Carl Hester’s Uthopia Withdrawn from Addington CDI3* Amid EHV-1 Concerns
12 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Carl Hester’s Uthopia Withdrawn from Addington CDI3* Amid EHV-1 Concerns
Uthopia that was to be ridden by double Olympic gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin in a CDI for the first time has been withdrawn from the Addington CDI3* in England as a precaution against “various outbreaks” including the neurologic form of equine herpes virus EHV-1.
Carl Hester, a part owner of the 12-year-old KWPN stallion (Matall x Odelia x Inspekteur), said on his Facebook site: “Sorry folks but we have withdrawn Uthopia. Due to various outbreaks we have decided to be safe and think of the rest of the season.”
Carl and Uthopia were on Great Britain’s team that won gold at last summer’s Games in London, the first Olympic medal ever for the country.
Charlotte rode Valegro, also part-owned by Carl, for the team and individual gold medals.
Carl began competing Uthopia three years ago and since the Olympics has performed once in a CDI, at last December’s World Cup event in Olympia, London.
Thirty-three horses were evacuated from the Beaufort Hunt premises after a gelding was diagnosed with neurologic EHV-1 disease Mar. 15. The world famous Badminton Horse Trials are scheduled for the premises the first week of May.
The horses are now stabled near the Beaufort Hunt stables but far enough away from Badminton, The Horse reported, that “they could not possibly transmit infection to any horses that come into the stables.” No horses will be allowed to enter the event site until Badminton begins.
The index case is responding well to treatment and is expected to recover completely. A stablemate is the suspected source of the outbreak. It had been transported from an area where there had been a recent EHV-1 outbreak.
Recent outbreaks of the virus in parts f England have caused deaths of several horses and cancelation of equestrian events.
In the United States, an outbreak of EHV-1 led to the HITS Horse Shows in the Sun grounds in Ocala, Florida, being quarantined for weeks during the winter circuit but had only minor impact on the much larger Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, 250 miles away.
