The owners of Sidsel Johansen's cute and charismatic black gelding Schianto have decided to retire the horse from competition sport for good. The black sustained an injury during training and would need a three month break from training.
"It's impressive that so many tears can flow from my small head," said a devastated Johansen who has to respect the wishes of Schianto's owner, the Rosbøg family, for retiring her number one horse.
After a very successful indoor show season in which the pair became crowd favourites for their kur, Johansen was in full preparation for the 2013 Danish Dressage Championships as well as team selection for the 2013 European Championships in Denmark this summer.
While training with coach Andreas Helgstrand, Schianto took a wrong step and got injured. The horse was transported to Højgaard Equine Clinic where a crack in the front pastern was diagnosed. The horse would need a three month recovery period for the injury to heal.
"I was ready to take the three months and then come back stronger and ready for a new winter season, but it was not meant to be," Johansen told Ridehesten.com. "I have to accept the owners' decision to take Schianto out of the sport."
The 14-year old Danish warmblood gelding Schianto (by Gribaldi x Schwadroneur) was trained to Grand Prix level by Astrid Gemal before Sidsel took over the ride five years ago. The duo was one of Denmark's strongest performing combinations at the moment.
Source: Ridehesten
Photo © Astrid Appels
Related Links
Eurodressage Photo Database: Schianto
Danish Teams Selected for 2013 CDIO Aachen and CDIO Rotterdam
Sidsel In, Lyndal Out of 2013 World Cup Finals
The Crowd on Sidsel's Side at 2012 CDI-W Stuttgart