Anna Kasprzak Diagnosed with Three Cracked Ribs

Dressage

Danish Dressage News

Danish Grand Prix team rider Anna Kasprzak is currently out of the saddle recovering from a cracked sternum and three broken ribs, which she sustained at the beginning of the 2015 European Dressage Championships in Aachen, Germany.

Right after the vet check on Tuesday morning 11 August 2015, her horse Donnperignon (by Donnerhall x Mozart) made a sudden leap on his way to the stables and accidentally kicked Anna in the chest.

Kasprzak was diagnosed with a cracked sternum but decided to ride. She finished 18th in the Grand Prix (72.986%) and 10th in the Special (73.473%). Anna qualified for the freestyle but after a morning training session on Sunday 16 August her condition worsened and she could no longer breathe properly.

"I would have loved to have ridden the freestyle on Sunday, but it was just not possible," Kasprzak told Ridehesten. "The pain during and after my ride was just too much. I could not ride with the same energy and overview as usual."

Anna Kasprzak and Donnperignon at the horse inspection in Aachen Kasprzak and her mum drove back home to Denmark with the lorry and in Haderslev she got X-rayed again. The doctors not only diagnosed her with a cracked sternum but also with three broken ribs. She has been unable to ride since then.

"I would like to start riding again but I can't. Yesterday was the first day without painkillers. My breathing is ok now, but it hurts to laugh, cough and sneeze," said Anna. "It's hard for be ill for me. I can't keep still, but even with 14 painkillers a day I have not been pain-free for a moment."

Kasprzak hopes to be back in the saddle in time to prepare Donnperignon for the 2015 World Cup qualifier in Odense in October. The show will be an opportunity to score points for the World Ranking List, on which individual Olympic qualification for Rio will be based.