American Grand Prix rider Caroline Roffman has given birth to a baby girl, Mae Victoria Meredith, at the Wellington Regional Medical Center on 1 April 2016. The baby is in good health, weighs 3.345kg and is 48 cm tall. Father to the child is Roffman's fiancé
, Australian show jumping rider Ben Meredith. Roffman was short-listed for the U.S. Team for the 2014 World Equestrian Games on Her Highness, which she sold to Danish Signe Kirk Kristiansen a year ago.
After working as an assistant trainer at Rudolf Zeilinger's yard in Germany, Danish dressage rider Camilla Ahlers Pedersen has moved back to her home country Denmark and started at Helgstrand Dressage.
Horst Ense has passed away at age 81. The former chair of the Rhinelander breed society (1986 - 2008) and vice president of the German Equestrian Federation, Ense was a renaissance man in the equestrian world and was also chair of the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses. He was a breeder, rider, trainer, judge and course designer. He was decorated with German Riders Cross in gold in 1995 and received the Gustav Rau Medal in Gold in 2008.
Danish FEI pony rider Josephine Emilia Thide Nielsen won crowned the 2016 Little Miss Galaxy in Kutaisi, Georgia, mid February. The 16-year old Danish dressage pony rider already won the Miss Teen Denmark pageant and was, therefore, Denmark's representative for the Little Miss Galaxy pageant. Nielsen won the 2012 and 2013 Danish Pony Championships on Ponygardens Mikkel in the Category 3 division. She trains with Spanish Severo Jurado Lopez.
Belgian 9-time youth team rider Alexa Fairchild has parted ways with her coach of 12 years, Virginie Deltour. The current young rider and U25 rider is moving to Anky van Grunsven for further training. Fairchild is member of the VLP Talent Team and has already received regular training from Van Grunsven through the Talent Team.
The former French A-team Grand Prix horse Rossini, a 13-year old Bavarian bred gelding by Rivero II x Charivari, sold at an executorial auction for 83,000 euro. French equestrian magazine Grand Prix Replay now reported that the Lautier family were the buyers. French junior rider Paul Lautier hopes to qualify on the French team for the 2016 European Junior Riders Championships in Oliva Nova this summer. The Lautiers own a Lusitano breeding stud in Maureilhan, France; They recently bought the KWPN Ixilon (by Johnson x Ferro) for 85,000 euro at the 2016 KWPN Select Sale.
Canadian Grand Prix rider Julie LaForge-Watchorn had to say goodbye to her Young Riders' horse Dobble Tyme. The Hanoverian by Dynamo was 20 years old. There were two spellings for his name: Double Tyme and Dobble Tyme with the FEI. Julie and Dobble Tyme won Kur to Music bronze at the 2007 North American Young Riders Championships. The pair competed at international small tour level from 2007 till 2011. They made their national Grand Prix debut in 2014. "Double was the horse who gave me the title as a Grand Prix Dressage rider," said Julie. "He was the horse who taught me patience, balance and forgiveness. While giving me the confidence to ride every stride to the best of our ability. Together as a team. All of which I will forever be thankful for."
On a much happier note, American equestrian photographer Susan Stickle and her long-time partner Jonna Koellhoffer got married at the Neon Sign Graveyard in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Tuesday 19 April 2016. The private ceremony was in attendance of the couple's closest friends and colleagues, including photographers and journalists Terri Miller, Amy Dragoo, Sue Knox Weakeley, Stacey Nedrow-Wigmore, Mary Cornelius and Meg McGuire.