X: You’re Out

There can hardly be greater disappointment for a Grand Prix dressage rider than traveling all the way to WEG just to find out your horse can’t compete after all.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

There can hardly be greater disappointment for a Grand Prix dressage rider than traveling all the way to worlds just to find out your horse can’t compete after all.

At the 2014 Alltech World Equestrian Games (WEG) here in Normandy, France, that’s been the fate of four dressage riders so far. Sunday morning’s bright and early trot inspection landed two horses back in the barn: Kazakhstan’s Donpetro and Norway’s Carte d’Or. 

Then Tuesday afternoon, bad luck struck Brazil’s Luiza Tavares de Almeida when the judges rang the bell on her Lusitano, Pastor, just seconds after their test began. The 18-year-old bay stallion entered the dressage ring “clearly lame in the hindquarters, and quite uncomfortable,” according to Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) judge Stephen Clarke (GBR). “He looked fine just before,” Clarke told me after the competition.

But pas de chance in France for Tavares de Almeida—her Pastor must have made a funny move or somehow injured himself between the time he was preparing just around the ring and the time he moved in to start the test

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

Written by:

Passionate about horses and science from the time she was riding her first Shetland Pony in Texas, Christa Lesté-Lasserre writes about scientific research that contributes to a better understanding of all equids. After undergrad studies in science, journalism, and literature, she received a master’s degree in creative writing. Now based in France, she aims to present the most fascinating aspect of equine science: the story it creates. Follow Lesté-Lasserre on Twitter @christalestelas.

Leave a Reply

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
437 votes · 437 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!