Wellington, FL – August 24, 2010 – Pablo Barrios and G&C Farm finished their summer tour in Europe with victory at the Jumping International de Royan, CSI 3* in Royan, France. G&C Farm is based in Wellington, FL, and owned by Gustavo and Carolina Mirabal of Venezuela. Barrios, who competes for Venezuela, is also based in Wellington.
Barrios won the 2010 $50,000 Hagyard Challenge Series Leading Rider Award because of his first and second place finishes with G&C Sinatra and G&C Blanchee Z in the $30,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic Grand Prix and second place in the $30,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic aboard G&C LaGran. His top finishes kept him in the lead for the remainder of the series.
Barrios said, “I was excited and surprised to win the award since I only showed in the spring shows, but it was a great thing to win. Thank you to Hagyard for their support and to G&C Farm.”
The G&C Farm horses were very competitive in Royan. On the first day of competition, G&C Blanchee Z had just four faults in the Prix Le Mogador class. Barrios and G&C Flash placed eighth in the Prix M.M.A. Sarl Assurances Arnoux 1.40m.
G&C Blanchee Z, a nine-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare by Utrillo Van De Heffinck x Darco, improved on the second day to finish third in the Prix Horse Logistic Company 1.40m class.
That was the start of a great run for Barrios, who placed in every 3* class that day. In the next class, the Prix de la St. Palais Sur Mer 1.50m, he and G&C LaGran, owned by Barrios and G&C Farm, finished with the fastest time for the top prize of the 20,000 euro purse.
Gustavo Mirabal said, “LaGran is at his best right now. He jumped amazing in Chantilly, Dublin, and Valkenswaard, and in Royan he won really easily. He is really spectacular and is a contender for the World Equestrian Games (WEG). In Calgary, we have to choose between him and Quick Star. I think they are both amazing horses and either of them are going to do a good job at WEG.”
In the final class on Saturday, Barrios and G&C Tropigold were second in the Conseil General de la Charente Maritime, a six-bar class. G&C Flash finished ninth. On the last day, Barrios and G&C LaGran were eighth in the 30,000 euro Grand Prix de la Ville de Royan.
It was a great finish to a summer of showing in Europe, including the Global Champions Tour (GCT) and the Dublin CSIO.
“Going to Royan was a good experience, and competing in Europe was great because the people get curious about who we are and how we got there, and after we win, people ask questions about our country, what we are doing, and where we found the horses,” Mirabal described. “To hear the Venezuelan national anthem and see the flag raised is a great feeling and is indicative that we are on the right track.”
He went on to say, “The Global Champions Tour was really impressive. It was an honor to be competing there with the best horses and riders in the world. For this year, it was a good experience to see how strong the classes are, study the strategy of the riders, and find out which horses worked best. We will be ready to win in the 2011 GCT!”
Mirabal believes that the key to G&C Farm’s success this year is having a strong escuderÃa – a term used by Formula One racing teams that explain what it means to have the best combination of support network and overall organization. For G&C Farm, this includes the best horses, riders, vets, grooms, and more.
G&C Farm escuderia in Wellington, FL
“The horses made the adjustment to Europe very well, and we showed that our escuderÃa can win everywhere. Next year for sure we will have a strong showing in Europe,” Mirabal noted. “Our escuderÃa will travel to Spruce Meadows now, and it will be exciting to jump for a million dollars with the best in the world at the Masters.”

He concluded, “For G&C Farm, competing in Europe was a great experience. Everybody knows about horses; they have a lot of horse culture and knowledge about the sport, so to be in the top of the sport you need to come to Europe. I have a particular goal that G&C Farm competes in all continents and hopefully wins! I want to see the Venezuelan flag in the top. That is my dream.”
G&C Farm and Barrios will continue to strive for that dream when they compete next at the Champions Welcome Tournament on September 2-5 followed by the Masters on September 8-12 at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Pablo Barrios will represent Venezuela at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky in early October. Following that, G&C Farm will continue the fall season indoors and compete at the World Cup qualifiers in Harrisburg, PA, Washington, D.C., Syracuse, NY, and Toronto, in hopes of qualifying for the 2011 FEI World Cup Finals in Leipzig, Germany. Barrios is currently third in the North American East Coast League World Cup qualifying list. After those shows, tentative plans include the Brussels and Paris CSI 5* indoor shows and possibly the CSI 4*-W show in Doha, Qatar in December.
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: The G&C Farm escuderia in Wellington, FL. Photo © Jennifer Wood Media, Inc. These photos may only be used in relation to this press release and with full photo credit.