Valentina Croce introduces us to her sweethearts...

The young Italian rider aims concretely to the future dream of the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, thinking also to her law-carrier

Valentina Croce, 21 years old, a measureless passion for horses and dressage, but also the capability of carrying on her difficult university studies, together with her equestrian project. We met her in Villa Guardia (Italy), in the Ranch Gaudenzia, where western riding is most practiced, but where, due to the big and beautiful structure, she managed to find a place for his world made of an arena, some letters and a painstaking research of perfection: dressage, in only one word. With many good horses, Valentina trains with much effort, preparing her horses paying much attention to their own learning times.

Valentina, let’s tell our readers about where you are now, the horses you are working with and the project for your future

“Let’s start from the location: we are in Villa Guardia, in the Ranch Gaudenzia. It’s a stable with both indoor and outdoor big spaces. Here I’m the only dressage rider and the only one who teaches it. I brought here with me my trainee, Martina. Talking about my horses, I’m working with Brooklyn, a 5-year-old Oldenburg horse, son of Bordeaux, descendent of Krack C, Grimaldi and Sandro Hit. With him, my aim is to take part in the FEI 5 years old competition and, next year in the FEI 6 years old one. Falstaff, Oldenburg For Compliment’s son, descendent of Florestan, is already at a Grand Prix level, while Nirvana will do his last season in the Under25. Djamila works with my trainee Martina to take part in the category “F” in the Italian Championships 2016, which keep on being my main aim this year, together with making my other trainee participate with their own horses, far from the arenas for much time. So, in Sommacampagna, I will compete in the national Championship U25 with Nirvana and in the FEI 5 years old with Brooklyn. Falstaff will be with us just to work a bit.

Let’s look a little back. How was your passion for horses born and how did you come to this level?

It is all due to my mum, who put me on a saddle when I was really young. I also tried many other sports , but horse riding won over all. I started with jumping and then I first approach dressage when I was 11. When I started the high school I had already decided that I wanted to become a dressage rider.

Tell us something about your agonistic career

I took part to many Italian Championships, where I won 4 medals. I also participated to many international events, as a Junior and then a Young Rider. I took part with Nirvana to the European YR Championships too, then a nice victory has come in Lipiza. Moreover we arrived second in a Grand Prix in the “Italian Cup” and we won the GP last year in Trucazzano.

Finally the U25 has its own European Championship. Will you participate?

Yes, I would like the U25 to be the last competition with Nirvana so that he will finally “retire” as he deserves.

A lot of demanding projects, but you manage to handle with all of them, while you study at university

It isn’t easy, but with much commitment I also manage to attend the Law Faculty.

Back to dressage. You said, before we started the interview, something about the training of Falstaff

We were talking about it just before. I love the idea of saying more about it because it is a very important thing for me. With few words, it is a mix of two techniques that may seem opposite: the “German method” and the “classic” one. In this way you can easier gain your horse’s trust to obtain its collaboration and so to make the learning process, in some way, sweeter. It isn’t “You do what I want you to”, but “let’s respect our time, mine and yours, and then let’s do together what we have to do.”

Why did you decide this kind of training?

Well, above all at the beginning, I was in a certain way “forced” by Falstaff, who is a horse with a lot of quality, but very complex when ridden. For him, I followed some lessons of Francesco Vedani, thanks to whom I found the right way to work with my horse. After that I tried to apply this technique to Brooklyn too and I got better results than with the “German method”.

What does Valentina Croce see in her future and which riding aim has she got?

We recently saw the Olympics, so why can’t we aim to them? Certainly I would like to obtain a placement in the next Olympic Games with Falstaff: it would be nice after so many years together. I ride him since he was 7 and in a year he went from the “M” category to the “Grand Prix”. He’s giving me a lot of satisfaction so.. why not? There’s Brooklyn too, who is only 5 now, but who is already showing excellent potential. The Olympic are the dream of every athletes and for me they are my future aim. I catch this opportunity to thank my sponsors: KEP Italia, which every day protects me with its wonderful helmets; Umbria Equitazione and its owner Riccardo Volpi: with their products we take care of Brooklyn and Falstaff, the horses that come from his breeding activity “Fonte Abeti”. It would be unforgivable not to thank Guerino Boglioni, who enabled me to make my dream come true, having a foal from my mare Djamila, and also Francesco Vedani, essential for the training of Falstaff, above all for piaffe and passage.

What about the rest of the training… do you do everything alone or are you helped? When I’m at home I ride alone; when I’m in competitions I’m helped: I was lucky to be helped by Pierluigi Sangiorgi, who also helped me a lot in the training of Brooklyn, as a foal.

Do you have any breeding ambitions too?

Telling the truth, yes. Now, as a mare, we only have Djamila, but we would like that her daughters will become “mommies” as well, letting us make our breeding activity bigger. We start from Italian horses, keeping everything under control, genealogies above all. This project, together with being a rider and teaching will complete my future career with horses, obviously without forgetting my law carrier.