Patrik Kittel's Deja Injured and on Baby Break

Dressage

Sweden

Patrik Kittel's former top horse Deja has not been out in the show ring for almost a year. The 15-year old mare has been recovering from an injury.

Deja is a Swedish warmblood by Silvano x Don Schufro and is owned by Marie Haward.

The mare first represented Sweden as a youngster under Anne Svanberg. They won the 2009 Swedish Young Horse Championships and she competed a 6-year old at the 2010 World Young Horse Championships in Verden, where they finished 10th in the finals.

Deja moved to Patrik Kittel's yard in 2012 and the pair made its international show debut at small tour level at the 2013 CDI Hagen. By the end of that year they were competing at Grand Prix level.

Since then Kittel and Deja were members of the Swedish team at the 2015 European Championships and 2016 Rio Olympic Games, and competed at the 2018 World Cup Finals in Paris. Their last show together was CDIO Falsterbo in July 2018 almost a year ago.

Deja has not been out since then and her FEI passport was not renewed for 2019.

In an interview with Tidningen Ridsport, Kittel confirmed that the mare injured herself in the field and has been recovering.

"She twisted a bone in the field and was quite properly lame immediately when it happened," Kittel told Ridsport, "It got better quickly but she has had to take it easy and heal. It has taken a long time."

In her down time from sport owner Haward is breeding the mare for embryo transfer. Kittel aims to bring the mare back into training slowly. "Then we'll see where it goes," he added.