At the last Olympic selection trials for Dutch dressage riders in Kootwijk, The Netherlands, Ellen Bontje distinguished herself with the Holsteiner stallion Silvano N and got, therefore, selected as fourth team member for the Dutch Olympic Equipe.
Bontje will be representing Holland again with the bay Silvester get who was also part of the team at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Three other Dutch team riders already had the ticket to Sydney thanks to their impressive achievements throughout the year. Anky van Grunsven, Arjen Teeuwissen and Coby van Baalen will consitute the team. Chef d'equipe Jurgen Koschel selected several other combinations to join the foursome in quarantaine. "To promote the team spirit," Koschel claimed, "as they can train together for two weeks." Sonja Gademann and Jup (pictured) as well as Imke Bartels with her mother's 1996 Olympic horse Barbria and Gonnelien Rothenberger-Gordijn with Weyden and Leonardo Da Vinci are going into quarantaine.
Image copyrighted Mary Phelps