Richard Vogel and Cydello Score Sweet Victory in $215,000 MARS Equestrian CSI4* Grand Prix

Richard Vogel and Cydello Score Sweet Victory in $215,000 MARS Equestrian CSI4* Grand Prix

Everyone on the Wellington International showgrounds wants to know Richard Vogel’s (GER) secret to winning so consistently. His answer on Saturday was, “My secret is Cydello!” after the $215,000 MARS Equestrian CSI4* Grand Prix during Week 4 of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Highlighted by 12 weeks of consecutive FEI competition, WEF continues through March 30 at Wellington International in Wellington, FL.

Saturday’s win came just two weeks after a win with the same horse in a CSI3* grand prix on the same grass derby field. “He’s such a cool horse, so intelligent and such a fighter,” said Vogel after accepting the Village of Wellington Cup for the win. “He naturally doesn’t have the most scope in the world but he does it with his mindset and his will to do his best. That’s what we rely on. He loves this grass field; that’s why we chose these two weeks and luckily it worked out well.”

Against some of the top international pairs in the world, Vogel was one of six to jump clear over Anderson Lima’s (BRA) track. The win didn’t come easy, especially after Irish Olympian Shane Sweetnam went just prior and laid it down with James Kann Cruz, owned by Gizmo Partners.

Having been paired with Cydello for about a year and a half, Vogel now knows the 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Cascadello x Forsyth FRH) and they have a great trust in one another. He knew he could attack the course with a competitive plan and the horse’s natural speed would give them a strong chance.

“I have to give Cydello a lot of credit for fence number two,” remarked the German Olympic team gold medalist about the way the jump-off played out. “I saw Shane and he got there well on nine strides. I tried to [push for nine] for the first seven strides but then realized we weren’t quite getting there. Cydello knew that also, so luckily he’s very smart and clever so we adjusted to add an extra stride. I had one more stride in the last line but I think since he’s so naturally fast we were overall a little bit quicker.”

Read more:

Richard Vogel and Cydello Score Sweet Victory in $215,000 MARS Equestrian CSI4* Grand Prix



Share