LOUISE and Sophia Doheny hosted an afternoon/evening show last Wednesday week at their Slieve Bloom Stud, where there were five wins for the Co Laois yard, four being recorded by Italian young rider Valentina Villecco.

The 21-year-old won both opening Preliminary classes on the Dohenys’ Oldenburg gelding Valentino Heinrich PS. In the DI5A, Villecco and the son of Vivaldi were awarded a score of 70 by Dermot Cannon (List 1). There were six starters in that class and in the DI8 judged by Michael Moore (List 2A), where Villecco and Valentino Heinrich PS topped the overall leaderboard on 69.62%. The winning five-year-old, who was bred in Germany by Gestüt Lewitz, is out of the Fürst Heinrich mare Finella.

Villecco recorded a second double later on Wednesday, but this one was uncontested in the FEI Young Rider tests, on her own Angel D, an eight-year-old Spanish Sporthorse (CDE (Caballo de Deporte Español)) gelding by Delinger. They scored 67.06% in the team test and 65.59 in the individual.

Villecco, who is from Sassari, a city in the north of Sardinia, told Irish Horse World a bit about herself, her horse, her reasons for moving to Ireland and the differences between local Irish and Italian dressage shows.

“Though my parents aren’t equestrians themselves, which initially led to some disagreements, they now fully support my passion. I started riding when I was six years old and was a show jumper until 2018. My horse at the time sustained a tendon injury that ended his jumping career. That incident led me to discover dressage, and I instantly fell in love with it.

Valentina Villecco riding Angel D, winners of FEI Young Rider classes at Slieve Bloom Stud \ Aisling Deverell

Perfect match

“I decided to come to Ireland because I found a perfect match with Louise and Sophia Doheny, the riders and owners of Slieve Bloom Stud. Their equestrian philosophy resonated deeply with me, and it turned out to be a fantastic decision. The place and the team are simply wonderful.

“The main difference I’ve noticed between local shows in Ireland and those in Italy is the bureaucratic and organisational aspects. In Italy, even lower-level competitions require the presence of specific professionals like ambulances, doctors, veterinarians and farriers – which I haven’t observed in Ireland – and several judges for the more advanced classes. This affects the costs and the number of participants, as entry fees in Italy are significantly higher. Consequently, I believe it is more feasible to pursue a professional career in equestrian sports in a country like Ireland.

“I purchased Dante CS, the horse I brought with me, as a five-year-old and we are currently training with the aim of reaching Grand Prix level. For the rest of the year, I plan to compete with Dante in Prix St George and continue developing the other horses, seeing what the future has in store. I’m really excited about the progress and the opportunities to work with such talented horses.”

Villecco and Dante CS (59.71%) had to take a back seat in the four-runner FEI Junior Individual test, where Sophia Doheny filled the top three places on Batiqar (70.15), Peru’s Casablanca C (69.56) and Gucci Du Feuillard (69.12). Doheny doubled up when winning the FEI Junior Team test on the 12-year-old appaloosa gelding Peru’s Casablanca C (68.64), a son of Kansas C.