Considering this together with the serene acceptance this year of a Co-Championship out of respect for the horses that was seen at the prestigious The Run For A Million, we may be witnessing a trend. “To be honest it's never an easy choice,” says Max Ruggeri, Co-Champion level 3 together with Mirko Piazzi. “When you leave the competition the adrenaline is high and you think, ‘I would like to go back and try to do even better’. But we also need to be objective, to remember that we have young horses that have a whole career ahead of them and both Mirko and I agreed it was not right to put them through a run-off. They had already given us so much, so for tonight this is fine”. Co-Champion at level 4 was another Mirko, Mirko Midili, who confirms: “I didn’t have a moment of doubt about not doing a run-off and I want to underline this because many may think that at Futurity level 4 we should have done it. But it wasn't necessary. Moreover, Łukasz and I are great friends, we spent three weeks together while he was staying with me before this Futurity, and we always promised each other that if we won a competition together we would choose the Co-Championship. In fact, sharing the podium was our dream! I have great respect for him and him for me”. After the win the two riders improvised a unique “mini-show” with a couple of spins and stops, even swapping horses during the lap of honour, thus clearly demonstrating their satisfaction for this shared victory.
So, let's get to know the six champions produced in the 2019 IRHA-NRHA Futurity 3YO Open. Level 4 saw Co-Champion Mirko Midili and Not Black At All and Łukasz Czechowicz on Copyride tie with a score of 223.5. A visibly tired Mirko recapped his commitment at this event: 11 Non Pro horses to follow plus his own two three-year-olds: “I had to leave my 4-year-old horses at home because I knew I would have too many and I preferred to concentrate on the younger horses. I tried to stay as clear-headed as possible and to do things correctly, but to be honest I was very worried because in the last few weeks Not Black At All wasn’t showing the form he has had throughout the year: he had very big stops and lately I had lost him a little bit in that manoeuvre... In the competition there were at least four or five horses that were stopping much bigger. I trusted him because I knew he has a very big heart, but I still didn't know if he also had the talent that others were showing”. However, a show horse exhibits his true colours when he enters the arena and Not Black At All did not disappoint. Son of Not Ruf At All and Lenas Poco Dunit (also mother of the horse with which Mirko won the Limited Open Derby in 2011), he was bred at Luga QH, the current owner. Mirko’s only outing with him was at the Belgian Futurity earning a 219.5 despite an overspin of -1. “His mother is now in foal by Not Ruf At All, so this horse will soon have a full-brother. He is a truly great horse and we only chose to castrate him, not because he was difficult, but because last year I had three horses, all stallions, with which I could win the Futurity and in the Final it gave me some problems, so I preferred to castrate them all” Mirko explains. “I am convinced that for a Non Pro this could be a winning horse for years: at this moment I could put the saddle back on him and do the same run again, if not better. These are his best qualities: constancy and solidity.”
Entering the arena last, Łukasz Czechowicz pulled off a great run to draw even with Midili aboard Copyride, another great talent sired by Colonels Shining Gun, this time out of Finest Copyshot, and bred by Anja Deutzmann. The performance proves that this young Pole has found his niche… at the top of European special events! Bought as a yearling by Katarzyna Roleska, Copyride has been in training with Łukasz since his two-year-old year and was previously Reserve Champion in the Belgian Futurity: “It is great to win the Futurity”, says the head trainer from the Roleski Ranch, competing in his third Futurity final, “and winning on a horse I have trained from the beginning makes this a special, special moment. I have had two great 3-year-olds this year, but I thought the other one was stronger - I didn’t make the final with him but then Copyride was exceptional in the show pen. I knew he was strong, but this was unexpected! Despite his continued success,having climbed through the NRHA rankings in 2018 to classify 9thamong the sport’s Top 20 professionalsthanks to another two products of Colonels Shining Gun, CSG Piggiemove and CSG Copshot last year,and then as winner of the IRHA/NRHA Derby Open Level 4 in Cremona on CSG Magnifique Gun this year, 24-year-old Czechowicz remains modest: “Everyone gets excited before the 3-year-old event, but to win it you also need a bit of luck. Tonight, we had a competition full of good horses and I had that luck, together with Mirko. Both horses were unbelievable, standing up to the strain of two go-rounds and then the noise and the pressure of the final… one of the reasons why my friend Mirko and I decided not to have a run-off”. He concludes, “My thanks go to Katarzyna Roleska for the great horses and the great chances she has given me and for just being how she is, as well as my wife and all the team at the Roleski Ranch. This was the very best way to finish a wonderful year, both professionally and… because I got married this year!”
