There were 47 at the starting blocks, with many showing determination, skill and dedication. There was a sudden surge in scores after Gennaro Lendi passed the “Gate of Champions” riding Anna Parodi's Arc Step Above: from Dominik Reminder and Call Me Voodoo’s (owner Elisabetta Zoccarato) clean run marking a 219.5 to a rip-roaring 223.5. From that moment, the suspense was palpable with almost every competitor, and there were another 10 to the end of the final, all attempting the impossible. For example, the great Ann Fonck, who still had two bullets in the barrel among the last “ten”, rode Brigitte Steiner's Spook N Ruffles to a 222.5. Mirko Midili, fresh from the NRHA European Open Championship title, here aboard Whiz Wild West, the “heroic horse” that in the space of a few days ran in four demanding rounds of this Derby, taking owner Edoardo Bernardelli to the top of the Non Pro Level 3 and Reserve Champion Level 4 and running a risk-filled Open qualifier, still had the energy to take Mirko to a great third place with a 223 on a tie with Nico Sicuro and Sugar Little Step. Yes! That Sugar Little Step, the beautiful palomino stallion owned by Quarter Dream who along with Gennaro Lendi had travelled to the Oklahoma NRHA Derby to gain his place in the sun. Then in he came: just 23 years old, directly from Poland which, though bolstered by the excellence of the Roleski Ranch, is not yet one of reining’s leading nations. Yet Lukasz Czechowicz, already co-go-round leader Level 4 along with Ann Fonck and Gunners Specialolena, and previously among the protagonists of the Big Futurity last December, pulled out all the stops with CSG Magnifique Gun to produce a breathtaking run and achieve a 225. And the podium.
As he exited the arena Lukaszremoved his hat and waved in response to the massive applause from the stands. Minutes after completing pattern 12 and capturing the Level 4 Championship, Lukasz laughingly said he would have to watch the video to see his performance on the 6-year-old CSG Magnifique Gun, as it was all a blur: “For me, it’s a dream come true. This is what I wished for as a boy and even when I arrived here [in Cremona] I was not really expecting this outcome.” This was a run that left many here thinking ‘Wow! That’s how I’d like to spin’! “He always spins well” commentedCzechowicz, “but tonight he was unbelievable”. Following the qualifier, the 23-year-old Polish professional chose to keep the stallion relaxed: “The only risk was that he would try too much on the turnaround, so I just wanted to slow him down”. The horse is owned by Katarzyna Roleska and was sired by the Roleski Ranch’s lead stallion Colonels Shining Gun out of Im Magnifique (by Magnum Chic Dream). The Roleski Ranch is also where Czechowicz developed and matured his reining ability: he has been trainer there for the last 5 years, since leaving school at 18. He acquired his early skills from his father who rode Western disciplines. Lukasz explains: “This stallion was started at 2 years by Cira Baeck and then trained by Bernard and Ann Fonck; in fact, Ann took him to the final of the 2017 NRHA European Futurity Open. I got him when he was already trained but I have been riding him now for 2 years and we have developed a great feeling, especially in this last year.” Czechowicz was Level 3 Champion at the NRHA Euro Futurity Open here in Cremona last year on Katarzyna Roleska’s CSG Piggiemove and Level 3 Champion at the Italian Futurity last December aboardCSG Copshot. Plans for the future with this stallion? “To compete in the European Derby in Germany in July, and then we’ll see.”
Reserve Champion at Level 4 was Gennaro Lendi riding Arc A Step Above, the son of Walla Walla Whiz and Wimpys Little Chic owned by Anna Parodi. The pair, Open Level 4 Champion at the 2018 Derby International de Lyon and 2019 Open Shoot-In Reserve Champion, marked a 223.5 to secure their place on the podium.
