Russian Young Rider Aleksandra Maksakova is not allowed to ride for three months after she has been diagnosed with brain trauma from losing her consciousness and falling off a horse on 31 August 2017.
During a daily training session Maksakova suddenly lost consciousness while aboard her horse. Her body dropped like a rock off the horse, hitting her head hard on the ground.
The 20-year old Aleksandra was transported to the hospital where the doctors diagnosed her with two hematoma on her brain. She was ordered not to ride for at least a month. On 10 October Aleksandra went back to the hospital for another check-up and the brain damage had not sufficiently healed. Although the young rider is out and about, she is not allowed to ride for another two months.
"I fell very hard on my head," Aleksandra told Eurodressage. "The MRI yesterday showed that there is not much progress. I have to wait until it's healed (before she can ride again)." In two months there will be another MRI to determine her progress.
Maksakova is Russia's most successful youth rider in recent years. Aboard the 15-year old Oldenburg Scampalo (by Sandro Hit x Florestan) she was 8th at the 2014 European Junior Riders Championships, fifth at the 2015 European Junior Riders Championships, 9th at the 2016 European Young Riders Championships. From 2014 till 2015 she was coached by Anky van Grunsven. In 2016 she received training from Belgian Wim Verwimp.
Maksakova moved back to Russia in 2017 after having spent three years in Holland and Belgium. She is now based at the Rusakov family's Forside equestrian centre in St Petersburg. Her parents are still in her home town Chelyabinsk, 2500 km south east from St. Petersburg, near the Kazachstan boreder. Aleksandra no longer has a steady trainer but every five weeks clinicians come to St. Petersburg to teach the students there, such as Emile Faurie, Francis Verbeek, and Raphael Saleh amongst others.
This year Maksakova has competed Scampalo at the 2017 European Young Riders Championships, where she finished 11th in the Kur. She also competed the 13-year old Hanoverian Freixenet (by Florestan x Bolero), who was initially owned by Madeleine Winter-Schulze. She bought the bay at the 2008 Verden auction for 95,000 euro. After Isabell Werth briefly competed the horse, Madeleine sold him to Sergey Rusakov. Timofei Rusakov campaigned the horse in 2014 and 2015, Spanish Lauro Aguilo rode him at the 2015 CDI Mallorca.
Photos © Astrid Appels
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