While many of the world's best horses are gearing up for action at the 2012 CDIO Aachen, other former stars are enjoying the big easy in the field having said goodbye to their sports career. Ellen Schulten-Baumer sent us a photo of the retired Grand Prix mare Donatha with her first foal.
Schulten-Baumer and Donatha (by Donnerhall) won team silver at the 2007 European Championships in Turin and team bronze at the 2009 European Championships in Windsor.
The now 18-year old Donatha was retired last year and put in foal to Jazz. She gave birth to a healthy filly named "Jule" and has been rebred to Jazz this year. "All time I wanted to breed with Jazz. I just wanted to put these Grand Prix oldies together," Schulten-Baumer told Eurodressage.
"I never expected that breeding with Donatha would be so uncomplicated," she admitted. "Since she was four, she has been in full training as a competition horse and all of us are so happy that she is such a proud and satisfied mum. Aachen and the Olympics were such a big theme in the past for us, but now life has totally change for Donatha."
Ellen Schulten-Baumer is continuing her competition career on new rising stars. Her Grand Prix horse River of Joy (by Ravallo x Cavalier) was sold last summer to Argentina, but Ellen is now showing the talented 10-year old Hanoverian gelding Don Frederik (by Don Frederico) in the Louisdor Cup circuit for rising Grand Prix horses.
"With Freddy I have a funny, talented and charming boy," said Ellen. "The Louisdor Cuo Final will be in Frankfurt in December and I'm really looking forward to this competition. So I'm not in a hurry and I can prepare him step by step for the future, which also brings a lot of fun.
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