There will be many hopeful Italian riders competing in the upcoming sixteenth edition of San Patrignano’s “Vincenzo Muccioli Challenge” CSI5*: after a thrilling victory by the young Emanuele Gaudiano on Chicago 84 last year, the hopes of another Italian victory are higher than ever.
Eleven “local heroes” will be competing along with Gaudiano, who will be the team captain and hopes to defend his title. He brought the title back to Italy, seven years after Vincenzo Chimirri’s victory with Askoll Delfi Platiere. San Patrignano is buzzing with anticipation at the title holders’ return, also seeing as he is the highest ranked Italian on the FEI list at number 39 and has performed well recently in Grand Prix in Madrid and Wiesbaden.
Gaudiano’s teammates will certainly be working hard to claim the title as well. Roberto Arioldi, six time Italian Champion and with good performances in the recent CSIO in Rome and CSI5* in Zurich, is first in line. Two more strong contenders are Natale Chiaudani and Juan Carlos Garcia, both part of the silver medal winning team at the Windsor European Championship in 2009. Then there are young hopefuls like Luca Marziani, who has shown promise at Rome’s CSIO and Lummen’s CSI4*, and Giulia Martinengo and Francesca Capponi, who rode a double clear at her first Nation’s Cup event in Rome.
Three wild card spots were designated by the San Patrignano Organizing Committee: Simone Coata, Alberto Zorzi, and Chiara Arrighetti, which will be competing on two “home” bred horses, Asha di San Patrignano and Utopia di San Patrignano. Many Italian riders will be flying the colors of the armed forces: Coata, Zorzi and Vizzini are Italian Army, Martinengo and Marziani the Air Force, and Gaudiano and Capponi the State Forest Corps.
Pressemitteilung vom 14.06.2012 (San Patrignano Press Office)
