212 pairs from twenty countries participated in the oldest Equestrian Raid in Europe. 71 years of a spectacle of sport and nature.

The Masia de Can Rabassa de Santa Susanna and the forest paths of the Montnegre i Corredor Park were once again exceptional witnesses of one of the most prestigious and important sporting events held in the Maresme, the Santa Susanna Equestrian Raid.

And why not say it, one of the most spectacular for its beauty, as the horse and nature come together.

We are talking about the oldest Raid in Spain and Europe, which this year has turned 71 years old. For 32 consecutive years, this competition, organized by the incombustible Jordi Bordas, has been held in Santa Susanna after having passed through Vilassar de Mar.

The programme consisted of four FEI International category races: two one-star races, CEI1* and CEIYJ1, which were held on Friday, and two two-star races, CEI2 and CEIYJ2*, which were held on Saturday. It was also the last scoring event of the RFHE High Competition League.

In total, 212 pairs (rider + horse) participated for the four races, with representatives from Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Kuwait, Monaco, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland and Uruguay.

The stables, more than 200 with their respective managers, opened on Thursday morning. The riders and horses, as always, had to get up early, since the departures were at eight in the morning on Friday and from seven on Saturday.

A raid of this magnitude, with two days of competition, is a logistical challenge. For example, 40 members of the ADF, the Forest Defense Group, participated. Due to the large volume of participants in the race and the length of the routes, they had the help of the ADF from other provinces.

To this must be added the twelve veterinarians (some from France and Germany), the eight judges, one of them from Dubai, as well as all the assistants of the horse owners, who are usually about four.

The two-star raids were 120 kilometers long and 4 phases of 36, 34, 30, and 20 respectively, and the one-star raids were run over 100 kilometers in 3 phases of 36, 34, and 30.

All the routes were of the daisy type with starts, arrivals and vegates on the esplanade of Can Rabassa de Santa Susanna, the nerve center of the Raid, which had judges along the entire route.

As for the results of the competition, the CEI 2* 120 km event was won by the Argentine Manno Yair, followed by the Portuguese Lourenço Aragao and the French Julia Montagne, while the CEN 2* of 120 km went to the Spanish Jago Txintxurreta. The 120 km CEIYJ 2* went to the Spanish rider Marc Vila, followed by the French Carla Mosti.

In the CEI 1* 100 km event, the Spaniard Alfonso Crespo crossed the finish line first and in the CEIY 1* Candela Hernani, one of the best junior riders in the country, crossed the finish line.

Two days of competition, but many weeks of logistical and human efforts that once again demonstrated the high capacity that Santa Susanna has to organize international sporting events of the first magnitude.

Source: Esportiu Maresme