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of the 2000 World Cup Finals for Showjumping Pessoa Makes World Cup History
With Third Consecutive Win
The World Cup course, designed by Conrad Homfeld, was difficult for many riders, but Pessoa made it look easy. His win was worth $65,000. When asked if his horse had a special dislike for touching fences Pessoa replied, "Maybe he's allergic to wood." It was quite a week for the Brazilian. His World Cup mount, Gandini Baloubet du Rouet, arrived in Las Vegas ill from his journey and Pessoa said he didn't knew if the horse would be able to compete. "I really didn't think on Monday and Tuesday that it would turn out like this," Pessoa said. But the horse recovered as the week wore on and by Thursday veterinarians assured him that Baloubet was well enough to compete. Pessoa said he will take special care sending the horse home. Baloubet, an 11-year-old Selle Francais stallion sired by Galoubet, will spend 10 days resting in California before beginning his return home. Pessoa was such a favorite among the crowd of more than 10,000 that the show announcer had to request that no flashes be used when he entered the ring for his final ride. The crowd was deathly silent and when a few dared to cheer as he cleared a triple combination they were quickly hushed by others. In addition to his World Cup victory, Pessoa's life took a new direction this past week with his engagement to Keri Potter, a show jumping rider from Rancho Sante Fe, Calif. "It's a new step in my life and it's a very good one," Pessoa said. After two days of competition, twenty-six riders qualified to enter the first round of Sunday's World Cup final. The top 20 made it into the second round of the final. The closest rider to Pessoa going into this final round was Switzerland's Markus Fuchs who had seven faults to Pessoa's zero. Fuchs, who finished second in the World Cup and earned $40,000, said he knew the odds of beating Pessoa were slim. "But I've been told the chance is always there. I didn't really believe it, but I hoped it." Fuchs competed with Tinka's Boy, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion sired by Zuidpool. He has had the horse for nearly three years but said it took a year before he learned to ride him. "I pushed him too much. I had to learn how to just sit still." Finishing third in the World Cup, worth $25,000, was another Swiss pair -- Beat Mandli and Pozitano, an 11-year-old Rhineland gelding sired by Polydor. The top American pair were Todd Minikus and Oh Star, a 9-year-old Belgium Warmblood stallion sired by Laudanum. The pair tied for sixth place with Ireland's Peter Charles and Traxdata Amber du Montoi, an 11-year-old Selle Francais mare. Minikus said it was his bad ride on Friday that put him behind. "I thought I was doing quite well after the first leg. Actually, I think I just rode poorly Friday. And it was a struggle today to try and climb back up." Coverage
for horsesdaily by Linndee Kemmet Horsesdaily
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Las Vegas, Nev. April 23, 2000 - Rodrigo Pessoa made World Cup
history winning the event for the third straight year in a row with
the same horse. Pessoa, 28, is one of only three riders to complete
a World Cup with no jumping or time faults. The other two riders were
Austria's Hugo Simon in 1997 and Netherland's Jos Lansink in 1994. "It
was the first time I finished with a perfect score and it was good,"
Pessoa said. 
