CSIO Barcelona 2019 – Page 2 – Irish Sport Horse Magazine

From left to right; John Roche, Emilio Zegrí, David Escudé, Curro Espinós, Pere Vilà y Santiago Mercé Santiago Mercé, president of the CSIO Barcelona has advanced in the Official Presentation of the CSIO Barcelona 2019 that this 108th edition welcomes nine of the ten best riders in the world: Steve Guerdat, Martin Fuchs, Daniel Deusser, Peder Fredricson, Ben Maher, Pieter Devos, McLain Ward, Christian Ahlmann and Niels Bruynseels. Spain’s oldest international sport event will be held from today until Sunday 6th October at the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona and will feature the best participants of the latest editions. During the four days of competition, a total of 8 classes will be held, including the Longines FEI Jumping Nations CupTM Final, the most important team competition at international level, the Queen’s Cup – Segura Viudas Trophy and the Hyundai Cup of the City of Barcelona. With a pass available for Tokyo 2020 A total of 18 nations have gained access to this final leg of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup and will compete to succeed Belgium. At the top of the podium: Germany, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, United States, France, Great Britain, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Spain as the host country. But this year, in addition, the competition has an added incentive: the last Olympic Games pass. At the gates of the Olympic Games of Tokyo 2020, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Colombia, Egypt and Spain will have to fight for this pass. The best ranked of these seven teams will get the passport for Tokyo. Belgium, current world champion, France and Ireland, respectively silver and bronze medals, will compete for a new title for their display case. John Roche, jumping director of the FEI (Fédération Equestre Internationale), has ensured that this pass to the next Olympic Games "will give more excitement to the tournament, since there is no better feeling than competing for your nation." The PoloPark by mesoestetic, entertainment for everyone The 20,000 m2 of the polo field will be transformed into a large family area with fun and dynamic proposals aimed at both adults and children. The activities include a Foodie Fest, a large market, the Brand Village and the Kids Park for children with their traditional Pony Park, among other areas. In this edition the sport show can also be alternated with small shows and several daily musical concerts that will take place on the polo field, the largest green space in Barcelona. In addition, repeating the experience of the last edition, the pet food brand “Affinity” will offer an incredible Agility show with several dogs in a space specially created for it and the Urban Guard will star in its traditional exhibition. Vaulting initiation lessons will also be offered by the best specialists of the moment and demonstrations of Adapted Horse Riding, by the hand of Raúl Pinteño, together with the presentation of a chair adapted for people with reduced mobility in the Hyundai Motor tent. Bureau Veritas gives the CSIO Barcelona the certificate of Sustainable Event Design Certificate for Sustainable Event Design Taking advantage of the official presentation of the CSIO Barcelona 2019, Bureau Veritas, the world's leading company in testing, inspection and certification, has given through its Executive President, Bertrand Martin, the certificate of 'Sustainable Event Design' to the CSIO Barcelona in recognition of sustainable work in its 108th edition. The auditors of the company, as Bertrand Martin has argued, “they have valued all the actions that respect society and the environmental and economic impact proposed by the CSIO Barcelona, in addition to its proper water management, reducing the footprint of carbon promoting the use of renewable energies or the correct segregation and subsequent proper management of the generated waste, among others ”. The event was attended by Mr. Curro Espinós, president of the RCPB; Emilio Zegrí, president of the RCPB Foundation and the Catalan Equestrian Federation; Santiago Mercé, president of CSIO Barcelona; David Escudé, Councilor for Sports of the City Council of Barcelona and Deputy Delegate for Sports of the Diputación de Barcelona; Pere Vilà, territorial representative of Sport in Barcelona of the Generalitat de Catalunya and John Roche, director of jumps of the FEI. The RCPB promotes the solidarity project ‘Cabalgando la Vida’ Emilio Zegrí, president of the RCPB Foundation, has highlighted the social aspect of the contest, making special mention of the 'Riding Life' project, which is born from the RCPB Foundation, and which focuses on a study of hippotherapy in children who have passed an oncological treatment. The project has the support of the Spanish Association Against Cancer and the Gimbernat University Schools that will evaluate the study. The results will be announced at the end of 2020. Pere Vilà, territorial representative of Sport in Barcelona of the Generalitat de Catalunya, has emphasized the great work of entities such as the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona for being “an engine of social transformation, thanks to its commitment to training and mainstreaming, supporting solidarity projects such as 'Riding the life' ”. MORE INFO: Isabel Suter Jesús Albiol / Nuria Molina Media Department Media Department RCPB FOUNDATION Solsona Comunicación Avda. Dr. Marañon, 19-31 Tel. (+34) 93 237 49 88 08028 - Barcelona jesusalbiol@solsonacomunicacion.com Tel. (+34) 93 448 04 00 ext. 264 nuriamolina@solsonacomunicación.com (+34) 670 258 222 isuter@rcpolo.com