Bologna, September 15, 2022 – Guiseppe della Chiesa’s cross-country course at Pratoni 2022 was opened yesterday revealing 42 jumping efforts on his 30-fence track over a distance of 5,600 metres. The optimum time in which to get home is 9 minutes 50 seconds and as Great Britain’s Lucinda Green, 1982 World Champion and twice European Champion, pointed out after her first look at the fences, this is a track that will need to be ridden “by feel” rather than on the clock. The constant undulations, climbs and drops make it a roller-coaster from start to finish and included, this time at fence two, is Albino’s Water Trough, an obstacle that has been constantly altered and reused since first built for the 1960 Olympic Games.
Riders will walk the course several times over the next few days before the cross-country action begins on Saturday but first they will want to perform well in the Dressage arena to place themselves prominently on the leaderboard.
One young man who should be feeling confident is Switzerland’s Robin Godel who was individual winner with Grandeur de Lully CH while also helping his country to victory at the Test Event at Pratoni in May which was also the first leg of the FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ 2022 series. The Swiss were superb at this 4* NC-S event with Nadja Minder slotting into fifth individually with Toblerone while Melody Johner and Toubleu de Rueire finished eighth, and all three combinations are back in action again this week.
Their cross-country coach is Kiwi legend Andrew Nicholson who during his own spectacular career won every CCI 5* in the Northern Hemisphere and who won team gold at the 1990 World Championship in Stockholm (SWE). Nicknamed “Mr Stickability” for the number of times he defied gravity and stayed onboard his horses in tricky situations he will have advised his squad how to ride the long and steep run down the combination KEP Italia Slide which is guaranteed to be one of the favourite viewing spots for spectators early on the course.
CLICK HERE to walk the course with Giuseppe Della Chiesa
Source: Fei press release