Yvonne Losos de Muñiz Makes Clean Sweep of Wellington Dressage Classic

'Losos de Muñiz and Inatana Las Marismas compete at the Florida Dressage Classic'

Photo credit:PhelpsPhotos.com

Wellington, Florida --- Dominican Republic dressage rider Yvonne Losos de Muñiz made a clean sweep of the FEI Intermediare division at the CDI*** Zada WEF Dressage Classic in Wellington, Florida.

Held March 13-16, 2003, at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club during the Winter Equestrian Festival, Losos de Muñiz won all three competitions at the Intermediare level - the Prix St. Georges, Intermediare I and Intermediare Freestyle. Following her Prix St. Georges victory, Losos de Muñiz was the only rider to break 70% against an impressive international starting field of 29 entries in Saturday's $1,000 Intermediare I competition. Her remarkable score of 70.25% was earned for a performance that featured strong lateral movements in both the trot and canter work with her partner, Inatana Las Marismas, a 13-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood mare by Latano that she has been riding since January of 2002.

"The mare was super and everything just fell into place so it goes to show that our program is working," said Losos de Muñiz who is coached by well-known Dutch trainer, Diederik Wigmans. "Both myself and my coach are always looking for perfection and are never satisfied, and this was the first time he's actually complimented me when I came out of the ring, telling me I did a super job. We are both so critical that we are never, ever happy!"

Only the top 12 horse-rider combinations moved forward to contest Sunday's $2,500 Intermediare Freestyle where Losos de Muñiz once again came out on top, this time winning with an impressive score of 72.88%. Her closest competitor, Dr. Cesar Parra, a team bronze medallist for Colombia at the 1999 Pan American Games, earned a score of 70.25% riding Pik L. Riding to Celtic inspired music designed by Terry Ciotti-Gallo of Klassic Kur, Losos de Muñiz once displayed expressive trot and canter half-passes as well as balanced canter pirouettes.

"Everyone loves the music - I get more compliments on it than my riding!" joked Losos de Muñiz, who is also an accomplished show jumping rider, competing in both disciplines during the Winter Equestrian Festival. "My freestyle is a little conservative because it is was designed a year ago when I first began riding the mare, so I would like to improve the level of difficulty for the Pan American Games. We are going to do one more dressage show in Kentucky in April, and then I am not really going to show. I am going home to the Dominican Republic to work on my freestyle in order to produce the best I can for the Pan Ams."

From August 1-17, Losos de Muñiz's hometown of Santo Domingo will play host to the 2003 Pan American Games. Losos de Muñiz's success in Florida, competing against many of the same horse-rider combinations she will face at the 2003 Pan American Games, bodes well for her future success. The Dominican Republic has never before won a medal in Pan American Games equestrian competition.

Losos de Muñiz's exciting wins in at the CDI*** Zada WEF Dressage Classic comes hot on the heels of her success at the Florida Dressage Classic, held February 13-16, where she won both the Prix St. Georges (70.75%) and Intermediare I (69.00%) competitions and placed second in the Intermediare Freestyle (71.50%). At the Wellington Dressage competition, held January 30-February 2, Losos de Muñiz placed second from a field of 23 starters in the Prix St. Georges (68.38%), won the Intermediare I (67.25%), and finished runner-up in the Intermediare Freestyle (71.88%).

"I have the most amazing support group and I couldn't do it without them, they make my life a lot easier," says Losos de Muñiz, 35, who operates the dressage and show jumping facility, Las Marismas, with her husband, Eduardo Muñiz. "My students and staff are so supportive, and my number one fan, my husband, is so encouraging. It is not an individual effort - without them, I wouldn't be here. Everything is falling into place, and all the hard work we put into it as a team is paying off."

In December, Losos de Muñiz won two individual gold medals and led the Dominican Republic to the team bronze at the 2002 Central American Games in El Salvador. Earlier in 2002, Losos de Muñiz led the Dominican Republic to its first win of the FEI World Dressage Challenge sponsored by Performance Sales International (PSI). Losos de Muñiz then teamed up with her student, George Fernández, to claim the bronze medal at the 2002 FEI Championship of the Americas in Blainville, Canada.

A dual citizen of the Dominican Republic and Canada, Losos de Muñiz also runs the Canadian arm of Las Marismas from Vankleek Hill, ON, a small town located midway between Ottawa and Montreal. The Canadian operation specializes in Dutch-bred sport horses for all disciplines with guidance and support from renowned Dutch horsemen, Paul and Emile Hendrix. In addition, Las Marismas is a well-known producer of Andalusian horses, a historic Spanish breed, which are bred and trained at both the Canadian and Dominican Republic facilities.

Team Las Marismas competed several dressage and show jumping horses on the Florida circuit. Find a complete list by clicking on Competition Horses.