Nadine Capellmann's Oldenburg mare Lavinia has passed away. The bay mare was ridden by German junior rider Katharina Winkelhues, who competed her at several national and international youth riders competitions. The mare suffered from a severe case of laminitis and unfortunately had to be put down.
More horse loss in Germany.Annabel Balkenhol, daughter of Klaus Balkenhol, had to put down her FEI horse Little Big Man. The Landro L offspring suffered from a very rare case of stomach cancer. Little Big Man, who was amicably called "Litti", was Grand Prix ready. "Litti was such a wonderful horse, not only from a competitive point of view. He had such a big heart and special character," Annabel Balkenhol said. "He was always happy, reliable, careful and willing to work." Little Big Man was 9-years old.
The Chronicle of the Horse reported that John Strassburger, the editor-in-chief of The Chronicle since 1986, will be retiring to pursue other interests on May 26. Strassburger, 46, joined the Chronicle’s staff in June 1982, immediately after graduating from Dickinson College (Pa.). The Rolex Kentucky CCI****, on April 26-30, was Strassburger’s final news assignment for the Chronicle. It was also the first competition he covered, in 1982. He and his wife, Heather Bailey, will be moving to Healdsburg, Calif., to establish a breeding and training stable and to start their own writing and editing business. He’ll write a new monthly column for the Chronicle, starting in July. “It’s the realization of our dream,” said Strassburger. “I definitely have bittersweet feelings about leaving the Chronicle. After all, I’ve been here more than half my life!” added Strassburger.
In the special Dressage Issue of Horse and Hound we've spotted British World Class performance rider Wayne Channon on the last page in the "Five I Won't Forget"section. In it, Channon talks about the five most important horses in his life. Besides his Grand Prix schoolmasters and his current Grand Prix horse, he also talks about his new rising star "Viktor", a KWPN stallion by Diamond Hit x Jetset. This is the photo that accompanied Viktor, who is sometimes referred to as "The Dude" because of his cool attitude. Channon said about him that he is "lazy, but then when you do eventually get him to move he says ‘right, I’m not stopping then’ and then he’s a man on a mission. He’s chilled out and loves being fussed. He loves the mares, too, and on the walker he’s always trying to find his way out to get to them. Viktor took on Lorenzo on the yard just before the World Cup, giving him a kick that put us out of the competition, but I’ll forgive him that — he’s going to be good."
Klaus and Judith Balkenhol confirmed to Eurodressage that they are applying for a green card to enter the United States.
Christine Traurig's Grand Prix horse More Magic has been sold to American FEI rider Bethany Peslar from Wellington, Florida. The Westfalian gelding by Maraschino xx was owned by Dan Trierweiler who purchased the gelding for Traurig at Johan Hinnemann's stable in Germany. More Magic came into the spotlight under Coby van Baalen, who trained him to Grand Prix level. Traurig got the ride over the gelding in 2003 and took him with her to the States when she moved back from Germany to the U.S. at the end of 2005. Trierweiler recently ended his sponsorship of Traurig and sold More Magic to Bethany Peslar.
Jan Milne sent us the following photo of Carl Hester and Harriet Harrison manning the Badminton Radio to commentate on the dressage phase of the 2006 CCI**** Badminton Horse Trials in Badminton, Great Britain.
Want a good reason to change nationality? What about becoming a dressage rider for Great Britian? There will be hot competition to win this year’s title of British National Dressage Champion, as the 2006 titleholder will be rewarded with an all-inclusive luxury two-week holiday for two at the Blue Waters Hotel on the Caribbean Island of Antigua. British Dressage and the family-owned Blue Waters Hotel, one of Antigua’s longest-established resorts, have signed a three-year contract for the title sponsorship of the National Dressage Championships, which will be known as the Blue Waters National Dressage Championships. Included in the sponsorship deal is the show’s climax class, the Grand Prix Freestyle to Music Championships, which is the final competition to decide who becomes National Dressage Champion.
The KWPN stallion Victor, who is in the process of getting approved as KWPN breeding stallion, has been sold to Dutchmen Frank Jespers and Toine Hoefs, andAmericans Kathy Connelly and Al Guden of Hyperion Farms. According to Horses of the Dutch, Victor (OO Seven x Jazz) will be trained and competed by Hans Peter Minderhoud.