Yuri Mansur, from São Paulo, riding the horse Vitiki, got fourth place in the Jumping Equestrian World Cup, in Omaha, in the United States. The competition, one of the most important of the season for the Brazilian, started last Tuesday (5th) and brought together 40 teams, 30 of which were in the final, played on Saturday (8th) night.
Yuri and Vitiki face the obstacle course twice. In the first pass, the team made two errors and had the deduction of 11 points. In the second, the partnership had no flaws and completed the lap in 62s40, 15 hundredths from the North American Hunter Holloway (riding Pepita Con Spita), who also had 11 points lost, but took the bronze medal for the shortest time spent on the track . The victory went to Swede Henrik von Eckermann, current world champion, who rode King Edward.
Despite the medal having escaped, Yuri celebrated Vitiki’s performance and overcoming. The 15-year-old horse suffered a serious fracture in his right leg in 2018, during an event in Aachen (Germany). The animal underwent surgery and returned to the tracks two years later, after a slow recovery.
“Thanks for all the positive energy from friends and fans and especially Vitiki, not just for the result but because he changed my life. He is a horse that proves that when you really believe in something and work hard, anything is possible. See the effort and the motivation of the horses is incredible”, said the rider, site of the Brazilian Equestrian Confederation (CBH).
In 44 editions of the Jumping World Cup, the Brazilian with the best performance in history is Rodrigo Pessoa. The Olympic champion won the event for three consecutive years (1998, 1999 and 2000) and was on the podium another three times, twice as runner-up (2001 and 2003) and once in third place (2002).
Pan and Olympics
The partnership between Yuri and Vitiki is one of the 38 candidates to represent Brazil in the show jumping competitions at the Pan American Games, in November. Until September 1st, the Swiss Philippe Guerdat, coach of the Brazilian national team and coach of the France team – Olympic champion at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro – will choose six teams (five starters and one substitute) to compete in Santiago, Chile .
Qualifying for the Paris Olympics, next year, depends on whether the team reaches the podium at the Pan. Another possibility is for the Nations Cup, in October, in Barcelona, Spain. There are also 15 individual spots up for grabs for the Brazilians: three via Santiago and 12 via ranking International Equestrian Federation (FEI) December World Cup.
Brazil’s three Olympic medals in equestrianism came in jumping. At the Atlanta Games (United States), in 1996, the country won bronze by teams, with Rodrigo Pessoa, Doda Miranda, André Johannpeter and Luiz Felipe de Azevedo, repeating the feat four years later, in Sydney (Australia). Finally, in the Athens (Greece) edition, in 2004, Pessoa won gold in the individual, after being punished for doping against Irishman Cian O’Connor.
