DAY ONE: FEI CSI3* Gold, Silver, and Bronze Tours – Fellers, Rivetti & LaJoie Jump to Victory
Allison LaJoie aboard Delmonde, Rich Fellers with Lux Lady, Cassio Rivetti and Gracile © McCool Photography
San Juan Capistrano, CA – The pristine Blenheim EquiSports Derby Field welcomed the first leg of the FEI CSI3* Gold, Silver, and Bronze tours on Thursday. Rich Fellers and his fourteen-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare, Lux Lady, led the 1.45m Gold Tour victory gallop. The 1.40m Silver Tour win went to Cassio Rivetti of Brazil aboard Neil Jones Equestrian’s Gracile, an eight-year-old Dutch mare. And in the 1.35m Bronze Tour, Allison LaJoie picked up her first FEI win riding her eleven-year-old Dutch gelding, Delmonde.
Internationally-renowned course designer Leopoldo Palacios had the task of building a power and speed track that welcomed the Bronze, Silver and Gold Tour participants to the Derby Field on the first day of competition. As Fellers noted in his interview, Palacios built an inviting course. Those who were fault-free in the power phase continued on to the speed phase, where double-clean and fast earned the top prizes.
Meet the winners and hear what they had to say in this Day One Highlights reel
The Bronze tour kicked off the competition with twenty-four entries representing the United States, Sweden, Japan, Argentina, and Venezuela. Completing both phases of the 16-obstacle track double clean, it was the seventeenth pair in the order that took a commanding lead. LaJoie (USA) and Delmonde stopped the clock in quick time of 36.59 seconds for the win, more than half of a second faster than the second-place finisher, Mariano Maggi (SWE).
?The afternoon continued with the first leg of the Silver tour, where thirty horse and rider combinations took to the power and speed course. Third to go in the order, Rivetti (BRA) and Gracile took an early lead in a time of 32.39, which proved to be unbeatable throughout the duration of the class. Shawn Casady (USA) aboard HKC Collection’s Cicomein VDL, came close to catching Rivetti. Casady, twenty-seventh in the order, completed the speed phase without faults in 32.45 seconds, but had to settle for second.
The FEI CSI3* afternoon concluded with the 1.45m Gold Tour. Of the fourteen entries, it was Fellers (USA) on Lux Lady who jumped double clean in a speedy time of 31.96 seconds to gallop away with the victory. Also double clean but a touch slower in 33.25, Saree Gordon Solanki (ISR) and Azuro 108, owned by Tomboy Farms, finished in second place.
Rich Fellers and Lux Lady on their way to victory
The FEI competition continues Friday through Sunday this week. Speed is the name of the game in the second leg of the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Tours on Friday. On Saturday, the Bronze and Silver Tours will conclude with the $10,000 1.40m Bronze Tour Classic and $25,000 1.45m Silver Tour Classic. The $100,000 1.50m Gold Tour Grand Prix will wrap up the FEI CSI3* week on Sunday.
And if you’re not able to attend in person, you can catch the action with a free live stream on the USEF Network.
Click the images below for downloadable results from each class:
Blenheim EquiSports, an equestrian event management company based in San Juan Capistrano, CA, produces events in three locations: San Juan Capistrano, Del Mar and Las Vegas, NV. The events include 19 USEF “Premier” rated hunter-jumper shows featuring five FEI CSI events, including a Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League event; the Markel Insurance 1.45m Jumper Series & Final, Developing Jumper Qualifiers & Championships, USHJA International & National Hunter Derbies, Pony Derby Finals, the Whitethorne Equitation Challenge, Medal Finals and more.