Spanish Olympic Team Selection Showdown in Jardy and Kronberg

Dressage

Spain

The Spanish Equestrian Federation has announced the group of riders selected to compete at the 2024 CDI's in Jardy (FRA) and Kronberg (GER).

For the elite Spanish Grand Prix riders this will be the final showdown before Olympic team selection as this year Spain did not get invited to the CDIO Rotterdam or Aachen.

Team trainer Francis Verbeek and the technical staff of the RFHE made the selection of a seemingly A and B team for these two events and they will announce the Spanish Olympic team after them.

Selected for Jardy (14 - 16 June 2024) are:

Claudio Castilla Ruiz - Hi Rico Do Sobral
Jose Antonio Garcia Mena - Gladiador Do Lis
Juan Pablo Matute Guimon - Lexus
Rafael Soto Rosado - Importante II

Selected for Kronberg (20 - 23 June) are:

Borja Carrascosa Martinez - Frizzantino FRH
Beatriz Ferrer-salat - Elegance
Juan Antonio Jimenez Cobo - Euclides MOR
Daniel Martin Dockx - Malagueño Lxxxiii

Several interesting observations can be made. Biggest absentees from the team selection are 2023 Riesebeck team members Severo Jurado Lopez (Furstenglory) and Alejandro Sanchez del Barco (Quincallo de Indalo) who apparently did not score high enough to move into the last round. Also Alejandro Asencio's horse Sezarion, who achieved top scores this spring, was absent from the first Olympic team at the Nationals last week due to fitness issues. In addition Ferrer-Salat has been nominated for the "A-"team in Kronberg, even though Jose Antonio Garcia Mena scored higher in every single of the three rounds at the Nationals than Ferrer-Salat.

The final pick for the team seemingly will come from the group riding in Kronberg. A top group of three riders was clearly defined at the Nationals, but the reserve spot is still up for grabs.