1. Farewell to a special flying grey
Marius Voigt-Logistik, the flying grey who claimed Olympic individual gold in 2008 with German amateur rider Hinrich Romeike, has died at the age of 29. The pair were one of eventing’s most consistent combinations of their time, with six consecutive championship appearances on their record. Hinrich, who worked as a dentist, said: “There were faster horses than him, but very fast horses need a braking distance of 100 yards before the fence; with Marius, your prep point was 10 metres before the jump. Other horses went like hell, but Marius was like a good diesel engine and you didn’t have to cost speed or power in braking and accelerating.”
2. Concerning research into bullying
Mental health charity Riders Minds has found 76% of people in the industry have been bullied – and 85% have witnessed it. The charity released the results of its survey in conjunction with anti-bullying week (13-17 November). The theme of the week this year is “Make a noise about bullying”.
“The results of the recent survey are staggering, to see around 80% of people having experienced or witnessed bullying within an equestrian-related environment is a bitter pill for the industry to swallow,” said Riders Minds founder and chair Victoria Wright. “With the launch of our anti-bullying campaign, we hope to target the issues [in person] or over the internet, by creating a movement that the industry can follow.”
3. Sad news from the racing world
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of top jockey Graham Lee, 47, as he remains in intensive care having suffered a serious injury to his neck in a fall coming out of the stalls at Newcastle racecourse on Friday evening (10 November). The Injured Jockeys Fund said on 12 November: “Jockey Graham Lee’s MRI scan has shown that he has suffered an unstable cervical fracture causing damage to the spinal cord, as well as damage to blood vessels in the mid-cervical region. At this early time, it is not possible to predict the extent of long-term recovery.”
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