Italy wins the first stage of the Morocco Royal Tour (MRT)

Organized under the High Patronage of His Majesty The King Mohammed VI, the first stage of this 12th edition of the Morocco Royal Tour (MRT) ended with the Prize of H.R.H. Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, whose victory was won by the Italian Emanuele Gaudiano, faithful among the faithful of the Morocco Royal Tour, with his 10-year-old stallion, Nikolaj de Music.

Of the thirty-five couples on the startlist of this World Cup Grand Prix at a height of 1m55 , which was disputed over two rounds, only nine riders were able to compete for victory.

The only Moroccan taking part of the second round, Zacharias Bourguignon, took 8th place in this Grand Prix with his young 8-year-old gelding, Junius VD Heffinck Z. The couple had a perfect run on the bars but were penalized by two time faults penalties removing them from the battle for victory. This was going to be played out between the seven clear rounds of the first round with three Italian riders in the field. Statistically, Squadra Azzura had the best chance of winning. “I made this difference mainly in the last line where I asked Nikolaj for four strides where the others made five and then I went very quickly on the last fence,” explained the Italian who paid tribute to Nikolaj: “He was not an easy horse. I have been riding him since he was 4 years old, he is indeed very strong (smile), but now he is a good 4 and 5* horse, and this is not his first victory in a 4* Grand Prix.”

This Grand Prix was particularly pleasant to follow, very fluid, few faults subtly distributed over the entire course: “When I build a course, explains French Olympic course designer, Gregory Bodo, I take into account the field of horses, of course , but my idea was to offer a World Cup course, a Grand Prix designed for horses in forward movement with the aim of protecting them. It was a course that was open and should be accessible to everyone and proof of this is the number of 4 points (twelve editor’s note)”

First Polish victory in Morocco

Earlier in the day, the Royal Guard Grand Prix 1* saw the first Polish victory at the MRT. It is signed by the 25-year-old Warsaw, Adam Grzegorzewski, with the young 7-year-old Holsteiner gelding, Dark Fire (by Darcodello) and this victory was part of a more ambitious plan: “The Polish team qualified at Prague for the Paris 2024 Olympics and I’m here to prepare. I need experience, to consolidate myself and that’s why I’m taking part in the three stages of the Morocco Royal Tour.”

See you in four days, at the headquarters of the Royal Moroccan Federation of Equestrian Sports in Dar Es Salam, for the second stage of this thrilling edition of the Morocco Royal Tour with the CSIO4*W in Rabat.

TETOUAN PRIZE H.R.H. CROWN PRINCE MOULAY EL HASSAN

CSI 4* – 1.50 m – World Cup Grand Prix in 2 rounds

35 starters

1) Emanuele Gaudiano, ITA – Nikolaj de Music 0-0/39.33, 2) Cyril Cools, BEL – Milton Z 0-0/41.15, 3) Andre Thieme, GER – Conacco 0-0/41.41, 4) Roberto Previtali, ITA – Conthargo-Blue 0-0/42.85, 5) Barbara Schnieper, SUI – Canice 0-0/43.21

ROYAL GUARD AWARD

CSI 1* – 1.40 m with barrier

38 starters and 12 classified

1) Adam Grzegorzewski, POL – Dark Fire 0-0/34.49, 2) Zakaria Zoundi, MAR – Dahmaniah 0-0/37.58, 3) Fouad Larhrissi, MAR – Dean Martin 0-0/37.71, 4) Mykola Pylypeiko, UKR – Carbaron 0-0/38.10, 5) Mohammed Nizar Souktani, MAR – Deus d’Herbiers 0-0/38.25

F.R.M.S.E PRICE

CSI4*-W – 1.50 m (LR) – Winning Round

29 starters and 12 classified

1) Elian Baumann, SUI – Hold Up Di Vico P. 0-0/37.15, 2) Simon Delestre, FRA – Crack d’Aiguilly Z 1-0/38.62, 3) Bart Clarys, BEL – Oscar Van Spieveld 0-0 /38.75, 4) Katharina Rhomberg, AUT – Dinadja 0-0/39.44, 5) Ines Joly, FRA – Pegasus Dawsons Flex 0-0/39.78,