NEWS
1 July 2021
TEN NATIONS COMPETE AS ITALY FIELDS TOP RIDERS AND YOUNG TALENTS
Nine foreign flags will be flying at the first edition of the Milano San Siro Jumping Cup with riders from Argentina, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Monaco, Russia and Switzerland confirming their arrival.
Switzerland is fielding very interesting riders with Clarissa Crotta, Werner Muff – both at the 2012 London Olympics (with him on the team and her as reserve rider) and Niklaus Rutschi, who in the 2019 season – the last if one considers last year’s stop caused by the pandemic – was the reference rider for the Swiss team both at the European Championships in Rotterdam and at the finals of the Longines Nations Cup in Barcelona.
Germany too can rely on a rider who has no need to be introduced, Toni Hassmann, whose wins include not only three first places in the prestigious Hamburg derby and victory in one of the first legs of the FEI World Cup at Fieracavalli Verona (2004).
The tenth flag flying at the Milano San Siro Jumping Cup 2021 will obviously be the Italian one. Riders who have confirmed their participation include a foursome of top competitors who played an extremely significant role in Italian show jumping for thirty years between 1990 and 2010. It is a truly strong hand of four aces still firmly leading rankings with Roberto Arioldi, Arnaldo Bologni, Gianni Govoni and Filippo Moyersoen.
Italy’s current top team will be jumping in Milan as part of the build up to the European Championships in Reisenbeck (end of August) with Luca Marziani (in the photograph © FISE/Massimo Argenziano), once again the winner of the Italian Championships this year and a member of Team Italia in the Nations Cup at the Rome- Piazza di Siena CSIO, and Paolo Paini. After riding in the Roman show, Paini was recently a member of the team that won the Nations Cup in Bulgaria (Bojourishte).
Taking a first look at the Italians competing in Milan, one cannot avoid mentioning Bruno Chimirri, the rider Italians consider their ‘captain’ and whose opponents here in Milan will also include his daughter Elisa, one of Italy most promising riders who only became of age a few weeks ago.