Olympic rider recovering after fall, a debate over sparkles, and more things the horse world is talking about
Event rider recovering
Olympic event rider Lea Siegl is recovering after a cross-country fall with her five-star campaigner DSP Fighting Line at Pau Horse Trials on Saturday (28 October). The pair were in provisional 10th after dressage and fell at the MIM-clipped corner at 13b on the French CCI5* track. The 15-year-old gelding was unharmed, and Lea was taken to hospital. The 25-year-old Austrian rider shared an update yesterday (31 October) to say that she has broken two ribs and sustained a head-wound, which has been stitched.
Glitter debate
Library image.
Sparkles are at the centre of an international debate, following a proposal to allow glitter spray in dressage.The latest draft of FEI rules included a proposal from the International Dressage Officials Club (IDOC) to add to a rule banning artificial decoration of the horse, including “sprays with glitter”. The proposal is one that will not be carried forward for voting at the FEI general assembly (18-21 November). “We already see extensive use of ‘diamonds’ on dress and equipment especially in youth classes, regardless of the rule text ‘discreet’,” said a response from the Norwegian equestrian federation. “Dressage should not resemble a circus show or have a definite ‘feminine stamp’.”
Find out what other nations had to say
Lucinda Green reflects on modern eventing
Lucinda Green riding Beagle Bay at Badminton Horse Trials 1982.
Six-time Badminton winner Lucinda Green shares her views on the influence of dressage in modern eventing, as part of an exclusive interview with H&H. “To me it’s increasingly obvious that we are not developing the right type of horses in eventing now, because the dressage is too influential,” says Lucinda. “Dressage horses are being trained to go cross-country instead of the other way around. These horses can have a slower reaction speed and often lack the stamina to handle ground that is not perfect.”
Read H&H’s exclusive interview with Lucinda Green
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