Wellington, FL – August 18, 2010 – Pablo Barrios and G&C Farm have had a successful summer of showing in Europe, with results at top five-star horse shows like the Global Champions Tour in Chantilly, France and Valkenswaard, Holland, as well as the Dublin International Horse Show CSIO. G&C Farm, owned by Gustavo and Carolina Mirabal of Venezuela, is based in Wellington, FL. Barrios is also based in Wellington, FL, and competes for his home country of Venezuela.
Barrios and the G&C horses placed well at their first Global Champions Tour in Chantilly, France, in July. After a quick trip to Puerto Rico, where Barrios won three gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games, he returned to Europe to compete at the Dublin International Horse Show.
Barrios and G&C Napoleon, a nine-year-old Selle Francais gelding by Flipper d’Elle, were clear on the first day of competition in Dublin in the speed stakes class. On the second day, Barrios rode G&C LaGran, owned by Barrios and G&C Farm, to 11th place in the €,900 Knight Frank Power and Speed class.
Barrios’ biggest class came on Saturday in Dublin when he and G&C Sinatra, owned by Barrios and G&C Farm, won the €36,000 Rover Puissance. They jumped 2.20 meters and tied for first place in the class with Ireland’s Cian O’Connor. G&C Sinatra is an 11-year-old KWPN gelding by Epilot.
A continuous shot of Barrios and G&C Sinatra
winning the Land Rover Puissance in Dublin
“It was very exciting,” Barrios said of his puissance win. “It was my first time in Dublin. The people really enjoy the class there, and there is a lot of tradition at the horse show. We got to hear the national anthem in the presentation, and it was a great class.”
Barrios and G&C Farm returned to the Global Champions Tour (GCT) in Valkenswaard, Holland, on August 13-15.
Riding G&C LaGran, an 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Lancer II, Barrios finished third in the Medium Tour 1.45m speed class on the opening day. On G&C Napoleon, Barrios was 10th in the CSI5* Derby of Valkenswaard.
Barrios said of his experience at the Global Champions Tour, “The GCT show format is really nice. They invite you with two horses and have two classes per day with Rolex ranking points. I like the shows a lot and we plan to go to the shows next year. They are well organized and the two venues that we saw are gorgeous. They had beautiful rings and nice footing.”
Barrios and G&C LaGran in Valkenswaard
After these great competition experiences this summer, Barrios feels that “the horses are improving and jumping great.” He went on to say, “LaGran was great in the last grand prix in Valkenswaard. He had one down, but he is really getting back to 100%. I’m really happy for that. We are trying to get him endurance and experience here, and he will show at Calgary to see if he’s ready and if he’s the one for WEG. We’ll make the final decision there.”
The G&C Farm horses and team will return to North American on August 30 and compete at Spruce Meadows for their World Cup qualifying grand prix and at the Masters Tournament in the first two weeks of September. Barrios will compete with G&C LaGran and G&C Quick Star 11 to see which will be his mount for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Kentucky in October.
Gustavo Mirabal said, “We are looking to do our best in the WEG, so we decided to take the horses to Spruce Meadows to compete. Another reason to show there is their World Cup grand prix. Qualifying for the 2011 FEI World Cup Finals is a big goal for us.”
With that long-term goal of qualifying for the 2011 FEI World Cup Finals, G&C Farm has also adjusted their fall and winter show schedule. Mirabal explained, “After the WEG, we will stay in North America and compete at the horse shows that have World Cup qualifying grand prix classes: Harrisburg, Washington, Syracuse, and Toronto. For the winter, it’s possible we will take two horses back to Europe to compete in Brussels and Paris.”
G&C Farm and Pablo Barrios will compete this weekend at the Jumping International de Royan, CSI 3* in Royan, France, before returning to North America.
Please visit www.farmgc.com for more information on G&C Farm, their riders, and their horses. You can also find out more by visiting the G&C Farm page on Facebook or follow G&C Farm on Twitter.
G&C Farm brings exceptional horses and top Venezuelan jumper riders to the highest levels of competition. Their state-of-the-art, full-service facility is located in Wellington, FL.
The vision of G&C Farm is to improve the instruction and training of their top jumper riders and horses in order to seek a place on the Venezuelan team for all high level tournaments and top competitions, including the World Equestrian Games and Olympic Games. G&C Farm sponsors top grand prix rider Pablo Barrios of Venezuela, as well as other up and coming riders. The technical advisor at G&C Farm is Olympic Games course designer Leopoldo Palacios.
For more information on G&C Farm, please visit www.farmgc.com.
Photo Credit: Dublin Puissance photo © www.keithjackphotography.com. GCT Valkenswaard photo © Cymon Taylor/www.photostationonline.com. These photos may only be used in relation to this press release and with full photo credit.