Lots of stars and a "crown" at San Patrignano’s CSI5*
The 14th edition of San Patrignano’s CSI5* and Vincenzo Muccioli Challenge, being held from 30th July to 1st August this year, promises to be full of confirmations and new features.
The names of the first riders that will form the starting list of the CSI5*, organized by the 1,500 young people at Europe’s largest drug rehabilitation centre, are a guarantee of an extremely exciting show from both a technical and a competitive point. There will be a true parade of stars at the starting tape, including ten of the first fifteen riders in world rankings: Germany’s Marcus Ehning, currently N°2 in the rankings, the current Olympic champion, Canada’s Eric Lamaze (N°3), Sweden’s Rolf Goran Bengtsson (N°6), Australian lady rider Edwina Alexander (N°8), Holland’s Albert Zoer (N°8) and Harry Smolders (N°11), Ireland’s Jessica Kurten (N°9) and Dennis Lynch (N°13), Brazilian ace Rodrigo Pessoa (N°15) and Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum (N°12), the only rider in the world to have reached the podium at the Olympic Games, as well as the World and European Championships.
There is important news on the other hand as far as the event’s collaborations and partnerships are concerned, thanks to a three-year agreement that Rolex has inked with the Sanpa contest. Community chief Andrea Muccioli explains “Last year the Swiss brand offered us its collaboration, but the fact that it has decided to work alongside us until 2012, enables the event to make a further qualitative leap. Rolex takes part in the world’s largest professional sports events and it is significant that it decided to share the social and human message that is at the basis of our CSI5*.”
There is also news as far as the course director is concerned: the new entry is Dutch course designer Louis Koninckx. As explains Eleonora Ottaviani, show director at Sanpa since the first edition in ’97, as well as director of the International Jumping Riders Club (IJRC) and the event’s technical advisor, Holland’s Emile Hendrix, this was a choice dictated by the desire to always offer riders and spectators new ways of interpreting show jumping: “Changing the course designer in a cyclical manner is physiological for great contests, represents a stimulus, is new for everyone and Koninckx, who also has this role in top grade events such as Rotterdam and S-Hertogenbosch, is a new feature that we’re pleased to present for the first time in Italy.”
And more, not just a new edition, but also a new Web site for the CSI5* Vincenzo Muccioli Challenge. In fact, as of today the Web site of the show jumping contest organized by San Patrignano and held in the community itself has a new look. More space for video coverage and the splendid photo galleries, but also the possibility of following minute by minute the contest and its preparations, thanks to an RSS service, by means of which anybody can receive on their PC or mobile phone every update on the event. A brand-new space also on Facebook, where the group “CSI5* San Patrignano” has been launched.
