2006 World Equestrian Games

Sophie Baetens' Dark Diamant Injured

June 14, 2006

According to Dutch Equestrian magazine De Hoefslag, Sophie Baetens Van Lent's Grand Prix horse Dark Diamant has been injured and will not be able to vy for a spot on the Belgian team that will compete at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen this summer.

The 36-year old Sophie Baetens van Lent made her international Grand Prix debut aboard the 11-year old Hanoverian mare Dark Diamant (by Davignon x Enrico Caruso) and has achieved the two 65% WEG qualification scores from O-judges. The Belgian Grand Prix riders are going to compete in the CDIO Rotterdam as final trial before the ultimate selection of a team for WEG, but Baetens and Dark Diamant will not be there.

"The vet has recommended one month stable rest, which means I can only start training again in July. So no Rotterdam and no Strassen for me," Baetens told De Hoefslag. "Maybe in a way this is good luck after all. We only made the transition to Grand Prix this year and it was very hard. Many people underestimate the difficulty of this transition. Aachen would have been nice just for the experience, but I can better forget my WEG ambitions."

Source: De Hoefslag
Photo copyrighted: Astrid Appels/Eurodressage

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