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Luca Maria Moneta storms into the CSI3* Andalucía Pre-Sunshine Tour
Vejer, January 22, 2026.
Luca Maria Moneta was one of the great protagonists on the opening day of the CSI3* Andalucía Pre-Sunshine Tour, delivering a flawless start with a victory in the main class of the day and a second place that confirmed his excellent form.
The CSI3* Andalucía Pre-Sunshine Tour is now underway at Dehesa Montenmedio, where the first of the four competition days took place in an unbeatable atmosphere and with a very large entry. After the positive impressions left last weekend, the event raised the level of intensity, with highly competitive classes from the very first round and speed as the main feature.
The competition was held across three arenas, with Arena 5 (Milton) hosting the most important class of the day, the 1.45m Longines FEI Ranking class. More than fifty combinations took part in a top-level course, in which Luca Maria Moneta claimed a convincing victory riding Knock Out, an 11-year-old gelding by Kapitol d’Argonne, with an excellent time of 63.43 seconds.
The Italian rider thus improved on the time set by Kendra Claricia Brinkop, who had produced a fast round with Dawa de Greenbay Z (63.73), not quite enough this time to secure the win. Belgian rider Wilm Vermeir completed the podium with Magic van’t Hulgenrode Z.
Among the Spanish riders, the clear rounds by Castora Ortiz with Robinson and Carlos Lange with Khadiri stood out.
In the 1.40m class, held in Arena 18, Switzerland’s Edouard Schmitz shone by delivering two clear rounds with the horses he presented. Victory came with Dillen 111 Z, while with Leonola he finished in eleventh place. Germany’s Carola Wegener with Balthargos PS and Maximilian Weishaupt with Napoleon took second and third place, respectively.
The 1.30m class once again highlighted the extraordinary level of participation, with 114 combinations, which made it necessary to split the class into two groups. In the first group, victory went to young Belgian rider Robin Vermeir, sixth at last year’s Pony European Championships, who was the fastest this time with Sisley van de Hazenhoek. Very close behind was the star of the day, Luca Maria Moneta, who finished second with Idole de Hus.
The second group was led by Czech rider Jaroslav Sima with Questa Dwerse Hagen, a mare who had already won a class last weekend and continues to show remarkable consistency.
Another combination that had already tasted victory at the CSI2* Andalucía Pre-Sunshine Tour was Rafael Eder and Celebrity-H, who won the 1.30m class. The German rider and the daughter of Comme Il Faut 5 are proving to be the kings of speed in these classes, with two wins, one second place and one third place to their name.
The best-placed Spanish rider was Telmo Busca, competing with horses owned by Juan Miguel Febrer, who achieved a commendable third place with Sunshine Magic.
Young Horses:
In the seven-year-old classes, Zircon Blue, a son of Zirocco Blue VDL ridden by João Vicente Caldeira, maintained his extraordinary consistency by delivering his fourth consecutive clear round, also posting the best time to claim victory. The Holsteiner stallion, who is making an excellent impression, confirmed his great potential.
In the six-year-old category, victory went to Uquila, a daughter of El Barone 111 Z ridden by Jaroslav Sima, who is enjoying a solid start to the season in Montenmedio. Also noteworthy was the third place of Cantiga Bea de Mies, a Spanish-bred mare by Corelli de Mies, ridden by Kurt Ghesquiere.
The five-year-old class, run under Table A without a jump-off, ended with several winners, as all clear rounds shared first place. Among them were For Quiwi and Chubakkos Claus, both ridden by Carlos Lange, and Lavezzy du Ouchy, ridden by Pedro Mateos Bernáldez.
A top-level and highly competitive start to the CSI3* Andalucía Pre-Sunshine Tour, which is sponsored by the Regional Government of Andalusia through the Ministry of Tourism and Andalusia Abroad, and by the Provincial Council of Cádiz.
22/01/2026 by Sunshinetour News , Press releases
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