Colombian Dressage Proves to Be On the Move at Successful 2024 CDI Cajica

-- Text and Photos © Carmen Franco

The week of 12 - 19 August 2024 is going to be remembered as one of the busiest and most productive in the history of Dressage in my beautiful country, Colombia.

During these days we had a CDI 2* / CDN 1ST International Invitational Cundinamarca’s Government Cup - Riders of the Future (15th to 18th), a show that encompassed several levels of competition; a Dressage Judge’s Course with FEI Level 3 Judge Frederico Pinteus (POR), and a clinic with our National Technical Advisor Albrecht Heidemann (GER).

All of it was held at the Club Ecuestre La Casona, a beautiful equestrian center located in Cajicá, 30 minutes north of Bogotá. The judges invited to the CDI were, besides Frederico, Cara Whitham from Canada (level 4) and Sandra Smith (Level 3) from Argentina. National judges officiating were María del Rosario Calderón, Juliana Gutiérrez, and Iván Tabosky.

Clinics, Courses, and Competition

The action began with Albrech Heidemann’s clinic, with days packed of riders eager to have him back after his months in Europe accompanying Endel Ots and Bohemian in their Olympics’ qualification process and Paris 2024 experience as traveling reserve combination for USA’s team. Appointed Colombian team trainer in 2022, Heidemann  proved, once more, how effective he can be teaching and training all kinds of horses and riders, no matter the age or level they are. He helped many combinations warm-up during show days, and we ended the clinic on Monday (a holiday in Colombia) with another full day of training sessions, after the show was done on Sunday.

Another highlight of the week was the Course for Dressage Judges given by Frederico Pinteus, an FEI Level 3 Judge from Portugal. There were theory sessions Thursday and Friday evenings, a practical session during the CDN Freestyles on Sunday and a long session on Monday, since it was a holiday for Colombia.

Frederico is a very knowledgeable person, very passionate about the sport, who transmits his concepts in a very clear and fun way. The presentation included great graphics and videos. It was wonderful to see all the participants left the course wanting to learn more about the topic. I’m sure we will have him back.

The CDI reached only Small Tour level as the Medium Tour combinations decided it was better for them to show only in the national classes. However, we had several combinations at Junior Level, one at Young Rider Level and horses in 5-, 6- and 7-year- old Young Horse classes. It was wonderful to see also 4-year-old classes in the CDN, proving that the sport is moving in the right direction since we didn’t have them in our competitions a couple of years ago.

Standout Performances

Remarkable work was done by Santiago Cardona (Bogotá League) with the KWPN mare Prima Donna TC (by Dream Boy x Zhivago) in the 4 y/o class on Friday, winning with 79.400%. In the other Young Horse classes, Mariana England (Cundinamarca League) proved to be a force to be recognized with her fantastic job done with Vitoria (by Vitalis x  Apache) in the 5 y/o classes finishing the Preliminary test with 80.200% and the Final test with 86.000%; with Ferrez (Hanoverian gelding by Foundation x De Niro) in the 6 y/o class finishing the Preliminary test with 79.800% and 77.000% in the final Test; and with Viva Vitalis (Oldenburg mare by Vitalis x Apache) in the 7 y/o class with 79.179% in the Preliminary test and 77.086% in the Final test.

The PSG was won also by Mariana England riding Apachina, a 2013 Oldenburg mare by Apache who is also the dam to her two young horses. They scored 67.941%. The Inter I and Freestyle classes went to the rider of the Valle del Cauca League Fabrizia Tascón with her elegant mare Di Callas (2009 WEST mare by Diamond Hit x Pheres) with 68.235% and 70.150% respectively.

In the Junior division, Gabriela Arango (Valle del Cauca League) did a hat trick winning the 3 classes with her gorgeous and talented Lusitano stallion Mambo (2016 by Garoto Valente x Formosa Santana by Solar Pinhais) with scores of 67.323% in Team test, 68.872% in Individual test and 72.600% in the Freestyle. Angelo Filippo Villamil with Kenzo (2010 BWP gelding by Gold Fever van T Heike x Promise by Quick d’Argentan) from the Cundinamarca League, were the only combination participating in Young Rider division.

Qualifier for National Youth Games

For the CDN we had a good number of entries from the Leagues from the center of Colombia (Bogotá, Cundinamarca and Militar) and we also received delegations from the states of Antioquia and Valle who traveled 12 to 15 hours through the Colombian mountains with their horses to participate in the only qualifier for our 1st National Youth Games to be held from 18th to 23rd of November in Escuela Superior de Unidades Montadas del Ejército in Bogotá.

In February of this year, the Sports Ministry launched these Games (like our own “Olympics”) for athletes aged 13 to 18 with the three equestrian disciplines: Jumping, Eventing and Dressage included. It has been a major awakening for the sport to have this event, as our youth participation has not only made a come back to the rings, but has also started to multitask to be able to comply with the required quota team numbers: jumper riders are participating in Eventing and Dressage, Dressage riders are jumping, etc.; the sense of community and camaraderie is remarkable too, with people lending horses and helping the riders to get ready. The whole country has put forth a plan for preparing these kids to get to the Games in the best shape possible.

I, as Director of Dressage Technical Committee and in charge also of the Development and Education Committee of the Colombian Equestrian Federation, have done preparation clinics for the Valle, Antioquia and Military Leagues and assisted in a very minor scale to the Bogotá and Cundinamarca Leagues. The first step to have all these Dressage riders get their MER at this show was accomplished!

Cundinamarca’s Government Cup

For the 1st International Invitational Cundinamarca’s Government Cup there was a delegation of riders from Trinidad and Tobago present. They came a few days before the show to get acclimatized and prepare to compete, riding several horses per day. Teams of Colombian and Trinidadian riders were drawn to participate in the show, with the foreign ones riding borrowed horses. Laura Daniella Ramirez with Valkiria (Bogotá League) and Halley Mackenzie with Orion were the winning team.

Colombian Dressage On the Move

We were blessed with beautiful sunny weather, making the long days more doable. The spirits were in general high, of course with a few riders and trainers disappointed with some of the results, although they were compensated by a cheerful and supporting community.

For the rest of the year, we look forward to more clinics with Albrecht, more preparation shows in the next couple of months, and we will conclude the activity in November with the National Championships with a CDI 2* in the Club Campestre Llanogrande in Antioquia (8th to 11th) and the 1st.

Related Links
Scores: 2024 CDI Cajica
Albrecht Heidemann Appointed New Colombian Dressage Team Trainer
Shannon Dueck Resigns as Colombian Dressage Team Trainer