Minikus piloted the nine-year-old Zangersheide stallion Napoleon Of Picobello for Louisburg Farm over the two-round course set by Nick Granat (USA), stopping the timers at 23.950 seconds. The pair has been together for the past nine months and are starting to find a rhythm.“It was a nice course for the first class of the week and my horse has won three 1.40m classes in a row now,” he said. “He won two last week and now today so I’m pretty proud of his success so far. He’s a careful horse. He had a little bit of trouble focusing and now he seems to be really focused and he’s becoming pretty consistent. I’m very thankful to Louisburg Farm for the opportunity to ride him.”
Michan and his own Cosa Nostra, an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare, left all the jumps in their cups and crossed the finish line in 24.221 seconds. The victory marked their return to the ring for the first time since showing in the CSI3* in Wellington in November 2020.
“I gave her a nice break because she did a lot this past year,” he said. “I’m just starting to get her back to the ring, and I had planned to do two classes this week, but I felt her jumping so well I decided she would only jump today. Hopefully I’ll continue to bring her back to do the CSI4* and CSI5*. She has a lot of experience, she’s very careful and scopey, and I’m very happy to feel her first time out in such great shape. I’m hoping to have a good, long year.”