What's Happening in the Dressage World?

February 2007 - Part I

Kyra Kyrklund is giving one of her famous lecture demos again. The Lecture Demo is at Addington on Saturday 10 March 2007 from 11 am – 4 pm. Kyra and her students will ride a selection of horses and she will share her training methods with you. A spectator said “Kyra is a great communicator with a super sense of humour – which in combination with her exceptional talent and professionalism in training horses and riders make her demos an invaluable experience”. Tickets are £40 in advance, £50 on the door if available. Please send cheque payable to “Mia Pettersson” and SAE to Mia Pettersson, Haylers Farmhouse, Billingshurst Road, Horsham, RH13 8QN Contact phone: 07870-414 560.

Don't miss the Brookhouse Stud Stallion show at their home base Rollehof in Erbach, Germany. Emma Hindle and her team will be showing her world class dressage stallions such as Lancet, Wie Weltmeyer, Furstenreich and Diamond Hit as well as youngsters such as Curator and Fifty Cent. The stallion show is on February 10, 2007 and starts at 16h 30. The place to be: Gestüt Rollehof, Rolleweg 35, 64711 Erbach, Germany. Inquiries call to +49 6062 956056

According to the Paardenkrant, the Welsh Pony stallion Anjershof Rocky has been retired to stud. The 19-year old pony (by Silvertops Ricco) has competed at FEI pony level with many riders, his last one was Rolf Snijders. Owner Ben Harms decided to end Rocky's sport career due to an injury. Anjershof Rocky has fourteen licensed sons. His most famous competing offspring is the Dutch A-team pony Oosteind's Rocco under Lotte Janssen.

The first Dutch Hotline foal has been born in The Netherlands. Honneur de Jeu, by Hotline out of Skala (Sandro Hit x Classiker x Donnerhall x Pik Bube), is dark bay with no markings, he has a pretty face and long legs. He is bred by Emma de Jeu and her breeding manager Goffe-Nil van der Zijden, who are are extremely happy with the birth of their foal.

In Florida, the show season finally kicked off with a first competition at White Fences. We received the news that Cesar Parra won his classes with both Furst Fabio and his Bundeschampionate reserve champion Donavan. Upon Donavan's U.S. debut, Parra said, "he was all business, and a pleasure to ride and show. I said I never wanted to ride a stallion again, but My God he is unbelievable. What a horse. He is so much fun. He won his class with 75%."

Hans Peter Minderhoud is currently training Krack C. The KWPN stallion by Flemmingh is in quarantaine before the breeding season starts and Anky van Grunsven has passed over the ride on Krack to her student Hans Peter.

German rider and trainer Stefanie Meyer-Biss has received her Golden Rider's Sign (Goldenes Reitabzeichen) at the Rhinish Stallions Show in Aachen on Saturday February 3, 2007. Next to Jana Freund, she's the only rider who scored several of the ten necessary S-victories aboard a pony (in Jana's case, FS Don't Worry, in Steffi's, Dornik B). After a long absence from the competing arena -- except as a highly successful pony coach, of course -- she reentered the show ring on her own Lanciero, a nine-year-old stallion by Lancer II, with whom she won the Steiffensand-Cup last year.

A new show circuit has been created in Southern Europe: the 2007 Alpen Adria Dressage Trophy. Last year they did a successful test of the circuit and this year it's official. The Alpen Adria Dressage Trophy will run in countries Austria, Italy and Slovenia. In each country one qualifier is held at A/L level (FEI youth riders), LM level, M and S level (PSG tour). The Finals are in Italy. More info here.

Hastmagasinet wrote that International Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård (known from Festen, Dogville, Insomnia, Amistad, and Pirates of the Carribean) made a funny comment about horses. "Horses are nervous and stupid animals." Skarsgård took up a new role playing Birga Brosa in a production called "Arn". He will have to ride a horse in it and is not looking forward to it.

Joop van Uytert's 6-year old KWPN stallion Game Boy (Gribaldi x Pion) has been sold by Craig Rawlins to the Dutch rider Kim Thijssen. Under Hans Peter Minderhoud, Game Boy won the VSN Trophy in 2003/2004 and competed at the 2006 World Championships for Young Dressage Horses.

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