The Carmen Chieregato Memorial underway

Friday morning at 9 a.m. at Nicolò Castelbarco Park, part of the Centro Ippico Lombardo in Milan saw the opening event for show jumping’s “Carmen Chieregato” National Equestrian Championships, which will keep the riders and their horses busy throughout the weekend. 18 categories are involved, starting with the Bayer Cup only for ponies which will compete in the BP60 for the youngsters who are coming close to participating in events, followed by the B80 reserved for young riders setting out in competition, followed by another stage of the Bayer, this time for ponies in the BP90 category.   Important absences from the competition are Lobardy female champion 2009, Paola Castellotti and Marco Tassoni who have opted out of competing to follow their numerous students all the way to the final gallop. At 9 a.m. Sunday morning the Bayer Cup restarts when the ponies will battle it out until the last jump.