Former Italian Team Rider Leonardo Tiozzo Promoted as National Grand Prix Judge

Dressage

Italy

Former Italian Grand Prix team rider Leonardo Tiozzo is pursuing a career as national dressage judge parallel to running a training business.

The 31-year old Tiozzo recently passed the FISE Judges' exam and is now allowed to officiate up to Grand Prix level.

From Youth to Grand Prix

Tiozzo came through the system, first competing internationally in the pony division with Dorian Gray (by Dornik B x Kavalier). He represented Italy at the 2010 European Pony Championships in Bishop Burton.

He returned to the international arena two years later as a Young Rider with three different horses: Thor af Grondal (by May Sherif x Didriksen), Westwind (by Jazz x Zeoliet), and Daiquiri (by Donnerbube II x Justinian xx). The latter two horses were in the management of Anna Paprocka-Campanella and Michal Rapcewicz. They connected Tiozzo to Grand Prix schoolmaster Randon.

Randon

With Dorian Gray at the 2010 Pony Europeans

For two years Tiozzo competed at Grand Prix level with the Polish warmblood Randon (by Czuwaj x Fanimo x Genius), who took Michal Rapcewicz to the 2008 Hong Kong and 2012 London Olympic Games and 2010 World Equestrian Games.

Tiozzo premiered Randon at the CDI Biarritz in October 2013 and showed him in Mechelen in December. In 2014 the pair got coached by Christoph Koschel and showed in Vidauban, Barcelona, Nice, Casella di Sommacampagna, Treffen, Licipi, Brno, and Nice, before representing Italy at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Caen, where they were 79th with 65.157%.

In 2015 the pair showed at five CDI's before going to the European Championships in Aachen, where they were 53rd with 64.040%. Tiozzo kept competing Randon through June 2016, their last CDI being the CDI-W Brno.

Going Pro

From August 2016 till the spring of 2017 Tiozzo spent time in Germany as an assistant for the late Arnd Erben. He competed Siegward Tesch's Hanoverian Black Desert (by Desert Moon x Hohenstein) once internationally at the 2016 CDI Olden burg.

Tiozzo returned to Italy to begin his own business "Cavallino Bianco Centro Ippico" near Rome and showed two more horses in the CDI ring, the SBS bred H Don Camillo (by Don Bolero) in 2018 in young horse classes and his big hope for the future, Karina, a Spanish bred and curiously Italian registered cross bred by Bizarro xxx out of Vigilanta (by Evento). He first showed her at Grand Prix level at the 2018 CDI Nice, followed by the 2018 CDI Ornago and Lipica. In the 2020 corona year the pair did not compete internationally, but returned to the CDI ring in June 2021 in Ornago, followed by Crozet and Ornago again.

In November 2021 the mare died unexpectedly from a suspected aortic rupture.

A New Focus

The untimely passing of his Grand Prix hopeful Karina pulled the wind out of Tiozzo's sails. He only returned two more times to the big arena, in Ornago, with his client Daniela Seidel's small tour horse Brandon (NRPS, by Bright Speed x Romantico), but hasn't shown at CDI's since.

With Randon at the 2014 World Equestrian Games

Tiozzo has shifted his attention to teaching, breeding dressage horses, and becoming a judge, which he has been pursuing for a few years now.

"After losing my mare Karina, I decided to focus on developing a small breeding program for dressage horses," Tiozzo told Eurodressage. "The first filly from this program will begin her competitive career this year in the classes reserved for 5-year-old horses. Who knows, maybe with her I'll return to international arenas as a rider one day. For now, I've chosen to dedicate myself to the development and training of young dressage horses in Italy, a sector that is still in the early stages of growth here."

This year he's been showing, for instance, the 12-year old Candy CrushJVH Z (by Cigaret JVH Z x Corland) and the younger black mare Namora. Most recently Leonardo was promoted to D-B level, which means he can judge up to Grand Prix level in Italy.