On Saturday 3 July 2021 the Spanish Equestrian Federation announced the official nomination of four Spanish Olympic riders that will travel to Tokyo for the 2021 Olympic Games.
The entire group of Spanish Olympic long listed combinations travelled to the CDI Grote Brogel in Belgium for a second and final Olympic selection trial, all facing each other head to head.
Selector and national team trainer Rudolf Zeilinger was on the scene to train and observe the combinations. He announced the selections a day earlier than most riders anticipated. They believed that also the Grand Prix Special results, to be ridden on Sunday 4 July, would also be included in his decision.
Zeilinger did not name the reserve rider, much to the frustration of the two riders running for that reserve spot (Jurado Lopez, Mena) for the sake of clarity and closure of this long, nerve-wracking selection process.
The four Spanish team riders are
- Beatriz Ferrer-Salat - Elegance
- Claudio Castilla Ruiz - Alcaide
- Severo Jurado Lopez - Fendi T
- Jose Antonio Garcia Mena - Sorento
Juan Matute Guimon (Quantico) and Jose Mena's second horse Divina Royal will join the Spanish team riders in quarantine in Aachen as non-travelling reserves.
Photo © Astrid Appels
Related Link
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2021 Olympic Games