Blazing a trail with the flashy palomino Sugar Little Step owned by Quarter Dream and sired by Wimpys Little Step x Ah Sugar Sugar (by Lil Ruf Peppy) was 23-year-old Nico Sicuro who entered on a low key and piloted the horse to a crescendo with each manoeuvre. As the sand settled after the final stop the score was an impressive223, securing the title of Levels 3 and 2 Champion and replicating the top spot earned by the pair after the go-round - but adding an impressive 4 points to their qualifying score and securing a generous margin over the nearest contenders at these levels. “In the final I tried to add a bit of speed on the manoeuvres and risk a bit more - to do everything we could together - and it really went well,” says Nico. “We entered before the drag so the ground was not optimum, and the first stop could have been stronger, but things just kept getting better”. The horse, now 7, was started by Markus Gebert who took him to the finals of the NRHA Germany Breeders Futurity Ltd Open 3-year-olds in 2015; with the same trainer he was 2016 NRHA European Derby Level 3 Open Champion and Level 4 Open Co-Reserve Champion with a whopping 228.5. Last year Gennaro Lendi guided him to become 2018 NRHA Italian Derby Level 4 Open Co-Reserve Champion here in Cremona and to the finals of the 2018 NRHA Oklahoma City Derby L4 Open. Nico has been riding Sugar Little Step since February, having started as head trainer at Quarter Dream in January this year. The newly formed pair’s first outing was in a competition at the EuroFuturity, but this was their first special event together. “This horse was great today and I really enjoyed this run. I’d like to thank Pietro Marseglia and the whole team at Quarter Dream.”
Crowd favourite Giuseppe Prevosti was awarded a 218 to take the Reserve Champion L2, partnered by Gunna Sparkle the 2014 stallion owned by Luigi Parise. “Beppe” also had a second mount, Francesca Bertazzi’s Walla Golden Arrow,third at this level on 217.
Elio Simonini, a fairly new face at the special events, is an example of an unusual professional figure: working as a personal trainer for riding. In fact, he follows a single Non Pro rider, Susanna Sodi and her horses, that are stabled with at Luga QH. But this time Elio came front stage to conquer his slice of the action by climbing to the summit of the IRHA/NRHA Derby as Champion at Level 1 and Reserve Level 2, with a 216. His companion in this feat was Sevenchextocash, a gelding quarter from Big Chex To Cash and Lil Chic Peppy. “We brought four horses to this Derby and Susanna rode three in the Non Pro, but as this was Seven’s last year in the Derby, we decided I would show him to try for the podium of the Open Levels 1 and 2. We made it, and I could not be happier”, the Tuscan told us with his eyes still shining from the emotion. “Tonight, I was the last in the arena in the first section of the finals, for Levels 1 and 2, and when as I left the show pen, I heard the speaker saying I was the current leader the feeling was indescribable. Two colleagues were still to come, Nadalini and Dossetto, both with good horses and we all know that in reining you also need a bit of luck and this time I was the lucky one... A huge thanks go to Susanna, of course, because she makes all this possible, and my companion Alessandra Ischia who works with me as a groom.”
Thirty-eight years old, Elio had a long apprenticeship in reining, first as a groom and then as an assistant trainer. He has worked for Mario Sbrana, Stefano Angelucci and Ambrosini Quarter Horse. Then he started on his own, following his inclination for coaching rookie and youth riders. Then came a happy encounter with Susanna: “We have been working together for four years, and everything is going great; she has had good results and I have had mine for the first time, with her horses. Two years ago, for example, I was third in the European Derby, and now this!” Sevenchextocash was trained by Bernard Fonck, and Sodi fell in love with the horse after seeing him during the 4-yr-old Futurity: “It belonged to 7 Heaven, where they raised him with such love and passion that it was really hard to convince them to sell. Even now they call us to hear how he’s getting on and tonight they were the first to compliment me. Since then, he has always been shown by Susanna. He is easy and balanced, always a willing horse; every time we finish a work session he curls his lip as though to ask “Have we finished already?”, and when we arrive at the stables he is the first to neigh to ask for his food or for his window to be opened... I would call him “delightful”, both because of his natural qualities and because of the way he was raised and trained. When Susanna told me that I would be taking him to the Derby a month ago, I tried him out at a regional competition: and although I am new to the competitive environment and have done very few competitions, I marked 71.5... even with one penalty point!”
On a tie with Elio and Seven as L2 Reserve Champions were Sara Galimberti's Lotsa Smokinguns, a 7-year-old mare from Gunner out of Lotsa Train, ridden by the talented Silvia Venezia, while placed as IRHA/NRHA Derby Level 1 Reserve Champion is the duo Mattia Nadalini, former trainer at Roberta's Stables, and Miss Gunna Gunna, 5 years, owned by Giulia Mandaletti of Mandaletti Quarter Horses ASD of Bergamo where the professional from Verona now follows his clients. The mare, sired by Hollywood Gun Dunnit out of Miss Doctor Gunny, finished her adventure in the Derby with a score of 215.
Salone del Cavallo Americano press office
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