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H&H’s Tokyo horse of the day: Quefira De L’Ormeau – ‘She was too hot but I’m still happy’

Martha Terry Martha Terry

    • Italian rider Arianna Schivo was delighted with her long-term partner Quefira De L’Ormeau despite a sub-par dressage result at the Tokyo Olympic eventing competition. Quefira was lit up by the atmosphere despite the empty stands, and once she became unsettled, there was little Arianna could do to improve the marks.

    However, just making it to Tokyo is an achievement in itself. The bay mare, by the Selle Français sire Iolisco De Quinhon, is 17 years old and already a veteran of several championships. She won European team bronze in 2017 and completed in Rio in 2016, showing impressive longevity in the sport.

    “This is her second Olympics,” said Arianna Schivo, 34. “She has done three Europeans and a World Games. So we have been together a long time.

    “The aim was to get her to a second Olympics in good health – and the gap between the two has already been extended to five years not four. So I am happy already just to be here.”

    Arianna Schivo’s Olympic dressage day doesn’t go to plan

    Quefira started the test well, with some nice trotwork, especially the extension, but it unravelled from the moment Arianna asked the mare to strike off in counter canter. She came back to walk and then struggled with tension through the flying changes.

    “The trot was very good, but the canter was much too hot,” said Arianna. “She is a very, very hot horse. And when she gets like that, there is nothing I can do. I tried to do a much better extended canter, but she was too fizzy.

    “But I’m happy, even if today didn’t go as I was hoping.”

    The pair scored 42.9 penalties (57.12%), to go into cross-country in 58th place of the 62 dressage competitors. Italy have a mountain to climb to make the podium. They currently sit 15th in the team standings.

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    Martha Terry
    Martha Terry

    H&H features editor
    Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
    Martha Terry

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