Spanish triumph in the Grand Prix of the CSI3* Maeza, with Teresa Blázquez in the leading role

The Grand Prix, the most important event of the competition, was won by Teresa Blázquez riding “Nasa de Toxandria”.

The sun shone and the public came to the call of the 3* International Show Jumping Competition of Maeza in its last day, in which a magnificent atmosphere was breathed. An atmosphere that increased throughout the tie-breaker in which the podium of the Gran Premio Maeza was decided, the most important event of the competition, scoring for the FEI Ranking, which closed the program.
The Gran Premio Maeza was contested by 43 teams, who faced a long course of 13 obstacles, with a triple and a double, which only nine participants managed to overcome without any penalty. All of them went on to a tie-breaker, in which they had to face a course of 7 obstacles, with long distances and the possibility of galloping, as well as a closed round of the EULEN course, the penultimate obstacle, which increased the risk of being knocked down.

Five groups repeated the course without fault in the tiebreaker and among them, the one formed by Teresa Blázquez and “Nasa de Toxandria” won the time trial. The Cadiz rider, owner of the Sunshine Tour facilities in Vejer de la Frontera, rode her chestnut mare in a fast course, taking advantage of the strong gait characteristic of the daughter of “Vertigo Saint-Benoit”. They stopped the stopwatch in 43'04, a record that nobody managed to beat.

And after the Spanish rider, top riders of the international circuit, such as the Mexican Fernando Martinez Sommer, second with “Cor Bakker” (43'46) and the Brazilian Marlon Modolo Zanotelli, third riding “GB Diamantina” (43'60).

Three other Spanish riders were in the tiebreaker of this Grand Prix Maeza: Carlos Calvo, who was fourth with “Bellagio Massuere”, the husband of the winner, Armando Trapote, sixth with “Tornado VS”, José Bono, seventh with “Ali Babá HT” and Laura Roquet, eighth with “Nina Puigroq”.
The Maeza Grand Prix was endowed with 57,520 Euros, of which 18,810 Euros went to the winner.

Asturian triumph in the Foncueva Trophy

The closing day of the CSI3* Maeza began at 10:30 a.m. with the Foncueva Trophy, the last 1'25 round, which was held over two phases. The vast majority of participants (29 out of 34) managed to move on to the second phase, in which 21 repeated the zero.

The fastest double zero had an Asturian accent, with Daniel Ocaña as the protagonist. The junior from Gijón made the best time of the second phase with “Furiazzo de L'Aubree”, setting as a reference a result of 21'61 that no one managed to equal or improve.

It was a hard-earned and meritorious victory, because before, Ana Mateos Bernáldez had set a reference time with the veteran “Providence 3” that seemed very difficult to improve: 22'03.
In third position was classified the French Axel Narolles, who with “Cuppydam du Pouey”, was again on the podium, as in previous days, while a binomial of the house, formed by Juan Carlos Rodriguez and “Guy de Maeza”, was fourth.

The Oquendo Trophy, by hundredths of a point

The second test of the closing day had a British triumph, a very tight victory, which was decided by only 3 hundredths of a second. James Smith, a rider characterized by his speed on the course, set the reference time with the mare “Juno Rose 23” in 58'20 seconds and nobody could beat him. Mariano Martínez Bastida with “Action Force” was very close to achieve it, but the rider from Murcia finished his ride in 58'23, and was relegated to second place in the final classification.

In third position was another of the important names of the CSI3* Maeza, Billy Twomey, who completed his ride with “Julius”, a ten year old KWPN, in 59'20.

The rest of the qualified pairs had already completed their course in over 60 seconds, including the very fast Laura Renwick, who had to settle for fourth place on “Cottee”, while the best Spanish rider in the FEI Ranking, Eduardo Álvarez Aznar, was fifth with “Fleur de Joanins”, a 9 year old grey mare, daughter of “Norton d'Eole”, who is very competitive.

Coinciding with the presentation of the Grand Prix trophies, the additional prizes of the competition were also awarded. The Sariego Town Hall Award, to the best U-25 rider, went to the Belgian Thibault Philippaerts, while Mariano Martínez Bastida won the Comarca de la Sidra Award, to the best Spanish rider of the competition.

Sunday's three tests concluded the fourth edition of the CSI3* Maeza, marked by the adverse weather during the first two days and by a remarkable participation, with important riders of the international circuit competing in Sariego.