Release date: 23/07/2011 |    

Italian course designer Uliano Vezzani returns for the second year to Chantilly to set the tests for the top listed riders.  Here he discusses the challenges that have presented to him in the lead up the Grand Prix of Chantilly.

The rain has been catastrophe! The ground is good but I am sure for Saturday it will be perfect.

I think the rain that we received on Friday was not the problem, more the rain on the Tuesday to Thursday that really damped the ground significantly.  However saying that, once we had a few hours of dry spell the ground has recovered very quickly because it has been composed with excellent drainage.

The plan was to cut the grass overnight on Saturday so that the conditions will be perfect for Saturday’s Grand Prix.

The first round is very important in the build and my plan is not to present a course that is too big.  I will not make the oxers too wide and get the horses confident. After the first round the horses will have been sorted out and it will be a new palate to work with for the second round.

The Global Champions Tour new fence is a very nice fence added to the jump selection. It is a technical fence that I prefer and I plan it to be a triple bar.  It will be technical but not too big and that is my style.  The last fence on course will be a big vertical gate and that will be technical also.

The Chantilly committee has been very proactive and great to deal with.  Although you consider the people who work are all volunteers they are exceptional professionals.

The grounds-man has worked with me the entire weekend on the arena to make sure that we can get things to the best possible conditions for the most prestigious show jumping in Chantilly.  The President Gerard Manzinelli is such a competent organizer and very pro-active in making everything possible because he knows the sport.

In fact, the Global Champions Tour group are very good and Mr Jan Tops never sees anything as a problem only something that needs a solution.  Everyone that works for this group sees issues as completed resolvable and they make all resources available to do this. That is what makes them such a great group to work for.

The Grand Prix of Chantilly will be a great event!

Photo Credit:

Stefano Grasso/GCT