Weather played her strongest hand this weekend for the second leg of the three-week Portugal Winter Tour at Barroca d’Alva concluded this weekend, but eventers are a resilient bunch used to all the weather challenges that can surface in one weekend. The three-week Portugal Winter Tour kicked off last week and will conclude with its toughest divisions yet this coming weekend. It was Germany’s Andreas Dibowski who took home the win in the highest division, a CCI3*S. He and the 9-year-old Polish gelding Brennus would collect the 3*S win on a finishing score of 34.1, adding a rail in show jumping and a few seconds of time on cross country to their dressage mark.
This marks the first win at this level for Brennus, who has also been campaigned by Andreas’ daughter, Alina, throughout his career. Most recently, Alina and Brennus finished 11th in the Under 25 CCI3*L at the German Eventing Championships at Luhmühlen in October.
Brazil’s Marcio Carvalho Jorge and Joly Jumper secured second place in the CCI3*S on a final score of 40.8. This pair was looking for some redemption this weekend after parting ways on cross country in the CCI4*S during the first leg. Spanish rider Francisco Gaviño Gonzalez and Source de La Faye complete the top three in this division, ending their weekend on a score of 43.3.
Looking to the CCI2*S division, Great Britain’s Ben Hobday and Shadow Seahorse collected the win on a final score of 29.9. This second leg improves on this pair’s fifth-place finish in the same division the previous weekend. Shadow Seahorse is a newcomer to the sport of eventing, having spent the majority of his international career to date in the show jumping ring. Shadow Seahorse is entered in the CCI3*S division for the final week of the Portugal Winter Tour.
Spain’s Albert Hermoso Farras picks up the second and third place finishes in the CCI2*S for the second leg aboard Quilate 32 53 (30.6) and Grytsen Z (31.3), respectively.
The Portugal Winter Tour will conclude this week with the addition of a long-format for the CCI2*, CCI3*, and CCI4* divisions. 27 combinations are currently entered in the CCI4*L, including American rider Anna Loschiavo and Spartacus Q. Another 25 pairs will contest the CCI4*S division. Stay tuned for more from Portugal!
Portugal Winter Tour:[Website] [Week 2 Results] [Week 3 Entries]
