Gonzalo Busca Roca Brings Down the House in Palm Beach County Sports Commission CSI3* Grand Prix
Gonzalo Busca Roca & Cristiano Obolensky. Photo ©Sportfot
Wellington, Fla. – January 10, 2026 — Spain’s Gonzalo Busca Roca won his first Wellington International Saturday Night Lights in the $140,000 Palm Beach County Sports Commission CSI3* Grand Prix during opening week of international competition at the 2026 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). He rode to a ceremonious victory aboard Cristiano Obolensky, a horse he has been partnered with for four years and owns together with Stud V.V. BVBA.
As part of Wellington International’s all-new series of theme nights, a record crowd for the first Saturday Night Lights turned out in hats, boots and buckles for ‘Country Western Night.’ They were treated to a testing track built by Nick Granat (USA) that saw nine horses advance to the jump-off despite the course’s difficulty.
“Everything was delicate tonight which made it a tough course,” said Busca Roca, who has only shown under the lights at Wellington International twice before. “My horse is a dream. He’s a real warrior and put a lot of effort in tonight. There were some very fast riders behind me, so I had to give it a try. I went as fast as I could, and it worked for me.”
Busca Roca and the 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Cornet Obolensky x Stakkato) stopped the clock at 41.7 seconds to take over the lead from American Tanner Korotkin riding Kinmar Quality Hero, a 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding by Obos Quality X Moujik De Sohan owned by Sandalwood Farms.
In a field where 14 countries were represented, fellow US rider Marilyn Little and her 11-year-old Mecklenburg mare La Contessa (License x Cornet’s Prinz) matched Korotkin’s time of 42.77 to end in a tie for second. Along with her second-place finish, Little was awarded the Martha Jolicoeur, Douglas Elliman Leading Lady Rider Award.
Wellington International
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