Cesar Parra has sold Grandioso—his team gold medal-winning mount from the 2011 Pan American Games (Mexico)—and a fourth level horse, Federleicht, to Glock Horse Performance Center in Treffen, Austria. The two horses will be competed by Dutch rider Marcel Schoenmakers.

Schoenmakers came over to try both Grandioso, an 11-year-old Westphalian (Grosso Z—Hauptstutbuch Popocateptal, Palisandergrund) gelding owned by Michael and Sarah Davis, and Federleicht, an 8-year-old Westphalian (Fuerst Piccolo—Fatima, Ferragamo) mare also owned by the Davises.

“He got on with the horses right away,” said Parra of Whitehouse Station, N.J., and Jupiter, Fla. “I was so excited. Of course, the money is nice, but it’s even better that he can ride them so well. It was a perfect match, and I went to Austria to see the place, and it’s unbelievable. There’s a heated indoor, heated stalls, everything. They were so kind; it’s a fantastic family and a good place. What could be better?” 

Parra, a Colombian-born rider who started competing for the United States in 2009, has now sold 10 horses to Europe.

“My plan is for my kids to go to college,” said Parra. “All my horses are for sale unless I have a horse that will remain for the team, and I talk about that with [U.S. Equestrian Federation Technical Advisor for Dressage] Anne Gribbons. Other than that, I have to sell. When you look at peoples’ businesses, they often keep what they win on and try to sell the rest. I try to sell what I win on.”

“We are delighted to be training Grandioso and Federleicht at the GHPC in [the] future,” said Schoenmakers in a statement on the GHPC website. “They are absolutely exceptional talents, so we naturally have great expectations of their sporting future!”