“I have a naturally fast horse, so for both classes I got to play that to my advantage and try to let him run at this pace and stay focused on my track and my turns,” said Granato. “I think I got lucky here and there with a rub in each jump-off, but the horse is very fresh. I’ve been gearing him towards this week and I think he came out really fresh and strong and ready for it.”
Olympic veteran Mario Deslauriers (CAN), the 1984 FEI World Cup winner, and Bardolina came close with a jump-off clear round time of 43.48 for second place. “My horse is at a point where she’s got to learn to go a little faster. She’s got a big stride so sometimes it’s a little more complicated to maneuver, but she’s learning to turn better. Today and even on Friday we tried to go a little faster to give her that experience and half a second faster today would have done it, but I was happy with the way she handled herself.”
The crowd held its breath as last to go was 2007 FEI World Cup Champion and Olympic veteran Beat Mändli (SUI) raced around the course on Dsarie and was on track to take the win, but missed with 44.16 seconds for third place.
