Horum Omnium Fortissimi sunt Belgae! Caesar knew it, and the Aachen show organizers now know it too. "Of all people, the Belgians are the strongest!" A courageous Belgian stopped Boyd Exell's four-in-hand carriage which had taken off without driver in the course of the CHIO Aachen 2008 The Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein e.V. (ALRV) thankedDominique Eerdekens for his courageous behaviour during the Marathon of the four-in-hand drivers at the 2008 CHIO Aachen. The 43 year-old Belgian had stopped the driverless horse team of the Australian driver Boyd Exell, who had accidentally fallen off his carriage in an obstacle complex. "Thanks to the determined and courageous intervention of Dominique Eerdekens, this accident did not have any serious consequences after all", said show director Frank Kemperman. In order to emphasize their deep gratitude, the association awarded Eerdekens with the CHIO Badge of Honour. "Of course this is only a symbolic gesture", said Kemperman, "but it is an expression of our deepest respect for a courageous and selfless man." The Badge of Honour was bestowed to Dominique Eerdekens on July 29th by ALRV-President Klaus Pavel and Frank Kemperman. Also the driver Boyd Exell was present at Aachen on this day to thank Eerdekens again personally that he stopped his horse team.
American Pan Am Team rider Laurens Sammis gave birth to twins on July 13, 2008. Lauren and her partner Melanie are ecstatic about the birth of Aidan Cornell Summers and Ryan Ahrens Summers. The twins were born at 3:53pm and 3:55pm respectively.
Aidan weighs in at 4 pounds 5 ounces and little sister Ryan is 3 pounds 3 ounces. The mommies (after being caught by surprise of the early arrival) are thrilled and big brother Nemo can't wait to meet his little brother and sister.
Christoph Koschel and the highly pregnant Patricia Tietje got married in Hamburg on July 16, 2008. They will celebrate their wedding in the exclusive Hotel Jacob, one the "Leading Small Hotels in the World, on the shore of the Elbe river. The Koschels lived for more than 20 years in the Hamburg area before they moved to Hof Beckerode in Hagen, Germany. Tietje, who previously dated Martin Schaudt, is already mother to son by a famous German soap opera actor. This will be her second child. Almost ten years ago, Christoph Koschel was engaged to double European Young Riders Champion Christine von Oldershausen.
The 2008 Median Cup Finals for Upcoming Grand Prix Horses have been relocatedfrom the Bundeschampionate in Warendorf to the CHI Donaueschingen 18 to 21 September 2008. "The organizers of the original location for the Finals in Warendorf could not offer us the required space to grant this innovative show circuit a great Finals. Both the German Equestrian Federation and the organizers of the Medien Cup regret this," Medien Cup stated in a press release on the relocation of the Finals. The Finals will now happen in the Castle Park in Donaueschingen two weeks later. The final Medien Cup qualifier takes place in Langen at the end of August.
Emma Hindle's Brookhouse Stud announced the unfortunate news that their young stallion Curator (by Conteur x Weltmeyer x Eiger II) had to be castrated. The stallion, who was the reserve champion of the 2006 Hanoverian Stallion Licensing, suffered from a severe colic attack on Sunday July 13, 2008 and had to be operated on. During the operation complications arose in the belly of Curator and a castration was necessary to save the horse. "We regret the fact that his genes will no longer be available for the breeders, but as owner of this impressive stallion we are happy that his life was saved," Brookhouse stud explained. Photo courtesy: Brookhouse Stud
Almost half the horses and riders qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games have arrived in Hong Kong. Dutch team member Hans Peter Minderhoud wrote that the"Olympic village" is not really a village as they are at other Olympic Games. For the Dutch, it is just their hotel [Royal Park Hotel] with some space round it. "Imke [Schellekens], Tim [Lips, eventer] and I are in that Olympic village," Minderhoud wrote. "The others stay in a different hotel [Regal Riverside hotel] and Anky and Sjef have rented an apartment. They come to the Olympic village when the Games begin. All fine to me. At least everyone has his own room." Anky's luxury apartment is in Kawloon, with view over the harbour.
Tim Hadaway has been appointed as the London 2012 Committee’s Sport Competition Manager for equestrian events at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Tim will start his job in October and will be responsible for the planning, organisation and management of show jumping, dressage and cross country, which will take place at Greenwich Park in south east London. Having ridden for much of his life, Tim worked as a cross-country course builder, moving on to course design and into event management, becoming director of Blair Castle International Horse Trials in the 1990s. In 1996, he was appointed technical advisor for British Eventing and, in 2002, became sport and technical manager responsible for the management and development of the sport.