Spain’s Carrascosa will lead the way in Dressage Grand Prix

Spanish athlete Borja Carrascosa will be first to go in the Grand Prix when the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final 2024 gets underway at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia tomorrow afternoon.

This evening’s draw was conducted by competitors Ben Ebeling from the USA and Lithuania’s Justina Vanagaite who will line out twelfth and fifth respectively. A total of 17 riders from 12 countries will compete for the coveted title.

The final three to enter the arena will be Great Britain’s Charlotte Fry, Germany’s Isabell Werth and New Zealand’s Melissa Galloway. Werth will be chasing the sixth title of her incredible career.

Raphael Netz has qualified for the Final in his very first FEI Dressage World Cup™ season, and during today’s familiarisation in the main arena the young German was spotted circling his horse, Great Escape Camelot, around the trophy which was on display.

“It was the first time for me to see the beautiful World Cup and for Camelot too, and he made some big eyes at it!”, said the 25-year-old who has been based for eight years with world number one Jessica von Bredow-Werndl but who next week moves out into his own enterprise near Munich.  

Asked if the Olympic and European champion, who is also a double World Cup winner, had offered him any advice coming to Riyadh this week he replied, “she said just enjoy it!” And that’s what he intends to do. 

He will be to eighth into the ring when the action begins.  

Don’t miss a hoofbeat……

Full starting order here…..

Some facts and figures:

Riyadh 2024 presents the 37th FEI World Cup™ Dressage Final.

A total of 17 athletes from 12 nations will compete.

The countries represented are Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden and the USA.

The very first FEI Dressage World Cup™ champion was Denmark’s Anne-Grethe Jensen who came out on top in ’s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands in 1986 partnering Marzog. 

Germany’s Isabell Werth is chasing her sixth title and this will be the 25th FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final of her extraordinary career. 

Werth posted her first win with Fabienne in Gothenburg (SWE) in 1992, her second with Warum Nicht in Las Vegas (USA) in 2007 and then won three-in-a-row with the great mare Weihegold FRH in Omaha (USA) in 2017, Paris (FRA) in 2018 and Gothenburg (SWE) in 2019. She brings DSP Quantaz to Riyadh.

Also competing is Charlotte Fry partnering the black stallion Everdale with which she claimed team bronze for Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. With her other stallion, Glamourdale, she helped secure team silver and both Grand Prix Special and Freestyle gold at the World Championship in 2022.

Ground Jury President in Riyadh is Denmark’s Hans Christian Matthiesen.

The competition begins with the Grand Prix tomorrow, Wednesday 17 April, at 13.15 local time.

The Grand Prix Freestyle, which decides the destination of the 2024 title, will take place on Friday 19 April at 17.15 local time.