Weekend in Wellington – a million dollars and a gold cup on the line
Saturday Night Lights – Christian Kukuk chases a hat-trick
Germany’s Christian Kukuk and Checker 47 – Paris Olympics individual gold medal winners – are going for a Rolex Grand Prix hat trick this weekend at the Winter Equestrian Festival. One million dollars is the record amount of prize money on offer for the top riders in the Rolex US Equestrian Open CSI5* Grand Prix – the finale of the 13-week show at Wellington International.
Christian won with Checker in 2024 and 2025 – a phenomenal feat that showjumpers can usually only dream of. Saturday Night Lights sees a field of 41 leading horse and rider combinations – featuring six of the top ranked showjumpers worldwide.
Among the favorites to win – aside from Christian – would be world number two Kent Farrington and his exceptional mare Greya, world number three Britain’s Ben Maher and Enjeu de Grisien, an on-form Richard Vogel with Gangster Montdesir, also for Germany, and the sole lady rider in the top 10, France’s Nina Mallavaey and Dynastie de Beaufour. Home favorite Laura Kraut will be in the mix aboard Bisquetta, only recently having dropped out of the top ten, largely due to time out from injury. Shane Sweetnam for Ireland is worth a bet – if there is one to be had – having won the WEF Challenge Cup this week already and partnering for Saturday Night with his top horse James Kann Cruz.
Charlotte Jacobs – competing in her first ever Rolex week – could provide a fairy tale ending should she win with Playboy JT Z. She took home the blue ribbon in Friday afternoon’s CSI5* $62,500 1m 50 riding Rincoola Milsean, a triumph in itself in Rolex week and one made all the more impressive, given there were 67 competitors in the class. “We’re doing quite well so far,” she said of her debut week. “All the five stars are important but this one is the pinnacle of the season.”
http://www.wellingtoninternational.com
Sunday Polo – USPA Gold Cup final pits cousin against cousin
Two of the world’s best polo players will be in action at the National Polo Center for the finals of the USPA Gold Cup and they know each other well on and off the field- they are cousins.
Poroto Cambiaso captains La Dolfina/Scone while his cousin Camilo ‘Jeta’ Castagnola will be at the helm for Pilot. The two teams come to the finals of the second tournament in the Gauntlet of Polo, unbeaten in five games each.
Curtis Pilot is the owner of his namesake team, while David Paradice is the sponsor of the La Dolfina/Scone line up. The determining factor on Sunday will likely be the performance of the final two players on each team. While Poroto and Jeta boast a 10-goal handicap, they cannot pull off a victory playing solo. Their ability to play to their rating is dependent on their teammates and the space on the field they can create for them to shine.
In La Dolfina/Scone’s case it comes down to Jesse Bray and Rufino Merlos. Both are playing alongside Poroto for a second consecutive winter – giving them an advantage of familiarity and continuity, not always possible in polo, when team line ups often change from season to season. Jeta will be depending on his own lieutenants – Mackenzie Weisz and Lorenzo Chavanne. The similarity in the balance of the finalists’ line ups, sets the scene for a level playing field. If the forecasted rain stays away the fans will enjoy watching these exceptional polo playing cousins go head to head.
http://www.nationalpolocenter.com
This could be interesting:
A tale of two cousins – Mark and Daniel Bluman entertain the crowd