Italian Grand Prix rider and equestrian fashionista Silvia Rizzo has acquired full ownership of her Lusitano Grand Prix stallion Sal. Rizzo purchased the 100% ownership from the Portuguese company International Gusto Equino.
Sal is a liver chestnut stallion by Mississipe x Golega and is bred by Quinta dos Pimenteis. Rizzo has been riding the experienced Grand Prix horse since January 2014 after agreeing to a co-ownership with Sergio Davide of IGE.
"Sal has absolutely been a dream horse for me," said Rizzo. "He is everything I was looking for and more. He's reliable in the show ring and has given me an enormous boost of confidence. My previous horse Donnerbube 2 could be really stalliony and distracted and I was constantly worrying about my surroundings. On Sal I can totally focus on him and he really helps and supports me in the show ring. He's an absolute blast to ride and I'm immensely thrilled that I'm now his sole owner."
Rizzo and Sal are the underdogs on the Italian dressage scene. This Italian lone ranger throws herself into fire and goes straight into the lion's den, competing at the world's biggest competitions.
"I want to measure myself against the best in the world and not avoid any competition," Rizzo explained. "I enjoy competing, I want to improve my own riding skills and experience the atmosphere at the biggest and best dressage shows in the world. I want to get good marks steadily at the big events and show form consistently."
Invited to be submitted to the Italian long list for the 2014 World Equestrian Games, Rizzo has declined the opportunity for Italian WEG team contention as she wants to focus on improving her partnership with Sal.
"The World Equestrian Games are too early for us. I want to respect the time I need to establish a good partnership with my horse first," she said.
Rizzo took Sal to Florida for the 2014 Global Dressage Festival in Wellington and intesively showed her horse there in the CDI 3* competitions to get to know Sal in the show ring. So far, Rizzo has only competed at three CDI's in Europe this year, Windsor, Wiesbaden and Falsterbo.
"The invitation only Windsor Horse Show was an absolute highlight for me," Rizzo stated. "The support that the British public gave me was something unique. They didn't stop clapping until I had left the arena after my freestyle. It made me really emotional. I posted a personal best score there and it proved to me that the judges are willing to improve my scores if I ride on point."
Photos © Matt Baldock - Astrid Appels
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