Eight-time Olympian Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) is no stranger to the winner’s circle in the Old Salem Farm International Arena, especially with his recent victory in August’s new $65,000 Old Salem Farm 2* Grand Prix. On Sunday, he returned to take the crown in the inaugural $200,000 Blue Diamond Cup presented by Old Salem Farm, riding Starman (Ogrion des Champs x Calido) to a blistering, faultless time of 34.03 seconds.
Course designer Ken Krome challenged 27 entries representing seven countries with a 16-effort, 1.50m course in Sunday’s $200,000 Blue Diamond Cup, where only four advanced to the jump-off. Pathfinder Brian Moggre (USA) posted an immediate double-clear round, setting the time to beat at 37.07 seconds aboard MTM Vivre Le Reve (Ustinov x Chello II). His lead did not last long as Pessoa entered the ring with Artemis Equestrian Farm LLC’s 9-year-old Selle Français gelding and sliced his way around the tiebreaker course for a 34.03-second score.
“The first round was pretty technical,” Pessoa said. “Some of the lines and turns came up quick, and the time was a bit short, so you had to maneuver your way around without losing too much time. Starman jumped really well, and I was very pleased with him before we returned for the jump-off. He has a lot of scope, so in the two rollbacks there (Fence #3 to #4, then to a double combination), we were able to make it tighter while staying really powerful. The second-to-last jump also ended up being quite tight because there wasn’t much else we could do; there was nowhere I could use his bigger stride to leave a stride out.
“Overall, I’m really happy with him,” he added. “We started in the spring with this horse, and he’s moving up very quickly. I’m very pleased. It’s also fantastic to show here at home. I live right up the road from Old Salem, and the shows are always great. The facilities are fantastic, and I’d like to thank all the sponsors for making these shows possible. I’m really happy with the outcome of the week.”
Ireland’s Stephen Moore tripped the timers in 36.09 seconds aboard Colibelle Hero Z (Comme Il Faut x Rubens du Ri'Asse), Vlock Show Stables LLC’s 9-year-old Zangersheide mare, for second place. Moggre ultimately landed in third for his 37.07-second time aboard the 15-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by Major Wager LLC, while Darragh Kenny (IRL) took fourth for his eight-fault jump-off score riding Heathman Farm LLC’s 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion Rockstar.
Nicky Galligan (IRL) rounded out the top five with VDL Nikita Van De Leeuwerk (Zavall VDL x Argentinus), an 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare owned by the Santa Rosa Group, on a single first-round time fault.