Press release from Mediterranean Equestrian Tour

The Spring MET 2024 in Oliva Nova, Spain, has reached its fourth and final part and the first of the three weeks of competition at Spring MET IV concluded on Sunday with a Spanish podium in the CSI2* 1.45m Grand Prix presented by Dammann Reitplatz. -u. Sportplatzbau GmbH. 

A total of 58 horse-and-rider combinations were lined up for the challenge set by Elena Boix (ESP), with 14 pairs clearing the first-round track and joining the deciding jump-off. In the jump-off, it was Spain’s very own Sergio Alvarez Moya and Jackson (Van Gogh x Indoctro) that clocked the fastest time of the class, taking the win in 36.56 ahead of their two compatriots: Mariano Martinez Bastida and Origi Van’T Geyzeven (Thunder vd Zuuthoeve x Heureka de La Loge) in second in 37.59 and Blai Capdevila aboard Cortesano (Cachas x Carpaccio) in third in 39.32. 

Adrian Whiteway (GBR) and Chacco Volo (Chacco-Blue x Carthago) finished fourth with a time of 39.77, while Nicolas Bost (FRA) and Hilfiger Van’T Amaldonk Z (Horion de Libersart x Casall) took the fifth place in 40.13.

“At the end of the day, it's a difficult job that the course designers have,” Moya commented on Sunday’s Grand Prix course. “After the first clears, I expected even more, and fourteen was a good number to end up on. I think the course rode nice; it was fair for the horses.”

“My horse does not have a lot of experience from this type of classes, actually,” he continued to explain about his plan for the jump-off. “He has never been very competitive because he is very green for his age. However, he was jumping well today and the lines suited us so I could take strides out and take some risk. That's what I did and it worked out well!” 

“We bought him 14 months ago,” Moya told about his winning ride, the 10-year-old stallion Jackson. “He was very, very green, his rideability wasn't so good. He is really sensitive, has a lot of blood and plenty of scope, but was a bit too quick in everything he did in the beginning. He ended up doing a few 1.50m classes last year and then I came to a situation where I had only one horse for myself for the biggest shows. So, I took Jackson with me and just spent a bit time with him; giving him experience. I think he has potential enough; he's scopey and careful but he's just sensitive. I have to take my time and build him up slowly.”

“The show and the organisation here is very good,” Moya said about the venue in Oliva. “For us Spanish riders it is sometimes challenging to come over here actually, because it gets so easily full – with a lot of foreign riders coming over. The venue, the footing, the stables; everything is very convenient for the horses and it is nice to work here. It is easy to understand why this place is so popular.