Emma Kanerva's Dambacu NL Sold to American Dressage Rider Cynthia Makishima

Dressage

U.S.A.

Emma Kanerva's international Grand Prix horse Dambacu NL has been sold to the U.S.A. He will continue as a schoolmaster for Cynthia Makishima.

Dambacu NL is a 14-year old Hanoverian gelding by Danone II out of Atakama (by Atlantas xx x Wagner x Gropius I). He is bred by Frauke Niemann-Laue.

Dambacu NL was first competed as a 3-year old by Alicia Heise. In 2015 Andreas Homuth showed the 8-year old and competed him at M-level in Germany. In 2017 Marco Bührig rode him at small tour level.

Emma Kanerva

At the end of 2017 Finnish Emma Kanerva took over the ride on Dambacu NL for owner Gert Saborowski and piloted the gelding in his first Intermediaire II test in October 2017.

The duo made its international show debut at the World Cup qualifier in Neumunster in February 2018. They had an active year on the CDI scene with starts in Dortmund, Aalborg, Hamburg, Cappeln, Frankfurt and Helsinki, where they won the Grand Prix and Kur to Music.

In 2019 Kanerva rode the World Cup qualifiers in Neumunster and Zakrzow, while in the 2020 corona year they went full throttle with solid performances in Neumunster, Dortmund, Hagen, Donaueschingen, and Vilhelmsborg. Their last show together was the 2021 CDI Hagen in April, where they posted 70.761% in the Grand Prix.

New Grand Prix Hope for Cynthia Makishima

German based American dressage rider Thomas Walker scouted Dambacu NL at Helgstrand Dressage for his long-time friend and client, Cynthia Makishima.

Cynthia Makishima on Dambacu NL at the 2021 CDN Elk Grove

"We first met when she purchased my 2008 NAYRC team gold medal winning horse Grundstein’s Legacy in 2009. Our relationship started from there," Walker told Eurodressage. "Cynthia has been a student of mine until I moved to Germany almost three years ago. Over the years she has purchased many top horses from or through us (Walker and his husband Ryan Torkkeli)."

Makishima owns, for instance, the now 14-year old KWPN mare Chanel (by Santano x San Remo), which Thomas sourced in Sweden. She has competed So What and Solino in the past few years and Cynthia is currently campaigning 17-year old Highlight at Intermediaire II level.

"Cynthia has ambitions of competing Dambacu NL at Grand Prix and continue to learn and improve her skills," said Thomas. "She is one of the most dedicated and hard working students I have ever had, and I wish her the best with this super horse.”

Coached by Heidi Gaian, the brand new duo has made its show debut at the Starr Vaughn Fall Dressage Show Elk Grove, CA, on 13-14 November 2021 where they competed in two Intermediaire I classes, winning the adult amateur division with two 66% scores.