Danish dressage mare Blue Hors Matiné has been retired to stud. Matiné has not competed since before the 2007 World Cup final, where she was injured in an accident before the competition.
Attempts over the past two years to get the mare completely fit have failed. The 12-year-old injured her near foreleg while being unloaded from a van at the World Cup venue in Las Vegas in April, 2007.
The Danish Warmblood mare by Blue Hors Silver Moon was ridden by Andreas Helgstrand throughout her career. The pair won bronze in the grand prix special at the World Equestrian Games at Aachen in 2006.
Matiné will become a broodmare at the Blue Hors Stud, in Randbøl, Denmark. Stud manager Esben Møller told Dressage Daily that she had already settled in well to herd life at the stud. She was to be bred naturally in the coming season, Møller said.
QUIBELL
After a ninth place in the Dutch Global Champions Tour Grand Prix on Saturday top Irish international rider Jessica Kurten has formally announced the retirement of the 15 year-old bay mare Quibell.
Kurten said from Valkenswaard: “Quibell has been retired after a super career and a wonderful result. She will be retired to stud at Castle Forbes in Ireland.”
The Danish-bred mare's last team outing for Ireland was at the Nations' Cup in Rotterdam, where Kurten rode her to a superb double clear, the only one recorded amongst the 10 teams competing.
Owned by Lady Georgina Forbes, Quibell also had a distinguished solo career, including a win in the Gothenburg Grand Prix in April last year, and Amongst many other victories, in 2006 won the Grand Prix of Chernyakovsk in Russia and took first place in the 750,000 dollar Al Maktoum Memorial Grand Prix in Dubai.