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IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCES ON A NEW MARATHON COURSE AT DRIVING
TEST EVENT AT CAI2*/3* PRATONI DEL VIVARO
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From a single pony to
some of the world’s leading four-in-hand drivers, the six technical
obstacles designed by Josef Middendorf, set in the beautiful parkland at
Pratoni del Vivaro, enabled both flowing routes and tight turns, for all
combinations. The positioning of the obstacles around the natural
grandstand of a central mound gave a great vantage point for spectators to
view some exciting driving.
In the horse fours, Jόszef Dobrovitz Jnr. produced a polished and consistent round
with his fit and athletic Dutch warmblood horses to win the marathon and
take the overall lead. Beforehand, he thought that the obstacles might be
tight for his big horses, but he used all his skill to ensure that they
kept moving forward and with a blend of quick turns and springing the
horses into canter where possible, his slick rein handling gave the
appearance of a smoothly driven marathon. The only horse fours driver to
finish on sub-100 penalties (98.96), his combined score after days one and
two is 150.85. His performance is all the more remarkable as he was
unwell on Friday so to have recovered and be able to clinch a win in this
demanding phase shows what a first-class driver he is.
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Jozsef Dobrovitz Jnr (HUN) - ph. Massimo Argenziano
As one of the best marathon drivers on
the circuit, Anthony Horde was always going to lay down the gauntlet and his
times in three of the obstacles were quickest. Improving on his position after
the dressage, he now sits second on 155.50.
Jόszef Dobrovitz Snr. was another captivating driver to watch as
he achieved two of the class’s fastest times, in obstacles one and five, but a
few expensive penalties gained in the first section pushed him behind Anthony
on the marathon, while pushing him up a place to third on 159.36 going into the
cones.
https://pratoni2022.it/en/node/42771
