After the sad news of the passing of General Stecken, a Eurodressage reader sent us one of the memories she had remembed while training with Albert Stecken. "When I asked him why he did not yell and scream like the other German instructors that I have had, General Stecken said "My dear, instructors who yell at you are only showing signs of their own weakness"."
German magazine ST. Georg published in its August 2011 issue a very interesting article on colic and feeding horses after colic surgery. Austrian Olympian Sissy Max-Theurer spoke freely about two of her horses which underwent colic surgery and which are now on a very special diet. Her daughter's top horse Augustin OLD, who had a part of his colon removed, gets fed wet hay, boiled carrots and oats spread out in six small portions a day. "His pH levels are measured daily so we can notice instantly when something changes in his body," said Max-Theurer. Sissy's small tour horse Furst Khevenhuller, which is trained by Helen Langehanenberg, had part of his small intestine removed and he only gets fed roughage. "He only gets hay and carrots and it works perfectly for him," said Max-Theurer. St. Georg also quotes feeding expert Dr. Dorothe Meyer who stresses the importance of more roughage over concentrates for dressage horses. "Show jumping horses, which need power for speed for explosive jumping skills, require concentrates and don't need as much roughage. Dressage horses distinctively require more hay and less grain."
One of Holland's most popular VJ's, Filemon, visited Sander Marijnissen at his home in Wijdewormer on a quest to find out if riding dressage is really as difficult as the rider seems to claim. According to Filemon it all looks like dressage riders are doing nothing in the saddle and the horse is doing all the work. Sander challenges the tv-personality to ride one of his horses. Check out the fun video to see how it all went!
At the 2011 Foal Auction Brabant, the filly Grace Subtilia by Chippendale x Sandro Hit became the price highlight. Bred by Gert Jan van Olst, the filly sold for 29,000 euro and moves to stable Onder de Linde in Aalsmeer. The second most expensive foal was Gojengel (by Bojengel x Tuschinski), which sold for 20,000 euro. At the Foal Auction in Drachten, buyers from Uzbekistan acquired the two most expensive foals: Google (by Bordeaux x Farrington) for 26,000 euro and Grootmeester (by Charmeur x Flemmingh) for 16,500 euro. The third most expensive dressage foal at this auction was Go Chique (by Apache x San Remo) which sold for 12,500 euro
French FEI pony rider Clarissa Rufin acquired the 17-year old schoolmaster Just You 'N Me, who now has moved onto its fourth FEI pony rider in his career. The tall grey pony, by KWPN stallion Pion, will be joining Rufin's Diana at her stable near Geneva, Switzerland. Rufin was reserve rider for the French Team that competed at the 2011 European Pony Championships.
Dutch pony rider Michelle de Jonge has acquired her junior rider's horse. Her parents bought the 14-year old Dutch warmblood Pays Bas NL which was trained to small tour level by Christa Laarakkers. The black Cabochon gelding competed in the Pavo Cup Finals and at the World Young Horse Championships in Verden.
Italic des Landes, one of France's long-time team ponies, has a new rider: Léonie Marnas. Morgane Euriat will focus on riding Bruno Saint-Cast's German bred pony stallion Dragon Heart for next season.
Tough luck for Eva Möller at the Bundeschampionate. The Hagen based rider had qualified her 4-year old stallion Sir Caramello for the Finals but was unable to present her horse because the day before Möller fell off her Bundeschampionate Pony and injured her leg. The pony had reared, Eva lost her balance, and then it flipped over and crashed on her leg. Brave Möller stood up and walked to the ambulance herself, but in the hospital she was diagnosed with a severely bruised leg. Get well soon!
President's Allright, the youngster which Laurens van Lieren competed at the 2010 World Young Horse Championships, has been sold to western rider Marjolein Spaans, who wants to make her dressage competition debut with the Dutch warmblood offspring by Jazz.
By popular request, more horse Do's and Don'ts!!
DON'T
- Wearing UGGS at the barn or competitions: the silly looking eskimo boots might be comfy for running around in your pajamas at home, but not in the barn or on show grounds. The UGG fashion trend is totally over, so 2009!!! And Uggs are not wellingtons, they start to look even uglier when they are soaking wet and muddy from too much walking around at horse shows.
- Thick padding underneath your noseband: just loosen your noseband by one hole and you won't break the skin ;)
- Smoking: it's such a nasty habit. It gives you cancer and really ugly grey teeth! It's always shocking to see these world top athletes, who are idolized, suck on those cancer-sticks. So uncool!
- choke collars and spike collars on dogs: if you can't control your dog at a horse show, leave him home and get some help from a dog trainer! Both collars are abusive and cruel
DO
- Dutch braids: the thick ones tied down with a string: Boy do they make a horse look good. They are recommended on all horses!!
- Smile after finishing a test: even when it didn't go as well as planned, just smile and wave to the crowds. It's a photographer's delight and it leaves a much better impression on everyone!
- School in a snaffle: show that you aren't an ironmonger who needs to curb his horse at all times
Six European dressage riders were fortunate enough to be invited to stay and compete at the Athina Onassis horse show in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, all expenses paid! With only one horse and two classes per rider to manage in total, the European team had more of a holiday than a show to attend to. They went on several excursions, including visiting the Christ Redeemer statue (Corcovado) on top of the mountain as well as a helicopter ride. Check out a few impressions from Rio, where the 2016 Olympic Games will be held.