An Olympic eventer turning to para dressage, a dog attack on a police horse and other things the horse world is talking about

Jonty Evans turning to para dressage

Olympic eventer Jonty Evans has announced he and his Rio 2016 partner Cooley Rorkes Drift, “Art”, will turn to para dressage this month. Jonty, who was seriously injured in a cross-country fall in 2018 but has since returned to eventing and showjumping, said the mental process involved in coming to the decision to compete in para dressage was not smooth. “But I’ve always said that in any attempt to return to eventing, level wasn’t the biggest thing for me, doing it properly was,” he said. “And the trouble is, I’ve really struggled to do it properly, and I didn’t realise how much I missed doing something half-decently. My dressage needs a lot of work but it’s a way of focusing my efforts in one direction.” Jonty and Art will compete in two grade IV para at a British Dressage show at Solihull on 30 March.

Read what else Jonty had to say about the decision

A vicious dog attack on a police horse

A Met police horse needed stitches after it was attacked by a dog while on duty in Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets, on Wednesday (22 March). A video shared on social media showed two mounted police officers riding bay horses, one which was the target of the attack. The dog can be seen continually leaping at the distressed horse, which spun and side-stepped as it tried to avoid the dog. A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed the dog was seized following the attack and remains in police kennels.

Read the full story

Ludger Beerbaum’s animal welfare charges

All welfare charges against former Olympic champion Ludger Beerbaum have been dropped – and the previously allowed method of “touching” has been banned by the German equestrian federation (FB). Proceedings were brought against Ludger in 2022 when a broadcaster showed footage labelled “Ludger Beerbaum” allegedly using the practice “parallel bars”, similar to rapping. At the time Ludger said the allegations were “demonstrably false”. FN has now confirmed that the disciplinary committee has dropped the case. “The whole procedure has taken far too long and this decision was foreseeable,” said Ludger. Since the accusations were made, FN has banned touching, which was described as “professional sensitising of the horse through targeted touching of the horse’s legs during the jumping process”.

Read the full story

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