A Day of Firsts for Emanuele Gaudiano & Nikolaj de Music in the €60,000 Hubside.Store Grand Prix CSI 3*

By on 12 12America/Sao_Paulo September 12America/Sao_Paulo 2022

Grimaud, France – September 11, 2022 – The public of the Hubside Jumping Grimaud-Golfe de Saint-Tropez had often seen the Italian rider lead the lap of honour in many classes, but, until Sunday, Emanuele Gaudiano (ita) hadn’t won a Grand Prix on the French Riviera. Well that has now happened! Riding Nikolaj de Music, the rider won the €60,000 Hubside.Store Grand Prix CSI 3*, presented by Indexia, after a thrilling jump-off!

Forty-five competitors in the first round, twelve jump-off riders representing eight nations: for this Hubside.Store Grand Prix presented by Indexia, the French course designer Grégory Bodo (FRA) managed to achieve the ideal scenario, with twenty-five percent of the riders jumping clear in the first round. Bulgaria’s Konstantin E. van Damme, was first to go in the jump-off with his ten-year-old gelding Caesar Z, but unfortunately had one rail down. It’s always hard to go first in a jump-off.

Following him, Eduardo Pereira de Menezes (BRA) confirmed that the Haras des Grillons de Grimaud big ring brought him luck: the Brazilian rider, who won a 5* Grand Prix here last autumn, had the first double clear of the afternoon, with the fast mare Geavanta-C. Thanks to his lightning-fast time (two seconds less than the Bulgarian rider), he put pressure on the ten remaining competitors.

Who could beat Pereira de Menezes? By putting pressure on the other riders, which resulted in them knocking down rails, the three combinations who followed did not manage to unseat the provisional leader from his pole position. The Netherlands’ Kim Emmen (NED) on Edgar left the ring with four penalty-points.

America’s Mckayla Langmeier (USA) on Mimosa Vd Rollebeek also suffered the same fate; Ireland’s Billy Twomey (IRL), winner of the Top Ten Final in 2011, finished with thirteen penalty-points with his stallion Chat Botte E.D. as a result of a refusal and nine additional penalty-points for going over the time allowed.

The bronze medal-winning combination at the French Championships formed by Philippe Leoni (FRA) and Miss Marie Van’T Winnenhof then came into the ring: although they were unable to improve on the time to beat established by the Brazilian rider, the French rider and his horse nevertheless had the second double clear in this jump-off, in which Pereira clearly had a head start over his competitors. Halfway through the jump-off, only two
combinations out of six had notched up a second clear round…

**Emanuele Gaudiano** (ITA) & **Nikolaj de Music**

However, there were still some serious contenders to come, who could be expected to perform well… And they did!

Belgium’s Abdel Saïd (EGY), also the winner of a 5* Hubside Grand Prix last year, was very fast with Arpège du Ru… but he had one rail down.

**Pénélope Leprévost** (FRA) & **Bingo del Tondou**

After him, could the French idol, Pénélope Leprévost (FRA), whose is yet to win a Grand Prix in Grimaud, change the situation? Maybe she could! She went into the lead in the provisional line-up and relegated the Brazilian to second place, thanks to Bingo del Tondou’s (Vigo D’Arsouilles Stx x Querlybet Hero) fabulous performance: clear in the ring and really fast in 38.73 seconds.

Fanny Guerdat Skalli (FRA), the other French lady riderwho had qualified for the jump-off, took all the risks and was also particularly fast with her loyal Jonka-A… but left the ring with four penalty-points.

Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano (ITA), renowned to be one of the fastest riders in the world and the winner of many speed classes in Grimaud, lived up to his reputation with Nikolaj de Music. He and the 2013 bay Belgian Warmblood stallion (Kannan x Nabab de Reve) shaved almost two seconds off the French lady rider’s time (36.87 seconds), going into the lead of this Hubside.Store Grand Prix presented by Indexia.

The last two competitors didn’t manage to unseat him from the pole position: France’s Grégory Cottard on Cocaine du Val had one down on the final fence.

America’s Laura Kraut (FRA), who has already won two Hubside Grands Prix, finished second despite her clear round in 38.60 seconds with her eight-year-old mare Bisquetta.

The die had been cast: Gaudiano finally won his first Grand Prix in Grimaud!

Winner’s Circle – Emanuele Gaudiano (ITA)

‘It’s a pleasure to be back in Grimaud for the Hubside Jumping. This week went well for my horses, especially in the intermediate classes. In the Longines Ranking classes I hoped I’d have better results. Today Nikolaj was in great shape and fast enough to win the Grand Prix. I plan to stay here for the next two weeks of competition and I will enter Nikolaj again in the 4* Grand Prix. For the CSI 5*, I will ride different horses with different objectives,’, said the Italian rider, who will be back for the next two weeks, the Hubside Fall Tour’s CSI 4 * and CSI 5* shows.

Word from the Organizer – Sadri Fegaier (FRA)

‘I would like to congratulate Emanuele for his victory and his fabulous performance. I wil be delighted to see him again over the next two weeks, which will see the show become more intense and the competition get tougher in the four CSI 4* and CSI 5* that will take place at the Haras des Grillons in Grimaud. Today, once again, the Hubside Jumping has proved how important this circuit is from a sporting point of view, providing up and coming horses with a significant experience in an environment similar to the one they will face in the major championships they will take part in during their career. The first two horses in today’s Grand Prix, Nikolaj de Music and Bisquetta, are nine and eight-years-old respectively, and I am pleased that really successful riders such as Emanuele and Laura are taking advantage of the opportunity provided by the Hubside Jumping competitions to train their future mounts in such excellent conditions,’ said Sadri Fegaier, the President and founder of the Hubside Jumping, who had ridden to victory in a CSI 1* class earlier in the week and was placed second in another one, thanks to clear rounds with two up-and-coming horses: Farrah W and Cleo Z.