“Don’t worry, Russel is fine,” Nick Skelton tells H&H
Nick Skelton has moved to calm fears about his Olympic reserve ride Russel after the stallion was withdrawn from a class at Aachen yesterday.
Rumours had been circulating that Russel was the latest victim of the run of bad luck which seems to be plaguing Team GBR, with the withdrawal of Zara Phillips’ Toytown and Lucy Wiegersma’s Shaabrak from the eventing team and an injury to first reserve Ruth Edge’s Two Thyme as well as injuries to both Carl Hester’s dressage rides.
But Nick says Russel is still headed for Hong Kong. “It’s just a sore foot, he’ll be fine,” the rider told H&H from Aachen today.
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.