The XXXII Andalucía Sunshine Tour gets underway with a strong turnout and a Spanish victory

Vejer, February 3, 2026.

The opening day of the XXXII Andalucía Sunshine Tour exceeded all expectations, featuring classes with exceptionally high participation and delivering the first Spanish victory of the circuit.

The long-awaited moment has arrived: the XXXII Andalucía Sunshine Tour is now underway. On this opening day, young horses took centre stage, with many of them completing the first of the four clear rounds required to qualify for the finals of the first block, scheduled for the third week of the circuit.

Competition took place across three arenas, with close to 550 combinations taking part. Of the seven official classes on the day’s programme, two required split classifications due to entries exceeding one hundred combinations.

Among the standout performers were several horses bred in Spain. One of them was Tarmitage de Folch, winner of the 6-year-old class. Pop Up and Arezzo de Llamosas also left their mark, finishing second in the 8-year-old classes.

Spanish double in the 6-year-old category

The major Spanish success came in the first of the classes for 6-year-old horses, where Tarmitage de Folch, a CDE horse bred and ridden by Jesús Folch, claimed victory. His time was the fastest among the 52 combinations that completed the class without penalties. Following the Spanish pair were Kafecalva de Gue (Kannan x Diamant de Semilly), ridden by France’s Alix Ragot, and Cobette PS Z VDH (Continental Blue x Cento), ridden by Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen.

In the second class of this category, the win went to Uquila, a BWP mare who had already shone during the Pre-Sunshine Tour, ridden by Czech rider Jaroslav Sima. Prime Time ZL (Dakar VDL), with Britain’s Alfie Bradstock, and Paskal (Komme Casall x Hamlet), ridden by Daan Adams, completed the podium.

Jesús Folch once again featured among the top finishers, taking fourth place with Conan de Folch, another horse bred by him.

High level among the 7-year-olds

In the first 7-year-old class, victory went to Oploo (Zambesi TN x Numero Uno), ridden by Britain’s Joshua Hutchins, who posted the best time in a class that saw 98 combinations compete, 70 of which finished both phases clear. He was followed by Ever So Clever GM Z (Emerald x Quite Easy), with Jack Ryan, and To Me-K van Kattenheye, a mare by Van Gogh out of a Kannan dam, once again performing strongly with Germany’s Kendra Claricia Brinkop.

The second class of the category, with more than one hundred entries, also required split classifications. One section was won by Torento M (Emerald x Quantum), ridden by Italy’s Andrea Pisani, while the other went to Tapis-Plain van de Lentamel (Kasanova de la Pomme x Limbo), with Belgian rider Ignace Philips de Vuyst.

In the first group, the podium was completed by Nevinda Z (Nibali van het Eikenhof x Stakkato Gold), with Austria’s Bianca Babanitz, and Condor Blue PS (Conthargos x London), once again ridden by Andrea Pisani.
In the second group, second and third places went to Januzaj (Jaloubet K x Cassini), with Jaroslav Sima, and Jack Pot du Breuil (Mylord Carthago x Kashmir van’t Schuttershof), ridden by Grégoire Hercelin.

Two CDE horses shine in the 8-year-olds

The 8-year-old class, with 111 starters, was also decided with split classifications. One section was won by Sniper des Lilas Blancs (Hamilton du Chapitre x Calvaro Z), ridden by Kendra Claricia Brinkop, while the second victory went to Stakkadine (Stakkato Gold x Zinedine), ridden by Maximilian Weishaupt.

In both classifications, Álvaro González de Zárate finished second with two Spanish-bred horses: Pop Up (Sir Obolensky Z x Noble Sire) and Arezzo de Llamosas (Arezzo x Carthago Z).

5-year-old classes

Both classes for 5-year-old horses were run without a stopwatch, meaning all combinations finishing clear shared first place. In the first class, 22 of the 34 participants achieved a clear round, while in the second, 31 of the 36 combinations completed their course without penalties.

The circuit is sponsored by the Regional Government of Andalusia, through the Ministry of Tourism and Andalusia External Affairs, and the Provincial Council of Cádiz. This collaboration reinforces the institutional commitment to promoting the region, organising internationally renowned events and fostering the economic, cultural and tourism development of the area.