Doda Gets it Done!

By Staff Report August 20, 2013

Brazil’s Alvaro de Miranda won the 2013 Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of The Netherlands, presented by VDL Group, riding AD Rahmannshof’s Bogeno. The CSI5* 1.60m event took place Aug. 17 at Stal Tops in Valkenswaard.

The popular rider, known as Doda, set the arena on fire, shaving a full four seconds off the time of Frenchman Simon Delestre, the only other rider with three clear tours through Uliano Vezzani’s course. Holland’s homegrown hero, Gerco Schroder, stirred up his share of excitement, finishing third on four faults.

Kent Farrington and Voyeur were the top-placed U.S. riders, at sixth, but it was the USA’s Laura Kraut that made fireworks fly – her 11^th place finish on Cedric earned enough points to boost her back into first place in the Longines GCT series ranking.

“I’m really excited to be back in the lead,” Kraut said, following her rounds. “I was a little disappointed I didn’t do better ― I was only 11th, but my horse jumped super. He likes the soft going of the grass.”

The First Round

The stands were packed well ahead of the start of the grand prix round at Valkenswaard, one of the busiest stops on the 2013 GCT circuit. A total of 50 international combinations took to the field to fight for the $125,600 (€ 94,500) winning prize. Among them, current Longines FEI ranking No. 1 rider in the world Christian Ahlmann (GER) and his magnificent stallion Taloubet Z, two-time GCT series champion Edwina Tops Alexander (AUS) and her top partner Cevo Itot du Chateau, and this year’s feisty challengers, Kraut and Cedric.

But it wound up that some of the circuit’s less celebrated combinations stole the spotlight. The first round saw 18 go clear, including Ben Maher (GBR) and Tripple X III, Kamal Bahamdan (KSA) and Noblesse des Tess, Beezie Madden (USA) and Simon as well as Kraut and Cedric. It was a technical first round, not overly large but designed to weed out the less experienced combinations and perhaps give a pass to a lucky few.

Some short bending lines and a moderate, though less than forgiving, time allowed were among the initial challenges.  Young British talent Alexandra Thornton, trained by Norman dello Joio, jumped a very smooth first round with her 12-year-old mare Blue Curacao. Strong clears also came from experienced riders such as Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum and Marcus Ehning and the USA’s Margie Goldstein Engel. Some disappointing faults came for France’s Penelope Leprevost and Nice Stephanie, the USA’s Richard Spooner and Cristallo and Portugal’s Luciana Diniz and Lennox. Despite the fact that the first round course was not set to maximum height and scope, it clearly proved formidable.

The Second Round

Following a second course walk, the 18 clear combinations began to warm up again for their second challenge. This time the fences were larger and although the course was not as technical as the first round, Saudi Arabia’s Bahamdan remarked. The second round would require the horses to maintain their scope and come back even bigger than before. The oxers were wider and the verticals taller, demanding not only serious scope but also plenty of physical condition.

Only five would emerge from the ring without touching a rail or tripping the timer. These included France’s Delestre, riding Qlassic Bois Margot, the Netherlands’ Harrie Smolders with his 9-year-old Belgian stallion Emerald, and countryman Gert Jan Bruggink onPrimeval Dejavu.

Miranda was the last clear, jumping incredibly fast to earn the highly desirable last position in the jump off.

“Uliano did a super job with the course,” Kraut said. “I like that there were 18 clear in the first round, and we all came back equal. With only five clear, the second round was obviously a lot more difficult, but it was fair.”

“When we walked the second round, I thought it looked too easy and we would have at least 10 double clears, but no. Uliano did a great job. It was not taking too much from the horse but a lot of faults everywhere,” de Miranda said of the round.

The Jump Off

Doda would use that ultimate position to advantage as his wife, Athina Onassis de Miranda, also riding on the tour, looked on. Everyone knew the leading world ranked Brazilian rider would certainly leave nothing behind in the jump off. Simon Delestre was first in and first clear with a moderate time of 44.48 seconds. It was a lovely clear but the capable Selle Francais’s classic technique could possibly have used up some valuable time.

The flying Dutchmen ― Harrie Smolders, Gert Jan Bruggink and Gerco Schroder ― all had fences down. Then it was down to Doda Miranda and his Olympic mount AD Rahmannshof’s Bogeno. They finished third in the GCT grand prix in Madrid and they have been competitive throughout the season, so a win was well overdue for Brazil’s No.1 ranked rider, who stood eighth on the season rankings before Valkenswaard.

As soon as the duo started it was clear they were going no holds barred, and if they could maintain the pace while keeping all the rails up they would win with time to spare. Sure enough, clearing the last fence, Miranda and Bogeno opened a four-second lead over Delestre.

A beloved figure on the GCT circuit, it was a victory everyone could celebrate, even the Dutch!

The next stop on the GCT is Lausanne, Switzerland, Sept. 12-14, then only one more date ― Vienna, Sept. 19-22 ― before the final in Doha, Qatar, Nov. 21-23.

Complete results, click here.

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