Jose Antonio Garcia Mena's Sorento Retired from Sport

Dressage

Spain

Spanish team rider Jose Antonio Garcia Mena has announced the retirement of this Tokyo Olympic ride Sorento. The horse will compete in his last show at the CDI Madrid on 19 - 22 October 2023.

Sorento is a 16-year old Westfalian gelding by Sandro Bedo out of Foxi (by Florestan x Rodney). He is bred by Peter Henkel and owned by Madeleine Winter-Schulze.

Isabell Werth

Sorento arrived at Isabell Werth's yard as a youngster and was first competed by her assistant trainer, Matthias Bouten. Matthias and the 6-year old Sorento made their show debut at A-mevem in Sevelen in May 2013.

The horse returned to the arena in 2015 under Werth at developing Prix St Georges horse level, with a start in the Nurnberger Burgpokal qualifier in Nürnberg. They placed second. In 2016 and 2017 Werth lightly showed him at developing GP level in the Inter II and Short Grand Prix. Their last recorded start was in Isernhagen in June 2017.

In 2018 Sorento was put up for sale at Patrik Kittel's yard in Appelhulsen, where he was ridden by Swedish Malin Nilsson, but a sale didn't happen and the horse returned to Werth in Rheinberg.

Jose Antonio Garcia Mena

In July 2019 Werth reached a deal with Spaniard Jose Antonio Garcia Mena, with whom she's been collaborating since 2013.

In 2016, Werth and owner Madeleine Winter-Schulze gave the Spaniard El Santo NRW to ride as a Rio Olympic hopeful, but the horse got injured. In 2020 Sorento became Mena's ticket to Tokyo alongside the rising Grand Prix mare Divina Royal.

Mena and Sorento made their show debut early 2020 at Dos Lunas, followed by a start in February 2020 at CDN Los Albardones. Their CDI debut in Cascais in March 2020 and competed in Segovia that year.

The Tokyo Olympics were postponed by a year and Spain held a team selection trial at the CDI Grote Brogel in Belgium, where Mena secured his ticket to Tokyo. After years of having represented Spain at numerous Championships, Mena finally made it to the Olympics. At the Games he was 32nd with the gelding on 69.146% and invoked the substitution rule to ride Divina Royal in the Grand Prix Special. They also won bronze at the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix Championships.

In 2022 Sorento showed in Jerez, Hagen and Aachen, but Divina went to the 2022 World Championships. Sorento only did two CDI's in 202 - Alter do Chao and Aachen - but his scores were not high enough for team selection (68.383%).

Retirement

Mena has now decided to retire Sorento from sport after his final show at the 2023 CDI Madrid.

"Sorento gave me the gift of competing in an Olympic arena for the first time," Mena told Lily Forado.