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Francesco Finocchiaro cross country course designer

The cross country course for the European Pony Three-Day Eventing Championships has been built by Francesco Finocchiaro, a course designer qualified by the International Equestrian Federation in the category of those authorised to build courses at the highest international level.

“The course,” explained Finocchiaro, “measures a little under 4,000 metres, over a naturally flat location in which a number of areas have been artificially changed so as to place jumps on a slope and to create a small lake. Part of the course is in the Boccaccio arena, the Arezzo Equestrian Centre’s wonderful derby arena where there are a number of jumps that are ideal for a cross-country courses, including the small lake, a devil’s dyke and a bank. Competitors will find three different water jumps, two on the outer course and one in the Boccaccio arena. In building the course I also created a number of spectacular jumps such as the “Broken Bridge” and some based on size, also using ditches so as to emphasize not only technical expertise but also the determination of ponies and riders.” Some of the cross-country jumps were built here, while others have been made by Merchand Benoit, a very respected French company specialising in this sector. A test event will be held the last week of June with a Category 3 event.