Thiago Mattos & Dehli do Santo Antônio are the Masters at the Longines São Paulo Horse Show CSI 5*-W

By Jumper News on 26 26America/Sao_Paulo August 26America/Sao_Paulo 2023

São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil – August 25, 2023 – A fantastic Friday filled with entertainment and top sport thrilled the crowds at Sociedade Hípica Paulista (SHP) on the third day of major competition of the 2023 Longines São Paulo Horse Show – The Indoor Jumping of Brazil CSI 5*-W.

Once again, renowned course designer Guilherme Jorge (BRA) was responsible for testing riders and horses in the most important class so far at the event. With a purse of R$205,000 reais, the stakes were higher and so were the fences and level of difficulty as forty-one combinations walked into the indoor arena for the Jump-off Challenge CSI 5*-W.

A Challenging Course

Stephanie Macieira (BRA) and Rasputin JMen II were the trailblazers, but had an unlucky rail at the end of the course, a testament of what would happen for much of the contest, affecting almost all participants.

**Lucio Osório** (BRA) & **Schweinsteiger**

As the third to go and after winning the R$100,000 Jump-off Challenge CSI 5*-W with Quastina the night before, Lucio Osório (BRA) came very close to scoring back-to-back victories. Once again, the speedy rider managed to overcome all the 1.50m obstacles but contrary to his reputation, he had an unlucky time penalty on Schweinsteiger, which could have kept him out of the podium. However, that didn’t happen…

Nineteen performances later, nobody else had managed to keep all the poles up. Moreover, time did turn out to be a major factor as a total of 9 pairs had time penalties attributed to their score.

**Thiago Mattos** (BRA) & **Dehli do Santo Antônio**

Mattos is the “Master”

Finally the first flawless round! It all came down to Thiago Mattos (BRA) and Dehli do Santo Antônio and the duo delivered, shining bright under the arena lights. Originally, the mare had been imported from Europe when she was four years old and ridden by Rodrigo Lima (BRA) until Mattos took over the reins about a year ago. There was a sigh of relief in the air when the 32-year-old rider guided Francisco de Carvalho Soares Brandão‘s 12-year-old grey Holsteiner mare (Clarimo x San Patrignano Corrad) around the course in impecable manner before tripping the timers in 75.21 seconds. Would it be enough for the win? Only time would tell. Actually, their performance turned out to be the winning one.

In the end, Lucio Osório‘s (BRA) performance on Schweinsteiger (Lux Z x Churchill) proved to be more than enough for a podium finish, even better, a second-place finish since the pair were the only other ones to leave all the poles up.

**Felipe Ferreira** (BRA) & **CEHJUR** **Princess Quiny**

Another rising star of the noble sport in Brazil, Felipe Ferreira Figueiredo (BRA) put on a very good round on CEHJUR Princess Quiny, rounding out the top as the fastest four-faulters in 72.83 seconds.

**Thiago Mattos** (BRA) & **Dehli do Santo Antônio** during the awards ceremony

Winner’s Circle – Thiago Mattos (BRA)

“I was the first to go in the second half so I had seen a half (of the competitors) and knew that the course was very hard, there had been no clears. I knew that my mare was well and the strategy was to do my best and that being clean we could have this result. The mare was spectacular and everything worked out. It is my first doing these strong challenges with her so we are still getting to know each other at this level and we couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. I would like to thank Francisco de Carvalho Soares Brandão (Chiquinho), who is the owner of the mare and Team Santo Antônio.”