At the Pan-American Games in Chili, Friesian stallion Johnny Cash – Jelger fan it Hiem – (Tsjalle 454 x Tjimme 275) has achieved a 69.059% score in the Prix St. Georges and 68.441% in the Inter I. With these results the stallion ended in 14th and 21st place in the overall ranking with rider Carolina Cordoba Wolf in the saddle. That made them the best combination of the Mexican Team, which finished in 6th place.
First Friesian horse at Pan-American Games
Johnny Cash was the first-ever Friesian horse to take part in the Pan-American Games, which are held from the 20th of October to the 5th of November. For 26-year-old Carolina too it was her debut at this event, which is organised every four years. She considers it ‘an honour’ to be allowed to represent her country. ‘And I do hope that more Friesian horses are going to compete at this level at such large events.’
Training in Germany
Carolina and Johnny Cash have also put in appearances at international competitions in Europe, for instance in Falsterbo. ‘It was incredible to compete against the best riders in the world.’ In order to be able to hold their own at this level they have been training in Germany since a year. ‘There we learn how to perform at this level. We are studying hard on the Grand Prix exercises, obviously that’s the goal.’ She praises Johnny Cash’s personality. ‘He is exceptionally well-behaved, always on perfect behaviour. When he enters the large ring he whinnies once and then gets down to the job at hand.’ She’s also waxing lyrical about riding the stallion. ‘He is very responsive to the aids, we have become a really good combination within a short time.’
Finca Sanro with ambition for dressage
Carolina (26) rides the 12-year-old stallion for Mexican stud farm Finca Sanro, owned by Jónathan Robles and Sandra Sánchez. In addition to Johnny Cash, the KFPS Studbook stallions Dedmer 519, Beant 517 and Rommert 498 also live in their yard. The rider also rides Dedmer 519 but his main goal is to serve breeding in Mexico. The goal for Johnny Cash is to advance as far as possible in dressage. ‘Friesian horses are still relatively unknown in the top echelons of dressage’, Carolina knows. ‘But we are getting better and better and have already overcome quite a few barriers.’
Investing in dressage sports
It’s commonly known that the Mexicans are doing quite well in showjumping. Dressage sports was lagging behind a bit but in recent years they have been investing a lot in dressage sports and that showed at the Pan-American Games. Their young team made a good impression with Johnny Cash’s performances clearly standing out from the others in the team.
With thanks to Gotien Sipsma for the information and photos.
