Both sponsored by Croceri Farm, the horse inspection took place earlier today and the first warm-up class is now underway ahead of tomorrow’s opening competitions at Jumping Verona 2025. The riders are full of praise for the new layout at this year’s show which, as always, takes place within the context of the Fieracavalli. Extra training training rings and a quieter location for the stabling area are already proving a winner……
“Three warm-up arenas at any international event is very exceptional!”, said Germany’s Daniel Deusser who is a longtime supporter of the top Italian fixture.
“Coming back to Verona every year is always very nice feeling, it’s a big horse event here with three arenas, and we can ride three different horses in small, medium and big classes so it’s a show that suits us and suits our programme. We are very happy to come back every year!”, he pointed out.
Talking about the string he has chosen for the event he explained, “I have as my Grand Prix horse Otello de Guldenboom who this year is probably my best horse, winning the Grand Prix at La Baule. Then a young horse Pepita van’t Meulenhof – a chestnut mare – really excited as you could see (she was very busy on her way to and from the horse inspection) but in the last couple of weeks she came along good, jumping classes 1.55m – she has jumped to 1.60m but she’s green at that level. So I hope to jump her tomorrow in the small class and maybe the Grand Prix on Saturday night. As a third horse I brought Kaduna, nine years old who has jumped up to 1.50m, a young horse with potential and this is a very good show to give her some experience”, he added.
He has very special memories of his World Cup win at the Italian fixture in 2018. “I was at the end of the jump-off with Calisto Blue and six or seven horses before we were looking at each other and saying it was a fast class and it went faster and faster, everyone was just a couple of parts of a second quicker, and at the end I had a very good round. The atmosphere was amazing, and it’s memory that stays for a lifetime!”, he said.
Great little mare
Ireland’s Bertram Allen also has a lovely memory of his win with the great little grey mare, Molly Malone V, in 2014. “It was my first World Cup so that made it even more special!” he said today.
Last weekend he finished fourth with Conquest de Rigo in the Longines World Cup qualifier in Lyon, France so he decided to bring the nine-year-old Belgian-bred gelding out one more time this week while he is on a roll.
Originally he had chosen the more experienced Pacino Amiro “but I thought it suited Conquest better to go here and keep Pacino for the Global Champions in Prague which has done before”. He will also compete the 10-year-old Dutch-bred gelding Kadans and the 11-year-old stallion Statis Conti. He’s looking forward to the World Cup on Sunday with Conquest. “He’s very talented with a lot of scope, great mentality and nothing phases him. He did his first 5-Star in Lyon and it didn’t bother him in the least”, Allen pointed out. He’s clearly ambitious with this horse.
Marie Ligges is delighted to find herself competing alongside Deusser and both the the reigning individual Olympic champion Christian Kukuk and the reigning European Champion Richard Vogel. It’s a great opportunity for the grand-daughter of the later, great Fritz Ligges.
So proud
“I’m so proud to be here, it’s my first time in Verona and I’m super-excited that I get to compete at one of the nicest shows! My grandad was a big sportsman, he did a lot for the sport back then, as a rider and as a chef d’equipe later on. And I think he passed that passion for the sport onto my dad – and then my mom and dad definitely gave it to us kids! I’m just so proud that he is part of my family although I didn’t get to know him because he died three years before I was born”, Marie Ligges explained today.
She has brought her “best horse”, Ballerina. “She is my once-in-a-lifetime horse so far. She is incredible and I couldn’t be more proud of her development over the last two years now, she really stepped up to the bigger classes and bigger shows this year and doing a fantastic job. And I brought hopefully an upcoming star, an eight-year-old mare and we will see how she will do, I think she is super-good too”, she said.
And she’s hoping to make the cut into Sunday’s Longines FEI World Cup competition. “That would be such an achievement already, so I’ll jump her in the warm-up today, see how that goes, and then she does the big class tomorrow. The eight-year-old, Clarienne, starts with the 1.45m and then I’ll see how she is going too. I hope Ballerina and I can perform a good clear round tomorrow so we can enjoy Sunday!”
Programme
The Jumping programme begins tomorrow afternoon when there will be three CSI5*W classes.
First up is the SITIP 1.45m Two-Phase followed by the BANCA PASSADORE 1.50m Speed and finally the EQUIPE-KASK 1.55m Jump-Off competition.
Saturday’s action begins at 15.00 with the EGO 7 Ladies 1.50m Speed class followed by the CRIVELLI 1.55m Jump-off at 17.30. The SERGIO GRASSO 1.45m Top Score takes place on Sunday more before the feature event of the weekend – the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup qualifier presented by KASK which begins at 15.00.
