#Helgstrand dressage

[isthehorsevideocute]

must be a new record or something because now we have two riders in one year stripped of their place on their national team for the Olympics. Eric Lamaze of Canada for faking cancer to try to get out of a horse sale scam conviction and now Andreas Helgstrand of Denmark for serial horse abuse. Honestly it was about time Andreas got investigated, he has the track record between his and his riders' multiple disqualifications from competition for blood in the mouths of their horses, and his competing of a horse that had only just been colicking the day before. I mean all you have to do is look at his riding style to see something ain't right

On top of all of that he's allegedly scammed clients the same way Lamaze did (save for the cancer faking). Big surprise that one of the wealthiest professionals in the equestrian world has make billions scamming people, mistreating staff, and abusing horses by running a factory that values quantity over quality. It reflects not only everything wrong with the equine world, but with the whole world as we know it.

Story here is that an investigative journalist for Denmark's tv2 station went undercover as a groom for Helgstrand's training center.

The documentary first part has been released in Denmark, and there is due to be a part two. Information we know thus far and is well documented in testimony, video, and photo evidence is as follows (graphic depictions of animal abuse under the cut:

-Riding of horses in draw reins (long reins that run through the bridle and attach to the cinch, holding the saddle in place, which creates a pull effect that when tightened draws the horse's nose in and down toward the chest), behind the vertical (the line at which the horse's head is perfectly vertical with the ground to which behind would draw the nose in toward the chest) and see-sawing (when the rider pulls the reins in a "flossing" manner putting harsh alternating pressure on the face)

-Horses being kicked hard with spurs

-Horses showing big reactions indicating extreme fear and discomfort

-Open wounds from excessive spurring

-Admissions of horses often having bloody mouths from their bridles (documented by research as often being caused by overly tight nosebands causing a loss of circulation and sensation to use muzzle and mouth causing numbness leading to the horse biting their tongue.

This is one of his rides disqualified for blood in the mouth

-Whip marks (extreme bruising)

And that's just the horses. That doesn't even delve into the treatment of staff or the scams.

And this issue is not isolated to Denmark, the guy owns numerous international brands including show venues (including American ones like the Wellington international Horse Park in Wellington FL), tack brands and outfitters, feed companies, news outlets, and jewelry sellers. He's also a major sponsor of other equestrians even outside his discipline such as German show jumper Ludger Beerbaum (who was found out in a similar undercover operaton to be poling his horses. Poling is when a person on the ground lifts the top rail on a jump so the horse hits their leg on the rail while jumping). For a full list on where his influence lies so you can boycott, milestone equestrian made this handy list

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

It is actually wild that PETA is doing a better job policing the equestrian side of the Olympics than the FEI is.

The FEI issued a warning to the Brazilian eventer using rollkur only after PETA kicked up a fuss about it. They ignored initial reports about it.

But FEI is still allowing for tight or poorly fitted nosebands, used against their guidelines.

The dressage should be interesting since we have a lot of riders competing who have left their horses with blue tongues due to lack of oxygen from hyperflexion/compression on windpipe and tight nosebands.

We also have the queen of Rollkur, Isabel Werth competing on a Helgstrand horse. And she had the gall to publicly criticise Charlotte Dujardin and act all “holier than thou” about the sport as if she’s never abused her horses. The other irony is that she’s competing on a horse from a stable who had a huge abuse scandal just last year.

The hypocrisy and welfare washing continues. And the sport continues to lose more social support.

[horsesarecreatures]

I just love her. <3 But this post is not going to be about Amba. Instead, I would just like to share my thoughts and perspectives on Shelby Dennis/ Milestone Equestrian/ Sdequus (and I apologize in advance to all the horseblrs who have been here a long time and are probably sick of such discussions - no judgement at all if you all scroll past this one). But the reason I'm bringing it up is I got some private messages the last time I posted a screenshot from the Milestone Equestrian's FB page showing the Olympic dressage champion Dalera's awful topline, and another calling out Horse & Hound for photoshopping the foam off a dressage horse's mouth. I didn't know about this until now because I live under a rock sometimes, but I've also been made aware that another horse blog has also expressed frustration at Shelby Dennis' stuff being re-shared here (and implied that I may have sent them an anon calling them a fucking moron because of it?).

Accordingly, I just want to put it out there that while I do follow her on FB and sometimes watch her youtube videos, I don't think she is a God, or that people should listen to everything she says without thinking critically about it. I also don't want people to think that I'm judging them or have absolutely no understanding of why they don't want to follow her. I truly, honestly, do see some of the criticisms. For example, I don't agree with keeping horses in pastures with barbed wire, and I don't think think its less risky than a horse getting cast in a stall. I've found no empirical evidence for that, and anecdotally speaking, some of the worst horse injuries I've seen were from them running into barbed wire. I also think her bitless & multibridles are a good idea, but they don't fit some of her horses well. Finally, I have a feeling the dam of her homebred might have been bred a little prematurely. To name a few.

