What's Happening: December 2022 - Part II

Sat, 12/31/2022 - 12:33
Bits 'n Pieces
Welcome to the world Elise Lilly Eilberg

Former British Grand Prix team rider Michael Eilberg has welcomed a new baby to the family. Baby girl Elise Lilly Eilberg was born in the early morning of 7 December 2022. This is the third child Michael and his wife Maya Goldberg have together.  They are already parents to Joshua Ferdinand Eilberg  (born June 2019) and Amalia Annie Eilberg (born March 2021). 

Patrick van der Meer's small tour horse Jacatra's Roos (by Everdale x Partout x Roemer) has been sold to Spain. The 8-year old liver chestnut is bred by Henk Bruijns en Madeleine Cotterell and was co-owned with Patrick, who trained her up to Prix St Georges level. As a youngster, Roos was one of the high scorers in the KWPN IBOP mare performance test (90,5 points). She is out of Roos, who is the full sister of Dutch Olympic team horse Nadine (Hans Peter Minderhoud)

Danish Olympic team reserve rider, Charlotte Heering, has announced that she is pregnant and due to give birth to a baby boy in April 2023. Heering recently won the 2022 CDI Lillestrom in Norway aboard her long-time partner, Bufranco

Canadian Olympian Lindsay Kellock lost her rising star Light My Fire at the beginning of December. Owned by Melissa Schiff, the 6-year old chestnut was by UB40 x Krack C) and arrived at Enterprise farm a year ago. He was competed at national level in Wellington. 

Unperturbed (Photo © Barbara Schnell)
Eurodressage's long-time correspondent and photographer Barbara Schnell has become the winner of a prestigious photography competition in Germany. She won first prize for the North Rhine Westfalia Press Photo of the Year 2022.  Sixty-six photographers submitted a total of 226 pictures and Barbara's picture "Unperturbed" won first prize. It shows a climate activist sitting in front of a lignite excavator, trying to block further digging for the re-opened coal mines in Germany. The photo is very much reminiscent of the Tank Man photo, showing of an unidentified Chinese man who stood in front of a column of Type 59 tanks leaving Tiananmen Square in Beijing on 5 June  1989.

"The winning picture sums up the debates about energy policy in an impressive way," the jury stated. "Barbara Schnell photographed for the Frankfurter Rundschau in Lützerath in March when a single activist confronted the bucket wheel of the lignite excavator on the edge of the demolition edge. The jury was impressed by the photographer's way of documenting the protest against lignite mining as a David versus Goliath scene: her picture shows the protest of an individual against an overpowering opponent. human versus machine. Alone against the giant."

Veronica and Guillermo welcomed Guillermo Jr.
on 15 December 2022
German dressage rider Veronica Graebedünkel and her partner, Spanish professional dressage rider Guillermo Garcia Ayala welcomed a baby boy into their family, Guillermo junior. The baby was born on 15 December 2022. The 36-year old Graebedunkel represented Spain at the 2022 World Young Horse Championships in Ermelo on the grey Exclusiva Montehispano (by Encendido x Ermitano III),  while the 32-year old Garcia is best known as the rider of PRE small tour horse Poeta de Susaeta. 

Australian Jayden Brown also lost his chestnut rising Grand Prix horse, Hexagon's Fusion (by Rubiquil x Krack C x Cocktail). Initially owned by Leunis van Lieren in partnership with Stable Zegwaard, the chestnut won the 2014 VSN Trophy and then sold to Haras de Hus in France, where he was trained and competed by Jessica Michel. A couple of years later he sold to Terry Snow of Willinga Park in Australia and was ridden by Brett Parbery, followed by Jayden Brown. Fusion had a paddock accident and sustained a career ending injury a 1.5 years ago. He was euthanized as he could not have a nice life retired to the field. 

Horses.nl reported that Team Nijhoff acquired an ownership share from Eugene Reesink in the KWPN stallion Ozzy (by Ibiza x For Romance). The 3-year old is bred by C. Ortmann-Ellerbrock in Germany and DSP licensed. Via the late licensing he was invited to the KWPN autumn stallion performance test and scored 83 points. Dinja van Liere will be training him. 

The Dutch national small tour rider Marijn van Dijk has been hired as an assistant rider for Marieke van der Putten at RS2 Dressage. The departure of Seth Boschman and Robin van Lierop left Saskia and Jacques Lemmens' stable in want of extra riders and Van Dijk has accepted the job.