German born American dressage rider Silva Martin returned to the show ring at the 2015 CDI Wellington but it is nothing short of a miracle that she’s able to be there. Nearly a year ago, Martin suffered a seizure and bleeding in the brain after her horse tripped and she fell, and equestrians from all over the world feared it would be the end of Martin’s career.
Now Martin is back in the show ring and is an inspiration to everyone and a joy to watch compete. After several months of rehabilitation, Martin is back in action and is happy as ever to be competing in Wellington.
When asked how Martin manages to always put her best foot forward, her answer was simple.
“You’ve got to keep going,” she explained. “I have to say this was the hardest year for me ever. I know there are people who have a lot harder of lives than I do, but it was hard.” All the while, Martin never considered giving up on her dream of getting back on a horse. “I mean, what else do you do? I’m really only good at riding, so I’ve got to ride,” she joked.
Martin has recovered almost fully from the brain injury she sustained in March 2015 and despite still having to deal with some eye vision problems (which is why she competes with sunglasses on), she was quickly back in the saddle. Silva first did a few local shows in the summer and again competed at her first international at 2014 CDI-W Devon at the end of September.
Making her 2015 international debut in Wellington on 5 - 8 February, Martin was pleased with her performances aboard Faye Woolf's Dutch warmblood Aesthete and the Australian bred Rosa Cha W, owned by the Rosa Cha W syndicate. Aesthete was the 2009 U.S. Young Horse Champion as a 4-year old and did his first small tour CDI that weekend. The more experienced small tour horse Rosa Cha W scored 67.2% in the Prix St Georges and 68.8% in the Inter I. In the freestyle on Sunday they posted 69.8% to finish eighth.
"I could not be happier with how Aesthete went. He tried so hard for me. We had a good PSG on Wednesday with a few mistakes and finished on 67.8%," said Silva. "We did qualify for the Intermediare I on Friday and he was fabulous. Again we had a few little mistakes but we increased our score to 68.2%. This is a great horse and I am so excited about the future with him."
Martin’s trainer, Olympian Debbie McDonald, shares in the enthusiasm of Martin's come back to the show ring.
“I’m excited to have her back,” she said. “We were all a bit worried about her. She’s such an inspiration to everyone, putting her ‘best foot forward’. She certainly holds that record in my heart. I thought she rode beautifully today and, like she said, it’s the first time in a while— and the first CDI for Aesthete. I thought there were certainly some magnificent, world-class moments in that ride. It just needs to get cleaned up a little bit, but I think it’s top-notch.”
by Johnny Robb, edited by Eurodressage
Photos © Astrid Appels
Related Links
Silva Martin Rehabilitating at Home in Pennsylvania
Recovering Silva Martin Moved to Rehabilitation Center
Silva Martin Sustains Head Injury in Riding Accident
Aesthete, Selten HW, Pikko del Cerro Win 2009 U.S. Young Horse Championships