But that said, she has admitted to being wrong about a bunch of things and has said that she is still evolving as a horse person, which we all are. There are things she posts about that I not only agree with but am grateful for because most people are too scared of the professional backlash they will receive if they call out certain people/practices. And while I don't think it's the one and only way to ethically train, I love clicker training and agree that the horse industry has been slower to adopt it compared to other animal training industries like seeing eye dogs. I also love the discussions about some of the systematic problems in the competition world that need to change (like ownership of certain venues, magazines, and ticket payment platforms by people like Andreas Helgstrand) before the amount of abuse will decrease.

So for me, while there is stuff she says/does that I disagree with, they don't outweigh the points that I do agree with. And I also think there have been some accusations about her that are a little unfair, one of them being that she is so arrogant she thinks she doesn't need to work with a trainer anymore. She made a video explaining that the dressage trainer she was working for said some very racist things in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, and changed the way he treated her when he found out she was mixed race. If a local trainer is being racist towards you that's a very valid reason to distance yourself and do your own thing for a while. There was also the assertion that she dumped Donut, the dam of her warmblood, when it became clear that she wasn't a good a mother. From what I remember, it was a broodmare lease to begin with, and I've seen an update on Donut and she is doing well in a riding home.

While I overall understand and agree with many of the criticisms towards Shelby, to me they don't amount to cancelable offences. And I feel the same way about many other horse people with a social media presence like Denny Emmerson. I don't like that he has downplayed some of the bad effects of saddleseat riding, but at the end of the day I don't think he's a horse abuser himself, and for every post he makes that I disagree with there are 10 that I do like. Unlike someone like Rick Gore, who misinformation is constantly accompanied by misogynistic and racist comments.

Of course, I don't follow everyone on all platforms, and there could be some things that I am missing. I'm more than happy to have discussions with people who may disagree with things I've said here or have additional information to add, as long as there is mutual respect. For the time being, I'm not going to unfollow Shelby, and I may still share screenshots of things she's said that I also want to talk about because its just easier than re-writing it. This does not mean that I wholeheartedly-endorse everything else she says and does and think that you guys should be too.

[equestrianempire]

Danish Warmblood Stallion Show 2024: Stallions through the eye of the needle in Herning

More than 70 stallions are working their way through the licensing system at the Danish Warmblood Stallion Show in Herning. The first stallions have now been licensed and are ready for the breeding season.

In the Danish Warmblood stallion licensing system, the stallions are placed in different groups depending on age. For the 3-year-old stallions, the licensing will culminate with the final announcements Sunday in Jyske Bank Boxen, but some of the older stallions have already been fully approved.

Two jumper stallions approved

In the group of 5-year-olds or older jumper stallions, two stallions were presented, and both did well enough to be fully approved for breeding. The first was the 5-year-old Dolympic Z by Dominator 2000 Z / Cassini I, bred and owned by Eva & Lars Kramer. The stallion has participated in a performance test in 2022, and placed 2nd in the Danish Championship for 4-year-old jumpers in 2023. Danish show jumper Frederik Fensholt presented the 15-year-old Belgian born Take a Chance On Me Z by Taloubet / Aldatus.

Danish show jumper Frederik Fensholt presented the 15-year-old Belgian born Take a Chance On Me Z by Taloubet / Aldatus. Copyright free photo: Ridehesten.com

It is a pleasure to see a stallion who have performed at this level for many years and still is presented in such a great shape, was one of the comments from the judges.

A big group with lots of quality

A total of 17 4-year-old and older dressage stallions was shown under rider as part of the licensing. The dressage breeding committee, which consist of Vicky Nortvig, Jens Søgård, Karsten Petersen, Rune Willum and Johnny Sørensen was very pleased with the group.

It was a big group with a lot of quality, which we could see already last year, when we saw the stallions as 3-year-olds. They have also done some very good performance tests. We are happy and content, and all stallions was fully approved, apart from one – Bueno SL – which has been given a 2-year covering permission and will then be presented again, Vicky Nortvig explains.

Challenge Trophy and Champion

It was not a difficult task to decide which of the stallions in the group should be the recipient of the Aage Ravn Challenge Trophy. The trophy is each year presented to the best Danish Warmblood-bred 4- or 5-year-old stallion and this year the recipient was the stallions Straight Horse Leonardo by Lord Europe / De Niro. The stallion is from the gold medal mare Straight Horse De Milla and bred by Straight Horse ApS, which has done a great performance test and also has a very correct confirmation.

