Anna Merveldt and Esporim No Longer a Combination - Merveldt Immigrates to Ireland

Dressage

Ireland

Irish team rider Anna Merveldt no longer makes a combination with her Irish team horse Esporim. The pair represented Ireland at thee European and one World Championship.

Esporim is a 15-year old Lusitano stallion Esporim (by Pagao out of Lequita (by Quiaz)). He is bred by Coudelaria Monte Velho.

From Portugal to Sweden and Italy

The bay stallion was initially owned by the breeder before selling to a Swedish company in 2016. In 2017 Swedish Ingela Wiking came forward as the owner. As of 2018 the Italian Giovanna Mazza obtained the ownership which she later shared with Mario Greco and Eleonore Higgins.

The horse made its international show debut at small tour level at the 2017 CDI Medina Sidonia in Spain under Portuguese rider Francisco Pimentel Silva.

Anna Merveldt

The Italian owners allocated the ride on Esporim to Italian based Irish dressage rider Anna Merveldt, who premiered him at Grand Prix level at the 2019 CDI Ornago.

In 2019 she competed hum in Mannheim, Munich, Fritzens and Aachen and qualified on the Irish team for the 2019 European Dressage Championships in Rotterdam, where Ireland produced a historic performance and qualified a team for the Tokyo Olympics. Merveldt and Esporim were 24th in the Special with 69.468%. They finished the year with consistent results in Munich and Salzburg.

The Tokyo Olympics were postponed until 2021 due to covid and Horse Sport Ireland made the incomprehensible decision not to field a team to Tokyo, but send one individual instead (Heike Holstein). It led to an implosion of the Irish equestrian federation and the resignation of the chair, Joe Reynolds.

Merveldt and Esporim qualified for the 2021 World Cup Finals, but those were also cancelled due to Covid. She did compete at the 2021 European Championships in Hagen, where they were 46th in the Grand Prix (68.338%).

In 2022 they returned on the team for the World Championships in Herning, posting 68.478% in the Grand Prix. In 2023 they showed in Ornago,Gossendorf, Wiesbaden and Crozet before heading to the 2023 European Championships in Riesenbeck. This time they got 67.997% for 49th place in the Grand Prix.

By the end of the year Merveldt was the highest ranked Irish rider on the Olympic Riders Ranking and unlocked an individual slot for Ireland at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Merveldt Returns to Ireland

In December 2023 Merveldt immigrated to Ireland but maintained a close relationship with Esporim's owners, who retained the horse in Italy and kept him fit.

She continued to competed Esporim in three shows in 2024, all in the month of May: Mannheim, Munich and Olomouc. The Grand Prix scores dropped to 66, 63.6 and 64.9% and Abi Lyle was appointed Ireland's individual rider for Paris.

With Merveldt no longer being based in Italy, the rider and owners agreed to "say goodbye to the Green Team."

"It has been a great partnership, Anna being a fabulous rider and Esporim an exceptional horse, a really special one," said owner Giovanna Mazza, who has taken over the reins to enjoy the horse herself.

"I am ready for the best time on a top fit horse, incredibly well trained and with the sweetheart and most reliable mind," said Mazza. I"t will probably take him some time to get adjusted to a quieter life since he truly always enjoyed the atmosphere of the big arenas, the crowd, the clapping, the music. Even the journeys in the lorry to get there. A real “show personality”. A fearless warrior in the best of the Lusitanos tradition.