The Dutch Young Rider Kirsten Beckers has lost her Dutch Team horse Oulie B. "Oulie B was ill the past few months, he got a cold, turned feverish and was stiff in his movements mainly on the right side, but it all went over.
Suddenly he got paralisation symptoms on his right side, his ear was floppy, his eye lid closed. We immediately transported him to the veterinary clinic of Utrecht and there they found out that he had a brain tumour," Kirsten said. The only right thing to do was to humanly put down Oulie B. He turned 10 years old on the same day
Oulie B's first successes were established in 1997 when he became 4th at the Dutch Dressage Championships in Nijmeghen. In 1998 the pair became third in the young riders class and got selected for the Dutch YR team to compete at the European Championships in Hickstead. The combination won silver with their team and placed sixth individually. The highlight of their show career was in 1998 when they dominated the Euro-Future Cup for Young Riders in Hickstead, winning every single test. Kirsten Beckers still has the nine year old Jaguar (by Ulft) and the 10-year old Kassagrande (by Wellington) at her disposal.
More Dutch news in De Paardenkrant ( in Dutch)
Image copyrighted: Arnd Bronkhorst