November 11, 2024 
It was a special kind of homecoming this weekend in the 1.60m GNP 5* Grand Prix at Club Hipico La Silla for the London-based amateur rider from Mexico, Andres Azcarraga.
Last to return for the 12-horse jump-off, the 31-year-old Mexico City native delivered a clutch performance aboard his longtime partner, Contendros 2. The pair kept the pace on full throttle, cutting crucial seconds off the clock in a neat turn back from a penultimate liverpool vertical to the final line on course.
Azcarraga stopped the clock at 40.20 seconds, just ahead of Italy’s Emanuele Camilli and Odense Odeveld in second on 40.88 seconds, and Great Britain’s Harry Charles and Casquo Blue in third on 41.04. Even so, the jump-off may have felt like a cake walk for the rider from Mexico after a potentially stressful first round. If so, it’s not hard to guess what was on his mind.
After all, it’s been only a handful of months and nearly as many shows since Azcarraga was eliminated in the Individual final during his Olympic debut in Paris. The reason? An unexpected refusal from Contendro 2 at the open water, an obstacle used once again during the GNP Grand Prix this weekend, in a class once again built by Paris Co-Course Designer Grégory Bodo.
Fortunately, Azcarraga seemed to have slayed that dragon and then some, not only mastering the open water—with a little elbow-flapping encouragement—but taking a career-first 1.60m *5 win for his troubles (Jumpr Stats). It’s a testament to his nine-year relationship with the now-17-year-old Hanoverian stallion, Contendros 2, who joins a growing-list of “senior” show jumping horses having some of the best performances of their careers in 2024.
This summer, in fact, Azcarraga and Contendros jumped double-clear for the Mexican Team in the Mercedes-Benz Nations’ Cup of Aachen, leading them to a second-place finish overall. In June, they also finished 8th in a CSI 5* Grand Prix at Spruce Meadows. In 43 career rounds at 1.60m+, the pair jumps clear at 22%. But they have a proven track records in the jump off, finishing in the top 10 40% of the time.
What’s more, this feather in Azcarraga’s cap is likely to give him honors at the family dinner table.
His father is four-time Mexican Olympian Jamie Azcarraga, while his older brother Gonzalo Azcarraga also competes at the top level. However, while Gonzalo won a *4 1.60m Grand Prix in 2020 and father Jamie earned two, 1.60m wins in 2018, Andres is the first member of the Azcarraga tribe to take home a *5 victory at the 1.60m height.
Sweet redemption indeed.
