June seems to be a bone breaking month for many international Grand Prix riders. Guenter Seidel got injured most severely falling off his Jazz offspring UII. He fractured his pelvis and had to be operated on. His pelvis was repaired with a metal plate and his punctured long was also fix in surgery. He will need at least four months to recover but will certainly return to full health.
British Olympian Maria Eilberg broke her elbow falling off her bike at the 2010 CDI Lingen! In an attempt to overtake her father Ferdi Eilberg going downhill, she braked too much and went flying over the steering wheel. Initially she just suffered some grazes and bruising but the elbow got swollen. An X-ray was taken at the hospital and there was a small fracture. Maria had to wear a plaster only very briefly and will be fully healed to compete at Aachen in July.
Australian Olympian Hayley Beresford broke her right foot unloading the tack trunk from her lorry!! "I'm seriously unimpressed with myself," she stated. "I smashed and broke my foot unpacking my competition trunk." Hayley, who is currently based near Zurich, Switzerland, said that this injury will not prevent her from riding the WEG selection trials. "I don't think a broken foot will stop me from trying." Beresford currently has two Grand Prix horses at her disposal: her 2008 Olympic mount Relampago do Retiro and Daniel Ramseier's 11-year old black Oldenburg mare Ferra (by Ferro). "Whether it is my Aussie will power, the Swiss air, the super doctors, the four leaf clover a friend gave me in an attempt to change my run of luck from the previous weekend or just my plain pig-headed stubborness, I stepped back on board after four days off and on Saturday) Ferra and I headed to a CDN Grand Prix in Switzerland, where we finished second with 68.16%," Beresford wrote.
The first official baby photos of Isabell Werth's son Frederik have been published. No, not an equestrian magazine was granted permission to be the first to publish them, but the German mega-publication BILD.de got the scoop. Check out two photos here
Dutch Grand Prix rider Leida Collins-Strijk gave birth to her third child, a boy. Strijk is married to Bermuda eventing rider Tim Collins and already has two sons by him. The couple lives in Riethoven, The Netherlands.
The CDI Vidauban at Bernadette Brune's Domaine Equestre des Grands Pins near Saint-Tropez, France, suffered from some severe weather conditions. Torrential rain temporarily flooded the area but the Vidauban team was able to secure the stables and arena for competition. "There's no telephone and internet, but the stalls and rings are good so we are ready to go for the competition," Brune stated last week.
We caught up with U.S. FEI rider Melissa Taylor who flew in to root for her life partner, Danish Lars Petersen, at the 2010 CDIO Rotterdam. Taylor is the owner of Legacy Farms, based in Wellington, Florida, and has been running her stables together with Petersen since 2004.
Dutch equestrian photographer Arnd Bronkhorst celebrated his umpteenth birthday. The tall Bronkhorst, who's considered one of the best horse photographers in the field, is quite secretive about his true age though his grey hair might be an indicator. "They are grey because of my sire and dam line," Arnd joked. Colleague Dirk Caremans has a nice collection of Arnd-in-action portraits from the past 10 years in his database.
American Olympian Courtney King posted an update on her condition on her website. King, who fell off her horse and sustained a severe skull fracture, is currently rehabilitating at the Kessler Institute. "I still don’t have proper use of my right side and speech is difficult, but I guarantee I am working hard on them! I am amazed how much the brain does. But I feel very lucky being like my normal self and having my memory; I see a lot who don’t have that luxury. I explain that my brain may be terribly screwed up, but my mind is good! I kick butt on anything mental they throw at me, so what if I can’t walk; I can think!"
"At first I didn’t think I would ride again," Courtney wrote, adding "partly because my neurologist said if I hurt my head again, it will not be 2 times as hard to come back but 5 times; and I can tell you, it’s not easy now! But the fact is (even though I have a good education) I can’t see myself doing anything else. I have been asked a lot if hippotherapy sounded good, and at first I thought “those horse are so far below my abilities!” But in reality, horses always make me feel better, so until my balance is better why not do it on horses who are used to it? I heard that Lendon visited me while I was in the coma with a rein, and it made a huge difference! Jason says he was not too impressed with it because he was still trying to get me to communicate, and here is Lendon reminding me how to ride! But it worked; it’s what my body knows. So thanks to Lendon for being such a big part of what’s going on!"
Do you have what it takes to be a London 2012 Games volunteer? London 2012’s official Games-time Volunteer Programme will launch this summer. Volunteering at the London 2012 Games will be a truly memorable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for members of the Equestrian community. Read more about volunteering requirements and roles
The 2010 PVDA Ride for Life Dancing Horse Challenge Jun 26th will be THE equestrian event for 2010 leading up to the World Equestrian Games! We have such an impressive line-up, one too good to be missed so get your tickets now (a suggested $20 donation – free to kids 12 and under) at www.pvdarideforlife.org and support the cause of breast cancer research! The performances this year for the Dancing Horse Challenge will be truly special with speciality acts coming from all over the country! KYB Dressage, the famed Barteau family, will be performing Broadway acts, stunts, and beautiful freestyles. You don't need to go to Broadway for the Lion King or to the lake for water-skiing - you can see it all at the Dancing Horse Challenge, including a patriotic tribute to Lee Greenwood's Proud to be an American. The Sons of the Wind are coming from Connecticut with their breath-taking Lusitanos. Mr. Vitor Silva and his horses are nationally renowned for their haute ecole "airs above the ground" and perfectly matched quadrille. This is an opportunity to see the very high school movements that have made the Lipizzaners in Vienna world famous. We have then many wonderful Grand Prix freestyles with such riders confirmed (subject to horses' being fit) as Michael Barisone, Sue Jaccoma, Felicitas von Neumann-Cosell, Lauren Sprieser, and Ali Brock.
The PVDA, in addition to its great Silent Auction at the event, is extending it to the country via on-line Auction at through Mission Fish, with items offered by Debbie McDonald , County Saddlery, great art work and a training and dressage experience/vacation offered by the Sons of the Wind!