José Maria Larocca
José Maria Larocca Jr. is an Argentinian equestrian. His discipline is show jumping, usually individually. Larocca currently ranks two hundred and seventy-sixth on the FEI Rolex Ranking List. Larocca was a relatively late starter to competitive equestrianism, beginning his show jumping career at age thirty-four. Larocca had ridden horses between the ages of three and twenty but had then left Argentina for Europe to focus on other forms of work until his love of horses brought him back to the sport. His first major competition was in 2008 for the Lyon Grand Prix, and when he completed the course with no faults he was inspired to continue. Larocca has appeared twice in the FEI World Equestrian Games and twice in the Summer Olympic Games representing Argentina. Larocca received media attention when he purchased the horse Okidoki for unspecified millions with the intent of riding him in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Okidoki suffered a hamstring injury during an event in Cannes in 2010, which initially appeared to be treated successfully, but developed septic shock from surgical complications.
