Wellington, FL – January 28, 2022 – Spanish rider Paula Matute Guimón pulled off the biggest win of her career, piloting her own and Julie McAllister’s 14-year-old Delagronge to the blue ribbon in the Grand Prix Freestyle CDI4*, presented by U.S. P.R.E. Association.
The second “Friday Night Stars” evening freestyle on Friday, January 28, of the 2022 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, Florida, also provided a personal best for Matute Guimón and the De Niro stallion of 74.480%. AGDF, which hosts seven weeks of CDI competition, runs through April 3.
It was an international podium, with Germany’s Christoph Koschel finishing runner-up on the striking grey Lusitano Favorito 11 (71.670%) and Mikala Münter (USA) filling third on Salsa Hit with 71.425%.
“I honestly didn’t expect those results,” said the 26-year-old Matute Guimón. “The victory is amazing, but I want to keep improving. Winning is a very nice reward, and it means a lot. Of course we all like the color blue, but I wasn’t expecting it. I have great competitors next to me, who work very hard. I’m super happy, and I’m going to remember this week forever.”
This was Matute Guimón’s first four-star freestyle win.
“This freestyle [music] used to belong to my brother with Don Diego and I took over, and I think now I can say that it’s mine,” she added. “The horse was a little bit challenging today, but we still made it happen."
“This win means a lot to me,” continued Matute Guimón. “It’s been many years watching from the outside trying to figure out what it takes to come back, so I really am enjoying every second of this. I’m so happy, so grateful to the team behind me, the owners for believing in me, for believing in us, and for making this dream come true.”
Source: Press release
Photo: ©SusanJStickle.com