After future equestrian stars stole the show during the leadline class in the Lakeside Arena, thirty horse-and-rider pairs from nine countries vied for the top spot in the TerraNova Winter Series II $65,000 Howard Leasing FEI 1.45m Grand Prix. It was six-time Olympian Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) riding the gray mare, Chili, who earned the win.
Manuel Esparza (MEX), an FEI Level 3 course designer who assisted with courses at several Olympic Games, built Friday’s Welcome and Saturday’s $500 1.40m FEI Two Phase courses, which gave the riders a glimpse into what they could expect in Saturday’s feature class.
“We play a little bit sometimes in the difficult lines, we go a little lower,” Esparza said. “We have a chance to go a couple centimeters up when we need it. This group is a really nice group of horses and riders. I think this is a fair track for them.”
Pessoa and Chili (Consolidator x Belotte de la Vie Z), the 12-year-old Westphalian mare owned by Artemis Equestrian Farm LLC, were the ninth duo to return. While they added a stride in two lines on the course, when compared to Derbyshire and Lennon, the CSI5*-experienced mare was faster across the ground, sneaking Pessoa into the lead by 0.48 seconds.
“(Chili’s) a very fast mare, really great for classes like this,” Pessoa said. “She’s very competitive, always looking for the next jump, which is a great thing in a speed horse. You can really cut her loose. I had a plan to be tight everywhere and to go as fast as I possibly could. She was perfect; I’m very happy with her performance today.”
In March 2023, Pessoa and Chili won the $77,300 The Estates at TerraNova FEI 2* 1.45m Grand Prix during TerraNova Hunter/Jumper Week 3. “It’s always fantastic to come here, the facility is really unbelievable,” Pessoa said. “Everybody is so nice. It is so peaceful; we really love coming here.”
