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Grandioso Turns 27 years Old
On March 3, 2026, Grandioso III celebrated his 27th birthday! Born on March 3, 1999, this exceptional horse has not only been a lifelong companion for José Daniel Martin Dockx but also one of the backbones of Dressage SPanish Team ( 2012-2016) ALong with José Daniel Martín Dockx, Grandioso III has traveled the world and achieved remarkable personal bests, representing Spain at the highest levels: Olympic Games 2012 – London, UK European Championships 2013 – Herning, Denmark World Equestrian Games 2014 – Caen, Normandy, France European Championships 2015 – Aachen, Germany Olympic Games 2016 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil At Hampton Green Farm, we are proud to celebrate not just his years, but his legacy with our offsprings.
Grandioso Stallion Services
Hampton Green Farm's Grandioso is one of the most successful and celebrated PRE sporthorses in history, and is now available for breeding in the United States and Europe. Very few dressage horses have had the longevity and success of Grandioso during his years on the Spanish National Dressage Team with rider Jose Daniel Martin Dockx. Grandioso's accomplishments include: 2 Olympic Games, London and Rio de Janerio 2 National Grand Prix Dressage Champions of Spain 2 European Championships, Denmark and Germany The World Equestrian Games in Normandy 4 Consecutive Years in the Nations Cup at CHIO Aachen Highest Scoring Iberian Horse in History at CHIO Aachen First Iberian Horse to win an International Grand Prix in North America Ranked as high as #22 in the FEI World Rankings 14 International Grand Prix Wins: 22 International Grand Prix finishes in top 3 ANCCE-Qualified Stallion Grandioso's bloodlines from Albero II and Sevillano IX, of the Yeguada Marin Garcia, are recognized as improvers for movement and functionality in Spain. His sire is foundation stallion Adelante of the Yeguada Militar. This combination has produced the aptitude and fortitude needed for a PRE horse to compete in the very top levels of international horse sport. ......Grandioso...a Legend in Sport, soon to be a Legend in Breeding. In the US, fresh cooled semen available. In Europe, frozen semen only. For 2017 only, introductory breeding fee of $2250.00 or E2000.00. For more information and to review a contract, contact Hampton Green Farm at hamptongreenfarm@aol.com
Grandioso III Formally Retired in Spain and US.
One of the dressage world's most beloved PREs was retired in grand style, in the two countries that claim a part of him as their own. In November, at SICAB--the annual PRE Horse convention in Sevilla, Spain--Grandioso's Farewell was a highlight of the Saturday evening Espectaculo. Six friends and colleagues of rider Jose Daniel Martin Dockx were part of the ceremony, mounted on PRE horses, including Jose Mena, Samuel Oliva, Antonio Blanco, and others. An emotional video presentation compiled by ANCCE highlighted the stunning 5 year international career of the horse for the Spanish Dressage Team, which included 2 Olympics, a World Games, 2 European Championships, 3 Aachen Nations Cups, and 2 National Championships. Martin Dockx and Grandioso's final ride in Spain was the new Kur designed by Marlene Whitaker for the Olympic year: The Impossible Dream with themes from Man of La Mancha. Following the ride, the tearful removal of the saddle was done in the presence of owner Kimberly Van Kampen, breeder Javier Marin Fidalgo, and Head Groom Mohamad Mahmoud. After this, rider, groom and horse, made a final pass around the arena to an ovation of gratitude from the Spanish audience. At the beginning of January, Grandioso said a final good-bye to the country of his birth, and traveled back to the United State, where he had competed for 7 years prior and where he will live out a pampered retirement. He was flown into Miami, and taken first to the quarantine stabling at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, to begin to prepare for his American farewell at the annual USPRE week at the end of January. This ceremony was equally moving and unforgettable. Grandioso's story includes a significant start to his career in the United States, where he was earmarked as an up-and-coming superstar in the hands of Courtney King