Zepelim Interagro and Pia Aragão win the open Grand Prix Freestyle at the Palm Beach Derby National competition (Photo: courtesy of Interagro Lusitanos)
Wellington, FL – With a win in the Grand Prix Freestyle at the Palm Beach Derby, it’s three in a row for Pia Aragão and the Interagro Lusitanos she has been competing. Aragão arrived just a month ago with three FEI Lusitanos from Interagro Lusitanos in Brazil. The Palm Beach Derby was her third show since arriving in Wellington and also marked her 3rd win! Zepelim Interagro and Pia Aragão captured the win in the open FEI Grand Prix Freestyle at the Palm Beach Derby National competition in Wellington, Florida. The pair earned a 69.063% in their first Grand Prix Freestyle. This most recent win made it three in a row; Aragão has won a blue ribbon from each of the last three competitions. The Palm Beach Derby is one of the oldest dressage competitions in Florida and is now part of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. This popular competition draws top riders from around the world, including Zepelim Interagro and Aragão.
Zepelim Interagro is an 11-year-old stallion (Quinárius Interagro-Ordenada Interagro, Yacht) whose sire is by the famous Xique-Xique, a Gold Medal Champion in Portugal, and whose dam is by Yacht, the son of the foundation stallion of the Andrade line. Interagro Lusitanos, based in Itapira, Brazil, is the largest breeder of Lusitano horses in the world, with 40 years of experience breeding Lusitanos.
Aragão was happy with the win on Zepelim Interagro at the Palm Beach Derby National competition. She is looking ahead to the next competition, which will be in the international CDI division. “I’m very, very pleased with the way that Zepelim has performed to this point and now we just need to step up one more notch.” She is looking to shift the confidence gained from competing – and winning – in the national division into the CDI division, which will feature more than 40 horse and rider combinations in the Grand Prix.
Aragão came to the U.S. with three Interagro Lusitanos in order to prepare them for the international arena. Zepelim Interagro is proving that he will be a horse to be reckoned with when he returns to Brazil. One of the other horses she is competing this winter competition season in Wellington is Baldor Interagro (Ofensor MV- Quinata Interagro – Xique-Xique), a 9-year-old Prix St. Georges Lusitano stallion who Aragão captured her first FEI win with just 3 weeks earlier at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. The third horse in the trio that made the trip from Brazil is Vade-Mecum Interagro, a 13-year-old Grand Prix gelding from the Xique-Xique and Yacht lines (Noblissimo Interagro-Pecunia Interagro, Yacht). After competing in Florida, Aragão will continue to train hard to have herself and the horses at their best at the selection trials for the 2015 Pan American Games.
The Interagro horse epitomizes the modern Lusitano. The Lusitano horse excels in everything from dressage and driving to working equitation. Interagro is committed to preserving the pure bloodlines of the Lusitano breed, and its own bloodlines include some of the most respected of the breed: Faraó (JHC), Nirvana Interagro, Ofensor (MV), Xique-Xique (CI) and Yacht (SA). Interagro has bred nearly 2300 horses in their 40 years of breeding Lusitanos. Their horses have graced the covers of international magazines 21 times.
Interagro is one of the most accessible and respected breeders in the world. They have hosted 24 national and 7 exclusive international auctions featuring premier Lusitano performance horses, in addition to 14 young horse auctions. Interagro’s Destination Lusitano program offers prospective buyers a chance for a relaxing getaway at the farm in Brazil. At Interagro riders can enjoy the rolling Brazilian countryside by horseback or rest easy in a carriage pulled by a four-in-hand of Lusitano stallions. Guests can also watch the horses in their daily training sessions, take a lesson on prospective horses and meet the living pedigree of generations of Lusitano horses. Destination Lusitano is a unique opportunity to purchase the horse of your dreams while enjoying the journey of a lifetime.