“Joining the Chas and Las Mestas competition is a very good idea”

Alejandro Ancín, in front of the Chas track at Gijón Horse Jumping. | Juan Plaza

The sporting responsibility of the Gijón Horse Jumping competitions rests with In2Strides, a company specialized in the organization of equestrian events whose director, Alejandro Ancín, has been at the Astur Equestrian Club since last week. Ancín and his company have been carrying out this work for four years in Gijón competitions, the last two years in Las Mestas and the past and this in Chas.

–You are familiar with numerous equestrian competitions around the world. What do you think of the idea of ​​Gijón Horse Jumping without taking into account how imponderable it is having with covid-19?

– Anything that is a commitment to promote the sport of horse riding is welcome. It is true that in Asturias there were always many contests during the month of August, although spread over several locations, culminating with the nationals of the Chas and the international of Las Mestas, it is something historical. If you ask any national rider, they have all come to run here at Chas and Las Mestas. Joining the competition of these two sites in the Gijón Horse Jumping is a very good idea, it is to fill the month of August with horse riding.

–But August is already a month with many competitions in Spain.

– It is true, but it is being verified that in this year’s nationals the participation was very large, the stables were full and the contest was even extended one day to accommodate more horses. That means that the national competition is in very good health. Another thing is the international, but that is not only happening here in Gijón. We work in many events even outside of Spain we are noticing that participation is falling by around 30 percent. If we take the reference two years ago, it will probably be longer. A contest that we are in is the one in Fontainebleau, near Paris, there have been 30 percent fewer participants and that is in the center of Europe, with thousands of horses around. The causes can be many: fear of traveling, foreign riders find it more difficult to move and they hold the contests that are closer to home. The French rider Oliver Camy, who was participating last week, told me that the site is spectacular and that he loved the sports program, but his problem is that he usually travels with many students and now he is having a hard time moving them. With all these conditions, getting 200 horses in this contest is a good number.

–This is the fourth Gijón Horse Jumping competition and the level of the participants has increased compared to the previous ones.

–In the program, the highest category competitions are at the end and it is normal for better riders to come, although this is a strange year because the Olympic Games are here and in a couple of weeks there will be the European Championship. With the cancellations of the covid-19, very important contests such as the CSIO in Aachen have changed dates and the calendar is somewhat mixed up internationally. There could be more horses, surely, but we must put everything within the context in which we move and we must value the effort made by the City Council and the Chas: the track is very good, there are tents around, gastronomic offer, pony-club for the children, the obstacles of Las Mestas … this effort is appreciated by riders.

–Will the consolidation of the Gijón Horse Jumping project influence riders and riders who did not do so with the previous model?

– The ideal will be to have a higher category contest. A five-star has many expenses for the organizing committee, since you have to pay the riders’ stay, you cannot charge registrations … but you can organize a four-star that does not detract at all from a five-star. You can organize a four-star, which lacks three or four thousand euros in prizes to be a five, it is a four of the highest level and that is attractive for the riders because money is distributed and also many points for the ranking. If you do a contest of this type, it is easier to attract high-level participants, without detracting from those who are now participating here. There are enough level riders to participate in four-star competitions but they cannot compete in two-star competitions against four-star competitions, especially when you are 2,500 kilometers from the center of Europe.

–The distance is another of the handicaps that Gijón has, the distance with the center of Europe.

–Of course, people after the outbreak of equine rhinopneumonitis and with the pandemic look at the displacements a lot. If the sports program is attractive and the conditions are met, I am sure that in the not too distant future important riders will come again.