Karin Koopman's 16-year old Dutch warmblood mare Ruby (by Gribaldi) has been retired from competition and will now serve as a broodmare. The dark bay Ruby made her claim to fame under Dutch WEG team rider Diederik van Silfhout who booked his first major youth rider successes on the mare.
The pair was member of the Dutch team at the 2007 and 2008 European Junior and Young Riders Championships. They won individual silver and kur gold at the 2008 European YR Championships in Azeitao, Portugal. Van Silfhout and Ruby transitioned to Grand Prix level but the pair was not out at major shows after 2009. In 2012 it was announced that Ruby would be retired but soon afterwards Diederik's ex-girlfriend Lotje Schoots started riding her at Grand Prix level. The pair competed at national GP level in 2013 and 2014.
Olivia Oakeley, Britain's number one Young Rider who is making the transition to the senior division in 2015, has received the ride on Anne and Steve Keen's Don Carissimo. The 9-year old dark bay Hanoverian gelding (byDon Crusader) was previously competed by Matt Hicks at advanced level.
Swiss pony team rider Elena Krattiger has acquired the Danish junior riders' team horse Ramia Lox after spotting the mare for sale in Eurodressage's Equimarket. Ramia Lox is a 9-year old Danish warmblood mare by Romanov x Victory and won team bronze under her Danish rider Emilie Holm Toft. Krattiger finished 17th in the Kur to Music finals on Tiesto at the 2014 European Pony Championships.
The KWPN society announced that it will be changing the format of the KWPN Select Sale, the auction of licensed and non-licensed stallions following the 2015 KWPN Stallion Licensing in Den Bosch in February. The collection of show jumping and dressage horses will be split up and the auction will take place on two different days: for the jumpers on 5 February and for the dressage horses on 7 February.
The 20-year old Westfalian stallion Festrausch (by Florestan x Carprilli) passed away in November 2014 at Cazenovia Collage in New York. Under Dr. Ulf Möller Festrausch won a few material classes in Germany and competed at the 1999 World Young Horse Championships in Arnheim. The pair won the consolation finals at the 1999 Bundeschampionate. Festrausch sold to the American Hilltop Farm in 2000 and was ridden by Scott Hassler, but the stallion never produced any significant dressage results in the U.S.A. He sired one approved stallion. In late 2010 Festrausch moved to Cazenovia College, where he spent the last four years continuing to breed.
Mark Bellissimo continues to tighten his grasp on the American equestrian world by buying more property. On Friday 19 December he announced today that a new partnership has been formed which has signed a contract to acquire the Colorado Horse Park (CHP) in Parker, Colorado. The 148-acre Colorado Horse Park was founded by Helen Krieble in 1992 and is the largest horse park west of the Mississippi. It hosts over 40 events per year, has 11 competition arenas, 100 Boarding Stalls, an RV Park, 2 Covered Arenas, 300 permanent stalls, and enough portable stalls for over 1,000 competing horses. The partnership is also contracted to acquire an additional 47 acres zoned as residential that abuts CHP. Belissimo also owns the show grounds in Wellington, Florida and a big equestrian development in Tryon, NC.
Dutch Grand Prix rider Jeannette Haazen has been hospitalized after falling off a rearing horse. Haazen was hospitalized with a bruised pelvis and ribs and torn muscles in her quads after her youngster Dior reared and flipped backwards falling on top of Jeannette. Haazen has a lot of guardian angles on her shoulder as it's not her first brush with bad luck. In 2007 she and her husband were in a severe lorry accident and in 2011 Jeannete was in a very similar accident when she fell off another rearing horse.
During a charity auction organized by Dutch radio station 3FM Serieus Request, the top bid for a private lesson from Hans Peter Minderhoud and a meet and great with Edward Gal produced 1,200 euro to help the rape victims in conflict areas. Anky van Grunsven also donated a lesson for 3FM Serious Request and the winner gave 8,150 euro to charity in exchange for a lesson with Anky.