Juan Matute Guimon Leaving Madrid Hospital 59 Days After Collapsing With Life-Threatening Brain Disorder
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July 3, 2020
Juan Matute Guimon is leaving the hospital in Madrid Friday 59 days after collapsing with a life-threatening brain disorder.
“Juan is going home today! The nightmare has officially ended!” his sister, Paula, reported in an Instagram post.
The 22-year-old Spanish team rider was cleared to leave the Jiménez Díaz Foundation hospital after tests determined he had recovered sufficiently from a lengthy operation to repair the genetic disorder.
Juan, who grew up in Spain and Wellington, Florida and is a citizen of both Spain and America, lives in Madrid.
He moved there two years ago to develop his dressage and go to university.
He was successful on both sides of the Atlantic and rode on Spain’s team at the World Equestrian Games at Tryon in 2018 that earned his nation a start at the Tokyo Olympics.
Juan’s father, Juan Matute Azpitarte, a three-time Olympian for Spain, and his wife, Maria, were in Madrid when Juan collapsed after riding Mar. 5 and have remained there throughout the ordeal.
A neurosurgical team performed a lengthy and successful operation four days later to repair what was found to be a genetic disorder in the brain.
Before his collapse, Juan had ridden his two Grand Prix horses, Quantico and Don Diego, to qualify for his first World Cup Final that was to be staged in Las Vegas in mid-April but then canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
He was ranked second and third on the two horses among Spanish combinations on the world standings that likely would have earned him a place on Spain’s team at the Tokyo Olympics that were postponed a year until the summer of 2021 because of coronavirus.
