Traverse City, Michigan, USA – September 14, 2024 – International action in the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel International Ring continued to climb on Saturday afternoon as a field of 43 horse-and-rider combinations found their way in the $32,000 Classic CSI 2* . Following a fast field of jump-off competitors, the U.S. national anthem rang loud for Alessandra Volpi (USA) and her ever-reliable partner Berlinda.
Alan Wade (IRL) once again designed a technical track where 13 pairings advanced to the short course. Volpi returned early in the second round, but knowing her mare’s strengths well, she played her cards right and was ultimately uncatchable with a time of 31.50 seconds.
“Berlinda has been my partner through pretty much my entire career at the top level,” explained Volpi of her 16-year-old mare (Berlin x Gento). “I got her about four years ago now and she took me into my first five-stars and my first Nations Cup Championships. She’s a bit on the older side now so we stepped her back down to where she feels happy and comfortable.
“She loves to go fast, and she loves to win so it’s just great to have her at this level feeling good,” Volpi continued. “There were a lot of fast people coming after me, but she’s got quite a quick stride across the ground, and she turns well. I think my turn back to the Longines vertical was quite tight.”
Volpi is one of many with a packed calendar during the venue’s first Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League qualifying event, competing at both the two and the five-star level.
“There is a lot of jumping coming up this fall and this is kind of the start of it,” she described. “It’s nice to have the first World Cup qualifier outdoors, which may be a bit unusual, but is a good introduction for inexperienced horses into the league. The show has done an excellent job bringing in a good, tough course designer in Alan Wade and a good field of competitive riders. It’s the perfect intro to the rest of the season.”
Fellow American athlete Hunter Holloway (USA) raced into second with Blue Star Investment’s eight-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding, Corlando (Corporal VDL x Laptop), as they added just under a second to Volpi’s time and finished in 32.30 seconds.
Roberto Teran Tarfur (COL) joined the Americans in the victory gallop with the third-best finish riding Santana, owned by Rocking Basilisk Farm. He and the 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Cascadello x Carthago) landed just off the pace in 32.68 seconds.
The second week of the Tournament of Champions welcomes some of the world’s best to Flintfields Horse Park for a chance to win the $340,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Traverse City. The event is the first qualifier as part of the North America League on the road to the prestigious FEI World Cup™ Final in Basel, Switzerland. To learn more about the FEI North American League (NAL), click here.
Final Results – $32,000 Classic CSI 2*
1) Alessandra Volpi (USA) & Berlinda – 0 / 0 – 31.50
2) Hunter Holloway (USA) & Corlando – 0 / 0 – 32.30
3) Roberto Teran Tarfur (COL) & Santana – 0 / 0 – 32.68
Source: Press Release from Traverse City Horse Shows
Photos: © TCHS / Andrew Ryback Photography / Megan Giese Photography
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Categories: CSI 2*
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