Montelibretti: waiting for the cross-country

Bologna, September 15, 2023 – The FEI Eventing J/YR European Championship 2023 kicked off at the Centro Militare di Equitazione in Montelibretti (Rome, Italy), the superb location that is hosting the Continental youth eventing challenge.

While the dressage tests are still capturing the attention on day #2 of the Championships, the riders and staff have already their mind set on Saturday’s cross-country, the most thrilling and selective part of the competition.

In Montelibretti, Junior riders will take their challenge on a 4.195 mt. course, with 21 fences to be covered in 520 mt./min. Young Riders’ course will measure 4.700 mt., with 23 fences to be covered in 550 mt./min.
There is great excitement about the cross-country, and the technical delegate of the International Equestrian Federation, Britain’s Sir Stuart Buntine is sure it will be a great day of sport.

«People of the Centro Equestre Militare are very experienced and once again did a great job. – Buntine declared. – I know this facility well because I have been FEI technical delegate here on other occasions. During the preparation of the event, I have to check that all the technical aspects, with particular reference to the safety and well-being of the participants, both horses and riders, are respected. So, when the competition starts, my job is practically over. In this specific case, I came to Montelibretti three times in the last few months and everything has been fine-tuned with great care. An example? Consider that in order to ensure the necessary elasticity of the ground, which had just come through a torrid summer, periodic maintenance work and watering and coring were carried out on the cross course».

Sir Buntine continues: «This event has a twofold aspect: it offers a confrontation between teams from countries with great differences in their back ground in the discipline, and involves both the under-18s – many of whom are at their first experience in such an elite setting – and the under-21s, a category that is a prelude to professional sport. The Juniors must live their Championship as an experience of growth and maturation. The Young Riders must measure themselves against tests that are in fact a real and selective test bench for their entry into the international panorama of the top sport. These are tests that we basically expect here in Montelibretti».