| Nicknames |
Miss World (horseandhound.co.uk, 30 Jan 2021) |
| Hobbies |
Watching nature programmes on television. (gdf.coth.com, 05 Feb 2021) |
| Memorable sporting achievement |
Competing at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro: “It was the most amazing experience for me, in the sense that those were my first Olympics and just seeing the quality of athletes and the discipline of these athletes, it was just a whole different level. Everything that goes into these Olympic athletes is just absolutely amazing." (olympics.com, 09 Sep 2022) |
| Injuries |
In October 2022 she broke the radius and ulna of her right wrist after falling off her horse. The injury obliged her to undergo surgery. (eurodressage.com, 20 Nov 2022)
She underwent surgery on both of her shoulders in late 2021. (Instagram profile, 29 Jan 2022)
She tore tendons in her right shoulder in May 2018. She returned to action six months later. (chronofhorse.com, 07 Feb 2019; almomento.net, 06 Jan 2019) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto |
"I love the puzzle of dressage, pulling it apart and putting it back together." (dressageheadlines.com, 10 Apr 2016) |
| Awards and honours |
She was named Best International Dressage Rider for 2017, 2021, and 2022 by the Dominican Republic Equestrian Federation. (elnacional.com.do, 12 Dec 2022, 04 Jan 2022; diariolibre.com, 14 Dec 2017)
She was named Athlete of the Year in the equestrian category at the Dominican Republic Olympic Committee Gala in 2019 and 2021. (Instagram profile, 09 Nov 2021; prensa-latina.cu, 07 Nov 2021; presidencia.gob.do, 05 Mar 2019)
In 2020 she received the Gold Badge of Honour from the International Equestrian Federation [FEI]. (yvonnedressage.com, 29 Oct 2020; diariolibre.com, 03 Sep 2020)
She was named one of the Best 10 Athletes of 2016 by the Dominican Republic Olympic Committee. (diariolibre.com, 03 Apr 2017)
She received the International Dressage Achievement Award in March 2015. (horsebackmagazine.com, 24 Mar 2015) |
| Other sports |
She has competed in equestrian jumping at an elite level. (startinggate.ca, 31 Oct 2006) |
| Other information |
RESIDENCE
She splits her time between Gijon, Spain, where she spends the northern hemisphere summer months, and Wellington, FL, United States of America, where she spends the winters. (eurodressage.com, 10 Dec 2021)
OTHER ROLES
In 2020 she was elected as a board member of the International Dressage Riders Club [IDRC] on a four-year term. "As a rider from a non-traditional dressage nation I am well aware of the frequent challenges that riders from similar countries face. At the same time, having taken part in so many events in Europe and North America through the years I am also very familiar with riders from traditional equestrian nations that are historically well-established and major players in our discipline." (eurodressage.com, 10 May 2022, 09 Dec 2020; almomento.net, 08 Feb 2021)
FEI ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVE
She was elected as the FEI Athlete Representative for Dressage for the term 2022-2026. She therefore sits on both the Dressage Technical Committee and the Athletes Committee. (FEI, Feb 2023)
WELL TRAVELLED
Born in Nigeria to Canadian parents with German and Polish heritage, she spent her childhood in Kenya before moving to Germany as a teenager to begin equestrian training. Her family subsequently relocated to Canada before she made the Dominican Republic her home after marrying Eduardo Muniz, and she began representing the country in 2002. She also holds a Canadian passport. "I do not have roots of a particular country, I am a mixture of all. I have a Canadian and a Dominican passport, but in the Dominican Republic I feel at home." (olympics.com, 09 Sep 2022; tokyo2020.org, 13 May 2020; elnacional.com.do, 21 Aug 2018; yvonnedressage.com, 23 Apr 2018; equestrianconnection.com, 01 May 2016; horsebackmagazine.com, 24 Mar 2015)
RETIREMENT AND RETURN
She quit dressage in October 2012 after she was unable to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. She had taken her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS], arguing that Brazilian rider Luiza Tavares [who took her place] did not have the right to compete at the event. Her appeal was denied and she declared she was quitting the sport because of the way she felt she had been treated during the process. She returned to international competition in September 2014, having been asked to reconsider her decision by the Dominican Republic Equestrian Federation. (eurodressage.com, 21 Oct 2014, 24 Oct 2012) |
| General highlights |
She competed at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
She won individual bronze medals at the 2003 and 2007 Pan American Games. She has won numerous gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games.
In April 2022, she took part in her third FEI Dressage World Cup Finals in Leipzig, Germany, where she placed 10th overall, the best historic result for any Latin American rider. |
| Milestones |
She became the first athlete to represent the Dominican Republic in equestrian sport at the Olympic Games when she participated at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She was also the first equestrian athlete from the Dominican Republic to win a medal at the Pan American Games, claiming bronze on home soil at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo. (SportsDeskOnline, 28 Nov 2018; eldia.com.do, 11 Aug 2016; CRESO - Creando Suenos Olimpicos Facebook page, 24 Jul 2016)
Her mount, Aquamarijn, at 19 years old was the oldest dressage horse at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. |
FEI Database
www.yvonnedressage.com 
www.facebook.com/yvonne.lososdemuniz 
Yvonne Dressage 
Yvonne Dressage 
