Alba Abollo Fontela Retires Elvillar CS From Sport

Dressage

Spain

Elvillar CS, Alba Abollo Fontela's career-defining youth riders horse that took her to Grand Prix, has been retired from sport.

Elvillar CS is a 16-year old Spanish sport horse (CDE) registered gelding by Espriwall out of Granova (by Gravanno).

From Young Horse to Grand Prix

The dark bay was discovered by Alba Abollo Fontela as a a young horse and with the help of her trainer Alberto Garcia produced to Grand Prix level.

The pair has been a successful match from the start. In 2014 they won silver at the Spanish Young Horse Championships. In 2015 they were fifth at the Spanish Championships in the 5-year old division and made their CDI debut in the 5-year old young horse tests in Madrid. In 2016 they did the CDI in Segovia and placed fifth in the 6-year old division at the Spanish Championships.

Abollo, who hails fro the north of Spain (Castilla y Leon), premiered as a junior rider in 2017 at the CDI Valencia, followed by Segovia before being nominated on the Spanish team for the European Junior Riders Championships in Roosendaal, where they were the sensation by placing fourth in the individual test and winning kur bronze. They won gold at the 2017 Spanish Junior Championships.

In 2018 they moved to young riders level and won gold at the Spanish Young Riders Championships. They returned to the European Young Riders Championships in Fontainebleau, to finish 40th in the individual test (65.441%). A year later at the Europeans in San Giovanni in Marignano, they were 22nd in the individual test with 69,471%.

Between December 2018 and the summer of 2020 Alba Abollo and her then fiancé Victor Alfonso Pomares had moved to Italy to ride for Riccardo Volpi's dressage breeding farm Fonte Abeti, but the couple returned to Spain in August 2020.

Alba and Elvillar made the transition to Under 25 level in 2021 and headed to the 2021 European Championships in Hagen for a 46th place in the short grand prix (62,180%). They were 11th at the 2021 Spanish U25 Championships.

A three year break from CDI showing followed. In 2023 they won gold at the Spanish Under 25 Championships and they returned to the CDI ring in Madrid in April 2024 to win both tests with 70,981 and 69,077%. Another two year break came and they rode their final CDI in Jerez de la Frontera in March 2026 with scores just over sixty percent.

Retirement

Abollo now confirmed that she has retired Elvillar from sport.

"Villar has been my dance partner for 13 years," said the 27-year old Abollo, who got married to soccer player Manu Sanchez three months ago. "It was a fine dance in which we've won, we've lost, we've shined, and we've failed. Villar taught me how to dance to be honest. He has been my college career, my master's and my PhD, he gave me his all everyday, always allowed me to err and forgave me when I needed it most. I don't owe Villar a deserved retirement, I owe him the life I have today."

Alba added, "that's why I don't mind making this decision, quite the opposite. I am so happy to offer him this new life that, I only hope he feels half the peace and well-being I do to seeing him loose and free."