Back to the Future for the CSIO Roma

BACK TO THE FUTURE… CSIO ROMA – MASTERS D’INZEO

CSIO Rome – Masters d’Inzeo definitely looked different in 2018. In a dramatic reinvention of the showground that every year since 1922 has popped up in the fabulous Villa Borghese public park in the heart of Italy’s capital city, this year’s fixture is all about restoration and respect for the ancient surroundings in which it is held.

Credit: Simone Ferraro – CONI

Everything is much more subtle. Buildings have been kept to a minimum and are all clad in wood, there is 70% less in terms of structures and the natural amphitheatre that provides the main arena has been returned to a grass surface.

“La forza e la natura” – the power and the nature – is the theme for this year’s show at Piazza di Siena, and there’s evidence of both everywhere you look. Those signature umbrella pine trees that have witnessed so much over so many years will be more visible than ever, standing proud and tall as another great chapter in the history of CSIO Rome plays itself out under their gracious canopy this week.

Vicki and her little off-the-track Thoroughbred competing in Australia before the big trip to Paris and Rome.

Back in 1987, Vicki Roycroft was travelling around Europe with a group of Australian riders in a bid for making a team at the next Olympics. One of the shows they went to was at the Piazza di Sienna, in Rome. Vicki was in the group with her off-the-track Thoroughbred, Apache. Here’s Vicki’s memory of the event:

The winning Nations Cup team – Armand Leone, Vicki Roycroft, Kevin Bacon, Jeff McVean and chef d’Equipe, Bob Brook

What was it like to ride at Rome?

“It was great being part of that team, we went as an Australian team: me, Kevin Bacon, Jeff McVean, Armand Leone and Susan Bond. Bob Brook was the chef d’equipe. It’s great to be in a team any time, but it was my first Nations Cup so it was very scary and Bob put me out first, which was even scarier. I certainly didn’t do a very good job, I know that. Then for the Grand Prix, the horse was so strong – it was our first outdoor show after Paris and it was a huge outdoor ring. It’s long and narrow at Rome so most of the courses are jumped up and back and of course Apache, once he was heading back towards the in gate, well I just had no brakes, he was wild. We had to do some bit experimenting. I think in the first class I’d placed third or fourth. The next was the Nations Cup, and no brakes, which was scary. We reorganized the bits and by the time we got to the Grand Prix, he was in super shape.”

“There were only two double clear rounds to jump off. The other horse was the one that had won the Grand Prix the year before, a massive German horse, Argonaut. This seventeen-hand Warmblood goes into the ring first, has a rail down, so I go in and the crowd go nuts, they just love my little horse. I had a fair idea that I could better the guy’s time. I wasn’t going to go for the slow clear, I was going to cover his time. I had a rail down but I went a lot faster, and the exciting thing was that as soon as we went over the finishing line, you could see the time, and I knew that I won. We’d also won the Nations Cup, so that was the party that went all night… they were amazing days. After the Grand Prix, the party was at Pavarotti’s…

next George Morris, another winner at Piazza di Siena

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George Morris is another who shares memories of the amazing arena in Rome, this time 1960:

‘The night before the individual class I didn’t sleep for even a minute! I paced and fretted all night in the living-room area of the hotel, wearing down a pathway in the carpet. The first horse was slated to go at seven in the morning, there was no qualifying in those days, which meant every rider from every country rode in the individual competition. I finally gave up completely on sleep and before dawn walked down to the Piazza di Siena.’

‘I walked into the Piazza as dawn broke over the stadium, which was lined by tall thin cedar trees and thick grass soaked through from the morning dew. I stood at the in-gate and looked out over the course for the individual show jumping event. The size of the fences was absolutely staggering. In those days, Olympic jumping courses were significantly bigger than even the largest Grand Prix courses, even the Grand Prix at Aachen. The course, to me, looked positively unjumpable. I thought there was no way I would get around. My order in the class was very early, and I knew the turf would be slippery still from the dew and the sun would be coming up over the hills right into our eyes. But there was nothing to do but try my best, even if it was an impossible task. A feeling of dread followed me as I prepared and warmed up Sinjon, convinced the day would be a disaster.’

George got around with 12 faults and was amazed at the cheering from the crowd, until de Némethy told him, he was the first with less than 40 faults. In the end, the locals, the d’Inzeo brothers took gold and silver, with David Broome just edging George out of a bronze medal by one fault. George and Sinjon then were part of the silver medal winning US team.