Cristian Tudela Ruiz Secures Blue Hors Zick Flower

Dressage

Spain

Spanish professional dressage rider Cristian Tudela Ruiz has secured Blue Hors Zick Flower to his name and has a potential Paris Olympic hopeful in his hands.

Blue Hors Zick Flower is a 15-year old Danish warmblood by Zack out of Goldstar Flower (by Romanov x Resident). He is bred by Andreas Gregersen.

Allan Grøn

The Danish gelding was bought by Blue Hors stud as a youngster and the ride allocated to Allan Grøn.

He premiered the gelding as a 5-year old in 2013 and won the Danish Warmblood 5-YO Championships held at the licensing in Herning. They went on to represent Denmark at the 2013 World Young Horse Championships in Verden, where they were 15th in the Finals after finishing second in the consolation class. They were 6th in the consolation final of the 2013 Danish Young Horse Championships.

A year later the duo returned to the World Championships in Verden, this time landing 11th place in the 6-year old Finals after again placing second in the consolation class.

Grøn made his international small tour debut on Zick Flower in May 2015 in Odense and also competed in Verden and Herning that year. Their last CDI was in April 2016 in Hagen, where they won the Prix St Georges and were fifth in the Intermediaire I

Nanna Skodborg Merrald

Zick Flower did not compete for more than three years. In 2017 Agnete Kirk Thinggaard took over the reins but she did not show him. Allan Grøn left Blue Hors stud in 2018.

He returned to the national show ring in November 2019 at Intermediaire II level with Nanna Skodborg Merrald. She showed him in four tests through January 2020.

Cristian Tudela Ruiz

A year later Zick Flower made a come back to the show ring under Blue Hors' assistant rider Cristian Tudela Ruiz.

The new pair premiered in March 2021 winning their first national show together with 71.046%. Their international Grand Prix debut was in May 2021 in Verden, where they posted 70.065% in the Grand Prix for a 7th place. That year they campaigned in Meerle, Herzlake, Hagen, and Herning.

In 2022 they did CDI's in Herning, Sint-Truiden, Aalborg, Vilhelmsborg and Randbol, while in 2023 they gained more experience and mileage in Herning and Aalborg and were selected to represent Spain at the FEI Nations Cup in Falsterbo, where they posted 67.804% in the Grand Prix and 73.995% in the freestyle.

A New Chapter in 2024

As Blue Hors made the shock announcement of closing its doors in April 2024, Tudela and the majority of the horses have to find new careers and homes.

With Tudela at the 2022 CDI Sint-Truiden

Cristian has been able to secure Zick Flower as he decides on his future as a professional. "obviously, I am focused on the future of my career as dressage rider," is all the rider could share with Eurodressage at the moment.

Originally from the Murcia area in Spain, Ruiz got his dressage education at Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda under Enrique Cruces and then worked for Jose Antonia Garcia Mena for five years. In 2017 Cristian, his wife Maria Alba and daughter Sara moved to Denmark as he accepted a job at Helgstrand Dressage where he worked for two years before moving to Blue Hors. He also welcomed a second child, son Leo, with his wife while in Denmark.

The 32-year old Grand Prix rider has been spending some time back in Spain this month, teaching a clinic at Las Cadenas and celebrating the holidays with his family.