A new event has taken a place on the equestrian calendar in Spain. Banco Sabadell's Madrid Horse Week 2012 is a multidisciplinary equestrian event which has celebrated its first edition in IFEMA on 20 - 23 December 2012. It offered various equestrian competitions and exhibitions for horse loving people of all ages, which there are in Madrid for sure. This fun weekend beat all odds as the economic crisis turned the event into a brave organizers' bet.
Madrid Horse Week included in its 2012 edition a CSI3*, which featured more than one hundred riders from different nations and numerous dressage exhibitions organized by Olympian Beatriz Ferrer-Salat, who could count on the participation of several international and national riders, such as the Spanish Grand Prix champion Carmen Naesgaard, London Olympic Team members Jose Daniel Martin Dockx on Grandioso and Juan Manuel Muñoz on Fuego.
The audience also enjoyed exhibits by glorious Olympic veterans Juan Antonio Jimenez and Rafael Soto on the ground. Soto translated training sessions with Beatriz' Dutch trainer Ton de Ridder. Geertje Hesse and Salazar, a Grand Prix combination from his stable, travelled down to the show in Madrid to show their freestyle. Saturday afternoon crowds filled up the seats at the central arena with a capacity for 4,000 people. They witnessed a demo with Beatriz' new Grand Prix prospect Sir Radjah, a 7-year old schooling the GP movements.
Spanish PRE breeder Miguel Angel de Cardenas was honoured in an emotive ceremony with the “Madrid Horse Week Award” for his outstanding support to the Spanish dressage sport and the achievements of his stallion Fuego.
The retired French bred PRE Helio II from Elevage Rozier presented by Arnaud Serre, his rider for the last three years, also said good-bye to the Spanish audience on Sunday with his last freestyle ever. This very beautiful, powerfull and noble horse, which was passed on to Arnaud after the tragic death of French dressage rider Sylvie Corellou, will now start his carreer as a breeding stallion. Anne-Sophie and Arnaud Serre are both looking forward to the 2013 dressage competition season with exciting new horses.
There were also exhibitions by the famous Santi Serra and his horses working in freedom, listening to his imperceptible whispers. There was vaulting with Martin Ararat, horse ball with a match between two very strong nations in this discipline, Spain vs. Portugal, a ponies Gran National, the carrousel of the Royal Guards, albeit something for every horse lover.
This very ambitious project, highly coveted in the city of Madrid, aims to host a Jumping FEI World Cup qualifier, a CDI3* which could eventually develop into a Reem Acra FEI World Cup qualifier and the same for Driving.
Madrid Horse Week has been born in difficult time, in which companies and investors are looking for new adventures and possibilities. Drastic budgets cuts in the Spanish Equestrian Federation are driving private initiatives to new horizons as we see here that Banco Sabadell and various investors involved founded this interesting initiative.
This year's show was very well organized, beautifully decorated, with many sponsors interested in creating a great indoor event in Madrid for many years to come.
by Katharina Braren
Photos © Top Iberian
Related Links
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