The CSI3* A Coruña began with a victory for Eduardo Álvarez Aznar in the Veolia Trophy.
The CSI3* A Coruña, held in parallel with the European Championships, kicked off on Friday at the Casas Novas Equestrian Centre with the first two events: the Veolia Trophy and the Grupo EULEN Trophy.
The launch of the CSI3* A Coruña, featuring top international riders also competing in the European Show Jumping Championship, had a standout moment courtesy of Spanish rider Eduardo Álvarez Aznar. The Olympic rider from Madrid claimed victory in the Veolia Trophy riding “Genaro Paulois,” a young chestnut stallion, with the fastest clear round among the eleven faultless performances: 68.12 seconds.
Joining the Spanish rider on the podium were two major names on the European circuit, whom he managed to beat on time: Maikel Van der Vleuten finished second with “Elwikke” (69.02), and German rider Marcus Ehning placed third with “Askala NRW” (71.37).
All three riders took part in the prize-giving ceremony, where Eduardo Álvarez Aznar received the Veolia Trophy from Pablo Nieto, representing the sponsoring company.
Olympic Victory in the Grupo EULEN Trophy
The second class of the opening day at the CSI3* A Coruña was the Grupo EULEN Trophy, a points-scoring event for the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) Ranking, held as a speed class over 1.45-meter fences.
For much of the class, Spanish riders dominated the provisional leaderboard, with local rider Javier González Fraga taking the lead after a strong performance with “Sonic JGF” (60.96). However, in the final group of competitors, three of the sport’s elite figures rose to the top and pushed the Spaniard down to fourth in the final standings.
The winner was Olympic individual champion in Tokyo and team gold medallist in both London and Paris, Ben Maher. The British rider flew around the Casas Novas arena with his experienced mount, “Ginger-Blue,” posting an unbeatable time of 59.41 seconds.
Another international star, current provisional leader of the 2025 European Championship, German rider Richard Vogel, finished second with “Qaparezzo-A” (59.95), while young Belgian rider Thibault Philippaerts claimed third place with “Quilano” (60.34).
Five Spanish pairs followed, all delivering clear rounds, in the following order: Javier González Fraga with “Sonic JGF,” Jesús Garmendia with “Caramel Blue PS,” Pello Elorduy with “Champenoise de Rampan,” Álvaro González de Zárate with “Casa Diva PS,” and Alex Codina with “My Pasión vd Donkhoeve.”
Jorge González Seoane, Managing Director for Spain and Portugal at Grupo EULEN, presented the trophy to the winner of this first major class of the CSI3* A Coruña, Great Britain’s Ben Maher.
Saturday’s Competitions
On Saturday, July 19, two more events will take place as part of the CSI3* A Coruña. The first, the Movistar Trophy (1.45 meters), is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m., followed by the Porsche Grand Prix at 4:30 p.m. This Grand Prix will include a special award for the best Spanish rider, presented by Caser Grupo Helvetia. The class will be a timed event with a jump-off, over fences set at 1.55 meters.