‘I’d love to inspire everyone to do dressage’: meet Venezuela’s first female Olympic rider

Paris 2024 competitor Patricia Ferrando is the first female equestrian athlete from Venezuela ever to qualify for the Games.

“I didn’t know that until I got my spot at the Olympics. It feels great. We’re making history, so I’m proud and happy to be part of it,” she said after her Olympic dressage test yesterday.

“I would love to inspire everyone to do dressage,” she added. “It was a challenge for myself to get to this level and it’s not easy. It’s a lot of mind games. I’d like to inspire Central and South American riders that it’s possible that we can be here and we can be part of this amazing journey.”

Patricia had a huge smile on her face during her test with Honnaisseur SJ, which scored 67.143%.

“The horse behaved like a gentleman and didn’t spook at all and the environment was just magnificent,” she said. “When you are in the same rhythm and channel with your horse, it’s special and for me the last line was incredible. We nailed everything. So I was very happy.”

Patricia Ferrando, 39, was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and has now been based in Wellington, Florida, for about a decade.

“I started as a jumping rider in Venezuela and then I went to a Central American and Caribbean Games in Mexico, saw high-level dresage for the first time and just fell in love. I changed sports and I’ve done three Pan American Games, as well as the Central American and Carribean Games, and now the Olympics,” she explained.

“I was like, ‘This is my thing’ when I saw dressage. I felt this was more my style than jumping. I love jumping, but dressage is my world. I liked the challenge of trying to nail every single exercise at a letter, communicating with the horse in a deep way with just a signal. And the horses, living with the horses, living with my babies, it’s the dream come true.”

Patricia Ferrando said it has been “quite a journey” with her Paris ride, the 12-year-old Honnaisseur SJ, who belongs to his rider, her brother Arturo and Patricia Zilio.

“He’s like me,” she said when asked about the horse’s personality. “We’re very calm, but when you turn it on, we are there. We’re sharp. He’s has a good head, but when I ask to go, he will give 150%.”

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