On Sunday 18 October the beautiful setting of La Lodovica, in Oreno di Vimercate (MB, Italy), hosted the tenth edition of the AIAT International Traditional Driving Competition. It was a very rainy day, but the rain did not prevent the three phases from running smoothly, in a very pleasant atmosphere among judges, officials and competitors, as always.

Respect for tradition, driving style, carriages and harness were assessed by a jury of three AIAT judges: Rosemary Neale (UK), Koen Depaepe (BEL) and Aurelio Bianco (ITA). The Presentation took place in the morning in front of the estate’s villa, followed by the 10.4 km Routier with 5 Controlled Passages. In the afternoon the spectators warmly applauded the Cone Driving, held on the large green field in front of the stands.

The authorities, members of the Order of the Templars and Dino and Marta Crippa presented the prizes to all turnouts. In the Single Pony class Alessio Viale won, followed by Chiara Usuelli and Charlotte Engholm. Among the Single Horses Giuseppe Stefani took first place, ahead of Nicolas Facheris and Matteo Faessler. Stefani also achieved the best score of the whole competition, driving clear in both the Routier and the Cone Driving. In the Pairs, first place went to Zoltan Kis, ahead of Domenico Bagnaschi.

Bagnaschi also won the Best in Show award, which this year was dedicated to the memory of Carlo Gnecchi Ruscone, who passed away last August. It was a particularly moving moment of the prize-giving: the award was presented by his wife and his daughter Amalia.

GIA thanks Marta and Dino Crippa, who as always prepared an exceptional venue and welcomed everyone with great enthusiasm. La Lodovica is home to us, as it also hosts GIA’s operational headquarters. Thanks also to the officials on the field and to the competitors, who showed great driving skill and a sincere passion for the discipline, as well as to Brianza News for supporting the prize-giving ceremony and to photographer Luigi Mossali.

Photos: Luigi Mossali