Dressage-News

DELRAY BEACH, Florida, Mar. 5, 2014–Silva Martin, the German-born rider who was on the United States team that won the Nations Cup two weeks ago, was injured in a riding accident and was flown by helicopter to Delray Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Under medical privacy rules, Silva’s condition could not be confirmed officially but friends texted that she had been conscious Wednesday morning and was expected to make a full recovery. It was not known how long she would be in the hospital.

Silva, who was born and raised in Germany and lived in Australia before moving to the U.S., was reported riding a young horse at a farm in the Little Ranches section of Wellington where she has been based for the past several weeks in her annual trip to Florida to compete on the winter circuit.

She was wearing a safety helmet when she came off the horse and was knocked unconscious.

She was flown by helicopter to Delray Beach, about 30 miles (48km) from Wellington.

Silva is married to the event rider Boyd Martin, who rode for Australia but now competes for the United States. Boyd was at the Red Hills event near Tallahassee but drove to Delray to be with his wife.

Silva, 33, and Boyd are based in Cochranville, Pennsylvania.

Her sister is Laura Stigler who rode the six-year-old Doubleyou W in the World Young Horse Championships in Verden, Germany last year.

In addition to the Nations Cup team victory aboard Rosa Cha W, Silva rode the horse to victory in the Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI-W Prix St. Georges last weekend.

The rider is popular and widely admired–former U.S. jumping team Chef’ d’Equipe George Morris, made a point of going to the Global Dressage Festival grounds to watch her ride in the Prix St. Georges last weekend.

Rosa Cha, she told dressage-news.com, is ready to move to Grand Prix and she is considering seeking a place on the United States at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.