The 2014 Spanish Dressage Championships are about to start and this year they share facilities and dates with the Para Equestrian Championship. The BCN Dressage Tour will host both of them during the next 4 days from 5 - 8 June at their wonderful premises in Can Alzina, a very appropriate environment for an event of this category.
All in all participants are close to 130 combinations within the Championship categories and the open tests are a success. But the venue promises not only quantity but quality. The show has been chosen to be one of the “MUST attend” events for Spanish combinations aiming for a team spot for the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy in August.
Many Spanish top riders are bringing their Grand Prix horses as well as new young horses to compete in the Criterium, a class for upcoming combinations at Prix St. George level.
Of course the Royal Spanish Equestrian Federation (RFHE) team with Luis Lucio as head of dressage and his technical advisers Rafael Soto and Nicky Barrett are on the spot. The two international 5* judges, Maribel Alonso and Peter Holler, are back to judge. Both of them missed out on the Spring Tour due to health problems and this time they are on the national judges' panel together with all Spanish international judges, Francisco Guerra, Juan Carlos Campos, Mariano Santos, Rosa García, Micky Jorda and six more national judges.
National Championships and Criterium
The crowd is excited and there is anticipation in the air. Some Spanish riders have been working and training abroad for several years and they are returning for the Championships to put their horses in the selection trial. For example the Barbançon sisters, Morgan and Alexandra, haven’t been competing on Spanish soil since the Sunshine tour in 2011. Severo Jurado, who moved from Holland to Denmark last year, has come back to Spain after four years in northern Europe, where he has had excellent results during the last competition season with Anne van Olst’s horses. Unfortunately Borja Carrascosa could not attend. The young Spanish rider has been working for several years at Hof Kasselmann in Germany. Carmen Naesgaard and Ricardo have withdrawn due to health problems of the rider.
We expect to see José Daniel Martín Dockx with Grandioso HGF, who hasn't competed in Spain since last year. Beatriz Ferrer-Salat is back after the Spring Tour with Sir Radjah. José Antonio García Mena and the PRE stallion Norte Lovera, the current Spanish National Champions, will defend their title. Jordi Domingo presents his newcomers at several levels, Juan Antonio Jimenez came straight from Compiègne with Sunny Boy where they have been doing extremely well. Lauro Aguiló and Claudio Castilla and a number of other riders are attending the event.
Selection trial for European Dressage Championships for YR, J, Ch, P
These Championships are not only decisive for the seniors and their team at the WEG 2014, but also for the European Pony, Junior and Young Rider Championships. Juan Matute Jr. and his sister changed their base camp from Wellington to Europe, residing near Fontainebleau (FRA) for the summer season with the Ymas horses. He will compete Don Diego in the U25 and Dhannie Ymas in Juniors, both horses are ready for the European Championships in the Junior class. Juan and his sister Paula have set another goal: an invitation to the CHIO Aachen. Paula, who competes Firmamento Ymas and Tarpan Ymas, has already debuted Tarpan at Grand Prix level in Wellington with good results. Mios Moncayola, Laura Mangado and Antonio Laíz were at Madrid and now come to Barcelona, Menorcan young rider Cristina Torrent who achieved excellent results during the Spring Tour in March as well as Diego del Moral, are all back in Can Alzina.
World Young Horse Selection Trials
The experienced Dutch dressage rider Emmelie Scholtens will compete the PRE Genciano BCN at the Spanish Young Horse Selection trial for the World Championships which is also taking place in Barcelona. It is the first time ever that a top class young horse rider like Emmelie Scholtens (World Champion and National Champion with several horses) is aiming to compete a Spanish Horse for Verden.
The promising young stallion did extremely well last year in the 4 year old category with Juan Perez Pulido, the rider from BCN horses. Genciano BCN (by Datil VII x Napoleon II x Pestillo) has been bred by Retamales and is owned by Annabelle Collins and Augusti Elias. He arrived at Emmelie Scholtens' stables in Holland in November last year. In February she decided to try to go for a participation with him at the World Championships in Verden. Emmelie liked the grey stallion immediately, she said, and since then they have already achieved considerable results at national selection shows in Holland, where the pair has received high marks, a 78%.
There are several studs still aiming to reach the qualifications and a ticket to Verden. Another candidate who will participate to obtain the necessary marks is Jamaicano de Ymas, the pure bred PRE from the Ymas stud. A family run stud farm with equestrian centers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, in Wellington and San Julian, west of Madrid, they are dedicated to breeding and preparing sport horses, mainly PRE, obviously with nice results as recently seen in Madrid, where Jamaicano got 83% under young Juan Matute.
José Antonio García Mena will also compete two young horses. Both show top quality - one has already achieved the necessary marks to represent Spain in Verden. One is the red coated Doctor de Encinasola, a son of Scandic (owned and bred by Yeguada Encinasola) and the other is a PSL stallion Dragao Figueiras. Both scored over 80% at the Festival de Doma Clásica in Madrid.
All these combinations will compete during the next few days to be selected to represent Spain at the World Championships in Verden, two participations are allowed for each member country of the WBFSH. So a certain suspense is promised in the Young Horse classes.
Can Alzina, Centre of High Performance Dressage in Spain
Federico Padrón, show director and ceo of Topiberian, is the co-organizer with the families Collins, Elias and Vila. He speaks in the name of the team when he said that “we are proud to host this important event within the BCN Dressage Tour and thank everybody for coming, we have been working to keep the standard. Our goal as organizing committee is a new concept of competitions, were excellency and the needs of the riders are the two criteria which define the characteristics of the event.“
These National Championships are part of the BCN Dressage Tour, which has been taking place since the beginning of 2014 in Barcelona. The Can Alzina facilities are hosting their third event after the two weeks of CDIs in March. Banc Sabadell is again on board generously sponsoring another competition on the Tour, this time a big supporter is YEGUADA DE YMAS who has put its name on the Grand Prix category and the absolute Champion. Sponsors Mango, Audi Superwagen, Piscinas Mondepra and the Barbançon family join them at this new dressage adventure in Barcelona.
Live Streaming of the Spanish Championships
If you can't join on the venue you won't have to miss the action. Click on www.topiberian.com for continuous live-broadcasting of Arena Sabadell were the competition starts at 10.00 am with the Prix St. Georges.
Speaker Bobby Fernández de Bobadilla, former head of Spanish Dressage at the national Federation, is commenting the test during theses days.
More news at http://www.events-barcelonahorses.com . For results and more information please go to http://scores.topiberian.com.