Madrid, Spain – January 2, 2015 – The horses and riders of G&C Farm concluded the 2014 show season with great results competing in Europe throughout the year and look forward to 2015 with a new home base in Madrid, Spain. Previously located in Wellington, FL, G&C Farm is owned by Gustavo and Carolina Mirabal of Venezuela. While 2014 was a fantastic year in competition, the Mirabal Family also had an exciting summer with the addition of son Gustavo Ernesto, the newest member of the G&C family.
G&C Farm Europe is now based at Añon Family Stables in Madrid, a beautiful farm shared with good friends of the Mirabal Family. The family competes as well as supports professional riders Gustavo Arroyo (VEN) and Luis Miguel Martinez (VEN). With their European home, the team will continue to compete this winter, beginning with the Sunshine Tour in Spain. They also continue into the season ahead with an exciting new sponsorship from Hermès. G&C horses and riders will compete with Hermès products, including their beautiful saddles, bridles, and saddle pads.
“The G&C family is very happy to be based in Europe, especially in the beautiful city of Madrid, where we are going to be living full time in June 2015,” Gustavo Mirabal stated.
Before heading into the new year, G&C Farm looks back on a wonderful 2014, where Mirabal in particular enjoyed an incredible winning streak. He led the victory gallop and proudly stood for the playing of his country’s national anthem on 16 different occasions, including 14 impressive victories aboard top mount, G&C Leroy 136. Their most recent win came at the Gucci Paris Masters in December. In addition to 16 overall wins, Mirabal had nine second-place finishes, seven of which were with Leroy.
Gustavo Mirabal and G&C Leroy 136 earned their incredible 14th victory of the season at the recent Gucci Paris Masters. Photo copyright Sportfot.
“During this year, I had the pleasure to ride Carolina’s horse, G&C Leroy, and he is a super horse and a super winner,” Mirabal stated. “He just likes to win and he knows when he wins. During the victory gallop you can feel how proud he feels, and it is a great feeling to hear the national anthem of Venezuela in every horse show we attend. At the Global Champions Tour, Leroy is a celebrity in the low tour. Everybody always asks me about him, it is funny.”
Showing Leroy, a 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Looping x Grannus), G&C Lucy, an 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare (Lambada van Berkenbroeck x Darco), G&C Sicilia, an 11-year-old Selle Francais mare (Calvaro x Tenor de la Cour), and the newest addition of G&C Qairwan du Thot, a 10-year-old Selle Francais gelding (Qredo de Paulstra x Le Tot de Semilly), Mirabal traveled to some of Europe’s most exciting equestrian destinations this season.
Since getting back in the show ring with renewed determination over the last several years, Mirabal acknowledged that 2014 was one of his happiest since the start of G&C Farm. A passionate supporter of the sport, he was excited to be in the winner’s circle with such great horses and also proudly watched as his friends, Gustavo Arroyo and Luis Miguel Martinez, had success in the show ring.
“At G&C Farm we have a special connection between all of us – Luis Miguel, Gustavo Arroyo, Karine Dalle, Jorge Gomez, Mathilde Mir and me,” Mirabal acknowledged. “I think that is the reason that we are a winning team. Also Rodrigo Pessoa is always there as part of the team. He is always betting with me during the horse show and that makes me go for the win every time. I have to say that I lost a bet with him because I didn’t do a hat trick in 2014, but I will in 2015!”
“I want to thank Gustavo Arroyo for his guidance all year and Luis Miguel Martinez for being my right hand in G&C and for his guidance during the horse shows,” Mirabal added. “Also special thanks to Karine, Jorge, and Mathilde, our top grooms! I am very proud of them. Thank you as well to Iveth Landa and Carlos Mirabal that do a fabulous job at the office. We have a great team. We also want to welcome Tina Bengtsson from Sweden to G&C Farm Europe, she will be a great addition.”
Gustavo Mirabal and G&C Leroy 136 compete in La Baule. Photo copyright Jean Morel.
Things got off to a remarkably good start in Europe in the spring of 2014 with great results for both Arroyo and Mirabal. First, Mirabal won at the Longines Jumping International de La Baule in France. His hot streak continued at the Longines Global Champions Tour Madrid in May, where he rode G&C Leroy to the top of two CSI 2* 1.15m classes. Arroyo also picked up a first place prize with G&C Blue in the CSI 2* 1.40m division.
G&C Farm continued a stellar summer tour in Europe with wins in Paris and Monaco. After Mirabal and G&C Leroy 136 won the classes in Antwerp, Madrid, and La Baule in the first half of their summer show tour, they went on to several more wins in June, competing in Saint Tropez, Cannes, Monaco, and Paris. Newer mount, G&C Lucy, also stepped into the winner’s circle for two exciting wins in Paris underneath the famed Eiffel Tower.
Mirabal and Arroyo continued their success in late summer showing on the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) in such exciting venues as London, England; Lausanne, Switzerland; and Vienna, Austria, while Arroyo attended additional shows in La Coruña, Spain, and Arezzo, Italy. Mirabal continued his winning streak with G&C Leroy, and also earned winning performances with G&C Lucy.
Gustavo Mirabal and G&C Lucy compete in Paris. Photo copyright Sportfot.
At the Stephex Masters show in Belgium, Mirabal had the chance to show newer, greener horses. He and G&C Sicilia finished second and fourth in the 1.20m and he placed fourth and seventh in the 1.10m with G&C Carmella. Martinez got into the show ring and was sixth with G&C Connie.
Arroyo then had success at the CSIO Di San Marino show in Arezzo, Italy. With G&C Fredo LS, he won two classes in the Seven-Year-Old Young Horse division. On G&C Jartrum, he was second in the CSI 2* 1.30m class. Arroyo and G&C Quitador Rochelais were also seventh in the CSIO San Marino Arezzo Grand Prix qualifier, and G&C Blue placed third in the CSI 2*.
Most recently, Gustavo Mirabal and Luis Miguel Martinez both jumped at the Madrid Horse Week CSI5*-W in Spain in November. Mirabal then competed at the Gucci Paris Masters CSI 5* in France and Martinez joined him to show some of the younger horses, G&C Carmella and G&C Don Vito, at the CSI 4* Casas Novas in La Coruña, Spain, in December.
In their first class together, Mirabal and Qairwan du Thot were fourth in the Prix Masters Grand Slam class at Gucci Paris Masters. Mirabal then won the Prix Sea Coast with G&C Leroy and was also fifth in that class with Qairwan du Thot. After an exciting week in Paris, G&C Farm continued on to La Coruña, Spain, to conclude a fantastic season.
Gustavo Mirabal and Qairwan du Thot. Photo copyright Sportfot.
The team at G&C Farm looks forward to the start of 2015 and another great season in their new home in Spain. The 2015 schedule includes Spain’s Sunshine Tour and stops on the Longines Global Champions Tour in Antwerpen, Madrid, Cannes, Monaco, Paris, Chantilly, London, and Vienna. The year will also include trips to Rome, La Baule, Saint-Tropez, Stephex Masters, Madrid Horse Week, Gucci Paris Masters, and La Coruña.
For more information on G&C Farm, please visit their website at www.gandcfarm.com, like their page on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter.
G&C Farm brings exceptional horses and top jumper riders to the highest levels of competition. Their state-of-the-art, full-service facility is located in a brand new location in Madrid, Spain. 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 at all high level tournaments and top competitions.