What's Happening: January 2024 - Part II

German Yvonne Fiestelmann has joined the team of NorCordia as their Purchase and Sales specialist. NorCordia is the horse sales and investment company behind Catherine Haddad and Ulrik Clemmensen. Feistelmann will assist in the scouting and sales of horse talent. (Photo © Hanna Cecilia)

New Zealand dressage judge Felicity Dobell-Brown passed away Sunday night 7 January 2024. "We remember Felicity for her joy of horses and the huge contribution she made to equestrian sport and Dressage in HB and nationally over many years," Dressage NZ posted. "As a rider, judge and key committee member. Always advocating for pony classes, pony club and the encouragement of grassroots competitors."

At the Ponyforum Youngster Auction which concluded on 2 January 2024 13 of the 17 ponies offered were sold. The price highlight was the 3-year old licensed buckskin stallion Dalton AT (by Dating Point x Dance Star) who sold to Belgium for 14,000 euro. Holsteiner clients bought the chestnut mare Blütenzauber F (by Neverland x FS Cracker Jack) for 10,000 euro. Djumanji (by Kastanienhof Donnertrommler x Casino Royal) stays in Germany for 8,900 euro.

Successful Oldenburg dressage horse breeder Georg Bischoff from Wardenburg passed away on 1 January 2024 at age 94. He bred licensed stallions Barolo (by Bordeaux) and Furst Bischoff (by Fürst Romancier) as well as state premium mares Walinda (De Niro), who competed in the Oldenburg Elite Mare Show in Rastede, and Waldfee (by Donnerschwee). Bischoff's breeding products not only shine in the breeding ring, but also in sport.  Friedolin (by Fidertanz) competes at international Grand Prix level with Australian Hayley Beresford.  

Indian Asian Games historic team gold medal winners Anush Agarwalla and Divyakriti Singh Rathore became the recipients of the prestigious Arjuna Award by the President of India on 9 January 2024 for excellence in sport. The Arjuna award is the second highest sporting honour of the country. Divyakriti is the first Indian woman in equestrian sport to be awarded the Arjuna Award. Previous equestrian winners of the award were Jitendarjit Ahluwalia and Fouaad Mirza. The recipients are selected by a committee constituted by the Ministry of Sports. Recipients are honoured for their “good performance in the field of sports over a period of four years” at the international level and for having shown “qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline.” 

Bjorn Schroeder,  editor-in-chief of  “Reiten und Zucht in Brandenburg-Anhalt” has been awarded with the Graf Landsberg Bronze Medal at the 2024 Brandenburg stallion licensing. Schroeder completed his training as horse manager in breeding between 1991 and 1994 at the Brandenburg State Stud and became known as a good equestrian photographer. He deepened this passion more and more from 1994 onwards and traveled as a photographer and reporter to many horse events in the Berlin-Brandenburg region. In 2004 he took over the position of editor-in-chief of the magazine.  For over 30 years Schroeder has worked tirelessly for horses, sport, breeding and people.  

Dutch Olympian Adelinde Cornelissen and her life partner, Aris van Manen, have acquired their own yard in Westendorp, The Netherlands, and will be moving from Nijkerk to their own place in February 2024.

Ridehesten reported that Danish dressage horse dealer and trainer Soren Wind is on the move again. After having ridden for Blue Hors and Helgstrand Dressage, Wind moved to Jan Bastrup Pedersen's Fredensvang Riding Center near Hobro in December 2022 and his business has outgrown the place. He will move to Morten Skov's Stutteri Unik near Randers and is joined by his life partner, show jumper Christian Tang Nielsen, who first worked out of Nordentoft Equestrian and Stutteri Nexen before joining Wind in Hobro. The couple employs Anna Kasprzak's former assistant Josefine Dahl Hoffmann.