What's Happening: December 2024 - Part III

British horse dealer Bret Willson and his long-time partner, Rosie Moreton-Deakin, got married on 17 December 2024 right before the London International Horse Show. The couple got engaged on 14 July 2019 and has one child together, Michael Theodore (Teddy), born in 2021. Rosie also has a daughter Gracie.

German FEI pony Terbofens Quantus (by Quaterback Junior) has been sold to Sweden. Previously owned and competed by Thora Sander, the 11-year old is the new ride for Lovisa Sandberg. Thora and Quantus placed 22nd at the 2023 German Pony Championships and were finalists of the 2020 German Developing Pony Rider Championships.

Former international Belgian dressage rider Soraya Brison has given birth to her first child. She and husband Jonas Nicque welcomed daughter Estelle on 27 December 2024. She weight 2/79 kg at birth and measured 50 centimeters. The parents are thrilled. Congratulations!

German professional dressage rider Lisa Horler announced that she is pregnant with her first child. The 30-year old Lisa and her fiancé Michael Volpp are also due  get married in January.  Lisa competed internationally as a young rider in 2013-2014 on Long Island Ice Tea and rode one CDI as a U25 in 2019 on James Dean. Most recently she competed at the World Young Horse Championships in 2021 with Danny Cool (now with Helen Langehanenberg) and in 2022 with Get You the Moon (now with Ellie McCarthy).

Irish Grand Prix rider Fenella Quinn has announced that she and her husband  Lewis Quinn are expecting their first child. The baby is due in the summer of 2025. Quinn has been gaining Grand Prix mileage aboard former British team horse Hawkins Delicato (Carl Hester) and is the owner of Farell whom Abi Lyle competed for Ireland at the 2023 European Championships. 

Dutch youth team rider and top medal winner Marten Luiten is further establishing as a professional dressage rider, having set up his own business now at Lammert Tel's stud farm Vledderlanden in Vledder, The Netherlands. Luiten has filled eight boxes with horses so far and hopes to double that capacity. He used to be based in Winschoten and is still training with Dutch youth team trainer and judge Monique Peutz.

Danish youth team trainer Kenneth Damgaard married his girlfriend Malene Gram Pedersen on 24 December 2024. The 36-year old Damgaard was trained as a certified rider by Niels Henrik Christensen at Viborg Rideklub. He first worked at Blue Hors stud before joining Helgstrand Dressage in 2016. In March 2020 Damgaard left Helgstrand to start an independent business with his then-partner Anne Marie Hosbond until their split in the autumn of 2021. In December 2023 he was appointed Danish youth team trainer.

Japanese dressage rider Maria Takada got married to Takafumi Iwase on 28 December 2024. The couple knew each other from high school but re-connected 14 years later on a commercial photo shoot. They fell in love and have now celebrated their union through marriage. Iwase is based at Yogibo Versailles Resort Farm. The 30-year old Takada competed in Europe between 2018 and 2021 aboard Britania (by Beluga x Radjah Z). This mare also took her to the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou (CHN), where they finished 14th in the Kur finals.