Marlon Módolo Zanotelli & Celena VDL. ph: LGCT/Stefano Grasso
It was a thrilling, final day of competition at the Longines Global Champions Tour of Valkenswaard for Brazilian rider Marlon Módolo Zanotelli. In the final CSI5* event at the Tops International Arena in Valkenswaard, The Netherlands, Zanotelli piloted the 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare Celena VDL (Mr. Blue x Chin Chin) to a 1st place finish on Sunday, August 13, 2017.
“She’s amazing, and I’m so happy to have a horse like that,” said Zanotelli. “I have to thank the VDL team to have a horse like this. It’s a huge win for me, we’re so happy and delighted to have the support of everyone behind us. I walked away and tried not to watch too much. I did what I had to do in the ring and thankfully it paid off.”
A field of 45 took to the 1.50 course designed by Italy’s Uliano Vezzani. In the jump off, Zanotelli fended off 17 horse and rider combinations with an unbeatable time of 38.10, securing the lump sum of the €92,000 purse.
Fellow countrymen Leopold van Asten and Maikel van der Vleuten of The Netherlands closed out the podium places with respective 2nd and 3rd place finishes. Van Asten piloted the 10-year-old Oldenburg mare VDL Groep Miss Untouchable (Chacco-Blue x Aldatus) to a time of 38.79, with van der Vleuten piloting the 11-year-odl SCSL gelding VDL Groep Quatro ( Quaprice Bois Margot x Caletto I) to a time of 39.56.
The Tour now heads to Rome, Italy for the 13th leg of the championship race. For more information on the LGCT of Rome, which takes place from September 21-24, click here.
For the full results, click here.