Spain’s dressage world celebrated its biggest dressage event of the year at one of the nicest Riding Clubs in the vicinity of Madrid, the Jarama race track circuit, on 1 - 3 June 2012. With an historic record in participation, the largest national dressage competition ever wrapped up on Sunday afternoon 3 June 2012.
There is no doubt Spaniards love Dressage. It was dressage around the clock there were three busy days at the Festival de Doma Clásica RACE 2012. Dressage starts to gather numbers in Spain and this is very positive, not only for our discipline, but for the sector which produces a turn-over every year of over 70 million euros. Furthermore, dressage is the only Spanish equestrian discipline that reached a team qualification for the Olympic Games in London 2012 this summer.
Along these lines, the glamorous “Festival de Doma Clásica Race 2012” became a milestone for the discipline with its record participation. The economic crisis and uncertainty weigh strongly on Spanish daily life. Some mornings your heart sinks when you open the national press and read the financial section. It is a tough year 2012. There is no doubt about it. Nevertheless, these facts did not stop Spanish dressage riders, breeders, amateurs, professionals, adults and young riders to respond to the invitation and compete at this Festival of the sport horse in the capital and heart of Spain.
The numbers are breathtaking for the Spanish market, with over 240 combinations competing in a very complete programme at the RACE, another 70 riders and horses could not participate because of overbooking. Tests at different levels gave a wide offer from national CDN/**/*** up to International YR, J, P competition. There were a 100 hours of live streaming in the internet, 16 judges and 32 secretaries present.
“This signifies a huge success for the dressage world in Spain. The discipline has been growing over the last five years enormously. Spanish horse breeders in particular took more and more interest in the sport,” says Bobby Fernández de Bobadilla, Director of the Dressage Department and Chef d´Equipe for the Royal Spanish National Federation (RFHE). The RFHE and any event organizer and institutions in the equestrian sector have given them a warm welcome during the last years and this is another consequence of the breeders being involved in sport. But that is another subject.
The RACE (Real Automovil Club de España, one of the largest car insurance companies in Spain which is used to "horse power") is a very fine institution which is supporting the initiative of its members and of ultimate dressage fan and rider, Dalia Saliamonas, over the last six years. She introduced the idea of the Festival format for a dressage event in Spain, six years ago, when not so many people believed in the idea, except her club fellows at the RACE. Also the City of Madrid (Comunidad de Madrid) has been involved in sponsoring on multiple occasions. This year for the first time Top Iberian co-organized the show, trying to communicate what dressage is, its content and its importance for the breeders of this country.
Iberian Horsepower at RACE
Although our strongest rider – horse combinations were already abroad at selection trials for Olympic Games, the level of competition at the Festival was still very good. While Morgan Barbançon and Beatriz Ferrer Salat were winning the Grand Prix and the Olympic Special, at the CDI3* Compiegne, France, the classes at RACE were filled. This national show had 20 riders in the Grand Prix and 40 in the 5-year-old as well as 38 St George combinations.
Piconero VI and Eduardo Mellado had another successful appearance after Toledo as they won the GP and the Freestyle, Diana Ostariz and Gumiel (by Ermitaño III x Helguera) a PRE, son of the first Spanish Elite Stallion, won the Olympic Grand Prix Special. The PSL Recuerdo with Laura Reija won the Inter I, the St. Georges was reserved for her trainer and former Olympic rider Juan Antonio Jimenez, this time not with a Iberian Horse but a Hanoverian mare Naomy. The Andalusian Furioso MP under Miriam Cabrera won the 4 years final, while in the 5-year old division Dhannie and Juan Francisco Fernandez qualified for the World Young Horse Championships in Verden. The 6-year-old had a clear winner everyday with Dai Colori Vistosi ( y Danone x De Niro), presented by Alvaro Martín de la Fuente.
Plenty of new faces came to the show including former Spanish team member Claudio Castilla who presented Musico de MV, a full brother of his former team horse Jade de MV. Second placed in the GP went to Carlos Torrell, former owner of Anky van Grunsven's Upido, on Lucia Gallardo's KWPN Synphony.
Text and Photos © Top Iberian
Related Links
Scores 2012 CDI Compiegne
Barbancon on Top in Grand Prix for Kur at 2012 CDIO Saumur