Great news from Constance Menard. The French team rider, who competed at the 2005 European Championships in Hagen, but who had a severe accident loading off hay, is back in the saddle and competing her horses! In August 2005, Constance fractured pretty much her entire upper body when a ball of forage fell on her. She was in the hospital for weeks, and had to go through months of intense rehabilitation. Her trainer Michel Autran kept her horses Lianca and Lion in shape. Menard started riding her Prix St Georges horse Lion a couple of months ago and took over the reins from Lianca recenlty. Last weekend, Menard showed at the national competition in Lille. Aboard Lianca, she won the Grand Prix and placed second in the Special. With Lion, she won the PSG Kur to Music. "It was very emotional for me, and I am so happy with my horses," Menard told Eurodressage. We hope to see you in Aachen, Constance!
Swedish Grand Prix rider Kristian von Krusenstierna rode an international personal best score at the CDI-W 's Hertogenbosch aboard Wilson, but did have a nasty experience at the show in Holland. Shortly after his arrival at Den Bosch,thiefs broke into Von Krusenstierna's car and stole not only his Hiver dressage hat, but also his laptop with valuable data for the preparation of his exam, video clips from all his competitions of the past year, his camera and a DVD player. "It was so silly because I arrived very late to the hotel, so I was too tired to empty the car completely and decided to cover up the remaining items," Kristian told Tidningen Ridsport. Kristian will have to re-do a 15 page paper which was part of his exam to become a Swedish B-judge and had a new hat tailor made by Boy de Winter at the show.
In connection with HRH Princess Benedikte's candidature for the Presidency of the International Equestrian Federation, a new and interactive website has been launched. Please visit www.hrhbenedikte.com for information about Her Royal Highness and her thoughts on the future of the FEI. The website offers all members of the FEI the possibility to communicate with Princess Benedikte and share their views on the FEI. There is also a quick poll to find out how the FEI can best service its members and grow into a stronger federation.
They could very well be the next Canadian dressage dynasty rivaling fellow Canadian husband/wife team Neil and Cindy Ishoy. Jaimey and Tina Irwin (nee Busse), who operate Stoney Lake Equestrian in Ontario, have just been married in September 2005, and are now combining their talents and efforts to producing successful horses and students at their training facility. Both began their dressage careers as junior riders and have grown up on the Canadian dressage circuit.
More wedding bells sounded recently. German dressage rider and horse dealerJurgen Höfler married his girlfriend Katrin on 9th December 2005. The duo met when Katrin came to Höfler's yard to write a story on him for the German magazine Reiter Revue. Eurodressage received the following cute photo of the happy pair in our mailbox.
Anky van Grunsven's new kur to music, which was planned to be ready by 2006 CDI-W 's Hertogenbosch (this weekend) is still in the making and it is also doubtful that it will be finished by the World Cup Finals in Amsterdam next month. Kur composers' duo Cees Slings and Victor Kerkhof are working hard to wrap up Anky's new kur at the same time that they are working on making the entire music for the opening and closing ceremony of the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen (August 2006). Anky will showcase her new kur more realistically at the World Equestrian Games, according to a press release printed on the Indoor Brabant website.
KWPN licensed stallion Inspekteur (by Darwin) will be competed by Coby van Baalen's nice Marrigje van Baalen this 2006 show season. Inspekteur's owner Wendy van der Helm offered the ride to Van Baalen, who competed the grey Pandor at junior riders' level last year. For many years, Marrigje van Baalen was anchor of the Dutch pony team aboard the buckskin stallion Power and Paint, but she was unable to capture a place in the junior team with Pandor. That might change this year in the saddle of "Spekkie".