At a private ceremony at Van Olst's home in Beerse, Belgium, the Belgian Equestrian Federation handed Julie van Olst the individual bronze medal, which this FEI pony rider should have won at the 2008 European Pony Championships in Avenches, Switzerland. Following the elimination of Elin Aspnas, whose pony Tim tested positive to medication, Van Olst and her New Forest Pony gelding Haasendonck's Sultan moved from fourth place into the third, bronze medal winning position. President of the Belgian Equestrian Federation, Ingmar Devos, gave her the medal.
Photo courtesy: Mark Wentein
The KWPN licensed stallion Zuidenwind (by OOSeven) has been sold to Sweden. Swedish Rose Matthiesen will now be training and competing the bay stallion, which won the 2008 Pavo Cup for 4-year olds under John Tijssen.
Katarina Gustafsson's Grand Prix horse Mr Mershwin has passed away. The 13-year old Swedish warmblood stallion (by Gerschwin x Fallstaff) suffered from a severe bout of colic. He was operated on at the equine clinic in Ulltuna , but he could not be saved.
Busy-bee Evi Strasser recently sold the 6-year old Westfalian bred Dazzle Tyme (by Dali xx) to Canadian Grand Prix rider Nancy McLahlan. The liver chestnut gelding is super talented for piaffe and passage and has a dream canter. MacLahlan is building up an international calibre collection of horses and also trains the 11-year old De Niro's Tyme (by De Niro) which will be competed at Grand Prix level this year. Strasser will be in Europe this springand is planning to compete at the 2009 Sunshine Tour in Spain. She has also check marked the CDI Salzburg, Munich and Wiesbaden. In the summer, her Canadian barn in St. Adele (Quebec) will be completely revamped and the surroundings landscaped. A big summer party will take place there to celebrate the building of a new indoor school and barn.
Glamour girl and socialte Katie Price (aka Jordan) has purchased the full brother offormer British team horse Escapado (by Ex Libris). The 8-year old Oldenburg gelding has been named Pretty Boy and has been trained to Prix St Georges level in The Netherlands. Pretty Boy will be shipped to Los Angeles where Price is currently working on set of a film for three months. The horse will then go home to England.
The 12-year old Holsteiner licensed stallion Aljano has passed away. The stallion had to be humanely put down due to complications following an operation to remove a chip from the hind leg. Aljano was by Alasca x Latino and his dam also produced former Dutch team horse Silvano N (ridden by Ellen Bontje).
British young rider Sonnar Murray-Brown is in hospital after being involved in a head-on car crash, which has left him with badly crushed legs. The 20-year-old, who was a passenger, has broken the femur in his left leg and the femur, kneecap, tibia and fibula in his right leg. He has already endured one eight-hour operation. Mum Janet said: “He will have to have a second operation in Oxford to give his knee more support, but the outlook is good and he is doing physio at the moment. Knowing Sonnar, he will be back in the saddle as soon as he can balance on a horse, even if it is riding side-saddle. He can also ride Western – he has a Western saddle – and drives quite a lot. He is the most focussed and determined person I know.” Sonnar is based at British Dressage's chairman Jennie Loriston-Clarke’s Catherston Stud.
The 11-year-old KWPN licensed stallion Rodrigo (by Indorado x Stuyvesant xx) has been sold to Danish FEI pony rider Rikke Lindberg. Under Edward Gal, Rodrigo won the silver medal in the 6- year old division at the 2004World Championships for Young Horses in Verden. Afterwards, Rodrigo sold to the Belgian sponsor Carlo Vanhove, who gave the ride on the horse to Arlette Holsters. In 2006 Holsters was quite successful internationally at small tour level with this bay stallion, but the partnership between Holsters and Vanhove ended soon afterwards and the horse went into training at Jan Bemelmans' stable for a while. The Danish Lindberg family discovered him in the stables of Ingrid Klimke. Rikke is currently competing Brooklands Moonwalker and Going Top at FEI Pony Level and she will be riding Rodrigo at Junior Riders' level.