the midway point of the first round, Brugal was the first to crack the code to a clear effort over Marina Azevedo's (BRA) delicate course, but she did not expect to be the last. Still, it became increasingly apparent that matching her feat would be mightily difficult. The educated crowd at Puebla was all but silent as the final few riders entered the arena with the hope of ensuring a jump-off. Ultimately, one wouldn't be necessary, as Brugal's first round score was enough to secure a victory.
Alejandro Mills (MEX) managed to keep all the rails up with Bretzel du Marais, but two time faults ultimately relgated him to secod. Miguel Maron Kahwagi (MEX) finished third with Cayene de Boisquillon as the fastest of three four-fault efforts (4/78.66s).
"I was too nervous to watch [the last few riders], honestly. I knew a couple riders had some very cheap rails, so I really thought there was going to be a jump-off...It was a tough test out there, and I'm very, very grateful that I happened to have a clear round today.
Maria Gabriela Brugal Gasso (DOM)
Brugal has made her presence known in World Cup competition, boasting an eye-opening record. In just two career World Cup starts, she has never finished worse than second, having secured runner-up honors with J'adore Flamenco in their World Cup debut at Ocala (USA) in 2023. At that point, Brugal envisioned a long and successful career for her horse. But later that year, an infection nearly cut her partner's career short. J'adore Flamenco was hospitalized for two months after a laceration suffered on a trailer ride became infected, leading to complications and ultimately keeping him out of the sport for more than a year.
Brugal's focus shifted from international success to simply keeping her horse comfortable, but "Sparky" had other ideas.
"Once he was released from the hospital, I went to visit him a couple of times, and I could see the fight in his eye. He was not having a good time, but he was telling me, 'I'll be ready. You just wait,'" Brugal reflected. "We took it slow, and for me, it was just about giving him a high quality of life. The truth is, he enjoys showing. He doesn't like to be at home. He doesn't like to train.
"The first day I took him [back] to a show, we jumped 1.10m, and he thought he was jumping a Grand Prix, so that solidified to me that he was going to make a full comeback eventually."
A 13-year-old Anglo Arabian gelding, J'adore Flamenco will enjoy a few quiet weeks before attacking another goal, with hopes of pursuing more World Cup events next season. Brugal considers the World Cup Finals to be among her goals but expressed that she'll let her horse tell her if the timing is right.
"I've had my horse since he was 8 years old—a very green 8-year-old. We've had a long trajectory together," Brugal shared. "I'm just extremely grateful to have him back, because he gives me wings."
Narrow Misses
For Mills, the class was won and lost in the first line. His strategy to start calmly and build up was successful when it came to the fences but left him two seconds short of clear effort on the clock.
"He's a really powerful horse [but] not the fastest in the world," Mill shared of the 14-year-old Bretzel du Marais. "I saw two riders have faults in the first line, so I [rode patiently in that line] and after fence two, I said, 'Let's keep calm and try to jump a clear round.' It was a big course, and the oxers were wide. It was a super design from Marina...I could have made up time [between the first two fences]."
A single knockdown guaranteed a top five finish, and Kahwagi was best of that group. Securing a podium placing, his only fault came at the triple combination.
"I made the [forward] seven strides in the line before that, and I think I just got a little bit of a deep distance inside the triple," he detailed, "but I'm really happy with my horse. He jumped great, and it was a tough course."
Setting the stage
The 2024/25 North American League season will come to a thrilling conclusion in a week's time, as the World Equestrian Center - Ocala hosts its first World Cup leg on 15 February 2025, determining the final list of athletes that will qualify for the Finals in Basel (SUI).
Kent Farrington (USA) enters the finale on top of the series leaderboard. While tied on 54 points with Daniel Bluman (ISR), Farrington owns the tiebreaker with his two World Cup victories this season at Traverse City (USA) and Thermal (USA). Kristen Vanderveen (USA) sits third with 35 points.