Investing in quality

“Sport, environment and social work: these are the three strong points of our contest and the reasons that convince companies to support us.” Fabrizio Miserocchi is the show manager of the CSI 5* Vincenzo Muccioli Challenge and, along with his staff, has a task that is anything but easy: finding the resources to ensure the event is repeated every year.

“Every new edition is increasingly difficult, since, to maintain the level already achieved, we always have to invest some more. Fortunately, our contest has made a name for itself through time and is an important appointment on the riding scenario which, thanks also to the European championships organized in 2005, is known throughout the world.”

So why does a company decide to invest in the San Patrignano contest?
“They do so for the quality of the event and the organization standards. Sanpa is already synonymous with quality and, since we also combine this with social work, companies decide to support us with even greater enthusiasm, even if there is no prevailing factor between sport, the environment and social work.”

So why are there difficulties involved in staging an event like this?
“In the last two years, the economic crisis has hit the majority of companies and inevitably compelled them to reduce investments in advertising and events. This is one of the reasons that in Italy there are only two contests of this standard – ours and Piazza di Siena – but as opposed to the latter, we don’t count on public funding, or from the Federation. Moreover, we are not part of any circuit, which means that the burden of the organization is entirely on our shoulders. As well as this, we decided to keep the event “pure”, putting sport and social aspects at the centre and abandoning the idea of setting up a contest ‘village’, with a multitude of food and drink stands and side events. For us, the competition is the one and only event.”

On the other hand, what does hosting an event like this mean for the community and the youngsters?
“First of all, it’s important for the youngsters because they put themselves to the test with the outside world once again. Then, the contest through the years has given a lot to San Patrignano in terms of infrastructures. For example, we took advantage of the 2005 European championship to build the structure used as a press room and then converted into the community’s nursery.”