Dye. The pair had finished Fifth in the USEF Festival of Champions in 2009 at the Small Tour, and were preparing for their first international Grand Prix in 2010 when a tragic accident sidelined the riding career of King Dye. Although the horse eventually returned to Spain to initiate his Grand Prix career, he was always followed and loved by the American dressage community, especially the PRE breeders and owners who felt that Grandioso was an inspiration for all that a well-bred, well-trained PRE sport horse could acheive. Grandioso's US Farewell happened during the USPRE-sponsored Friday Night Freestyles under the lights. Jose Daniel Martin Dockx performed the new Kur again, showing a horse in top form with outstanding piaffe, passage, extended trots, half-passes and pirouettes. Grandioso appeared thrilled to perform again for an electric audience that filled the VIP tents and stands at the International Arena. Following the ride, USPRE presented Grandioso with a most unique cooler, adorned with all of the titles and championships of his career. There was an audible gasp of "No" when the saddle was removed. Dr. Jane Bistline of the USPRE Board of Directors presented the cooler, and the horse made a final walk in hand to say good-bye to a second country that also loved him. Since January, Grandioso has completed the required 6 weeks of CEM Stallion Quarantine, and is now residing back at Hampton Green Farm in Wellington. He will travel at the end of the spring to the Michigan farm to begin a new career: as a Qualified improver stallion to the US PRE herd. Videos of the ceremonies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap718r5XfyE http://www.topiberian.com/index.php/2013-08-27-14-59-08/news/dressage/88955:video-de-la-despedida-de-grandioso-en-el-sicab-2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UttAVUtIy8 Related Articles: http://www.dressage-news.com/2017/01/28/grandioso-olympic-championship-mount-for-spain-farewelled-at-floridas-global-dressage-festival/ http://dressageheadlines.com/articles/dressage/grandioso-iii’s-prominence-daniel-martin-dockx-developing-spanish-horse http://horsesdaily.com/article/not-dry-eye-hampton-green-farms-grandioso-retires http://www.eqcompetitions.com/sicab-rendira-un-homenaje-de-despedida-a-grandioso/
Grandioso III of Hampton Green Farm Named to Spanish Team for Rio Olympics
Last Monday, the RFHE announced the names of the horses and riders who will make up the Spanish Team for Rio. Grandioso and his rider Jose Daniel Martin Dockx were on the list, following their showing of current form at CHIO Aachen. Grandioso and Dani have been a constant pair for the Spanish National Dressage Team beginning in 2012 when they represented Spain at the London Olympics. Since then, they have competed in three Nations Cups, two European Championships, and the World Equestrian Games in Normandy. Grandioso is the only horse in Spain to have done all of these events and to remain a current team member for five years without interruption. Additionally, Grandioso is one of only seven horses (out of 60) scheduled to compete in Rio who are going down the centerline for their second Olympic Games. He will be in elite company —Valegro, Donnperignon, Don Aurelio, Parzival, Desperados, Sandro Boy, and our own Grandioso. At this time, the team is located in Aachen, Germany, for preparations prior to travel to Brazil on the 2nd of August. They will arrive in Rio with a week to acclimate and be ready for competition, commencing August 10 with the Grand Prix. For regular updates, follow us at the Hampton Green Forum on Facebook.
Grandioso Sweeps the Grand Prix at Madrid Horse Week
Grandioso and Jose Daniel Martin Dockx made a strong return to the showring at the Madrid Horse Week last weekend. The pair had not competed since the European Championships in August. Strong scores of 74.3 in the Grand Prix and 77.55 in the Kur demonstrate that Grandioso and Dani are looking forward to an exciting year in 2016. A highlight of the weekend was achieving the first score of "10" in a competition--received from one of the international panel for piaffe during the Freestyle, which means that Dani and Grandioso earned a perfect score on all 3 movements of piaffe in the Kur. Photo credits: Pedro Gidinho, Equinae and Ecuestre Online.
