The hosts are eager to secure an Olympic place...Chile's Samuel Parot Jr will put family heartache to one side later as he begins his quest for home glory at the 2023 Pan American Games. Parot is Chile’s leading Jumping athlete and was meant to be competing alongside his two-time Olympian father, also Samuel, in the Santiago competition. However, tragedy struck this week when it was revealed that the elder Parot’s horse needed surgery and they stood down from the team. Chrystal Blue’s operation was thankfully successful, but the London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 competitor was replaced by reserve Agustín Covarrubias.
Parot Jr was tremendously excited to join his father in the Chilean team as the nation hosts its biggest-ever equestrian competition. International superstars such as Mclain Ward and Laura Kraut are among the US team looking to take gold, with eight competing for three Paris 2024 places up for grabs.
“My father has impacted my career immensely. He has been my mentor and coach throughout the years,” Samuel said. “He is my biggest supporter, owning my current mount Versace.
“This team is particularly special because the Games are in our home country for the first time ever. My father and I both qualified to do it together. It was going to be a memorable time for us.”
Rodeo and the Road to Paris!
While still using the “junior” moniker, 36-year-old Samuel (pictured below) is a seasoned competitor who is based in the North American equestrian mecca of Wellington. He comes from a long line of horsemen as his grandfather was Chile’s rodeo champion!
Career highlights include winning the Individual bronze in the South American Young Rider Championships, and representing Chile in FEI Nations Cup competitions in the US and Europe. Samuel and his Pan Am horse Versace recently finished sixth in the 5* Grand Prix of Toronto.
In total, nine teams are participating in Santiago, with only defending champions Brazil already in the Olympics. Hosts Chile and the US, Canada and Mexico are joined by Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay in pursuing the podium and an Olympic spot. A further nine nations are providing individual competitors.
Samuel said: “Our main goal for the team is to get the spot for Chile for the Olympics. My personal goal is to jump the final."
“Competing in the Pan American Games has always been a goal of mine. When I started competing with Versace in May, it began to become a reachable objective.”
Reaching the Top of the Sport
Despite his international success, this is a first Pan Am Games for Samuel. He is eager to achieve success on home soil, particularly as it will help the development of the sport.
Chile’s Dressage team came within a whisker of making Paris as they finished fourth, just behind qualifiers Brazil and Canada. While the Eventers also missed out, the Jumping team will hope to use home advantage to achieve their goal.
Samuel said: “As a rider, it’s a great experience to represent your home country. It will give me more experience at the highest level of the sport. And it is great to show everyone, especially other Chileans, that I have been able to make a career out of being a showjumping professional.
“In Chile, the sport is still very amateur-driven. I believe it will bring more spotlight on equestrian sports and bring more exposure to our discipline.
“I want to keep pushing myself as a rider to reach the top of the sport, to qualify to represent my country as much as possible, and to become a better horseman on the way.”
Photo©: Sportfot
Source: FEI
