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Friday, January 25, 2008

Cesar Parra’s Other Super New Mount is Cinnco de Mayo

Ferragmo isn’t the only new star in Cesar Parra’s barn. He also recently acquired the eight-year-old Cinnco de Mayo. The German-bred Warmblood had been the horse of Olympian John Winnett, who passed away last fall at the age of 79. After visiting with Parra, Winnett’s widow, Roanne Denny, offered the horse to Parra.

“He’s a world-class horse. At eight-years-old, he already knows all the Grand Prix movements. And every movement is worthy of an 8.  Whether he can put them all together in a Grand Prix isn’t known yet,” Parra said. But he might find out at the Gold Coast Opener. Parra said he’s planning to show Cinnco de Mayo in Friday’s Grand Prix competition. But, if he decides the horse isn’t ready, the gelding will still be seen schooling around the show grounds.
There is little doubt in Parra’s mind that Cinnco de Mayo has what it takes to make it to an international team. And that team just might be an American one, even if Parra is riding him. A native of Colombia, Parra is in the last stages of gaining his U.S. citizenship. “I fly to Newark (New Jersey) on Monday to give my fingerprints and do the last steps for citizenship,” he said.

Parra said the gelding is “an amazing horse. He’s a really, really good horse. I’ve only ridden him four times, but you can see that he could be a contender for an international team. He’s very big and very elegant. And, he really seems to have fun at the shows and that’s good. I want him to have fun.”