Anky van Grunsven, nine-time World Cup champion who has won two of the three World Dressage Masters in Palm Beach, has withdrawn from the 2012 event due to a family health issue.
Anky had planned to spend several weeks in Wellington to compete at the CDI5* with Salinero, her Olympic gold medal and four-time World Cup champion mount, and to also bring her up and coming star, IPS Upido, for other CDIs on the Florida circuit.
Sjef Janssen, Anky’s husband and coach of the Dutch team, was recently hospitalized for surgery and has to undergo frequent checkups at the hospital in Holland to monitor his condition, making overseas travel difficult.
“We are really sorry and we really regret it,” Sjef told dressage-news.com. “We were really looking forward to it and hope that we can come to Florida at another stage.”
Anky won the inaugural WDM event at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center with IPS Painted Black in 2009 and took the title in 2010 with Salinero.
Salinero, who will be 18 years old next year, was out of competition for several months with a serious injury, but has returned to the show ring in top form, sweeping the Salzburg, Austria, CDI4* last week with the highest scores in two to three years.