Dressage-News

MUNICH, Germany, May 16, 2021–Juan Matute Guimon and Quantico won the Pferd International CDI4* Grand Prix Freestyle Sunday for the 23-year-old rider’s first Big Tour victory since surgery to correct a life-threatening brain disorder this same month a year ago.

Juan and the 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding were awarded 76.400% for the win. The horse is owned by his father, a three-time Olympian for Spain, who is also Juan’s coach.

Germany’s Lena Waldmann and Fiderdance posted a personal best score of 76.140% to place second with Austria’s Astrid Neumayer on Zap Zap third on 75.900%.

“I’m very proud,” Juan told dressage-news.com. “The best of the best were here, so we didn’t really have too much expectations in terms of results, but we did it.

“Quantico is surprisingly a thousand times better behaved at shows now. This is the first time ever that he hasn’t gotten overly hot to my leg aids and has allowed me to ride him with a deep seat and light hands. We’ve had good luck with the weather too. It was meant to rain every day, but it didn’t. We’ve had beautiful sunny days.

“Now we’re driving back to the Netherlands, where I’ll be based for the coming weeks and cannot wait for Compiègne (France). It’s been many years since the last time that we were there.”

Juan, who became an American citizen along with his family when he lived in Wellington but has always ridden for Spain, moved to Madrid in 2018 to pursue a career in dressage. He collapsed on May 5, 2020 after riding and was hospitalized for an operation on what turned out to be a genetic brain disorder.

At the time, he was the second highest ranked Spanish rider on the world standings with Quantico and third highest with Don Diego.

He had ridden Quantico on the Spanish team at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon that earned his nation a start at the Olympics in Tokyo.

This year, he has competed Quantico, Don Diego and two other horses at Small Tour.

Results:

CDI4* Grand Prix Freestyle