NOUNOURS DU MOULIN: 5eme aux Jeux Pan Americain au Mexique a Guadalajara
http://info.guadalajara2011.org.mx/ESP/EQ/EQR173A_EQX00300310000001ESP.htm
ARTICLE PARU DANS
w w w . c h r o n o f h o r s e . c o m
"A betting man probably wouldn’t have chosen Elena Ceballo
for a top finish at the Pan American Games. She just took
up eventing last year, and her home country of Venezuela
doesn’t even have a cross-country course. On top of that,
the only other time she’d ridden in international competition—
at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games
in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico—she had a good fall on crosscountry.
So Ceballo smiled a little bigger than everyone else at
the awards ceremony when she finished on her dressage
score in Guadalajara, Mexico, and took fifth for Venezuela.
“I still can’t believe it,” said Ceballo, 41. “I was hoping to
finish in the top 15—but fifth? I’ve been showing against the
U.S. and Canadian riders for six months already, and they
beat me so often. I really wasn’t expecting to be ahead of
any of them.”
Ceballo grew up riding jumpers in Venezuela, spending
two years on the A-circuit on the East Coast of the United
States as a teenager. She had a knack for jumper derbies and
developed a reputation as a talented and aggressive rider.
When Venezuela decided to field an eventing team for the
Central American and Caribbean Games last year, her
jumper trainer suggested she give it a go.
With her eye on the Pan American Games, she paired up
with Nounours du Moulin last November and started commuting
between Caracas and the United States. The 10-yearold
Selle Français (Ernet SF—Venise du Moulin, Lama des
Landes) competed at the two-star level in Europe with
France’s Nicolas Pertusa and clicked well with Ceballo. She
won a preliminary horse trial at Pine Top (Ga.) right off the
bat, but the gelding proved a handful on cross-country when
she stepped up to intermediate.
However, everything started falling into place after she
found her way to Kyle Carter. Under Carter’s guidance,
Nounours du Moulin’s attitude improved, and he became
easier to control in the galloping lanes.
In Guadalajara, Ceballo came into cross-country after a
somewhat disappointing dressage day where a nervous
Nounours du Moulin had lit up in the atmosphere. But they
put in a solid round the second day, adding nothing to their
score.
“I was a little worried about 10AB [a bounce to a drop
down] because I have a tendency to lose my balance, but it
rode great, and my horse was perfect the whole time,” she
said. “He listened to me when I needed him to listen. When
I felt him deflate a little bit after coming up the double bank
[fence 14AB], I let him canter at whatever pace he wanted,
and he picked up a second wind perfectly.”
A strong contingent of family and countrymen—including
the curious Venezuelan show jumpers—came to watch
Ceballo lay down two double-clear jumping rounds to finish
in fifth.
“It’s the first time that we sent a team to the Pan
American Games, and the fact that I survived the cross-country
and made it to the final was a really big thing,” said
Ceballo. “I don’t know how I managed to deal with the pressure.
I just kept saying to myself, ‘It’s just another show, it’s
just another show.’ ”
While Ceballo was the only member of her team to finish,
her great result has already inspired the Venezuelan
equestrians. There’s talk of sending a group of eventers to
the United States to train.
“At home, to make qualifiers for Central American or Pan
American Games, they just build something for the moment
for us to jump—it’s not a proper cross-country course at
all,” she said. “It’s a big advantage having competed against
these top riders already. When I was at Red Hills [Fla.]
the first time, I saw Karen O’Connor and I freaked out. Now
I walk by, and it’s just another person. But once you start
talking everyone is amazing and not intimidating at all.”
30 w w w . c h r o n o f h o r s e . c o m The Chronicle of the Horse
PAN AMERICAN GAMES
Although Elena Ceballo is new to the sport
of eventing, she rode to fifth individually
aboard Nounours du Moulin for Venezuela.
Ceballo Cruises On In For Fifth"
The Chronicle of the Horse
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