Six horses from our own stallions. All six bred or raised by us. And then there was Chacco’s Son’s return to competition. With our two children in the saddle – perhaps no one enjoyed the first start to the tournament season after the Corona break as much as we did.
After a year away from competition, Maurice had Chacco’s Son I competing again for the very first time last week at the late-entry tournament in Riesenbeck. It remains speculation which of the two was more excited. “He was really energetic and incredibly happy!” beamed Maurice. For his return, he and Chacco’s Son competed in an M**-level show jumping class. “He was very fresh, but still relaxed. It felt really good.” Maurice and Chacco’s Son had actually planned to return to the competition circuit in March, but Corona postponed everything by another two months. “Riesenbeck was fantastic,” said Maurice. “Due to the COVID restrictions, we were only allowed six riders at a time in the arenas or the indoor riding hall. This gave me plenty of space and peace to work Chacco’s Son through. It was exactly what he needed.”
Maurice had arrived with three other horses – all sons of Chacco’s Son: the six-year-old Chacco’s Light (Chacco’s Son I x Light On), the also six-year-old Congstar (Chacco’s Son I x Stakkato), and the eight-year-old Côte de Pablo (Chacco’s Son I x Argentinus). “Chacco’s Light was born here, we bought the other two as foals, and all three are really good horses,” Maurice explained, a hint of pride unmistakable. “It’s really fun!”
Justine from Riesenbeck returned home with a similarly beaming smile. “I’ve only been riding Dia Light and Athletica since February – Dia used to be ridden by our trainer Alexandra, and Alexandre Boursier was previously on Athletica. So I went to the tournament practically without any expectations, but both of them did a fantastic job and jumped two beautiful clear rounds in the MB class.” Dia Light is a seven-year-old daughter of Don Diarado, and Athletica is an eight-year-old daughter of Los Angeles; both grew up in Emsbüren. Justine also brought along her own seven-year-old gelding, Like about you, by Los Angeles, a half-brother to her Light Star: clear and confident in both the M* and M** classes. “I was really happy to be riding in a tournament again, and it was twice as much fun because the horses were so great.”
The first few weeks of the break were quite nice. A bit of leisure, having breakfast together on the weekend – that’s something we rarely get to do. But we all agree: It’s great that competitive riding is slowly getting back on track!