Go-round leader Max Ruggeri (where he tied with Stefano Angelucci and Zag Ebony Gunn) and the beautiful palomina Tinselmartin clinch the title of Co-Champions at Level 3. This result of the mare Tinselmartin, owned by her breeder Marino Pilotto, confirms the strong mark left in this Futurity by the small, quality Italian breeding that has been so important through the history of European reining. Daughter of Hollywoodstinseltown and Tarismartin, along with Max she was both Open Co-Champion at the Lombardy Futurity and Champion in the ARTA: “A week I will not easily forget,” says a still incredulous Max, referring to the fact that in recent days he had also won Level 4 and 3 of the 4YO Futurity and that his Non Pro Gabriele Carrarini won level 2 of the 3YO Non Pro Futurity, also placing Reserve in levels 4 and 3. “Tinselmartin was bred by Marino Pilotto, a great friend and client over the years and a real horseman. The mare he used to compete with became his leading broodmare and produced several champions; one of her daughters then took her mother’s place and this is Tarismartin, mother of Tinselmartin. Marino has sent me many horses to train but often the really strong ones were sold before I had the chance to show them. This time I think Marino wanted to give me a little gift, and I'll always be grateful to him”. The characteristics of this champion, according to Max, are, “an incredible athleticism, the desire to stop, and she’s beautiful in the circles... And she can improve further. Obviously, these are young horses and there is always some room for growth. We started her a little later than the others because she was still quite slight in January, so we decided to leave her time to strengthen physically and then started her in May 2017. Since then, she has worked well, developing consistently”.
Ruggeri’s score of 216 was also that of Bolognese trainer Mirko Piazzi who showed Spooks Of Genius a bay stallion son of Spooks Gotta Whiz x A Sparks Of Genius, bred by Carlo Sala and now belonging to Vittorio Rabboni. A determined Mirko made a fierce run, in his own inimitable style: “This horse is extraordinary”, he says: “I started and trained him from the outset, and he has never given me any kind of problem. Our first outings confirmed my expectations: we won the Lombardy Pre-Futurity and finished third at the LR Futurity, and then we came here to Cremona. In the second go, unfortunately, a break in gait kept us out of the Level 4 final and I regret this because the horse deserved it. I liked him from the first time I saw him, but Vittorio wasn't entirely convinced, so we bought him together.” What strikes his trainer about this horse is his surprising mental balance: “He is always calm; never on the defensive. Despite being a stallion, he is very, very cold. He felt good in the final, and I tried to enter and express his ability, because this is a good show horse. Unfortunately, he was a little tired for the stops, because he is normally a great stopping machine”. Mirko, who has been working as a trainer for 31 years, works at his own centre and collaborates with Vittorio Rabboni at the magnificent Rabboni QH facility. As a veteran, Piazzi made some considerations on this 2019 Futurity: “This year I saw some really good horses. Honestly, after 10 days of competitions, I didn't understand exactly the judges’ yardstick: the scores seemed rather tight and I regret this as it works against the show and the development of these young horses.” Unfortunately, we will not be seeing this combination in action again as Spooks Of Genius is already sold, and will go abroad. “You don’t find horses like this every day. Unfortunately, this is also part of our work, “concludes Mirko, who warmly thanked both his wife and Vittorio Rabboni for their constant and lasting support.
