In an interview with the Dutch television program NOS Sport, Anky van Grunsven revealed that her future aboard Upido is still uncertain as the Dutch warmblood stallion is plagued by recurring injuries.
This week Van Grunsven received the prestigious Dutch Fanny Blankers-Koen Lifetime Achievement Award. NOS Sport visited Anky at her home in Erp the day after the award ceremony to talk about her career, horses and future.
"I have one horse here that I wanted to compete in London, Upido. He's a great horse, really fantastic but each time he injures himself," said Anky. "We're unable to progress because of that. It's frustrating because you know he can do it and has it in him to do it, but then he has to be healthy and able to go. We'll have to wait and see how the story goes. I don't have a crystal ball I can look at. There's no sense in running ahead of the facts. I rather enjoy each day what I have and not what I don't have. I don't complain."
With not a single young horse in her barn and only the confirmed Grand Prix horse Upido at her disposal (after the retirement of Salinero) to continue her international dressage career, van Grunsven has limited her options to continue her own sport career in 2013 to a minimum.
"I love riding horses, but if I weren't to compete anymore at any show I don't mind. I've been there and don't that, I experienced it all," she said. "But then I didn't want to go London first and then I went, so now I know I better keep my mouth shut. I'll just see. I just base it on my feeling. If it doesn't add something and go for place ten, than I won't go. But if Upido will start to go and he'll be able to be at the top, than of course I won't stay at home. So I can't tell."
Though she now is a recipient of a lifetime achievement award Van Grunsven hasn't planned to call it quits.
"This won't be my goodbye," she told the journalist who then asked if she would opt for a gradual and modest exit through a backdoor. "Something like that but modest is not really the right word. I don't know." Van Grunsven added that she'll only keep on showing if she'll look good in the saddle. "I don't want to be sitting there hobbling on a horse," she joked while mimicking it.
See the complete video interview here.
Related Links
Van Grunsven Wins Lifetime Achievement Award at 2012 NOC Sport Gala
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Anky van Grunsven Reining Down in London
Van Grunsven Decided on Salinero for 2012 Dutch Olympic Selection Process
Anky van Grunsven to Compete Upido in January 2012
Spanish Grand Prix Horse Upido C-TL Sold, Moving to Stable van Grunsven