March 31, 2018 
It’s the final week of the 2018 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF)—tear mark!—and everything’s coming up green, yellow and blue.
For the second time in three days, a Brazilian horse ridden by a Brazilian rider has won the 1.45m CSI5* class in Wellington, FL—over tracks set by a Brazilian course designer.
On Wednesday, Brazilian Olympian José Roberto Reynoso (above) topped a field of 63 starters with Magnolia Mystic Rose to win the $35,000 Douglas Elliman 1.45m CSI5* power and speed designed by countryman Guilherme Jorge.
The eight-year-old mare is a new mount for the rider. Bred in Brazil and produced by Brazil’s Doda de Miranda, Reynoso took over the ride a month ago.
“She did not have a lot of experience in Brazil, but she is a very good horse,” said Reynoso, who also won the $1,000 Bainbridge 1.40m CSI5* aboard the Brazilian Sport Horse, Zambia Mystic Rose, earlier in the day.
On Friday, another pair of Brazilians lead the victory gallop.
Francisco Jose Mesquita Musa (BRA) mastered Jorge’s speed track in the $35,000 Douglas Elliman 1.45m CSI5* on Sharapova Imperio Egipicio, a 15-year-old Brazilian Sport Horse mare.
Stopping the clock in 58.08 seconds, they were three seconds faster than runner up Eduardo Menezes, also of Brazil, on Caruschka 2, who posted a time of 60.97 seconds.
“She is very experienced and you never have to touch the reins. The horses and riders in today’s class were very, very fast and you had to take a risk and run the whole time,” said Musa.
Alexandra Paillot was third aboard Uelem Croze in a time of 61.82 seconds. She is not from Brazil.
Meanwhile in the country that produced this week’s flood of champions, an invasion of another variety is underway…
