Spanish Victory in the Exterior Plus Trophy, the first major event of the CSI1* 2023.

The morning program of this first day of the 112th CSI Madrid consisted of three events, all of them in the 1* category, serving as an appetizer for the 5* competition, whose events take place in the afternoon.

The highest event was the Exterior Plus Trophy, with obstacles at 1.40 meters, contested by 48 pairs and featuring a Spanish winner: Ismael García Roque. The Canarian rider, Absolute Spanish Champion in 2019 and 2021, went all out with a very competitive horse, the veteran "Baltazar D Z," and his result gave him a comfortable victory: almost four seconds ahead of the second-placed rider, Swiss Jane Richard riding "Cortez Van’t Klein Asdonck Z".

The Swiss rider also finished third with "Neptune de Muze," and Ismael García Roque confirmed his excellent performance in this Exterior Plus Trophy by finishing fourth, this time with a young mare, the 8-year-old "London’s Bella".

The course proved tough and challenging, with only five pairs managing to complete it faultlessly. The fifth clear round was achieved by another Spanish rider, Cayetano Martínez de Irujo, who completed the honor roll with "Dito".

Piedad Siegfred, Commercial and Marketing Director of Exterior Plus, presented the trophy to the winner.

Marca Trophy

It was the second event of the day, with 35 pairs participating. Like the previous one, it was judged under the Two Phases format, and 16 pairs managed to finish both phases without penalties.

An Argentine rider, but settled in Spain for years, Juan Ignacio Alvarez Fermosel, emerged as the winner. He clinched victory with Iñigo Verdugo's mare, "Vinca Jacob," completing his round in the second phase in 21.90 seconds. Álvarez Fermosel collected his trophy at the awards ceremony from Juan Ignacio Gallardo, director of Marca.

Álvarez Fermosel's closest rivals were two young Irish riders, both associated with the Hughes Horse Stud stable: Isabel O’Brien and Marta Hughes-Bravo. The former finished second with a time of 23.68 seconds on "Javas Gucci," while Marion Hughes and Miguel María Bravo's youngest daughter secured third place with a time of 23.92 seconds, riding "Miss Belgium 111".