European Championships 2015: Spain Earns Olympic Berth
In a nail-biting European Championships full of surprises, Spain's national dressage team, which included HGF's Grandioso III, secured for themselves a place in Rio with an overall Fourth Place finish in Aachen, Germany. There are many stories about this European Championships, written about in all of the major news outlets--the final and unexpected outcome among the top 3 teams, and the controversy surrounding the retirement of Totilas, the elimination of two top horses, a broken collarbone, some contested judging, and so on and so on.... But there were other stories that were written mainly in the non-English dressage news--in Spanish, Swedish, French, Danish and Russian--for each it's the story of the Team Competition, the race which would determine who (besides Germany, Netherlands, Britain, USA and Australia) would send a team to Rio next year. It's safe to say that the pressure for those teams who were still vying for an Olympic spot was 10 times greater than that of the top 3. And the results that emerged at the last minute turned out to be unpredicted by even the best analysts. The sense of pressure produced mistakes in virtually every test--the clean test was the exception even among the very top riders at this European Championship. The tests were not held in the usual Deutsche Bank stadium, but in the main stadium where jumping is normally held. This in itself was an issue for many horses who found the huge extended lawn which surrounded the arena and then the far-away walls of stands to be isolating and intimidating. The heat was another factor, particularly on Wed afternoon and all day on Thursday, which then broke to cold rain for Saturday and Sunday. Many pairs with high rankings and averages dropped into the 60s due to tension in the horses which produced errors and surprises. This was the case at all the levels, not the least for the highest ranked horses. Daniel and Grandioso did their Grand Prix on the first day, and scored a conservative but high-ranking 71.3%, which had them individually in 7th place after the first day, and, with Norte's results, the team in a tentative 5th place. We needed good rides and no surprises from our two warmbloods to keep ourselves in one of the three coveted places. There was lots of bad news for a few of our rivals, and some really good luck for at least one team, but for us it was the value of all the effort of the team that produced our results in the end. Following a brilliant ride by Morgan Barbencon with Painted Black (who is retiring after this show), by 7 pm we knew that we had clinched the Olympic qualification with a preliminary Fifth place, going with only the first three scores from Norte, Grandioso and PB. By this time, those countries that made us the most nervous, Denmark and Belgium, were out of contention, and we believed we had little to no chance to pass Sweden with strong scores from Tinne Wilhemsen and Patrick Kittle. Our security in the rankings allowed Bea to ride without pressure, but she was taking nothing for granted. Her career high score of over 77% clinched a stunning finish of Fourth Place for Spain! Spain's last minute surge took many by surprise, as did strong performances by Russia and France, who came within hairs of each other. Daniel and Grandioso ranked 21st in the Grand Prix and went on to finish 26th of the best horses in all of Europe following the GP Special. All of us at HGF are so pleased to have been a part of the experience of this European Championships. This show was particularly difficult due to many things--the pressure of what was at stake, the lower than normal scores generally across the board, the electric atmosphere in the arena, the distracting scandals and the irresponsible "news" reporting during the thick of the competition. However, now that the smoke has cleared, what is evident is the strength of the team spirit in Spain, which held together through the ups and downs. In his own right at the age of 16, Grandioso continues to be a groundbreaker for the PRE horse: the first to win a CDI at Grand Prix in the US, a multiple winner of CDIs in Spain and Europe, two-time National Champion of Spain, the highest scoring PRE in the history of Aachen CHIO, and a team member consistently since London 2012 helping Spain achieve many medals in the nations cups and high placings as a country in world championships. As of September, 2015, Grandioso remains the highest ranked Iberian horse in the world, a position he has held unchallenged since this time in 2013. What the next year will bring is anyone's guess...Dani and Grandioso will continue to train with hopes to maintain their relevance to Spain as their final competition year together approaches.
Spain Takes Bronze at CDIO Hagen 2015
Spain took the Bronze Medal again this year at the Nations Cup held annually in Germany. Normally located at the prestigious Aachen showgrounds, this year's CDIO was moved to the private facility of Hof Kasselmann due to the upcoming European Championships being held at Aachen in August. Eight nations were invited to compete at what was also the German final qualifier for the ECs. Germany, as expected, took the Gold, with Denmark the Silver and, repeating their placement of 2014, Spain took home the Bronze. The Spanish team consisted of Beatrice Ferrer-Salat and Delgado, Daniel Martin Dockx with Grandioso, Jordi Domingo and Wonder, and Claudio Castillo with Alcaide. HGF's Grandioso and Daniel moved up in the Individual standings with every test, to finish at 11th placein the Kur, solidifying their place on the Spanish Team for the more important upcoming European Championships. Photo Credits: Lars Jehmiller
Grandioso Achieves Personal Best Grand Prix at 2013 European Championships
