A Homecoming for Atterupgaards Orthilia

Dressage

Denmark

With the pending closure of Blue Hors, horses are being sold and re-allocated to achieve the massive downsizing the Danish stud farm has started.

One of their flagship competition horses, the 18-year old Atterupgaards Orthilia, has found her forever home with Danish junior rider Cornelia Munch Sinding, whose parents bred the mare.

Atterupgaards Orthilia is a Danish bred Oldenburg mare by Gribaldi x Donnerschlag x Rambo. She is bred by Kristine Munch Sinding at brood farm Atterupgaard.

Success from the Start

As a 3-year old mare Orthilia was a Brilliant ring finalists at the 2009 Oldenburg Elite Mare Show in Rastede.

As a 4-year old she finished sixth in the Danish Young Horse Championships and was also a finalists as a 6-year old under Maria Falkner Hansen and Katrine Sandholt Moller.

With Cathrine Dufour she made her international show debut at small tour level at the 2013 CDI Addington and won the 2013 Danish Young Riders Championships in Ringsted.

Double Team Silver

With Bigwood at the 2015 European Championships

Orthilia sold to Fiona Bigwood in Great Britain in October 2013.

The new duo debuted at Grand Prix level and were members of the British team that won silver at both the 2015 European Championships in Aachen and 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Individually Bigwood and Orthilia were 17th in the Kur to Music finals.

Sold to Denmark

In February 2017 Bigwood made the surprising decision to sell the successful mare to Denmark as a schoolmaster for Danish Agnete Kirk Thinggaard, who had been looking for a successor for Jojo AZ. Unfortunately the mare struggled with niggling injuries in 2017 and 2018 and Thinggaard only showed her a few times with a come back in the summer of 2020.

Agnete quit horse sport and passed on the ride to Blue Hors team member Nanna Skodborg Merrald, who became extremely successful in the international arena with the elegant mare, never scoring under 72%.

With Nanna Merrald at the 2021 European Championships

They won team bronze at the 2021 European Championships in Hagen and finished 12th in the Kur to Music finals. They showed on the 2021-2022 World Cup circuit in Lyon, London and Neumunster and finished 5th in the 2022 World Cup Finals in Leipzig and represented Denmark in the 2022 CDIO Aachen Nations' Cup.

Schoolmaster for Ludvigsen

In April 2023 Orthilia was allocated to young professional rider Sophia Ludvigsen, who joined the Blue Hors Talent Program in November 2020 and has been riding horses from Blue Hors stud for the past three years.

She trained her at home, learning from the Grand Prix schoolmaster, but did not compete her.

Homecoming

Dufour first brought Orthilia into the public eye

Blue Hors stud has now decided to give Orthilia into the capable hands of the Munch Sinding family, who bred the mare. It is a homecoming for her.

The 17-year old Danish junior rider Cornelia Munch Sinding will learn from the professor and she will become a broodmare too.

Cornelia began her international sport career on ponies Terbofens Charico (by Charivari x Contendro) and AJ Don't You Forget About Me (by FS Don't Worry x FS Golden Highlight). With Charico she competed at the 2021 and 2022 European Pony Championships, where she was fifth and sixth in the freestyle final and won team silver and bronze.

In 2023 she made the transition to junior level on horses Hjorth’s Zarina (by Zack x Ragazzo) and Lord Hamilton (by Lord Loxley x Don Primero). With the latter she was second reserve for the Danish team for the 2023 European Junior Riders Championships and won silver at the 2023 Danish Junior Riders Championships.

"She is now home with us and are going to stay here forever," Cornelia told Eurodressage. "We have been so lucky to get her from Blue Horse and I'm so happy and excited about her."