Tina Konyot/Calecto V & Cesar Parra/Van the Man Confirmed as USA Entries in World Cup Final
11 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Tina Konyot/Calecto V & Cesar Parra/Van the Man Confirmed as USA Entries in World Cup Final
LEXINGTON, Kentucky, April 2, 2014–Tina Konyot and Calecto V and Cesar Parra and Van the Man were confirmed by the U.S. Equestrian Federation Wednesday as the two American entries for the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Final in Lyon, France April 17-21.
Travel for the entries will be paid by the horse transportation company, Dutta Corp., as European competition organizers cover only a portion of costs of North American League horses and riders for the annual championship.
Tina of Palm City, Florida and her own 16-year-old Danish Warmblood stallion and Cesar of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey and the 12-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Michael and Sarah Davis qualified with the highest average of two Grand Prix Freestyle scores in the NAL.
Tina and Calecto were on U.S. teams at the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky and the Olympics in London in 2012. In almost five years at the top level of sport, the pair has competed at premier shows throughout Europe and North America, including two Nations Cups at the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen, Germany and at the Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Florida.
This will be her first World Cup Final with Calecto, the only world dressage championship in which the pair has not previously competed.
Cesar competed for his native Colombia at the Olympics, World Equestrian Games, Pan American Games, and World Cup Finals. As an American, he was on the U.S. gold medal team at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2011. He took over the ride on Van the Man from German Olympian Dorothee Schneider in 2012 and was on the U.S. Nations Cup team in Wellington in 2013.
“I am truly honored to represent the USA at the World,” said Cesar who will be competing Van the Man in Europe for the first time in their partnership.
Both riders plan to return to the United States to compete in the trials to select horses and riders to go to Europe for the selection of the team for the World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France at the end of summer.
Tim Dutta, president and CEO of the Dutta Corp., the official shipper for the U.S. dressage and eventing teams, said: “The Dutta Corp. is proud to support our dressage team’s quest to achieve international excellence at this year World Cup, the World Equestrian Games and the championships beyond.”
