Day two of the 16th edition of the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) European Futurity, held during the international horse fair Salone del Cavallo Americano, saw 88 riders competing in the second section of the MS Diamonds TX Open qualifier. Open to 4-year-old horses enrolled in the NRHA Nomination Program, this year’s event marks the first time the added money in a European reining event has hit the $1 Million mark.
128 horse-rider combinations entered the CremonaFiere arena vying for a spot in the $206,199-Added MS Diamonds TX Open Finals which will be held on Saturday, May 25. The top 20 scores plus ties in the Level 2, 3 and 4, plus the top 15 in Level 1 qualified for the Finals. The day in the city of violins closed with the Draw Party presented by Cuore Cavalli where the order of go for both the Open and Non Pro divisions was determined.
Italian Manuel Cortesi piloted Frozen Sven to an impressive score of 222 to top the $103,099-Added Level 4 division in the European Futurity. The 4-year-old stallion by NRHA $2 Million Sire SG Frozen Enterprize out of Ladymaster (by Master Snapper) is co-owned by Cuoghi-Arcese and was nominated by Impresa Agricola Cuoghi.
“My run was pretty good today,” shared Cortesi who reined the powerful stallion to the IRHA Futurity Open Reserve Championship as well as the German Breeders Futurity last year. “My horse listened to me right from the beginning and I am happy about how he showed. It will be different in the finals, because there is always more pressure; you have to go faster, focus more on every step, and everything becomes harder. Sometimes, when you push more, you get less, so it is not always the best approach. I don’t have a special plan for the finals but for sure we have to try harder and run. He’s pretty seasoned from last year, and it’s been some time since the last show, but this first run here was good, so we will take it from there and see what happens in the finals.”
Closing the qualifier was Stefano Cerutti of Italy who rode his mount Questionably Frozen (SG Frozen Enterprize x Unquestionably Crome x Custom Crome) to a strong 220.5 to lead the $51,549-Added Level 3 division. The stallion is owned by Stefano Scotti and was nominated by Lorenzo Lotti.
Dutch Petra van Ede and Arjan van de Watering’s owned and nominated stallion Epic Star (ARC Gunnabeabigstar x Spooks Fancy Diamond x Spooks Gotta Gun) performed to a 218 to lead the $36,084-Added Level 2 division. The $15,464-Added Level 1 saw a two-way tie for the lead with two Italian riders sharing a 214 score: Matteo di Giamberardino riding H Mercy Affair (Mercedes Rooster x A Trashy Affair x Gunnatrashya), a mare owned by Giuseppe Muzi and nominated by Wolfgang Hammer; and Steven della Casa aboard Lenas Frozen Gun (Hollywood Gun Dunnit x Frozen Sparn x Frozen Sailor), a gelding owned and nominated by Cisal QH.
French rider Arnaud Girinon was on the top of the leaderboard with a 221.5 most of the day with Sabatino QH Srl’s entry QQ Merlin Whizard (Colonels Shining Gun x Whiz a Blue x Topsail Whiz). The duo lost the lead in the Level 4 but walked out topping the Level 4 European Futurity Open Chrome Cash Incentive. The stallion was nominated by Chiara Colombi.
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