Spanish youngster Alfonso Jesús Ramírez Benítez rode himself in the picture at the 2015 CDI Jerez de la Frontera in Spain on 26 February - 1 March as he snatched two out of three trophies in the junior riders' division. Aboard his 12-year old mare Delhi, Benitez improved throughout the weekend putting increasing scores on the board.
The duo won the junior team test with 64.820% and stepped it up to take out the individual test with 68.552%. In the Kur to music they dropped to second with 69.333% just behind fellow Spaniard Mónica Blázquez Lopez-Muñiz on 70.250%.
“We are very pleased with the support we have had, and feel we are off to a great start for the new show season,” Alfonso told Eurodressage. “The first day nerves and the pressure of competing at home were with me and I feel like I may have conveyed that to my mare Delhi. The other two days Delhi was perfect and the climate at the Royal School was just unbeatable!”
Delhi is a 2003 born mare registered with the CDE (Caballo de Deporte Espanol). She is by Tenor de la Cour out of the Dutch warmblood mare Jaranka (by Emilion). According to Alfonso, she is a strong mare, though manageable, with a character that has lots of energy and personality.
“She is very easy to collect but difficult to control in some stressful situations, like all animals," he admitted. "I train at the Nazareth Sports Club in Jerez de la Frontera, and my coach is María Pérez. Delhi and I owe it all to her!”
The pair's 2015 dream is to compete in two international shows: the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Junior Riders Championship. He of course hopes to qualify for the 2015 European Junior Riders Championships which will take place in Vidauban, France, the first week of July.
by Sarah Warne - Photo © Top Iberian
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