It was once again time to shine under the ‘Saturday Night Lights’ of Wellington International for the $50,000 Palm Beach Equine Clinic Grand Prix during week two of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). The International Arena came alive for a win from Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa from a field of forty-five over tracks built by course designer Ana Catalina “Catsy” Cruz (MEX).
Eleven horses returned for the jump-off, concluding with a true international podium. It was Pessoa and Gonzalo (Viceroy T x Londontimes, breeder: J.w. Greve), owned by Paseo Farms, LLC, that took home the winning title. The 2004 Olympic champion took the victory with a jump-off time of 38.421 seconds.
Gonzalo is the former mount of Irish rider Trevor Breen and recently joined Pessoa’s stable under the ownership of his student Rachel Penner.
“Unfortunately, Rachel had an injury so I’ve been keeping the horses running until she’s back. We got Gonzalo last summer, and have been pleased with him so far, especially tonight,” said Pessoa, who was keen to get the gelding back in the atmosphere of a big class. “He’s thirteen-years-old now and has a lot of experience, so it was no mystery to us what he could do. We wanted to put him under the lights tonight for possibilities later in the season when he goes back to Rachel.”
Wellington turned out despite a chilly evening to support horse sport in their backyard, and the stands were filled with local show jumping fans to watch Gonzalo show off. Darragh Kenny and Paul Schockemöhle's bred, Eddy Blue (Eldorado vd Zeshoek x Chacco-Blue, owner: Kerry Anne LLC) followed on stage, leaving Gonzalo Busca (ESP) with Cristiano Obolensky (Cornet Obolensky x Stakkato, breeder: Tony Oliver) in third.