The 2013 FEI European Dressage Championships were hosted by Denmark and held during the week of August 20-27 at a sports complex outside of Herning. 14 countries fielded teams of 3 or 4 horses, and several more countries—including Spain—were represented by individual riders. Both of the Spanish pairs—Jose Daniel Martin Dockx with Grandioso and Jose Antonio Garcia Mena with Norte—achieved personal bests, representing Spain and the PRE breed with dignity and fine performances that placed both in the top 25 horses in Europe. But this outstanding achievement on their part was bittersweet, as the participation of Fuego and Juan Manuel Munoz was greatly missed as well as the opportunity to go to Herning as a team. Daniel and Grandioso were in top form for the Grand Prix. They scored a personal best of 72.204%, ranking 17th on the first day, in a field of 65 of the most competitive Dressage horses in the world. The Grand Prix Special was similarly ridden, receiving a conservative 71.220. In the end, Daniel and Grandioso finished the Championship ranked 22nd. These European Championships were sponsored by Blue Horse Stud and Performance Sales International (in addition to Ecco shoes), and the festivities, galas, stallion presentations, and marketing were strongly geared to the sponsors. This was truly a celebration of the horse and equestrian discipline as defined by Northern Europe. Dressage is alive and well in this part of the world, where the stands were full on the final day for the Kur, to see the Princess retire her lovely Digby, and to watch new world record scores be broken and reset with every class. We can only hope that the same attention will be made to the wonderful Iberian breeds if and when the Olympics come to Madrid in 2020… What an amazing year it has been for Daniel and Grandioso, who in their second year at international Grand Prix, are now ranked within the top 22 horses in the world, and are still maintaining an upward trend. Grandioso made the long trip home again and will now rest and relax until the end of the year, reward for a job well-done. Photo Credit: www.Dressage-News.com
Grandioso and Martin Dockx Finish in the Ribbons in the Kur Grand Prix at CHIO Aachen
Grandioso III and Daniel Martin Dockx were an unknown pair a year ago when they rode in their first Aachen CHIO. In 2012, their first year together at International Grand Prix, the CHIO Aachen was the occasion of their first 70% outside of Spain, and the rookie duo impressed many by finishing 15th in the Grand Prix Nations Cup on the first day of the competition. Now in 2013, following their role on the Spanish Team in the London Olympics and multiple Grand Prix victories since, Grandioso and Martin Dockx returned to Aachen to head a young Spanish delegation that was slated for this year's stand off in the "dressage cathedral" of Germany. A field of 8 nations and 37 riders, including the American A-team for the first time in several years, gathered together for a highly competitive preview of the European Championships. Grandioso and Martin Dockx started out strong in the Grand Prix test on Thursday with 71.447, tying for 12th place with Mikaela Lindh of Finland and Skovland's Mas Guapo. The test had errors in the two-tempis and a miscount in the zig-zag, and so there was room for improvement. On Saturday, the pair rode a stronger Grand Prix Special, with more confidence, expression and technical accuracy, but still one costly error--perhaps to be expected as this was their first time doing the old (pre-Olympic) Special. Their final score of 71.854 held their 12th place position above many higher-ranked and more veteran pairs from other countries, and winning them a coveted spot among the top 15 in the Grand Prix Kur.It was in the Kur where Grandioso and Martin Dockx showed the German dressage world that a new and ambitious Spanish horse and rider were on the horizon. Dancing effortlessly to the movie music from "Hemingway and Gellhorn", Martin Dockx demonstrated the strengths of the PRE horse in the most difficult movements--soft yet energetic piaffe, seamless transitions, floating passage, pirouettes on a dime, up-hill canter work and scopey trot tour including impressive airborne extensions. The Kur designed by Marlene Whitaker from North Carolina brought out the best in this horse and rider, and the judges agreed, awarding them 78.175%, a virtual tie with Anabel Balkenhol of Germany and USA's Steffen Peters. Grandioso finished in 8th place and continued to please the sold-out Deutsche Bank Stadium and national TV audience in the awards ceremonies that followed.
Summer Highlights
Summer is in full swing at HGF, with no sign of slowing down. The foals are growing and the barn is busy with riding and training. The Nicholas Fyffe clinic was a great success, filling three days with riders from youth level through professional. The riders found Nicholas to be a generous and highly effective clinician, and a follow-up clinic is now scheduled for September 7-8.We have a number of charity functions scheduled for the next two months. For information about attending one of these events, please contact one of the organizing charities below:August 17 Father Jack FoundationAugust 24 Faith in ActionAugust 28 READ MuskegonSeptember 7 Women's Division of the Muskegon Chamber of CommerceSeptember 12 AgeWell, Meals on WheelsSeptember 28 LOVE,Inc.Upcoming horse shows for HGF in August and September are:FEI European Championships, Herning, Denmark, August 20-25Dressage at Waterloo Summer Finale, August 22-25Feria del Caballo Espanol, City of Industry, CA, September 19-22
The European Championships!
Grandioso and Jose Daniel Martin Dockx are there to represent Spain. For news and updates, see the Hampton Green Forum group on Facebook.