Yvonne Losos de Muñiz will become the first equestrian athlete to represent the Dominican Republic in a world championship event when the 2010 World Equestrian Games are held September 25 to October 10 in Lexington, Kentucky.
At CDI3* Lamplight Dressage held May 21-23 in Wayne, Illinois, Losos de Muñiz received the final scores required to qualify to compete at the 2010 World Equestrian Games. Losos de Muñiz previously made history when she was the first Dominican Republic equestrian athlete to ever win a medal in Pan American Games competition. That feat was made even more meaningful considering that her Team and Individual Bronze Medals were won at the 2003 Pan American Games in her hometown of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Losos de Muñiz will be heading to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games with Optimus Prime, a 16-year-old Austrian Warmblood by Lux that was purchased in December. The pair earned a score of 64.766% to place third in the Grand Prix at CDI3* Lamplight before winning the Grand Prix Special with a score of 64.417%.
“It has been a long, hard road to get to where we are today,” said Losos de Muñiz. “I am so grateful to my family and my entire support group for their love, patience and dedication. A special mention must go out to our Dominican Equestrian Federation President, Jose Manuel Ramos, who has long been a positive driving force for equestrian sport in our country, supporting not only dressage, but also show jumping, reining, eventing and endurance.
“For the World Equestrian Games qualification, we had to travel far from home to complete the requirements but, fortunately, now we are done and I can concentrate on our team’s preparations for the upcoming Central American Games,” Losos de Muñiz concluded.
Before contesting the World Equestrian Games this fall, Losos de Muñiz will compete in July as a member of the Dominican Republic’s team at the 2010 Central American Games in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Held at the Intermediaire level as opposed to the Grand Prix level, Losos de Muñiz will ride a different horse and, fortunately, has three top mounts - Dondolo Las Marismas, Royal Affair and San Piko, to choose from.
“For the Central American Games, I believe I will take Dondolo as he has been extremely consistent for the whole season with very high scores in CDI competition, and he keeps improving day by day,” said Losos de Muñiz of the 10-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding sired by Blue Hors Don Schufro and owned by Las Marismas. “He is very steady, level-headed and, with world-class gaits, I feel he will make a great team horse. My other two horses will go to my fellow team riders and, so far, the combinations we have tried are very competitive.”
Competing at CDI3* Lamplight, Losos de Muñiz and Dondolo Las Marismas earned scores of 67.579% in the Prix St. Georges, 68.000% in the Intermediaire I, and 68.600% in the Intermediaire Freestyle to place second in all three classes. At the Central American Games, the entire Dominican team will be under the guidance of Losos de Muñiz’s personal coach, Diederik Wigmans of the Netherlands.
Losos de Muñiz and her husband, Eduardo Muñiz, operate Las Marismas in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In order to pursue her competitive goals, Losos de Muñiz has spent significant time training and competing in both Europe and the United States over the past decade. She earned Team and Individual Bronze Medals at the 2003 Pan American Games and, four years later, once again claimed the Individual Bronze Medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Photo © Susan J Stickle
Related Links
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2010 World Equestrian Games
Scores 2010 CDI Wayne
