The past few weeks international media publications reported massively on the lawsuit that Anky van Grunsven started aginst the Flemmish journalist Astrid Appels.
The court case was supposed to start on 8 September 2010 in 's Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, but Anky has decided to give up. She retreated from her fight against Eurodressage.com and Astrid Appels.
It was stated in a press release that, “after careful consideration, in the family circle and with her lawyer Mr. Schelstraete, Anky van Grunsven has decided to immediately stop the legal procedure against Flemmish internet journalist Astrid Appels. An error in judgement on Anky's part concerning the strategy of the defendants has facilitated this decision.”
Appels stated that, “on the one hand I regret not having a judicial verdict because I'm convinced that I acted correctly and I also wanted to address the threathening and intimidating actions of the team trainer. On the other hand I think this could be the best solution for everyone. Anky will have to learn to live with the fact that her name will always be attached to a controversial training method but this contrasts with her exceptional achievements, like her three Olympic victories. I will now focus on the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky and will not change my way of writing and publishing.”