The pandemic ate the 2020 edition, but Daniel Entrecanales (Madrid, 54 years old) as president of Madrid Horse Week is convinced that it will return with great force: “From Friday to Sunday, horse fans will be at IFEMA to see one of the most complete and popular equestrian shows”, because admission is paid “and as it is not a private club, they are all the same.”
For this year’s event, it maintains the prizes that were already in 2019 “560,000 euros, of which most of them go to the two events in the World Cup, jumping and dressage.” But the amounts destined to reward the best are the tip of the iceberg of the budget that goes to 3.6 million euros for a weekend, three days of competition.
“We are going to have at IFEMA, in competition and in stables, more than 250 horses, some of the best in the world, they are the Ferraris of the equestrian, horses of great value”, explains the president of the event, for whom passion is more important than business: his five daughters are Amazons, and he played polo “until very recently.”
Where are more than three million euros going? “Well, in meeting the needs of the riders and their horses. Unique stands are erected, six tracks are set up, and they are different: those for jumping, those for dressage, those for turning. Madrid Horse Week saves 2,500 tons of sand to offer the best possible soil “, he says. And he explains a detail that is more than an anecdote, the hiring of Alain Storne every year: “He is the most renowned international specialist in the preparation of show jumping courses, who will be in Madrid every day with his tractors”. He is delighted with the dates on which Madrid Horse Week is held “because the riders cannot come to speculate; they are in the middle of the season and still need points for the ranking.”
Entrecanales highlights the number of elite pairs that will be in Madrid and the great national offer of competitions: “Only Spain organizes four major World Cup tournaments, three in Madrid and one in Barcelona. We have an ideal country for the equestrian world thanks to the climate. “And he assures that his sport is not invisible to fans:” In any town in the country there is a soccer field and a riding arena, and many people who practice this sport. At his level, of course, because to reach the top he is already more selective since the horses have an exclusive price, but as it happens in motor sports, for example “.
Finally, Entrecanales summarizes what the fans will find from Friday: “It is an intense weekend, in which all levels of horse riding are played. From the most technical, which is dressage, to the most spectacular which are the jumps. or the vaulting events that always attract attention, not to mention the competitions. Honestly, it is fortunate to have two World Cup events of show jumping and dressage. “