Ermitano III
Annual Award (Prima Anual) Ranking and Riding Him
Ermitano III is the grandsire of Stryker DD and the great grandsire of Princess DD. He is the sire of Doblon TR and the grandsire of Poeta de Susaeta.
According to his trainer and rider, Luis Lucio, the Prima Anual was given to a horse as a result of a ranking, like the current Copa ANCCE. The winner was selected among all the four and five year old horses participating in national competitions under the patronage of the RFHE and whose finals were judged by international judges of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). Annual awards were established for the first, second, and third best Colts of each age.
“The interesting thing was that tests were open and we competed against Central European horses. It was revolutionary to get in front of them. The performance of international judges was, as it has been from inception to the PRE in dressage today, decisive. We broke molds, and what a way. Now all riders have PRE in dressage, but at that time, you needed to ride a Spanish horse and compete on him to see the comments of riders, trainers and some judges. Fortunately, we knew where we wanted to go and how to do it.”
— Luis Lucio
Luis Lucio knew Ermitaño very well, as a trainer and rider. He remembers that "he was a horse out of the ordinary, serious, expressive, and intelligent. It's as if, in addition to an exceptional morphology, he had inherited the education and know how. He was a gifted pupil".
Riding him felt like "absolute air, fluidity and harmony. The length and structure of his neck was impressive, and from the saddle, looked spectacular. In reality, it was like riding a Horse of Kings. Ermitaño possessed such a natural air that up to then was unknown. Thanks to his natural harmony and the length of his neck, he was able to move with great agility and, at the same time, without haste. His gallop set a very high bar, difficult to overcome even in our days. There are countless qualities that he contributed to his offspring.
I've been able to train and observe many of Ermitaño sons, in the vast majority of them; he has left marked traits of his natural balance, the amplitude and mobility of his gallop and a high quality." He left a before and after mark in tests in which he participated and has left an enormous and valuable offspring, which will certainly reap great successes in the world of dressage. I am very proud of having had the privilege of training horses of such great quality. Horses like Ermitaño certainly make great riders.
"I am very grateful for it".