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Tokyo 2020 Olympic showjumping course designer Santiago Varela is aiming for courses that are fair for the horses, and that they can jump well.
The Spanish designer has just arrived in Tokyo where he will start preparing for the courses he will create for the eventing and showjumping Olympians, with riders with many different levels of experience.
“The course always needs to be fair for the horses. The modern horse is very clever and they are super athletes, but they need to be protected so we must always build a course that they can jump well,” Varela says.
Horse & Hound
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13 March, 2021 12:24 SUNBURY, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 27: Harry Skelton riding Nube Negra clear the last to win The Ladbrokes Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton Park Racecourse on December 27, 2020 in Sunbury, England. Owners are allowed to attend if they have a runner at the meeting otherwise racing remains behind closed doors to the public due to the Coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)
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The seven-year-old is currently third favourite for Wednesday’s race for which Harry Skelton will be aboard, but his story actually begins in Spain where his breeder, the legendary Spanish rider Luis Alvarez Cervera, who competed at six Olympic Games and represented his country in both showjumping and eventing, put him in training.
From top trainer to aspiring breeder: Dan Skelton to stand stallion Dink | Bloodstock News racingpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from racingpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.