Danish Olympic team bronze medallist Princess Nathalie zu Saeyn-Wittgenstein has a new horse at her disposal. Based at Castle Berleburg in Germany, Zu Saeyn-Wittgenstein will be campaigning the incredibly talented 8-year old Danish warmblood stallion Horsebo's Smarties (by Gribaldi x Ramiro's Son x Ibikus). This dark bay stallion has been bred by Helle Kristiansen from Græsted, Denmark, and was previously trained and competed by Dennis Holst Barrington and Michael Søgaard. The latter trained the horse up to Grand Prix level. Nathalie has been riding Smarties for one month now and is crazy about him. "Smarties is really lovely to work with and he is a fantastic student," Nathalie told Ridehesten.com. "If you teach him something one day, you don't have to repeat it the next day."
Swedish 16-year old FEI pony rider Nina Rademaekers has been proclaimed Agria Pony Rider of 2010 and receives a stipend which she can spend on furthering her dressage career. Nina is based in Stockholm . "Nina has a big amount of wins and top places at national pony shows on a pony she has trained herself. She is a good example both in the stable and at competitions and many of her competitors like her personality," said an Agria representative.
Dutch Grand Prix rider Kirsten Beckers is sidelined for a while due to an injury. She was run over by a horse in the stable corridor and knocked her head against the wall. She bit through her lip and sprained her wrist. "I don't have a concussion nor pain in my neck, but I do have troubles with my wrist which has been sprained," she told Horses of the Dutch. "To make sure I didn't have any more severe injuries I went to the hospital. They stitched the cut but luckily nothing has been fractured. In a week I have to go back to the hospital to get the stitches out. We'll see how it goes then."
Michelle Guillot, the famous designer of the SuperPrix parody: a visual representation of the current state of dressage, has now made a satirical graphic on the Blue tongue scandal. Her solution to blue tongues is the "Blues Blocker Bruzzle". Check out the large version of the image here. Dutch former young rider Lorraine van den Brinkalso has to put riding on the backburner.Coby van Baalen's student fractured her hand in three places and will not be able to ride for several weeks. Get well soon!
The Humane Society of the United States, protecting the welfare of animals in the U.S., has joined many dressage organisation and horse societies which have spoken against the hyperflexion training method. Read theirpress release here
American Karin Offield has decided to stand her 16-year old Dutch warmblood stallion Lingh (by Flemmingh x Columbus) for one more year at the Flyinge State Stud in Sweden. In 2009, he got 87,5% of the mares he covered in foal.
Iron Spring Farm's KWPN stallion Rampal passed away on November 11, 2009 due to the infirmities of old age. The 26-year-old stallion was known not only for his incredible competition record, which included being short listed for the United States Equestrian Team, but also for his contributions to the sport horse world as a sire. His offspring have been competitive through the international levels of both show jumping and dressage. His son Ovation ISF won at such shows as CSIO Rome with World Cup Finals winner Marcus Fuchs in the saddle. "Rampal was an incredible partner," remembers his rider and owner Mary Alice Malone. "He was a gifted athlete and we were able to share some memorable experiences together." The pair had 14 wins at the Grand Prix level, including the NEDA CDI-W, USET Festival of Champions, AHSA Region 1 Championships, CBLM Championships and Royal Dressage CDI. Their success resulted in being short-listed for the United States Equestrian Team. Rampal was born in 1983 and imported to the United States by Five Star Farm as a four-year-old. In 1987 he was presented at the KWPN keuring where he was licensed. Rampal arrived at Iron Spring Farm in 1991 and began his competition career with Mary Alice. He was awarded the prestigious Crown predicate for dressage performance in 1999.
British photographer Caroline Finch has made a unique A4 wall calendar for 2010 with stunning competition images of the world record horses Moorlands Totilas. This must have is the perfect Christmas gift for dressage enthusiasts. It costs £14,50 incl. P&P in the U.K. Usual rates apply for overseas shipping. To order contactdressagephotographer@talktalk.net
The 7-year-old Danish warmblood Lux Stensvang (by Lobster x Diamond) has been sold to Young Rider Caroline Roffmann, a student of Lars Petersen. The dark bay gelding is bred by Niels Herman Schmidt in Brørup and was competed by Blue Hors rider Maria Anita Andersen. Owner Laila Roschmann bought Lux at a foal auction in Denmark and took him to Blue Hors for training. Andersen competed the gelding at the 2008 World Championships for Young Dressage Horses and finished 11th in the Final.
Horses.nl reported that the KWPN licensed stallion Wonderboy (by Ramon x Nimmerdor x Notaris) has been sold for 50% to President Dressage Stables. The other half is in ownership of Huug de Koning, who acquired the stallion as a foal at the Starsale foal auction. Wonderboy is trained by Adriane Wigmans. He became the winner of the Stallion Performance Testwith 82,5 points the year he got licensed.