Andres Rodriguez and Fifty Fifty 111 (Sportfot)
Anthony D'Ambrosio's track for the $34,000 Nutrena CSIO 1.45m Classic on Saturday morning saw 14 clear rounds out of 39 trips. Laura Kraut (USA) and Constable II finished just behind Rodriguez in 59.61 seconds. "I saw Laura's round, and I knew that it was six strides between Fences 7 & 8, but my horse has a big step and if I could do it in five I would take the class, so I went for it," commented Rodriguez. Meagan Nusz (USA) aboard Vesuvius rounded out the top three finishing fault-free in 60.12 seconds.
"Winning the WEF Cup Challenge on Thursday and then winning the class today, I'm so happy. This horse is really important to me, and I couldn't be happier. She used to be pretty difficult, but she's coming along very nicely. When you have a young horse and give them a fair chance, they'll do well. She's been so fast, so my expectations with her are very high because she's getting consistent," said Rodriguez, who finished the course in 59.55 seconds for the win.
The two will look to improve upon their fantastic performances throughout the remainder of season and for the rest of the year. Rodriguez, who rode for the fourth placed Venezuelan Team in Friday night's $100,000 Nation's Cup presented by Kingsland Equestrian, said he believes the future is bright. "I'm really looking forward to the future with Team Venezuela. We have great veteran anchor riders and some extremely talented young riders coming up. It's taken us a while to get here, but I think we're moving into the top tier of teams in the sport," he remarked.