Brazilians are known as the Texans of South America. Everything is bigger and better. This was definitely the case at the Athina Onassis International Horse Show, Aug. 2-5 at the Sociedad Hípica Paulista in São Paulo.

The show, a milestone in South American equestrian events, invited the best riders in the world, cost more than $5 million in improved facilities, and had more than a $1 million in prize money.

Stands displayed luxury cars like Maserati, private jets, boats, expensive jewelry and sculptures. The five-star competition was on a level with the best European shows. U.S. Chef d’Equipe George Morris called it an A-plus event.

It was a show jumping fan’s dream come true, watching the top four riders in the world: Thomas Fuchs of Switzerland; Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, formerly of the United States but a German citizen since her marriage to Markus Beerbaum; Jessica Kürten of Ireland; and Ludger Beerbaum, Meredith’s brother-in-law, not to mention the legendary British brothers John and Michael Whitaker, plus a host of other stars on the international circuit. They all faced the challenging courses set by renowned German course designer, Frank Rothenberger.

This was the fifth stage of the Global Champions Tour, created last year by Jan Tops. The GCT Grand Prix had two different 1.60-meter courses with a jump-off and a whopping total of $425,600 in prize money. It was televised live by Eurosport to 47 countries.

The sold-out crowd listened attentively while Rodrigo Pessoa, three-time FEI World Cup winner and gold medalist at the Athens Olympic Games, walked the course with microphone in hand, explaining the difficulties of the first round.

The 13 obstacles with 16 jumping efforts truly tested the 40 riders in the grand prix. The most difficult part came at the end of the course going away from the in-gate. Fence 12 was a 1.55-meter vertical, followed by five long or six short strides to the triple combination: a 1.55-meter by 2-meter wide triple bar, two short strides (10.70 meters) to 1.50-meter by 1.60-meter parallel rails, and one very short stride (7.60 meters) to a 1.55-meter vertical.

Eleven horses went clear, qualifying for the second round over a different, shorter course, joined by the fastest seven of the 15 riders with 4 faults. Nine from nine different countries qualified for the 1.70-meter jump-off.

Frenchman Herbert Bourdy on Toulon, a bay stallion by the famous Heartbreaker, was the first to go and set a challenge for his eight rivals, going clear in 45.74 seconds. Marco Kutscher of Ger-many made a tremendous effort with his Holsteiner gelding Cash 63, as did Malin Baryard-Johnsson from Sweden on her great, 16-year-old mare Butterfly Flip. Surprisingly, both clocked 46.63 seconds to tie for second.

Bourdy, whose victory was worth $137,290, didn’t know he had been so fast. “I took a big risk at the last fence,” he confessed.

The best U.S. rider was Lauren Hough on Casadora, who had two knockdowns in the jump-off, placing ninth. Todd Minikus on Pavarotti, who finished with a fast 4 faults in the first round and a clear in the second, finished 12th.

The second most important class was the Nestlé Masters over a 1.55-meter course, although Rothenberger had no qualms about setting the last fence, a vertical, at 1.62 meters. Of the 41 entries, only 13 finished fault-free.

Hough, the first to go on Casadora, had a sparkling clear round in 44.91 seconds. She looked unbeatable until the next-to-last rider, veteran John Whitaker of Great Britain, on his eye-catching skewbald stallion, Utah Van Erperkom, crossed the finish line .17 seconds faster than the American.

Whitaker, who turned 52 that day, took home a great birthday present of $102,968, while Hough collected $75,510.

Whitaker said it was the best win for the stallion, who had competed in his first grand prix only the day before.

“My other horse Casino wasn’t going well so I decided to ride this one. I thought I might have an outside chance, although I really didn’t think I would win. Of course, I had an advantage with the draw, being second-to-last to jump,” explained a very happy and wealthier Whitaker.

Whitaker’s name will be engraved in gold on the Aristótle Onassis Trophy, which must be won three times to be retired.

The trophy was made by sculptor Alberto Frioli and was selected by Alvaro de Miranda and his wife Athina Onassis in honor of her grandfather.

De Miranda, a member of the Brazilian gold-medal team at the Rio de Janeiro Pan Am Games a week earlier, was the best rider and the best Brazilian rider as well.