Beatriz Ferrer-Salat and the 14-year old Westfalian gelding Delgado (by De Niro x Weltmeyer) won the Grand Prix on the first day of the 2015 Spanish Dressage Championships taking place in Madrid, Spain, on 28 - 31 May 2015. Carmen Naesgaard finished in second place with Claudio Castilla on Alcaide on her heels.
The 2015 Spanish Dressage Championships kicked off on Thursday 28 May with the opening FEI level classes for small tour, under 25 and Grand Prix riders.
At Grand Prix level Beatriz Ferrer-Salat and Delgado scored well above their rivals. She took a giant step towards her proclamation of champion of Spain. Ferrer-Salat earned a score of 75.240%, which was almost 5% ahead of the second placed. Carmen Naesgaard and the dark bay Ricardo (by Rosentau) finished second with 70.660%. An error in the flying changes in the zigzag cost her dearly even though the extended canter was a major highlight in her test. Claudio Castilla and the Lusitano Alcaide (by Lobito) still struggled to maintain consistent form throughout the test, but the quality of the movements was obvious. The judges scored the piaffe/passage tour and the transitions highly, but there were mistakes in the two tempi changes.
The undisputed winner of the Prix St. Georges class was José Antonio García Mena with the Lusitano Dragao (by Unico). In the first qualifier of the small tour championship, Mena beat his closest competitor by nearly 2% with a score of 72.974%. The judges were able to appreciate Dragao's great ability for lateral movements and his overall balance in the three gaits. José Daniel Martin Dockx and Hampton Green Farm's PRE bred Oxide (by Armas Tarugo) were second with 71.447%. Cristina Duran Vicens and her bold dark bay Manchego ARB (by Gumiel ) scored 69.658% to rank third.
Just three riders competed in the first round of the Under 25 division and Eric Balasch surfaced at the top of the leader boad. Aboard the chestnut Dorado he scored 64.861%. The horse showed a more balanced self carraige compared to last season. The second and third positions were held by the same rider, Luis Cerrillo Sopena. On Saturday Night Fever (by Sandro Hit) he came second with 64.750% and with Winwood (by Waterford) he finished third on 61.556%.
Photo © Top Iberian
Related Links
2015 International Madrid Dressage Festival, the Biggest Show in the South of Europe
Spanish Grand Prix A and B-Squads for 2015 Announced
Spanish Youth Rider Long Lists for 2015 European Championship Team Selection Announced
Duran Vicens and Manchego ARB Set the Tone in the Small Tour at the 2015 CDI Madrid