Dressage-News

HERNING, Denmark, Aug. 19–Watermill Scandic H.B.C. was injured and withdrawn Monday as Patrik Kittel’s mount for Sweden at the European Championships and is being replaced by the Australian-owned Toy Story.

Patrik’s bronze medal partner from the Europeans in Rotterdam in as well as the Olympics in London last year, the 2009 Europeans in Windsor and the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky limped slightly after a workout in Herning and was discovered to have a small cut on his right front.

Since the discovery the 14-year-oldKWPN stallion was checked by Swedish team vet Jonas Tornell and the FEI treating veterinary in Herning. Ultra-sound scanning discovered a small bleeding on the carpal channel. It was determined not to be serious but the horse would not have a chance to be sound before Tuesday’s vet check.

Chef d’equipe Bo Jenå said, “I immediately thought about Toy Story as our reserve and the decision was taken to transport him from Germany as soon as possible. The lorry drive is about six to seven hours up from Germany to Herning and Toy Story will be here in time for the vet check. Patrik took the situation professionally, these things happen with horses, there is never any guarantee but now he needs to rethink his strategy on how to work with Toy Story.”

Toy Story is a 13-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding (Come Back II x Concorde) was initially bought by Carol and Andrew Oatley for their daughter, Lyndal, Patrik’s wife, to ride but has been ridden by the Swede for more than two years, including the 2012 World Cup Final.

Laura Tomlinson’s Mistral Hojris who was a member of Great Britain’s history-making gold medal team at the London Olympics last summer and the 2011 and 2009 Europeans was withdrawn last week because of a minor injury.