Dressage un Ltd, Unlimited Dressage, Jerez 2002 WEG

™

Jerez 2002
WEG

Arturo Alvarez Pou
& Nefydd Buccaneer
Welsh Pony Stallion
WEG Jerez 2002 Exhibition

Invited by the WEG Organizing Committee Bucky was invited by the organizing committee, as he is something of a
phenomena here. As you know there is little or no pony culture in Spain and
then along comes this little stallion who for all the world looks like a
miniature Pure Bred Spanish horse and by the time he was 5 was champion of
Spain in his category. I also think a lot of it was to do with the fact that
he is with Victor and Maya. The music and the costume were designed by Maya. She
wanted something completely out of the ordinary. The costume was made in
Barcelona and Maya made all of Bucky's, the numnah (saddle pad), the bandages, the gold bridle, the gold plait that she painstakingly stitched into his mane every day.
Maya is one remarkable lady, a veritable whirlwind and so organised. She came up with the baroque theme. Personally I would have been so obvious and done something from Disney and folks would have forgotten it before it was over. I admire her greatly and she is 20 years my junior. I have learnt a lot from her. Victor designed the freestyle.
Bucky is working at a very high level, he is doing flying changes and is learning
piaffe, he does walk and canter pirouette. In the competitive world, with
Ariadna, he works at the most basic level, but last year Arturo was also
competing in level 3 with him. At one show Victor was competing in the same
class on a young Spanish horse, the winner was an ex trainer from C.A.V.A.,
who had a lot to do with Bucky in the early days, second was Victor and
third was Arturo with Bucky. We were all so proud that day, they were in
such good company.

My Stallion at WEG No one can imagine the feeling when I first heard that our Welsh pony Stallion, Nefydd Buccaneer, had been invited to take part in the World Equestrian Games. The feeling of elation was one I had never experienced before. When the mother of our rider and wife of our trainer, Maya Alvarez Pou, rang with the news I wanted to shout from the top of the nearest mountain to let the whole world know.
When we first started to breed ponies in Spain we were often told we were wasting our time. This only served to make us more determined to succeed.

Buccaneer is a very special pony, he stands at just 1mtr.30cms [12 1/2 hands] and at 4 years old was the champion pony in dressage for Valencia. Shortly after this he moved to C.A.V.A. [Victor Alvarez Equestrian Center] and started to work in earnest. His rider was the ten-year-old Arturo Alvarez, son of the maestro of doma, Victor Alvarez. This combination in a very short time became Spanish Champions and silver medallists in Alavines in the Campeonato de menores, also pony champions of Catalunia. The following year they retained their Spanish champion title and also won the Spanish Alevines Championship and again were Champions of Catalunia.

Then came this wonderful invitation, we can ask no more from this fantastic pony, he has done it all and given us so much pleasure along the way, all of this and he is still only 6 years old!!!!

The games were incredible, the atmosphere electric. Maya, Victor and myself were nervous, the arena enormous, but Arturo and Buccaneer were as cool as cucumbers, taking everything in their stride, as they performed in the company of the world’s best every day.

Maya pulled out all the stops, compiling baroque music for the Kur and providing a sensational outfit for Arturo and for Buccaneer. They looked superb.

The final night of the dressage saw a crowd of 22 thousand spectators and still our diminutive pair showed no nerves but just performed professionally and beautifully.

To see our name on the large scoreboard was such a buzz, I remember sitting there and thinking, some one pinch me, this can not be true, our name on the scoreboard in the arena of the World Games.

Everything about those five or six days was unforgettable. The privilege and honour of being there indescribable. To rub shoulders with the best equines in the World with a little Welsh pony was the highest point of my forty years with Welsh ponies.
Thank you Arturo, Victor and Maya for giving us so many hours of sheer pleasure. Arturo is now out of the class with Buccaneer and the ride has been taken over by his sister Ariadna who has already proved she is more than able by taking her first gold medal with Buccaneer in the Catalunian pony championships

Arturo and Bucky's Jerez 2002 WEG
Video
Bucky's owner, Sue Horey, and Arturo's parents, came to our booth at Jerez WEG and asked if we would please video their performance. "You must include how thrilled we are with our videos!!!!!! Something for the grandchildren to inherit! The video is all we expected and more. The way you have filled the tape is superb. We managed 1 and a half bottles of fine Spanish wine between us whilst watching it. It is a recorded memory forever

and will be guarded like the crown jewels. You really are professional, the tape is testament to that. No fuss, no frills, just the story the way it was."

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