Photo Report: Spanish Olympic Fever Wave at 2021 CDI Grote Brogel

A wave of Spanish Olympic fever hit the show grounds of the 2021 CDI Grote Brogel last weekend (1 - 4 July 2021) as all short listed Spanish riders for their Olympic team rode in their final team selection trial in Belgium.

Spanish Olympic Selection Trial

Spanish team trainer Rudolf Zeilinger (GER) and the technical staff of the Spanish equestrian federation ordered all nine short listed riders with their 10 horses to travel to Belgium for a final ride-off. The first big selection moment had already taken place at the Spanish National Dressage Championships on 3-6 of June 2021 in Oliva Nova, Spain. 

The big trip from Spain to Belgium was deliberate as the team would be announced at the end of the show and the selected combinations could travel straight to Aachen, Germany for quarantine. 

The July edition of the 2021 CDI Grote Brogel was not the biggest with most youth riders preparing for the European Youth Championships in Oliva Nova the week after, but the big tour drew a particularly large and interesting field of up and coming, new combinations as well as the Spanish armada. 

Edge of the Knife

Although the show was plagued by a bit of rainy weather and some hard downpours, overall it stayed dry and for the Grand Prix and Special even the sun came out. The atmosphere was electric as the Spaniards rode on the edge of the knife. Two combinations were pretty safe of their team spot: 2021 Spanish champion Beatriz Ferrer-Salat on Elegance and team routinier Claudio Castilla Ruiz on Alcaide. 

The third and last team spot for Tokyo was highly contested between Severo Jurado Lopez, a Rio 2016 Olympic team rider, on his new ride of one year, Gert-Jan Van Olst's 11-year old Dutch warmblood Fendi T (by Negro x Lester) and Jose Antonio Garcia Mena, who last rode on the team at the 2015 European Championships with Norte Lovera.

Mena needed a few years to build up a new horse base, but this year he came back full power with two top Grand Prix horses: Madeleine Winter-Schulze's loan horse Sorento, a 14-year old Westfalian by Sandro Bedro x Florestan) that has been improving from show to show, and his literal "dark horse", the 11-year old chestnut Hanoverian mare Divina Royal (by Desperados). The mare was first ridden by Carlos Nieto before Mena took over four years ago and rode her to the silver medal at the 2018 Spanish Developing Prix St Georges Championship. She made her national Grand prix debut in February 2020. 

Mena vs Jurado

In a short period of time Fendi T was prepared by Severo for his national Grand Prix debut in October 2020. Since then Fendi and Divina Royal both have three international shows down their belt. Looking at their Grand Prix scores Fendi scored 68.391% in Hagen, 71.109% in Compiegne and 72.478% in Grote Brogel (Grand Prix average = 70.65%). Divina Royal had 72.783% in Abrantes, 69.478% in Camarma de Esteruelas and 70.652% in Grote Brogel (Grand Prix average 70.971%). In Grote Brogel Fendi stood out with an excellent canter tour with strong tempi changes and pirouettes, Divina Royal impressed with her lightness, elegance and overall beautiful silhouette. In the Grand Prix Special the spectators felt the heat between the two riders, who were fighting for that last team spot: Divina Royal was second in the Special with 72.766% after improving the regularity in the piaffe-passage, while Fendi was third with 72.724% after showing some unevenness in the passage work. 

Not at the end of the show weekend, but already after the Grand Prix and much to the surprise of the Spanish delegation in Grote Brogel, the Spanish technical staff announced the four riders that made the team: Ferrer-Salat, Castilla, Jurado and Mena. Mena was selected with Sorento, who did two CDI's in 2020 and one in 2021; his three international Grand Prix scores averaged makes 71,71%.

Zeilinger did not bring any clarity for two riders as he refrained from naming the actual third place-getter and travelling reserve. This duel between Severo and Jose has been delayed to the Aachen quarantine where the team trainer will make his final decision. The question now seems to be: which combination can develop the most over the next two weeks in training camp before the flight to Tokyo? Which horse will be able to cope with the pressure and heat in Tokyo the most? Which pair will get the highest scores from the judges and (in principle) reflect the standards of classical dressage best: Fendi T, Sorento or Divina Royal? All will be revealed.

Text and Photos © Astrid Appels - NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED

Eurodressage was on the scene at the 2021 CDI Grote Brogel and photographed all riders from ponies to Grand Prix. If you are interested in prints or photos for social media, send us an email with your name. 

Related Links
Scores: 2021 CDI Grote Brogel
Spanish Federation Nominates Four Olympic Dressage Riders, No Clear Team Definition
Spanish Olympic Short List Riders for Tokyo To go Head to Head at 2021 CDI Grote Brogel
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2021 Olympic Games