Drama in Luhmühlen: Fall costs Chiquita's life!

Drama in Luhmühlen: Fall costs Chiquita's life!

A tragic incident was reported during eventing in Luhmühlen today: a horse named Chiquita died after a serious fall. The 13-year-old mare was injured during the cross-country course under rider Maj-Jonna Ziebell, who immediately requested veterinary help. Despite intensive care, Chiquita could no longer be saved at a veterinary clinic just a few hours later, which is why the decision was made to euthanize her. Ziebell was emotional about her loss: “Chiquita was something very special, I lost my best friend,” as Radio Köln reports.

The incident not only casts a shadow over the event, but also serves as a reminder of the risks faced by both horses and riders in the sport. In fact, the topic of injuries in equestrian sports is not a new one. A study by the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center showed that around one in nine athletes experience occasional health problems, with acute injuries having a significant impact on performance. Acute injuries occur only rarely, but their severity should not be underestimated, which underlines the importance of safety measures, as zeitschrift-sportmedizin.de clearly discusses.

The German championship and its challenges

During the tragedy in Luhmühlen, the German eventing championship takes place. The focus is particularly on Julia Krajewski, who, despite the failure of her top sport horse Amande de B'Neville due to a hoof injury, is competing with two inexperienced horses. The 36-year-old Olympic champion from Tokyo managed to take the lead after the cross-country test with her eleven-year-old nickel, not least thanks to only 2.4 penalty points that she received for exceeding the time limit. This placement is made possible by an excellent performance that she showed in advance with Nickel, while she finished fourth with the second horse Ero FAZ reports.

However, the championship is also marked by incidents. Ingrid Klimke, one of the favorites, was seriously injured during the cross-country horse test with her horse Siena and was taken to hospital with a broken collarbone. Another fall occurred with Susanna Bordone, who also had to seek medical treatment with her horse. Such incidents are not unknown in a sport as demanding as eventing, which further highlights the importance of safety requirements.

Looking at the upcoming decisions

The decision on the medal awards will be made on Sunday - the final competition will take place at 1:00 p.m. The achievements of Calvin Böckmann, who is trained by Krajewski and also still has a chance of winning a medal, are of particular interest. The 22-year-old was able to complete the cross-country course with his horse The Phantom Of The Opera without any mistakes, which is a promising performance this year.

The combination of top sporting performance and tragic events in Luhmühlen makes it clear how multifaceted and borderline equestrian sport is. The athletes face significant challenges, both physical and emotional. In the coming days, the focus will not only be on the riders' sporting performance, but also on how the veterinarians and their fellow riders will process what happened.