As the sun dipped below the mountains in Tetouan, the action was just beginning for CSI4*-W 1.50m PRIX DE DAKHLA riders. Namely, Emanuele Guadiano (ITA), for there is no Moroccan Royal Tour (MRT) title this ambitious Italian won’t fight for. Despite landing in the unfavorable position of first-to-go, Guadiano naturally laid it all out on the table with 11-year-old stallion Nikolaj de Music, crossing the timers in a blistering 37.71 seconds.
“When you start the jump-off, sometimes it’s not so easy, but okay, I have a very fast horse in the turns. When he’s here, he is a winner. He’s very fast, yet he is always careful enough to come back. He can be a bit strong, but I’ve ridden him since he was five years old, and he’s always been like that,” said Guadiano of the stallion on whom he’s previously won the MRT Grand Prix of Tetouan and El Jadida.
One might wonder how he does it year after year, but Guadiano’s winning formula is rather simple: long-lasting relationships with both his horses and his team.
“My family and I have a farm in south Italy with young horses. All of my best horses are ones we’ve had and worked with since they were young, and they grow up with me…the groom is Gianko, and he’s been with me for a very long time. He comes from my region in south Italy and has also known me since I was very young,” smiled Gaudiano.
While nobody could catch Guadiano, each of the seven combinations who followed him put forth a valiant effort. Switzerland’s Eva Gautschi came the closest with 39.98 seconds aboard 10-year-old gelding Beam Me Up Scotty Vom Weihergut, and Teresa Blazquez-Abascal put Spain in the winners circle with 11-year-old mare Nasa de Toxandria in 40.38 seconds.
The MRT, which has regularly welcomed the world’s top riders like Emanuele Guadiano since its inception, has changed the game for its show jumping nationals.
“This tour is a door to the world,” said Ghali Chaoui (MAR), the elated winner of today’s competitive CSI1* PRIX MAROC VERT 1.35m. “It’s where we can show what we can do here in Morocco, which is elevating the sport more and more. We love to have so many international riders here. We made a big leap for equestrian sport in Morocco; it’s exceptional for us.”
And it’s an exceptional day for Chaoui indeed, who captured his first international win with 10-year-old Selle Français Esperenzo. While they’ve only been partnered for six months, the connection came naturally with his French horse.
“I’m so happy with my horse today. I’m an architect in Casablanca, but my passion is horses. I started when I was about 10 years old. I was playing tennis, and a friend invited me to come ride. I tried it…and then I stopped tennis, I stopped everything, and went to my father and said, ‘I want to ride horses!’”
It’s a conversation many of us resonate with, and each day, we fall in love with horses all over again, especially while in such a magnificent Mediterranean setting as Tetouan!
Skye Higgin and Fly For You soaring in Tetouan © R&B Presse / Morgan Froment
Skye Higgin (GBR) on her first time in Morocco with ‘warrior’ mare:
“It’s my first time here, and it’s incredible. The organizer was very welcoming and explained everything thoroughly, which made the trip so much easier than I expected. It’s wonderful here, very comfortable for the horses, and the footing is amazing. I’m riding a new mare. I’ve had her for three months…she’s a lion, she’s a warrior, and it’s just an absolute pleasure to have a horse like that. I’ve been taking my time with her because she’s only nine years old. The arena is rather impressive with all of the surroundings. We’ve never jumped in a ring quite like this, and she dealt with it well…I’m happy to take the experience with her, and it’s a wonderful place to be able to jump these Grand Prix and prepare her for next year.”
RESULTS
PRIX MAROC VERT
CSI1* – 1.35m – Special Two-Phase – 274.2.5
29 participants and 12 placed
1) Ghali Chaoui, MAR – Esperenzo 0-0/29.54, 2) Estelle Gerard, BEL – Jedam 0-0/30.88, 3) El Ghali Boukaa, MAR – Kiss Me Blue PS 0-0/32.57, 4) Margot Charlier, FRA – Kiss Me Z 0-0/34.97, 5) Mohammed Azoum, MAR – Highland Pironniere 0-0/35.36
PRIX DE DAKHLA
Morocco Royal Tour 2024 – CSI4*-W CSI1* Tetouan
CSI4*-W – 1.50 m (LR) – Jump Off – 238.2.2
1) Emanuele Gaudiano, ITA – Nikolaj de Music 0-0/37.71, 2) Eva Gautschi, SUI – Beam Me Up Scotty Vom Weihergut 0-0/39.98, 3) Teresa Blazquez – Abascal, ESP – Nasa de Toxandria 0-0/40.38, 4) Dominik Fuhrer, SUI – Ghost 0-0/40.66, 5) Mariana Frauches Chaves
About the Morocco Royal Tour
Three exceptional sites, three four-day stages, all 4*, for the thirteenth edition of the Morocco Royal Tour, taking place between September 19, 2024, and October 6, 2024. Created in 2010 on the “High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI” and directed by Prince Moulay Abdallah Alaoui, President of the Fédération Royale Marocaine des Sports Équestres (Royal Moroccan Federation of Equestrian Sports), the MRT grows from year to year, confirming its place as a major competition on the world equestrian calendar, under the aegis of the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI).
▪ The circuit kicks off in Tetouan, from September 19 to 22, at the superb facilities of the Garde Royale. A magnificent venue with “permanent” facilities: majestic grandstands and superb stables decorated in traditional Moroccan style.
The Rabat show, from September 25 to 29, is held at the technically impeccable facilities of the Royal Moroccan Federation of Equestrian Sports, whose flagship event is the Moroccan Nations’ Cup, scheduled for Sunday afternoon, but also featuring a prestigious 4* World Cup Grand Prix on Friday.
The final leg in El Jadida, from October 3 to 6, is an indoor event with a sports program like that of Tetouan. It also provides an opportunity to discover the Moroccan Horse Exhibition (Salon du Cheval d’El Jadida), undoubtedly the most important on the continent, and where the flagship class of the circuit, the Grand Prix de Sa Majesté le Roi Mohammed VI de Saut d’obstacles, is held.
Media Contact
Pascal Renauldon
p.renauldon@rbpresse.com
WhatsApp au Maroc +33 6 08 75 94 07
Adèle Renauldon
adele@rbpresse.com
WhatsApp au Maroc +33 6 50 05 69 34
By Press Release
