Spanish Olympic medallist Beatriz Ferrer-Salat has had to put her Tokyo plans on hold as she recovers from a fractured pelvis sustained in a fall at the end of January.
The 53-year-old dressage rider, who won silver and bronze medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens with Beauvalais, was out riding a young horse after several days of stormy weather, when he took fright, bolted and started bucking.
“I took advantage to go to the field with several horses after four days locked in the stables… Just at the beginning of our ride, my horse got scared and started to gallop… Despite holding on for a while, in the end I fell off on to my hip and coccyx,” said Beatriz. “I stayed still because I had a very intense pain in that area and couldn’t move.”
She was taken to hospital where tests and x-rays revealed a fractured pelvis, and she underwent surgery on 29 January, after which it was reported that doctors were happy with the result of the operation.
Beatriz was able to return home to her yard, Villa Equus near Barcelona, Spain, on 5 February and has now begun the rehabilitation process.
“Everything is with the aim of making a good recovery, without haste but without pause,” said Beatriz.
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Beatriz is a member of Spain’s high performance group, from which a team of three and one travelling reserve will be selected to go to the Tokyo Games in July. She was named on the list with her seasoned ride Delgado, the 19-year-old De Niro son with whom she finished 10th individually at the Rio Olympics in 2016, and also partnered at the World Equestrian Games in 2018 and the European Championships in 2019.
She has also been listed with her upcoming horse, the 11-year-old Elegance (Negro x Monaco).
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