Giacomo Ronchi, born in 1981, a psychologist with a great passion for horses, is the new Futurity 3 YO Level 2 Champion with Magnetic Master, chestnut stallion, son of the illustrious Master Snapper (the only horse bred and trained in Italy to have won an aged event in the States, in all categories), and of the mare San July Jo Magic, who was Giacomo's own show mare. The duo, that produced scores of 214.5 and 216 in the go-rounds, marked 214 in the final. Ronchi bred this young stallion himself and he has been trained by Giacomo alone. Giacomo was a very talented Non Pro rider but turned professional in 2017, when he decided to devote more time to horses and to their training, although his primary occupation is still as a psychologist. “A series of issues led me to this choice. However, reining horses are part of my life. Having chosen to withdraw my mare from competitions, and to see how she produced as a broodmare, this path seemed a good solution” says Ronchi. “The foal is a product of my collaboration with Roberto Cuoghi, and I thank him for his encouragement.” Describing his competition partner Giacomo says: “He is very playful, and I really like him. Sometimes he makes me impatient, because he is never calm nor easy. He is very lively, but when it comes to work, he listens. He has a generous heart and a great will to do what you ask him, and he has shown this fully throughout this Futurity. He also has a great physique: tonight, he was as fresh as the first day we arrived. This also shows that he takes things serenely”.
“His mum was a Chic Magnetic that I bought as a two-year-old, and I trained myself. It was almost a “love-affair”: in the Non Pro categories we won everything we entered and she only ever competed with me. I wanted to keep her, and cultivate projects like this colt,” says Ronchi who was satisfied with his performance here despite some slips. He comments: “Tonight, I competed with a different spirit. A “heart run”, and I know this led to flaws, but that’s the risk you take and I’m happy with the way we played it!”
This is a first win for Giacomo, who lives in Emilia Romagna, as an Open Rider, but he boasts a remarkable Non Pro show record including a historic triumph with the mother of Magnetic Master at the 2012 Futurity 4 YO Non Pro Level 4, 3 and 2 and the IRHA Derby in 2014, Level 4. With this victory, a new chapter in his reining story begins.
The Reserve Champion Level 2 title went to Nic Cordioli, riding Late Little Whiz, son of Walla Walla Whiz x Late Little Jaba, bred by Silvia Sgaggio, and belonging to Andrea Pengo. The pair marked 213.5 in the final.
Entering with his second finalist on the stallion Great Dolomythic (RS Great Jac Feona x Dolomythic), a horse he owns himself, Mattia Nadalini marked 213 to top Level 1. The 28-year-old rider from Verona who is currently working at Mandaletti Quarter Horses, in Bergamo, describes this stallion bred by Alois Kompatscher, as a horse “with a strong personality and slightly nervy”. Mattia adds, “but when you find the right balance, he really gives you a lot and can get some good credits on his manoeuvres. He was beginning to feel the strain this evening; he had some big stops, but the rollbacks were non super”. Having discovered reining through Nic Cordioli, he chose to further his experience immediately after leaving school with a trip to Texas, where he stayed a year with Jim Mc Cutcheon before returning to Italy where he went to work with Luga QH. After period working independently, he spent two seasons at Claudio Risso’s Roberta’s Stables, winning reserve honours with Rs Apple Lena in the 2018 Futurity 4YO Open Level 1, before moving closer to home at the beginning of this year. His week at Cremona has been fruitful with the title of Intermediate Open Italian Champion gained aboard Miss Gunnagunna, a mare with which he also won the title of Derby Open Level 1 Reserve Champion in May this year. Looking forward to the future together with Great Dolomythic Mattia comments: “He did everything he had to do tonight, but I am sure he has more potential… I am hoping he will show us exactly how much at the EuroFuturity next year!”
Sharing reserve honours at level 1 were Markus Süchting, 30, from Germany on the chestnut stallion Mello Yello Jersey (Yellow Jersey x Smart Okie Lena), bred in Canada by Lucie Houde andowned by Kay Schroeder; and Italian Genni Lazzarini riding her own stallion Ds Little Ottaviogun (Gfc Quixote Gun x Little Pie Di Cuori, bred by Sandra d’Amico) who slid to the title with a score of 211.5.
Italian Reining Futurity press office
