International dressage sport, like any other top level competitive sport, takes place in a cocooned world, where pursuits for glory tamper with one's emotions. With progress and victory in sight, the rider becomes fixed on his ultimate goal.
He devotes a significant amount of years to training one horse to a level he never even dared to dream of. When all goes well, and one is able to challenge the world's best, the athlete seems to reach this meditative zone in which he becomes shut off from reality, floating in a well deserved bubble of success.
Unfortunately, it is distressing to notice how easily -- in the dressage world -- the rider can soar high one moment, and crash and burn the next. The cruel reality, waiting to show its face through round every corner, can be injury, doping, or the sale of a horse. Pop, the magic bubble is broken.
Latest victim of "Equestrian Reality" is Per Sandgaard, 37-years old and of Danish nationality. Aboard the bay gelding Zancor, he made his international Grand Prix debut in 2002 and rose to stardom in 2004 by becoming the Danish Dressage Champion and by placing 10th individually at the 2004 Olympic Games. He was well on his way to qualify for the 2005 World Cup Finals, when Zancor's owner Monica Lindstedt suddenly sold the horse to Nadine Capellmann in Germany.
Sandgaard was aware that Zancor was for sale and was negotiating with a sponsor to buy Zancor. "I had a deal with the owner that after the Olympics he would be sold," Sandgaard told Eurodressage, "I had a person interested in him, so that I could continue riding him, but suddenly the price went up."
German Nadine Capellmann tried out Zancor begin December but did not immediately buy him. In January, however, negotiations accelerated. Lindstedt had contacted Sjef Janssen to act as middleman and she changed Zancor's asking price. At that moment, Nadine decided to buy the horse. Zancor was shipped to Germany on January 7.
Losing the ride of his life time, Sandgaard said that the major emotion he is going through now is disappointment. "I'm disappointed because the owner has done the deal above my head. I was not informed. When the price went down again, I could have had a chance to buy him, but the owner told me I was too late."
Not only is Zancor's sale a great loss for Sandgaard, but also for the Danish Dressage team which was getting stronger every year. "We had such a good team in Athens. Lone [Jorgensen] was doing better and better with her young horse and we had a good team for the Europeans [in 2005]," Sandgaard said. This great Danish quartet has been broken and a new replacement needs to be found soon.
When talking about his relationship with Zancor, Sandgaard gets very intimate and personal. "He is such a special horse. What he did in the ring was very special," Sandgaard explained, "he was very sensitive and needed a lot of confidence. In the ring, he really did it for me and grew as a horse." Sandgaard said that it took him years to build up such a great partnership with this horse. "He's a very fresh horse and you have to be really careful with him. She [Capellmann] will have to learn to ride him. It will be very hard."
The 14-year old Zancor is known for his electric hind leg, but what is not known about this striking bay is his nationality. The KWPN verband claims him as Dutch, the Swedish say he's Swedish warmblood. Zancor is bred out of Dutch lines. He's by Calimero out of the Dutch mare Zancia (by Pretendent x Millerole xx x Toerist). Zancia was sold to Sweden in foal to Zancor. The latter was born in Sweden and registered there. Dam Zancia was presented for premium, but did not get it. The owners were so disappointed that they decided not to breed her anymore and sold her as a school horse to a local barn. The mare broke her leg there and was put down.
Now that Zancor has moved south to Germany, Sandgaard has to map out a new future for himself. There is no other Grand Prix horse waiting in his barn and it's back to the basics. "I don't have the financial resources to buy a Grand Prix horse, but am working on a project now," Sandgaard confessed. "But, that's the way it is in this sport. I almost qualified for the World Cup Finals, and now I'm back at the beginning."
For Sandgaard the return to youngsters with no top horse to lead is a bitter pill to swallow. "The hardest moment is when you are on a young horse and you want to make it go a little faster, so that you have that same feeling again," he explained, but he will never forget his moments of glory aboard Zancor. "You have to enjoy the moments when it's going well, enjoy them extra."
Text and Images copyrighted: Astrid Appels/Eurodressage.com - No reproduction allowed
Related Link
Per Sandgaard's Zancor Sold to Nadine Capellmann