The rider from ALDA Stables analyses the bronze medal won with Joy de Goutte Noire at the Catalan 7-Year-Old Championship and highlights the mare's progress since her arrival at the yard.
Alex Codina Leria and Joy de Goutte Noire concluded their participation in the Catalan Show Jumping Championship this past Sunday, the 21st, with a bronze medal in the 7-year-old category. The pair finished the championship with a clear round in the final event, the only clear round, which allowed them to climb the standings and secure their place on the podium.
For ALDA Stables, the result is special. Joy de Goutte Noire arrived at Alex Codina's yard just a few months ago from France, and since then the work has focused on adapting the mare to a new way of riding and giving her competition experience. Her first outings in the arena had already left a good impression, with a fourth place in the CSI2* Small Grand Prix in Esposende.
«I am very pleased with the championship, both because of how well it was organised and because of the facilities. The arenas were very well maintained and we had permanent stables, with water drinkers and everything very well prepared. And, of course, I am also very satisfied with the result, because it has been a very positive competition and close to home as well, explains Codina.
Following the previous rounds, the partnership arrived with a chance to fight for the medals and did not fail. Joy completed the 7-year-old final with no faults, a result that allowed them to move up the standings.
«I think the third day was when she jumped best. She went clear in the 7-year-old final and we managed to climb a lot of places to finish on the podium. I'm very happy with her, not just because of the medal, but because of the feeling she's giving me and because I think she can be an important mare for the future, the rider points out.
Codina highlights the evolution Joy has undergone since joining ALDA Stables. Adapting to a new working system has been an important part of the process during these first few months.
«Joy is a very good mare who is making great progress, especially in her handling and daily work. Little by little she is adapting to our way of riding and our work system,» he explains. «It has been a very favourable evolution in a short time.».
That process has also involved introducing changes to find the best way to work with it. «We've made quite a few changes, both to the ironwork and the way of working with it, looking to find the system that best adapts to it and allows me to ride it the way I like best. All that process is yielding very good results,» he adds.
Codina is clear about the qualities that make Joy a mare with potential. Among them, he highlights, first and foremost, her strength and the ease with which she leaves the ground.
«She is a very powerful mare, but at the same time she is very light. That means I don't have to constantly use my leg, because she has a lot of natural impulsion for jumping, he explains.
To that capability is added her respect for the rails. «She is very respectful, she doesn't like to commit knockdowns. She's a clean mare,» he notes.
Codina recognises that the mistakes she currently makes are more related to her own energy and a certain amount of tension than a lack of quality for jumping. «Being so clean and having so much power, she can occasionally become uncoordinated. But apart from that, she has a very good head, a lot of strength and is a very respectful mare.».
«I am not just happy about the medal, but because of the feeling it gives me, as I believe she is going to be a mare with a future», he states.
For Codina, the ability to respond when demands increase is one of the characteristics that makes it possible to distinguish good horses.
«For me that is the most important thing. In the end, good horses rise to the occasion when the pressure is on and when they notice that you are a little bit more nervous, they help you, support you and contribute. For me, that fact is important and I value it very positively, he explains.
The bronze medal for Joy de Goutte Noire adds to a positive season for Codina and to a young horse project that ALDA Stables is beginning to develop in greater depth.
«It has been a very positive and interesting season, and I am very grateful for everything we have achieved,» he comments. «I believe that the young horse project has only just begun, both in terms of breeding and the incorporation of seven-year-old horses.».
The team's intention is to continue expanding that base over the coming years. «Now we have to keep developing it, also bringing in four- and five-year-old horses and continuing with breeding to build a base of horses for the future,» he points out.
Following the bronze medal at the Catalonia Championship, the next fixtures are already set. «The next objective will be the Spanish Championship. We'll still see whether we do the 7-year-old one or if we opt for some other championship,» explains Codina. Afterwards, Joy will continue her preparation in international competition: «Joy will jump at the international shows in Vejer and at the CSI2* at the Polo in Barcelona.».
Photograph by Celeste Ribó.
