Watch the best, borrow two or three ideas, then go faster than him. On Sunday in Chantilly, Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida applied the method with a certain sense of timing. Riding Karonia.L, le Portugais a remporté le Grand Prix CSI 4* devant Scott Brash et Laura Kraut. Une vingt-quatrième victoire internationale cette saison, et surtout une démonstration avant les Mondiaux d’Aix-la-Chapelle.
On grass, no time for sightseeing
Chantilly had pulled out the big show. The Grandes Écuries as a backdrop, packed stands, the flags of twenty-four nations in the wind and a huge grass arena wide enough to give horses ideas of freedom and riders a few cold sweats.
For the final act of the Chantilly Classic presented by Al Shira’aa, Grégory Bodo had designed a proper Grand Prix: 1.55m, thirteen fences, sixteen efforts, long gallops and difficulties kept simmering right up to the final line.
The kind of course where jumping clear is not enough. You still have to make sure you can go home the next day.
Five combinations learned that the hard way, denied a jump-off after exceeding the time allowed. Ten others found the right balance between caution and speed. Among them were Nicolas Layec with Fée de Caryan and Marc Dilasser with Arioto du Gevres, winners here last year.
For Dilasser, however, the dream of a double ended very quickly. At the first fence of the jump-off. End of story.
Scott Brash draws the shortcut
Laura Kraut first set a serious benchmark. With Tres Bien Z, the American completed another clear round in 45.09 seconds.
Then Scott Brash entered the stage.
With Hello Mango, the Scotsman tightened his turns, raised the tempo and removed a stride in the final line: eight instead of nine. The result: 44.97 seconds.
At that point, it was reasonable to think the problem had been solved. Scott Brash had just done Scott Brash things. Clean, fast, obvious afterwards, much less so before.
In the warm-up, Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida had in fact watched only one round. That one.
« It was the only rider I wanted to watch because, for me, he is the best rider in the world. I love learning every day. His jump-off was very fast, but I really wanted to be even faster. »
Watch Scott Brash to learn, then. But not to finish second.
A lesson well learned
The Portuguese rider had already considered doing eight strides in the final line. Seeing Brash do it convinced him completely.
For the rest, he still had to find something. A detail. A turn. A stride hanging around too long.
He found it between fences two and three.
« I saw that Scott had opened his line slightly there. I managed to go shorter and remove one stride. I think that is where I won it. »
With Karonia.L, Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida attacked from the start line. No observation round, no gradual warm-up. The mare turned short, covered the ground and swallowed the final line in eight strides.
The clock stopped at 43.40 seconds.
One second and fifty-seven hundredths faster than Scott Brash.
At this level, that is no longer a small gap. We are talking light years.
The red chair, the only place where he trembles
Once he had crossed the line, however, the most painful test remained: waiting.
Sitting in the red chair reserved for the provisional leader, Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida watched the final competitors come and go. And discovered that he much prefers galloping full speed towards 1.55m fences to sitting down and imagining someone doing better.
« I was a little bit scared, yes. For me, that is the most difficult place. I prefer to be in the ring, galloping and trying to win, rather than waiting on the leader’s chair. »
No one would do better.
Scott Brash finished second. Laura Kraut third. Two Olympic champions behind the Portuguese rider, who also signed his 24th international victory since the start of the year.
The statistic is starting to look like a habit.
Karonia.L, from 90 centimetres to the deep end
The victory is beautiful. The mare’s story may be even better.
Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida has been riding Karonia.L for four years. When he first discovered her in Belgium, she was still jumping 90cm classes. She did not even have an FEI passport.
Not exactly the profile of a future 4* Grand Prix winner written in neon lights.
But the Portuguese rider saw something else.
« From the first time I saw her, I had a very good feeling. She was still very green and extremely careful, but she already had that mentality. For me, that is one of the most important qualities in a horse. »
The pair progressed without burning any steps. 90 centimetres, then higher. International shows. Grands Prix. All the way to CSI 5* level.
In Chantilly, Karonia.L finished her weekend without a single fault in the three major classes she contested. And ended it with a double clear in the most important one.
« I am really very proud of her. She is an extraordinary mare and I know she is naturally very, very fast. »
After a jump-off like that, it sounds less like a compliment than a statement of fact.
Chantilly before the Soers
This victory did not come at just any moment.
Chantilly was Karonia.L’s last major outing before the World Championships in Aachen. In a few weeks, the pair will return to another mythical grass arena: the Soers.
With an objective that is no longer really hidden.
« Now we will try to prepare her as well as possible and try to go for a medal in Aachen. »
In Chantilly, Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida wanted to see how his mare would behave before the major world appointment. She answered by beating Scott Brash and Laura Kraut.
On Sunday, Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida watched Scott Brash for inspiration.
Next time, perhaps the others will be the ones taking notes.
Retrouvez les résultats complets du Grand Prix de Chantilly ici
(So Horse with Chantilly Classic. Photos ©Chantilly Classic/Sportfot)
