Ivan Nieto Sanchez Moves Back Home to Spain

Dressage

Spain

Spanish professional dressage rider Ivan Nieto Sanchez will be moving back home to Spain after having worked in North Europe for almost 15 years.

Nieto and his life partner, dressage rider Daniel Duarte Merchan, will set up shop at a stable near Bilbao, the area where Nieto is originally from.

Going North

Originally from Portugalete, Nieto moved north at the beginning of the 2010s. He first worked at dressage breeding farm Gestut Sonnenhof in Belgium, but was then briefly drawn back by the sun and worked for a year at Yeguada Mile in Spain until in 2014. He moved to Germany and worked at Irina Zakhrabekova's yard near Düsseldorf, Germany, for a year and a half under the watchful eye of trainer Jan Bemelmans.

In 2015 he was hired as an assistant rider by Hubertus Schmidt after Finnish Emma Kanerva left that job. At Schmidt's Fleyenhof, Nieto got the chance to ride and compete famous breeding stallions, talented dressage horses, as well as client's horses. He earned his German "Golden Rider Badge" after scoring 10 S-level victories.

His national show career in Germany was thriving and Nieto rode internationally four times in six years. He made his CDI debut in April 2015 while still working for Zakhrabekova. Under Hubertus' tutelage he showed in three more CDI’s, including CDI Verden and Herlake on Dunensee in 2021.

Independent

In the summer of 2021 Nieto went independent at Norbert Van Laak's stable in Möhnensee (Soest), where he worked alongside his life partner Daniel Duarte Merchan.

Nieto mainly competed nationally in Germany and only returned to the international show ring three years later in April 2024 with the Indian owned Grand Prix horse Sonnentanz (by Sorento x Krack C), which he showed at the CDI's in Troisdorf and Redefin. Another 1.5 years later he rode one more international, back in Troisdorf, with small tour horse Runa HE (by Rocco Granata x San Remo), also owned by Indian Nadia Haridass.

He coached Thai dressage rider Pakjira Thongpakdi to medals at the 2025 FEI Asian Championships.

Returning South

Nieto and Duarte Merchan have now decided to return home to Spain.

"One of our dreams is becoming true, We are moving our stables and competition team to Spain," they stated. "Time to go back home."