Asencio and Straight Horse Sezarion Make it a Double at 2024 CDI Alter do Chao

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2024 CDI Alter do Chao

Spaniard Alejandro Asencio Mendez has premiered Straight Horse Sezarion at international Grand Prix level and scored a double victory at their second CDI in one month time. At the 2024 CDI Alter do Chao in Portugal, Asencio controlled a field of 21 big tour riders and put himself in the spotlight for Spanish Olympic team selection.

Asencio at Alter Real

Coudelaria Alter Real, the Portuguese national state stud where some of the best Lusitano horses are bred, has been hosting an annual CDI competition since 2018. This year was able to attract a large field of international Grand Prix riders from Portugal, Spain and Brazil.

Alejandro Asencio and the 11-year old Danish warmblood stallion Straight Horse Sezarion (by Sezuan x Romanov) have been a partnership for six years but the tall black stallion took a while to get established at Grand Prix level. They debuted at the CDI Jerez on 2 - 4 March 2024, posting 66% and 67% scores. However three weeks later at the CDI Alter do Chao they were the favourites of the judges panel and won the Grand Prix with 71.326% and the Special with 73.085%.

"'Sezar' was great in both tests," Alejandro told Eurodressage. "He is a very happy and active horse with a lot of vitality, he has great energy and is very intelligent, you can see that in the tests and in the ring he is very happy every day. He has a huge margin for improvement in everything. The canter is still a little green and when he gets distracted he can make some mistakes, since he likes to watch and control everything, but they are just distractions since he didn’t do much to compete when he was young. He had an injury that left him sidelined for a long time and that slowed him down a lot."

American Owned Horse Power

The fuel behind Alejandro's horse power are his sponsors, Americans Steve and Kathleen Shubin (née Harter).

The Shubins run the equestrian company Equifoal S.L. out of Seville, Spain. Kathy Shubin was a 1967 Wimbledon semi-finalist tennis player who married Steve Shubin in 1995. He made his fortune designing and selling sex toys. The couple lives in Spain and shares a passion for horse power. They are long-time supporters of Asencio.

Alejandro's international career started in 2015 with Kathleen's Spanish bred Dalio IX (by Delegado II). He showed him through 2018. In 2016 she purchased the Hanoverian Focus (by Fiorano x Weltissimo) for him to ride and the chestnut became Alejandro's first major international Grand Prix horse. With Shubin's now 13-year old Lusitano Gaviao dos Cedros (by Rubi x Hostil) he competed at the 2018 World Young Horse Championships in Ermelo.

In 2023 the pair was in the running for Spanish team selection for Riesenbeck until a colic put Gaviao out of the running for a while. Gaviao made his comeback in Jerez, scoring 65.652% and 69.261% in both Grand Prix tests. He was withdrawn from the CDI Alter

"I wanted to give him a rest after the two competitions we had in Jerez," Alejandro explained. "For me the most important thing is the health and mind of the horses and at the last moment I decided to give his body and mind a few days of rest. , since we have more competitions ahead of us. If everything goes well he will compete next week. he is an amazing horse."

In 2018 Shubin bought Sezarion at Helgstand in Denmark. He is a full brother to Blue Hors Santiano and a half brother to Zonik, Straight Horse Asenzione, Straight Horse Cosmo, and Straight Horse Zackonik. In 2021 they acquired Vivino there.

Exciting Times to Come

For Alejandro the 2024 Olympic year is one filled with excitement. He recently moved into a brand new, state-of-the-art equestrian venue in Casares (ESP), owned and built by his sponsors. With Sezarion and Gaviao, the Spaniard has two strong contenders for Spanish Olympic team selection.

After having worked with Jan Bemelmans, Alejandro is now training with Spanish team trainer Francis Verbeek.

"The next competition for Gaviao will be th CDI Samora Correia, Lezírias and then Madrid," said Asencio. "For Sezar after these results we have to study the next competition. I see each competition as more focused and more competitive. It is an important year that is why we have risked starting with important competitions. We want to have our spot for the Games."