Straight Horse Leonardo by Lord Europe / De Niro. Copyright free photo: Ridehesten.com

The title of Champion Stallion was awarded the stallion Viva Vegas by Viva Gold / Rock Forever. The stallion is bred in Germany and owned by Helgstrand Dressage. He was the winner of the Danish Warmblood performance test with an impressive score of 892 points.

Press release Danish Warmblood Stallion Show | Copyright free photo: Ridehesten.com

[virtie333]

Andreas Helgstrand Exposed For Abusing Horses... Pro Riders Are TRASH

I’ve never liked him, and I know there are so many riders that do the same. I’m very picky about who I follow in the dressage world today.

[okat235235]

They're getting scared hehe. From Bob Wood Horses for Life.

Equestrian competitions are under a well organized, well funded global threat. Beginning three years ago, when the animal rights organizations got horses banned from the Olympic Pentathlon, the animal rights types have been emboldened. Their goal is to end all equestrian competitions world wide. They have gained substantial strides by scaring the European horse world. Recently an experienced European trainer was banned from participating in all German EXPOS and public events after he did a presentation on the proper use of hobbles. The animal rights next big push will be at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

They have already convinced the French National Assembly to pass a law with 46 points specifying how horses must be treated in Paris. While most of the points are good, about 14 of their points could be used as "gotcha" levers against riders and grooms that could be used to terminate Olympic equestrian competitions. In the future, I will be posting about this new French law.

This week it appears the animal rights movement made their first move in preparation for the summer Olympics. A European TV channel released a trailer of an upcoming undercover filmed show about the training techniques of former Danish Olympic dressage rider Andreas Helgstrand. Personally, I believe that Helgstrand and other modern dressage riders like him deserve everything they get, except for one thing. His and their fate will have a huge impact on us all.

Here is the Helgstrand TV trailer put up on the FEI page yesterday.

FEI Complaints

Here is a link to a Horse and Hound magazine article from last June announcing that Helgstrand was taking legal action to stop the release of the TV show. I guess he lost.

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/.../major-stud-launches...

In the magazine article Helgstrand says, “Everyone who has to do with riding horses knows that horses are big and strong, and that they often require aids." I find his attitude quite similar to that of the British fox hunters back in the early 2000s when they were confronted by animal rights organizations. We all know how that turned out. Fox hunting is essentially illegal in almost all of the UK. Self righteousness is never an effective strategy.

It's not just happening over in Europe. Here in North America, we see dribs and drabs of animal rights success. A rodeo gets banned in Illinois, a 70 year old pony ride gets shut down in California (I think maybe that one got reinstated) but now the animal rights people have announced a huge assault. The US Humane Society, PETA's sibling, has announced a "Council" they formed on horse racing in the US.

Bottom line, no major North American horse organization is defining the lines between equine use and equine abuse. This allows these definitions to be defined by the animal rights people and for them to set and promote their definitions. Judgement day is around the corner. Don't think it's not.

Please Like and Share this post to help get the word out. Also, Follow or Like the page to keep up to date.

[all-things-equine]

‘I did the best for the horse’ says vet – top rider loses medal and fined over horse’s colic treatment

[scarlettjane22]

Helgstrand Dressage

[dressagehub]

