The 15 and 16 last October, the usual annual appointment of the Regimental Riding Horse Championship was held at the Military Riding Center of Montelibretti (RM) of the Italian Army, CORSA AD OSTACOLI on the historic oval of “Piazza di Siena”. 2016 knights took part in this edition of 58, representing various Corps and Departments, Armed Forces and Police Forces.
The novelty of the event was represented by the presence of a team of knights from the British Majesty's Army; the planned competition was organized in teams and consisted of various tests, one in time to be played on Saturday 15 and one by two some 16 Sunday There were many teams present, as usual, of the various cavalry units of the Army and of the Military Academy of Modena, of the Carabinieri, of the Guardia di Finanza and of the State Police. This year, a representative of the Italian Navy, whose team consisted of Admiral Marcello Bernard, also took part in this prestigious and historic horse riding event. team chef riding Queeny Z, and corvette captain Delfina Autiero (photo), riding Beauty, for the 1 ° test in time of Saturday which saw the participation of well 35 categories.
Unfortunately, unexpected events arrive unexpectedly and coincide with events in which we would not like to see them appear, and how it reads Comte de Belvèze we can also accept that The unexpected is not the impossible: it is a card that is always present in the game. In fact, the MM team, due to the experience and ability possessed, could be absolutely competitive, in such a high level equestrian landscape, even though it was composed of only two riders (remember that the regulation allowed the registration of teams composed of a maximum of 3 riders, of which only the two best results would have been taken into account for each test), but due to a sudden physical problem, the Queen Z mare, of Admiral Bernard could not try her hand at the competition, leaving her knight on the ground therefore relegating him only to the role of competent technician.
The responsibility of keeping the honor of the Navy high has thus passed entirely on the shoulders of Commander Autiero who has nevertheless decided to take part in the competition distinguishing himself for determination, competence and quality of sporting performance. We recall that Delfina Autiero is the officer of the MM who ranked first among the Armed Forces participating last May 15, 2016, in the national show jumping competition held in Casale ippico San Nicola in Rome, showing tenacity and professional skill. respectable, despite the adversity of the terrain and weather conditions (v. article)
Given that the obstacle course of Montelibretti is considered by all riders to be a particularly difficult competition field, due to the presence of difficult elements represented not only by its turf, to which, usually, horses are not very accustomed, but also for the hedge that surrounds the track and the hill that looms over the square, details that often tend to disorient the "external" horses and make them not pay attention to the jumps. To these usual difficulties, this year also those determined by the climate were added: Saturday was preceded by a night of heavy rains, which made the competition field heavy, but above all the heating one, where the muddy ground made the usual preparation exercises for the race very difficult. An abnormal heat for the season, with a peak temperature close to 30 degrees, put a strain on the athletic hold of men and horses, especially for those who, like our corvette captain, left last on Saturday with a decidedly intense heat. In the 2 ^ try two runs on Sundays, with starting bib number n. 1, the commander Autiero and his Beauty (Belgian horse of 14 years) closed the first test with a splendid clear path, despite the grass made slippery by the morning dew. The second race also left no doubt as to the ability of our Amazon, which is why she has received special appreciation from the organizers of the prestigious Army Riding Center. Overall, despite the unfavorable events, the Navy honored the event with its presence, thanks to the class and elegance of the Corvette captain Delfina Autiero and the performance of her binomial with her faithful Beauty, who achieved 36 points with a total time of 63,84 sec., Achieving the 14 ° position on 58 participants. A more than encouraging result for the MM considering that the Beauty mare never witnessed the path of Montelibretti and that the stable that hosted her was about 4 km of road disrupted by the race circuit. In addition, all the beauty assistance operations were carried out in its entirety by her rider, with a waste of energy that did not diminish the grit and willingness to participate in the competition.
The Military Riding Center that hosted the 2016 regimental championship is the depositary of the sports traditions of Italian military equitation. Heir of the Royal Military Riding School (1823) and del Pre-Olympic riding center, in the 1969 takes the name of Military Riding School. In its 190 years of life the Center has had among its ranks athletes who have made the history of Italian and world riding. Today, on the 540 hectares of the Montelibretti estate, the riders of the "horse riding" and "show jumping" sections are prepared and federal training courses are organized for equestrian workers.
The participation of the Navy in this important event is of great importance in the inter-force scenario with the incentive to cultivate this sport that originally had a special relationship with the armed force. Thanks to the excellent results achieved, we hope that the participation in these sporting events will become an inevitable appointment also for the Navy.
