Thermal, CA – January 24, 2025 – A miscommunication and fortunate circumstances collided to create the perfect setting for Cassio Rivetti and Knass B to take home the blue in the $24,999 Marshall & Sterling Insurance 1.40m Open Classic on Friday afternoon.
First, Knass B’s other rider, Elisa Broz, had to head back to Europe for school for a few days, leaving Broz’s trainer, Rivetti, with the ride – and he couldn’t have been happier.
“I was able to grab him for a few days, but she’s coming back tomorrow,” Rivetti explained. “She just bought this horse from Michelle Parker, and he’s amazing. He’s so good.”
Then, a miscommunication heading into the ring meant that Rivetti thought he was riding in a jump-off class. While that wasn’t the case, it was a happy accident, as Rivetti put the pedal to the medal, culminating in his win.
“I thought it was a jump-off class, my mistake,” Rivetti said, laughing. “The horse is so fast that when I started going 1, 2, 3, 4 – he was going fast, and I just went with him. He made it easy.”
The Open Classic was a big class with a total of 47 trips to fill out the leaderboard. Rivetti held off second place Mariano Maggi and Quantico 23 by less than a quarter of a second. Knass B and Rivetti finished with a time of 60.212 seconds, while Maggi came in second place with a time of 60.439 seconds. Close behind Quantico was Kalimera Van De Nethe Z ridden by Keri Potter with a time of 60.62 seconds.
“[The track] was nice for a good class. It was competitive and there were a lot of good riders,” Rivetti said.
Knass B is a 9-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Hidalgo LLC, which is run by Elisa Broz and Constance Broz. Elisa Broz bought the gelding from Parker this fall, just before the start of the winter season. Knass B may have been born in the Netherlands, but his competitive career has had him traveling up and down the California coast.
When Elisa Broz returns from Europe, Rivetti says the plan is for her to take back the ride on Knass B and for Rivetti to return to his other horse.
Click here for the full results of the $24,999 Marshall & Sterling Insurance 1.40m Open Classic.