Foundation stallion Blue Hors Don Schufro passed away today, 2 January 2020, at his home Blue Hors stud in Randbol, Denmark. "It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of the king of our stallion stable, Blue Hors Don Schufro, who passed away today due to old age of nearly 27 years," said Blue Hors breeding director Martin Klavsen. German Beginnings Born in 1993, Don Schufro was by Donnerhall out of Fiesta (by Pik Bube I x Unkenruf). He was bred by Martin Meier. The stallion was named after Donnerhall's owner Otto Schulte-Frolinde ("Schufro"), a close friend of Alwin Schockemöhle. The liver chestnut was first approved at the 1996 Oldenburg Stallion Licensing in Vechta and did his 100-day performance test in Adelheidsdorf in 1997. He finished second out of 40 participating stallion, scoring the highest mark for dressage (154.93 pts) and 91.80 (24th) for show jumping. He was first competed in Germany as a 3-year old by Felix Tiemann in 1996. The only year he showed there. He was fifth at the 1996 Bundeschampionate. Flagship for Blue Hors and Denmark When Danish Lego billionaire Kell Kirk Kristiansen decided to make his Blue Hors stud in Denmark a leading stallion station, he acquired Don Schufro at Paul Schockemöhle's in Germany in 1997. Don Schufro at the 2008 CDIO Aachen Trained to FEI level by Lars Petersen, Don Schufro made his debut on the international show scene in 2000 at small tour level. They showed at the CDI's in Norten-Hardenberg, Aachen, and Lingen in 2000 and 2001. In 2002 Don Schufro was operated on for inguinal hernia and had one testicle removed. Don Schufro disappeared from the show scene for a few years to return under Andreas Helgstrand at Grand Prix level in 2004. The pair steadily competed at Grand Prix shows from 2004 till 2008 but only made it on the Danish team in 2008 for the Olympic Games in Hong Kong. In 2004 Helgstrand opted for the more experienced Cavan for the Olympics in Athens and in 2007 Don Schufro missed out on the Europeans in favour of Helgstrand's second horse, Gredstedgaards Casmir. In 2008 Andreas and Don Schufro won the Danish Grand Prix Championships Don Schufro's last international competition, the Olympics in Hong Kong, became his swan song and career highlight. The horse won team bronze and placed 10th individually in the Kur to Music Finals. Although the horse was no longer competed after Hong Kong, his retirement from competition was announced in 2010. The stallion was celebrated in a special ceremony at the Schockemohle stallion show in Vechta in February 2010. Foundation Stallion Over the years Don Schufro made his mark as a dressage stallion. Not only did he heavily influence Danish warmblood breeding by being one of the most popular breeding stallions in the country, also across borders the wonderful Donnerhall x Pik Bube cross was proving its worth. Blue Hors breeding director Martin Klavsen and Don Schufro in 2019 In Germany he sired 22 licensed sons and 37 state premium mares. In Denmark he produced 8 licensed sons. His most famous offspring are Grand Prix horses Weihegold (Isabell Werth), Diamond Hit (Emma Hindle), Don Darwin (Andrea Timpe), Donna Asana (Lone Jorgensen, Evelyn Haim-Swarovski), Dorina (Siril Heljesen, Evelyn Haim-Swarovski), Bocelli (Rose Mathisen), Trostruplunds Scarlett (Kasey Perry), Donna Anna (Dina Ellermann), Dr. House (Arlene Page), and World Young Horse Champion UNO Donna Unique (Andreas Helgstrand). "Through more than two decades Blue Hors Don Schufro has been the flagship of Blue Hors. By international professionals he has been described as a living legend in sport and breeding, and he is a true legend that has contributed to the dressage horse breeding far beyond Danish borders. At Blue Hors his bronze statue adorns as an everlasting memory of Don Schufro’s greatness." He has been ranked number 1 on the German dressage breeding index 10 times. On the WBFSH ranking for dressage sires with offspring in international Grand Prix, he has been in the top 10 for almost as long. In 2019 he ranked 10th. In 2019 Blue Hors announced that Don Schufro was positive as a carrier of Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome (WFFS). by DressageHub

[isthehorsevideocute]

have you heard that the danish olympic dressage winner, Carina Cassøe Krüth, has now been exposed for hitting her horse.. a video from 2022 has been leaked! link to the video here x .. its so awful! a danish news outlet is asking if a 5000 dkk fine is a big enough punishment (it really isnt in my opinion!) - and others are asking if we can honestly say that this is only a few bad apples

Yes I saw this video yesterday. No training here, just pure frustration and taking it out on the horse.

Unfortunately animal cruelty laws are usually a slap on the wrist and that's a pretty universal thing.

Is it just a few bad apples? Definitely not, I've seen people of all ages and levels do stuff like this (and consequently nothing was done about it). While I suppose it would depend on your definition, its too common for me to just accept that.

Unfortunately this particular type of abuse is pretty easy to fall into due to how emotions can quickly turn negative pressure into positive punishment, and then just straight beating for no good reason because the horse isn't doing exactly what the rider thinks they are asking them to do.

Whips are not designed to be weapons but they can quickly become weapons if a rider can't keep their emotions in check.

Interesting thing that always catches my mind when I see this stuff, is that none of these people live in a bubble. In fact it's pretty hard to be in the competitive side of the industry and live in a bubble. I go to maybe 5 shows a year and don't compete at an especially high level and lots of people at least recognize me, if not know me by name and reputation (especially in the local circuits).

Plus if you are planning to compete to that level, your ticket in is to ride with other people who have been successful at that level. Charlotte got her training, connections, sponsors, and horses from Carl Hester before she became a big name herself. I seriously doubt that Charlotte's behavior is hers and hers alone. I think she learned it from others.

