Stephan de Freitas Barcha wins the CSI4* Stephex Grand Prix at the ASST 2026

Vejer de la Frontera, 15th of March

Brazilian rider Stephan de Freitas Barcha claimed victory this Sunday in the CSI4* Stephex Grand Prix 1.55m (Longines Ranking), the highlight class of the sixth week of the Andalucía Sunshine Tour 2026, held on the Don Antonio grass arena at Montenmedio in Vejer de la Frontera.

Riding “Dinozo Un Prince”, the Brazilian produced the fastest clear round in the jump-off, stopping the clock in 43.07 seconds to secure victory in a class that once again brought together some of the leading combinations on the international circuit. Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen finished second with “Con Quidam RB”, also jumping clear in 43.22 seconds, while her compatriot Roelof Bril placed third with “Iberico”, crossing the finish line in 48.61 seconds. Ireland’s Michael Pender finished fourth with “HHS Cyprus”, followed in fifth place by Belgium’s Olivier Philippaerts with “Hipster SV”, while Great Britain’s Sameh El Dahan completed the top six riding “Oscar-A”.

In a special moment held in the main arena, Sanne Thijssen also bid farewell to her long-time partner “Con Quidam RB”, who at 20 years of age officially retired from competition. The pair signed off with a superb double clear to finish second, bringing to a close a remarkable sporting partnership that has produced many major international successes.

Among the Spanish riders, the best placed was Álvaro González de Zárate, who finished 21st with “Conthargo-Blue”. Also competing were Alberto Márquez Galobardes, Jesús Bamonde Bermúdez de Castro, Imma Roquet, Kevin González de Zárate, Armando Trapote, Jesús Garmendia Echevarría and José Bono Rodríguez.

Michael Pender wins the WKD Medium Tour Grand Prix

Sunday’s programme also included the WKD Medium Tour Grand Prix 1.50m (Longines Ranking), where victory went to Ireland’s Michael Pender with “Starfield Brighteye”, producing a clear jump-off round in 35.73 seconds. Belgium’s Olivier Philippaerts finished second with “Dixie Moon”, while France’s Theo Ogorzaly took third place riding “Goya Batilly”.

Among the Spanish riders, Luis Fernández Gil-Fournier produced the best result, while Luis Ortiz Agüera, Otti Verdú Vidal, Álvaro González de Zárate, Jesús Garmendia, Antonio Mariñas, Iván Serrano, Armando Trapote, Alberto Márquez, Imma Roquet and Pello Elórduy also took part.

Richard Howley wins the Small Tour Grand Prix

The Small Tour Grand Prix 1.45m (Longines Ranking) was won by Irish rider Richard Howley, who took victory with “Caprice d’Elle” after producing a clear jump-off round in 39.56 seconds. Portugal’s Joao Pedro Gomes finished second with “Candice van het Hulgenrode Z”, while Irish rider Max O’Reilly Hyland completed the podium in third place with “Rock Warrior”.

Among the Spanish riders, Julio Arias Cueva finished tenth with “Sienna de Brandegem”, alongside participation from Jesús Torres, Francisco de Asís Arango, Telmo Busca, Mario Peña, José Antonio García Diana, Paloma Barceló, Belén Conde, Álvaro Castro, Juan Ramón Aguilar, Carmen Mateos de Urbina, Gonzalo Bedoya, Rubén Gómez Crespo and Pablo García-Gallardo.

Youth Grand Prix – Sycamore Auction Trophy

The Youth competitions also held their Grand Prix classes during the weekend in the Children, Juniors and Young Riders categories.

In Children, victory went to Portuguese rider Matilde Rodrigues with “Jikaribanta”, followed by Spain’s Javier Catalán Conde with “Gismo de Pravia”, while Daniel Torres Hernández finished third with “Be Mylord de Glain”.

In Juniors, Dutch rider Liv Linssen won with “Stella M”, ahead of Spain’s Daniel Ocaña Sánchez with “Dancing de L'Enclos”, while Margarita D’Agostino Vargas placed third riding “Cadira PS”.

In Young Riders, victory went to Switzerland’s Logan Fiechter with “Mien-Viola”, followed by Spain’s Ekain Azkarraga Grajales with “Chianti des Roques”, while Kristina Klebanova finished third with “Nuraya 3”. Spain’s Juan Riva Gil also produced a strong performance to finish fourth with “Victoria d’Argent”.

Saturday highlights

Saturday’s competitions also produced strong results for Spanish riders in several of the CSI4* classes.

One of the standout performances came from Imma Roquet Autonell, who finished third in the CSI4* Small Grand Prix (1.45m) with the CDE “Corisha del Maset”, in a class that saw 69 combinations start, with only eight advancing to the jump-off. Victory went to Dutch rider Rogier Linssen with “Moneypenny”.

Roquet also claimed victory in the Big Tour 1.35m riding “Icenta del Maset”, while Kevin González de Zárate finished fourth with “Cornet Crimoso”.

Spanish rider Paloma Barceló also delivered a strong result, finishing fourth in the 1.45m class with “Falbala Pironniere”.

In the Small Tour 1.30m, Luis Ortiz Agüera finished second with “Isseymiyake de Kaps Coco”, followed by Alex Sagarduy Bengoa, third with “Classique des Loups”, and Paula Azofra García, fourth with “Recesvinto”.

Another Spanish victory came in the Medium Tour 1.35m, where Juan Riva Gil won with “Amaretto du Surgeon”, while Francisco de Asís Arango Lasaosa finished third in the Small Tour 1.40m with “Galikova de Beaufour”.

Final week of jumping and start of dressage in Montenmedio

Following six weeks of competition, the Andalucía Sunshine Tour 2026 now heads into its seventh and final week of jumping, which begins this Tuesday at the Montenmedio Equestrian Center. The final week will include a CSIYH, CSI1* and CSI4*, featuring the young horse finals of the second cycle.

At the same time, Montenmedio will also host the first international dressage competitions of the season, with CDI3* and CDI1* events alongside classes for Young Riders, Juniors, Children, Ponies, U25 and Young Horses, as well as national competitions.

Montenmedio will therefore remain one of the key venues on the international equestrian calendar over the coming weeks, combining the conclusion of the Andalucía Sunshine Tour jumping programme with the start of the dressage competitions.

The event receives institutional support from the Junta de Andalucía — through the Regional Ministry of Tourism and Andalucía Exterior — and the Provincial Council of Cádiz.

FULL RESULTS
https://www.sunshinetour.net/resultados/xxxii-andalucia-sunshine-tour-2026/48606738