British based Swedish Under 25 team rider Josefin Gyllensward has acquired a new FEI hopeful in Spain, the 9-year old Lusitano stallion Dirigivel.
Dirigivel, which means zeppelin in Portuguese, is born in 2008 and is by Ramalhete out of Rola (by Latino). He is bred by Luis Ortigão Costa of the Sociedade Agricola Da Fonte Do Pinheiro and was owned by Vicente Martinez Serrano.
Under Spanish junior rider Roberto Beltran Marti, the chestnut stallion made its CDI debut in Segovia in 2014, contesting the junior classes there. In 2015 Pedro Hernandez Triviño took over the training and brought the horse to small tour level.
Dirigivel will now continue his show career under Swedish Under 25 rider Josefin Gyllensward, who is based in the U.K. and trained by Nicky Barrett.
"In the autum we were quietly keeping an eye out for a second horse when Divi crossed our path," Gyllensward told Eurodressage. "So me and Nicky took a trip to see him, I had at this point never sat on a Lusitano but after 10 minutes it was all smiles. A little bit more than a month later he arrived to England."
Gyllensward will slowly prepare the chestnut for competition.
"He has the sweetest temperament you could ever ask for," she said. "Divi is super talented and he really wants to help and do right so riding and training him is so much fun. He is like riding a formula 1 car, when he sits you really feel all the power in him. We are slowly bringing him on at home but the plan is to eventually compete him too. At home his face is the first thing you see when you walk on to the yard and he has the most beautiful face and always his ears forwards. That is also cause he is always hoping for some food. As the saying goes: the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and that has definitely worked with Divi. I can't wait for this exciting journey with Divi."
Gyllensward's number one is the talented Grand Prix horse Don Angelo, a 12-year old Westfalian by Danone I x Donnerschwee. The pair finished 18th at the 2016 European Under 25 Championships in Hagen. At the 2017 CDI Segovia in Spain last weekend, they won all three Under 25 classes with scores of 69.472%, 74.079% and 71.488%.
Photos © Azahara Perez - Astrid Appels
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