When it comes down to it, anyone associated with anyone in the scandals have been awful quiet on the whole thing. Carl hadn't said a word on the situation with Charlotte, Ingrid Klimke (who i generally admire the horsemanship of) hasn't said a word on Helgstrand even though she has done business with him many times. For the few that have piped up, it usually seems like a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Isabelle Werth for example went on a whole welfare soapbox, meanwhile she was actually one of the pros that can be credited for normalizing the use of Rolkur for training. Most will say it started with Anky or Gal but Isabelle was toting it as a training tool well before those two were outed

[theequeerstrian]

Sometimes I think about Blu Hors Matine and Andreas Helgstrand's 2006 WEG freestyle dressage entry and I just get emotional yaknow.

I think seeing that video really made me realize what dressage can be.

[aliceliddellsmirror]

You know what, I have always wondered if there was some connection to Glock guns and the Glock center. I see shorts of Totilas on youtube, still being glorified, but imo, the reckoning has come. It will be a slow rollout, like right now we're only seeing some suspensions/investigations (Helgstrand, Cesar Parra, the Strasser mother/daughter, that I know of), but in this age of social media, abuse of animals and people is no longer going to be hidden. In the equestrian sport as a whole, I think we're going to see a much bigger and louder pushback against harsh and abusive practices, and there will be a real push to take equestrian out of the Olympics/Paralympics altogether. I am careful who I say this around personally at my barn b/c everyone has different views on this, but I would not be opposed to the sport being dropped from the Olympics/Paralympics, and let WEG be the pinnacle of the sport. And I say that as an aspiring Para Dressage rider. It could remain, but not without a radical change in practices as well as actual enforcement of the rules.

Also, the FEI needs to be completely overhauled.

Why are people still defending Edward Gal in 2024? And why don't people care that his benefactor Glock Horse Performance Center was owned by a criminal whose weapons perpetrated some of the most gruesome mass shootings in history? Both such odious little men.

[dermontag]

PETA: "Grausam" und "unnötig" Tierschützer kritisieren Thomas Müller heftig 09.02.2022, 21:02 Uhr Thomas Müller ist nicht nur als Fußballer aktiv, sondern betreibt gemeinsam mit Ehefrau Lisa Müller auch ein Gestüt. Die Dressurreiterin und der Nationalspieler sehen sich nun harschen Vorwürfen ausgesetzt. Der Grund: Ein Hengst hat sich verletzt. Lisa und Thomas Müller sind nach einer Verletzung ihres Dressurpferdes D'avie von der Tierschutzorganisation PETA scharf kritisiert worden. Der Hengst war "bei einem ersten Testversuch zur Vorbereitung der Decksaison leider Gottes in der Deckhalle unglücklich ausgerutscht und dramatisch auf die Seite gestürzt", schrieben die Dressurreiterin und der Fußballprofi des FC Bayern, die zusammen das Gestüt Gut Wettlkam betreiben, in den sozialen Netzwerken. PETA-Fachreferentin Jana Hoger kritisierte in einer Mitteilung: "Es ist grausam, dass sogenannte Pferdeliebhaber die Tiere in ihrer Obhut zum unnatürlichen Geschlechtsakt zwingen, um möglichst viel Profit aus ihnen zu schlagen. Die Verletzungen, die sich D'avie unter der Aufsicht von Lisa und Thomas Müller zugezogen hat, waren vermeidbar und unnötig." Mehr zum Thema Der sogenannte "Deckakt" werde meist an einer Attrappe durchgeführt, heißt es in der PETA-Aussendung, die "dem Hengst einen Artgenossen suggerieren soll, um möglich viel Samen für den Verkauf an andere Züchter zu gewinnen. Dabei kann es zu schweren Unfällen und Verletzungen kommen, die auch lebensbedrohlich für die Pferde werden können. Nicht selten werden die 'Übungen' im Voraus und die 'Samengewinnung' selbst mit Gewalt, Zwang und Druck durchgeführt." Die Reiterin und ihr Mann hatten das Pferd vor zwei Jahren vom dänischen Handelsstall Helgstrand Dressage gekauft. D'avie war 2018 und 2019 in seiner Altersklasse Weltmeister der Jungen Pferde und wird auch in der Zucht eingesetzt. Laut PETA sei D'avie "in der Branche als 'Deckhengst' gefragt und sein Samen teuer". Die Müllers schrieben, der Hengst habe sich eine "Verletzung im Hufbereich zugezogen, die eine Pause und ein vollständiges Ausheilen in den nächsten Wochen und Monaten nötig" mache. Daher sei vorerst auch nur "Tiefgefriersperma" verfügbar, wie es auf dem offiziellen Instagram-Account des Gestüts heißt.