The 18-year old Swedish junior rider Elisabeth Hjelm has been nominated as "Comet of the Year," an award given to the shooting star of Sweden at the annual Riders' Gala Ball held at the Globen in Stockholm, Sweden, on November 26, 2009.
The 18-year old Hjelm from the Lindelunda Riding Club has been nominated because of her good results at national and international level with her 10-year old Swedish warmblood gelding Baltzar (by Briar x Pontus).
Hjelm competed at the 2009 Nordic and European Championships against tough competition from Denmark, Holland and Germany. She won the silver individual medal at the Nordic Junior Riders championships and finished seventh in the Kur to Music Finals at the 2009 European Junior Rider Championships.
The other two nominees to become Comet of the Year 2009 are 19-year old show jumper Douglas Lindelow and 19-year old eventing rider Maria Bredberg.
Previous two recipients of the Comet of the Year award were both dressage riders. In 2008, youth rider Sara Henriette Bergstrom Kallstrom won, the year before it was Grand Prix rider Emma Karlsson.
Photo copyrighted: Astrid Appels/Eurodressage
Related Links
Bergstrom Kallstrom, Comet of the Year 2008 at the Swedish Riders' Gala
Emma Karlsson, Comet of the Year 2007