Sunday, January 29, 2006

Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa Scores His First WEF Victory with Saturday $20,000 1.50m Classic Win

Wellington, FL – January 28, 2006 – Cloudy skies and an occasional rain shower did not dampen the spirits of the large crowd on hand for the first weekend of action at the 34th edition of the Winter Equestrian Festival, currently underway at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington. Those that were hoping to see Olympic Gold Medalist Rodrigo Pessoa in action, left satisfied as Pessoa walked away with his first victory of the nine week long WEF extravaganza, the nation’s largest and longest running series of equestrian events.

Thirty-three starters took the field for $20,000 1.50m Classic, the featured event at the Internationale Arena. Canadian Olympic Silver Medalist Michel Vaillancourt is the Course Designer this week. Today’s classic was scored under USEF Table II, Sec. 2(a), Time First Jump-Off.

Of the thirty-three, only six managed to negotiate the first round track fault free to qualify for the speed phase. One rider was clear with two time faults, another six riders had a single knockdown, while sixteen had eight or more.

Sigane Van De Grudeval, owned by M. Sundberg and ridden by Rodrigo Pessoa, was first in the ring and the first to master the course, making the Vaillancourt route look like a piece of cake.

Joining Pessoa in the jump-off next, riding out of the seventh spot in the order, was Canada’s Eric Lamaze. He added Steve Cohen’s Telegraph to the second round list with a clean first trip. Evan Coluccio followed immediately with Champigny, owned by Alex Carl, and produced the third clear ride of the day.

A dozen more horse and rider combinations went by before Rodrigo Pessoa, on his second mount, made it four for the upcoming round two. He was clear with Cantate Z, owned by Orlandi.

Of the thirteen that remained in the first round, only two more would advance to the tiebreaker. They were Canadians Mario Deslauriers and Erynn Ballard. Deslauriers with his Naomi and Ballard aboard Looking Back Farm’s Robin Van Roosendael would bring the speed round total to six.

The jump-off was decided quickly when Pessoa returned first with Sigane Van De Grudeval. The Olympic Gold Medalist and three-time World Cup Champion toured the course in a blazing 38.383 seconds for the victory.

Only one competitor would even be able to catch Pessoa’s time. Coluccio managed a speedy time of 37.898 seconds, but it was at the expense of two knockdowns and the sixth place finish.

Mario Deslauriers and Naomi were the closest of the field, coming home fault free, but 1.35 seconds shy of the target in 39.733 seconds.

Pessoa, going for the sure clear, picked up the third place finish with Cantate Z in 41.061 seconds while Ballard’s slower clear (42.046) assured her of the fourth prize. Lamaze finished fifth with a knockdown in 39.228 seconds.

Pessoa was delighted with his first victory. “She was good. The mare, she wasn’t really ready to go in the WEF Challenge two days ago, so I thought this would be a nice practice round for her today,” he admitted. “But she jumped really well in the first round and even better in the jump-off today.” He added, “This is a mare you’re going to see more of in the next couple of weeks.”

The Brazilian superstar, making his first Winter Equestrian Festival appearance, had nothing but praise for WEF. “It’s great. I’m thrilled to be here,” he said with a smile. “A lot of excellent riders are here. The system here is very well organized, and we’ve been treated very well. The facilities are fantastic, and it’s great to be a part of this.”

The first Sunday of the 2006 tour features three major events at the Internationale Arena beginning with the $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Classic for Junior Jumpers at 8am. The Seniors Classic follows and then the Sunday main event, the $50,000 Farr XTN Grand Prix of Palm Beach, takes center stage at 2pm.

Results of Class 1001 $20,000 1.50m Classic - Nutrena/Western Hay Wellington Classic CSI**1-27-06 – Internationale Arena

Rank Num Name NAT Horse R1 Faults R1 Time J/O Faults J/O Time

• 1 2631 RODRIGO PESSOA SIGANE VAN DE GRUDEVAL -0-0 /38.383 $6000 M SUNDBERG
• 2 2287 MARIO DESLAURIERS NAOMI -0-0 /39.733 $4000 MARIO DESLAURIERS
• 3 2629 RODRIGO PESSOA CANTATE Z -0-0 /41.061 $2000 ORLANDI
• 4 1271 ERYNN BALLARD ROBIN VAN ROOSENDAEL -0-0 /42.046 $1400 LOOKING BACK FARM
• 5 1829 ERIC LAMAZE TELEGRAPH -0-4 /39.228 $1200 STEVE COHEN
• 6 2492 EVAN COLUCCIO CHAMPIGNY -0-8 /37.898 $1000 ALEX CARL
• 7 3170 FRANKIE CHESLER ORTI RANVILLE 2- 78.036 $1000 SHER AL FARM
• 8 3042 MARILYN LITTLE RARETE 4- 73.792 $800 RAYLYN FARMS INC.
• 9 20 ERIC HASBROUCK LAVALETTA 4- 74.806 $800 TRELAWNY FARM
• 10 1434 ADDISON PHILLIPS FLIGHT 4- 74.890 $600 ADDISON PHILLIPS
• 11 488 CHRISTINE MCCREA COSTA 4- 76.750 $600 CANDY TRIBBLE
• 12 2320 PATTY STOVEL SHANDOR 41 5- 77.643 $600 SHANDOR SYNDICATE

PHOTO CREDIT: Rodirgo Pessoa and Sigane Van De Grudeval at WEF Saturday. Photo by Randi Muster