At the CDI-W 's Hertogenbosch, we picked up that British Carl Hester has bought his own property in Great Britain. The Dutch Dressage Direct mailing list quotes that Carl "will be moving to a brand new own property in England, including an old mill and lots of grass around!
" Wow.. how impressive. Eurodressage was in fact more interested in finding out that Carl and his partner Spenser Wilton will be conducting a clinic in Southern California. The clinic will be held at San Juan Capistrano April 25 to 26, 2005.
Dutch dressage Mischa Koot announced that she will be leaving Bartels Academy in Hooge Mierde to go independent. Koot got employed at the Horse Academy in January 2004 but one year later she has decided to leave. "I have always been independent before I started working for the Bartels' family," Koot told De Hoefslag. "I miss the feeling of freedom." Koot will be boarding her horses at Frank de Kok's stable in Helvoirt, The Netherlands, and will be focusing on training students.
American Dressage rider Karin Reid-Offield will be the presenting sponsor at the 2005 World Cup Show Jumping and Dressage Finals in Las Vegas, U.S.A.. According to Las Vegas Events, Offield's sponsorship has made the difference in their being able have the Dressage Final televised. “We have made a commitment to help promote equestrian sports,” Karin Reid Offield told Las Vegas Events. “So many people have worked tirelessly for years to help shine the spotlight on dressage; I felt it was my turn to help out.” . Offield is currently competing the Dutch bred Louisville at Grand Prix level in Florida and trains in Europe with Leunis van Lieren and Jan Bemelmans.
Sad news from Austria. Eva Bachinger's young riders horse Donauwalzer (by Donnerhall x Royalist) passed away after a severe colic attack. Donauwalzer, who is a full brother to Peter Gmoser's Willibald's Don Debussy, had already undergone a series of colic operations in the past. Bachinger was successful on Donauwalzer in the Austrian indoor season this past winter. The dapple grey gelding was bred by the Vienna based Dr. Robert Csokay.
According to Klaus Balkenhol, American Guenter Seidel's mediocre performance aboard Aragon at the Indoor Bremen and CDI Dortmund (where he hoped to collect points for the 2005-2006 Kampmann Cup) is to be blamed on a torn muscle in the upper thigh. Shortly after arriving in Germany, Seidel sustained this injury during a training session. At the national show in Bremen, Balkenhol was allowed to warm up the horse, but at the CDI Dortmund, Seidel had to school Aragon himself. Even though Seidel is doing physiotherapy every single day, the pain in his leg is still there and kept Seidel from performing at his best at these two German shows.
Former French Dressage Champion Michel Assouline will be training the British Paralympic Team. The British Equestrian Federation World Class Programme and British Dressage have appointed Assouline, who is based in East Grinstead, Sussex, as the new World Class coach for the Paralympic dressage team. Assouline, who will be replacing Jane Goldsmith, told Horse and Hound that “It will be a great challenge to help to continue the level of success that the paralympic dressage riders have achieved so far. I will be working with the riders' own trainers, giving them the back up they need, and I am looking forward to developing more horsepower and new riders to help ensure the team's success at the Beijing Games and beyond.”
Gestut Vorwerk has replaced their stallion First Feroz with Faustinus because the former was having major fertilization problems. Newcomer Faustinus is by Furst Heinrich x Starway xx and was licensed in Vechta in November 2004. Vorwerk's First Feroz (Furst Heinrich x Singular Joter) was the 2004 Oldenburg Reserve Licensing Champion. It is not the first time that a top Oldenburg licensed stallion turns out to be infertile. Schockemohle's Don Davidoff, the 2000 Oldenburg Licensing Champion, was sold to Wilfried Bechtolsheimer as a sport horse because he only got a few mares in foal.
At the Sunshine Tour we discovered that British dressage rider Linda Hoad has become the new owner of Karin Rehbein's Placido. Placido is an 11-year old dark bay Hanoverian gelding by Pik Solo x Donnerhall who competed at Prix St Georges level under Rehbein. Hoad is now preparing this lovely horse for the big tour and she has planned her show debut with him in the spring of 2005.