It never rains but it pours. After receiving a yellow card at the 2013 CDI-W Zhaskhov for bleeding spur marks on his horse, Polish Michal Rapcewicz has now been convicted in absentia in The Netherlands on 29 May 2013 to pay 65,000 euro to Yvonne Bos.
Bos was the owner of the Dutch stables where Rapcewicz was based for a while. Michal refused to pay his bills and also kept a large sum of the money on a horse he sold for Bos to Italy. Michal currently lives in Poland.
Uta Gräf has a new potential star in her stable: the 8-year old Westfalian gelding Freckle (by Future x Gribaldi). Owned by Claudia Porsche, the bay Freckle was previously trained and competed by Ralf Kornprobst, who won bronze with him at the 2011 Bundeschampionate in Warendorf.
American FEI rider Kim Herslow, who made a great international small tour debut aboard the 8-year old Rosmarin (by Rosentanz x Weltmeyer), has received the ride on a confirmed Grand Prix horse from Germany. Herslow imported Alexandra Kofler's Grand Prix horse Donnermeyer, a 15-year old Hanoverian gelding by Donnerhall out of State Premium Mare Well Done (by Weltmeyer). She is also the dam to licensed stallions Danone I and II. Donnermeyer is owned by Christopher Ofenstein.
Irish Grand Prix rider Judy Reynolds got engaged to her boyfriend Patrick Heavey on 11 June 2013. Reynolds called it "the best day of my life." Congratulations to the couple!
Horses.nl reported that Dutch FEI rider Dominique Filion was hospitalized for two days after falling off her horse and hitting her head against the concrete curb of the arena. "If I hadn't worn a helmet I think my head would have been fractured in two," said the rider. Kebie van der Heijden posted photos on her Facebook page of a swollen and blue ankle which she sprained getting off her horse. Danish FEI Rider Rikke Lindberg also crashed on a pebbled surface which scraped some skin of her upper legs and shoulders.
At the 2013 CDI Achleiten show host Sissy Max-Theurer raised money for the flood victims in North Austria and was able to raise 45,190 euro promptly at her show. Contributors were Dr. Meyer, the Porsche family, Bank Austria UniCredit, Sparkasse Neuhofen, Gestüt Paul Schockemöhle, the Max-Theurer family as well as a few judges, riders and trainers. (Photo © Michael Rzepa)
British Olympic golden diva's Charlotte Dujardin and Laura Bechtolsheimer participated in a photo shoot for the U.K. tabloid magazine Hello. The two girls dressed up in style as if they were going to attend the Ascot horse races, donning fashionable hats and all.
Talking about fashion. Italian Grand Prix rider Silvia Rizzo has become a new columnist on an American website with a blog on her equestrian fashion choices. For her first column Rizzo wrote about her quest for the ideal boot.
Uwe Heckmann has returned on the Oldenburg Stallion Licensing Committee replacing Felix Tiemann, who has stepped down.
Dutch FEI rider Kirsten Beckers competed the former Young Horse World Champion Westpoint for the third time at Grand Prix level and won the regional competition in Emmeloord with a 72.71% score.