Fiontini and Severe Jury: A very diva mare and a rider with fifth sense

• Gymnastics: how to be a father hanging from the rings

On the way to Deodoro , a neighborhood on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, a bus of journalists was stoned during the Olympic Games . Not even the military barracks present in the area intimidated the assailants. The stress of displacement, a good Copacabana run, was forgotten in the equestrian center. Another world, among elegant frames, careful exercises and background music. The one chosen by the Spanish Severo Jurado to get his Olympic diploma in dressage (fifth position) left the audience speechless. For the special envoys inexperienced in the matter (who writes here, for example) it was an unforgettable moment to see Lorenzo, his horse, move to the rhythm of It's my life, the hymn of Bon Jovi.

The rock sound set the spectators on their feet, cheering with their palms the steps of the obedient animal. He had previously made him dance under the chords of Carlos Santana's guitar. So famous was the scene that months later it was recovered by one of the most famous night shows in the United States (James Corden's).

Now, qualified with the national team for Tokyo , Severo (31 years) prepares the calendar on the back of Fiontini, the mare with which he will look for the medal in his second Games. Lorenzo, his partner in 2016, acts as an alternate. «He is a very emotional rider. It connects with the horse, interprets it, feels it ... », describes with admiration Line Groom , the 19-year-old caretaker who pampers the animal part of this binomial that forms man and equine in the form of dressage. It makes good equipment with Severo, Andalusian installed in Aalborg, Denmark. He works there in one of the most important stables in the world, the Helsgtrand Dressage . Compete with horses that shoot their value for future sales. Fiontini, his partner in Tokyo, was about to have a buyer (a price above four million euros), without closing the operation at the last moment. The owner of the stable preferred to continue with Severo.

A special performance

The Andalusian rider breathed in relief, being able to continue with a very special partner. She has been three times world champion. Danish breed, nine years, brown color and strong personality. «A bland or shy horse does not work. Fiontini wastes character, but you have to know how to take it, ”says Miki Jordá, the dressage technical director in the Spanish Federation. To explain what the mare looks like, Severo remembers a concrete action, that of the day of the presumed goodbye. “They were going to sell it, and in that last year, it shone like never before. I felt something different, she seemed to want to look more. She is very diva, wastes elegance and genius. It has a lot of quality, ”says this Sevillian, who inherited respect for horses from his maternal grandfather.

Also that sixth sense that allows you to communicate with them without speaking (it is prohibited in competition). It is not necessary the verb, but the rubbing of the boots, the small sounds, the soft and iron pull of the reins or the slight touches with the knees, almost imperceptible before the eye of the public. A good dressage rider is the one who looks like a statue. «We are two in one, it is part of you. Body language is basic for understanding. His memory is incredible. It still amazes me sometimes, ”says the Spaniard.

Dressage and its secrets, an art that achieves human movements in animals. Legs that become feet, with their crosses and their heels to the rhythm of the music. A fascinating choreography. Rigor and carrot, with the mud pond - its relaxation - waiting after the competitions. Thus Severo rewards his mounts. Before, super athlete discipline, with specialized physiotherapists and even sauna and spa for horses. Line, the caretaker, looks at the trip to the Games with concern. Many flight hours from Amsterdam to the Japanese capital. She will go along with Fiontini in a plane prepared to transport animals worth millions of euros . "You have to accommodate them with maximum comfort, monitor the temperature, their food ... If they arrive stressed, the competition would be ruined," warns this young retailer who has been between four years between steeds. A trade that does not understand holidays, because their customers need attention every day of the year.

Severe, instead of heading for the bullfighting world, he refined his technique at the Royal Cavalry Masters of Ronda, before continuing to improve in Germany and the Netherlands. "He has a lot of sensitivity with the horses, especially with the difficult ones, whom he knows how to get his best version," says Miki Jordá.

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