Samuel Parot Hits the Trifecta in $77,300 Southern Arches CSI2* Grand Prix
Samuel Parot (CHI) achieved something Sunday that very few riders can say they have ever done: he scored a 100% win rate in the FEI division over the span of a week. Coming out strong Thursday, he won the opening Speed with David Guetta, then followed it up Friday with a win aboard Cap West in the $38,700 Welcome, and brought it home Sunday with David Guetta yet again in the $77,300 Southern Arches CSI2*Grand Prix.
“It’s crazy because it’s not normal,” Parot, a past Olympian, reflected. “It’s not easy to win. One time in Kentucky, Todd Minikus and Quality Girl won all three FEI classes. Today, before I jumped the Grand Prix I thought maybe I’ll be lucky enough to do the same thing. It’s not easy.. The horse is good but you need everything [in your favor]. Today is my day, and it’s been my week.”
As the second to last pair of seven to jump off, Parot and his 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding David Guetta blazed around the short course unseating then leader Tomas Yofre (ARG) with Cher Cheval. Just one competitor remained though, and it was one thirsty to top Parot. Francisco Goyoaga Mollet (ESP) had come second to Parot twice already, so he sought revenge, but came just shy with Icarus, taking second a third time, while Yofre took third.
“The first round course was not easy,” Parot said. “The line with the liverpool was hard because you had a very short five [strides] and then a four you had to ride really well. The combination too had an eight or nine [stride] option, but nine would be too short because the oxer is wider and you need the scope. It’s a good course for the two-star I think.”
Parot knows the horse has big things ahead, and he’s already jumped the highest level, including CSI5* World Cup Qualifiers in the past. As a championship rider himself, he sees this horse as a top contender as he eyes more championship events in his career.
“The horse is so fast,” he continued. “He’s very quick. The first day he won and I did two seconds less than the second place. I saw Tommy – I know him all his life – and I thought my horse would be quicker. I had nice turns and did six [strides] to number three, where he did seven. There my horse was faster. I try to win every day when I go to the ring but it’s never an easy win.”
Parot is a familiar face in Traverse City, where he’s been an avid competitor since the beginning, but will now set his sights firmly on the Pan American Games on home soil in Quillota, Chile.
To cap the day, Traverse Bay Pony Club was presented with $1,125 from ticket-sale proceeds as part of Traverse City Horse Shows Charity Ticket Program.
The Silver Oak Jumper Tournament kicks off Wednesday, September 6, with CSI3* and National show jumping during the second week of fall competition at Flintfields Horse Park.
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