Calgary, Alberta, Canada—Sept. 12  

The Olympic Games are in their back yard next year, so the Brazilian team is on a mission to up their game. Taking the win in the $300,000 BMO Nations Cup at the Spruce Meadows Masters in their very first appearance in the class was a sign they’re well on the way.

The Brazilian team celebrated their win in the $300,000 BMO Nations Cup in their first ever team appearance at Spruce Meadows Masters. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

“When I took charge of that team five years ago, it was to aim to create the same condition in Brazil as the top nations like Germany, France and The Netherlands,” said Brazilian Chef d’Equipe Jean-Maurice Bonneau. “In the beginning, we were not good enough to attend the five-star level, so we started with the three-star level. Last week, we won a three-star Nations Cup in Arezzo in Italy with another team. We are trying step by step to gather up the number of riders capable to join the team and I think this really represents what we are doing.”

The competition came right down to the wire, but it was Brazil who led in both rounds, with nine faults in round one and four faults in round two to finish on a score of 13. France finished second with 16 faults overall, and Canada ended third with a score of 24.

The U.S. team of McLain Ward on HH Carlos Z (12/4), Georgina Bloomberg on Lilli (4/8), Todd Minikus on Babalou 41 (4/8) and Beezie Madden on Simon (8/0) posted a final score of 28 faults for fourth place. The U.S. team members had particular trouble at the water, with Bloomberg, Minikus and Madden faulting there in Round 1. In Round 2, Ward, Bloomberg and Minikus all had 4 faults at the water.

Only two riders were able to clear both rounds of competition without fault, and Brazilian rider Pedro Veniss was one of them with his mount, Quabri De L Isle. Veniss started riding the 11-year-old Selle Francais stallion (Kannan x Socrate de Chivre) last year, and the pair jumped together for Brazil in both the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and the 2015 Pan American Games.

Commenting on the team’s big win, Veniss simply stated, “Today here at Spruce Meadows was a dream come true.”

Pedro Veniss on Quabri De L Isle led the Brazilian team to victory with two clean rounds. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

The youngest rider on the team at 23 years of age, Felipe Amaral rode the 12-year-old Zangersheide stallion Premiere Carthoes BZ (Carthago Z x Voltner) to a clear first round, and the drop score of 8 in Round 2.
 

“I started riding him in Brazil and he had some good results,” Amaral said. “Then I went to Europe and Rodrigo and [Chef d’Equipe Jean-Maurice Bonneau] helped me a lot with the horse. Now we are here at the top level of the sport and it is all a dream to be here,” Amaral acknowledged.

Felipe Amaral, the youngest rider on the Brazilian team, stepped up to help them win with his rounds on Premiere Carthoes BZ. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Eduardo Menezes and Quintol were the drop score for Brazil in Round 1 with 24 faults, but returned for a 4-fault score in Round 2. Menezes has also had great results with the 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Quintender x Cento) in past competitions at Spruce Meadows.
 

“This is a very special win because he was basically made here at Spruce Meadows. I come here almost every year,” Menezes stated. “I had a really bad first round where everything fell apart a little bit after the water jump. He is a very sensitive horse, but I remembered that I had some good teammates with me, so I tried to put things back together for the second round and fortunately it worked well.”
 

“This is the first time that Brazil has been here in the Nations’ Cup as a team,” Menezes added. “Rodrigo has been in the Masters many times as an individual and some other riders from Brazil, but never as a team. The course, as the results say, was tough enough. It always is, but the conditions were amazing and fortunately all of our horses jumped well because we came up here for the win.”

As the anchor rider, Rodrigo Pessoa had 9 faults in Round 1, but jumped a clutch clear track in round 2 to secure the team victory. Pessoa was riding his 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Status (Satisfaction x Sao Paulo), who he has had for two years and also jumped in the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
 

Rodrigo Pessoa’s clutch clear second round on Status was key to Brazil’s winning day in the $300,000 BMO Nations Cup. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

“He has had some ups and downs, but today he performed really well for me,” Pessoa noted. “I rode better in the second round obviously. The first round was so-so, but I think he was up to the task in the second round.”

The most experienced rider on the team, Pessoa knew that he needed to come through for his teammates at the end, and ranks this win among his many big victories at Spruce Meadows.
 

 “This was a tough task and we were really looking forward to today,” Pessoa said. “We did not know how the class was going to unfold and we started really well in the first round. We had two bad rounds, but then started again with a good clear. We just had to keep it together and try to perform well, which we were able to do today. We had some mishaps, but we could pull the clears when we needed them. That was crucial.”
 

“Today we had youngest rider, Felipe [Aramal] at 23 years old, and Rodrigo [Pessoa] the oldest at 43. We have youth coming up and also the experience,” Bonneau said.

“I would like in nine months to have a choice among six or seven combinations [for the Olympic Games],” he detailed. “It could be this squad, but it is too early to know. I want to continue to develop the team. Even though we won today, I think we need to have a debriefing because we had some bad courses. We need to be stronger. It is not enough for the Olympics in my opinion. We have to stay humble and continue to work.”
 

The team from France finished second with 16 faults in Round 1 and a clean slate in Round 2. Jerome Hurel and Quartz Rouge were the only other combination to complete double clear rounds. Roger Yves Bost and Quod’Coeur de la Loge notched 8 faults in Round 1 plus 8 from Cedric Angot and Saxo de la Cour. Kevin Staut and Qurack de Falasie HDC had the drop score of 20 in Round 1 and did not need to return after all three of his teammates cleared the second track. They were led by Chef d’Equipe Philippe Guerdat.

Cedric Angot and Saxo de la Cour were part of France’s second-place performance. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

Canada placed third overall with a 24-point total. Yann Candele and Showgirl, Tiffany Foster and Tripple X III, Eric Lamaze and Fine Lady 5 and Ian Millar aboard Dixson all had 4 faults in Round 1, with one drop score. They continued on to Round 2 where Candele had the drop score of 8 faults and the other three riders all had one more rail. They were led by Chef d’Equipe Mark Laskin.

Eric Lamaze on Fine Lady 5, part of Canada’s third-place finish. Photo by Shannon Brinkman

 
Todd Minikus and Babalou 41 helped the U.S. team place fourth. Photo by Shannon Brinkman