Kurt Martin and Anna Bella at The Fork CIC3*. Photo by Jenni Autry.
And then there were four. Kurt Martin just announced on his Facebook page that he is withdrawing Anna Bella from Boekelo CCIO3* next weekend and re-routing to the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI3* due to a minor injury:
“I am disappointed to report that I have withdrawn Anna Bella from Boekelo. After a fantastic run at Plantation Field two weeks ago, Anna Bella sustained a minor injury on the trailer ride home,” Kurt said. “Because her welfare is my top priority, I decided not to push her to make it on Sunday’s flight. Instead, we will regroup and re-route for Fair Hill. Best of luck to the competitors at Boekelo.”
We will always applaud riders who put their horse’s welfare first, and while it’s disappointing that Anna Bella can’t take on her first overseas event at Boekelo, we’re excited that she’ll still be able to compete at Fair Hill.
Anna Bella is coming off a 14th-place finish in a big division at Plantation Field CIC3* and should be very much in the mix at Fair Hill, which we’ve just learned via Sandy Uhler has 58 horses entered in the CCI3* and an astounding 122 entered in the CCI2*, which sets a record for the most horses ever entered in the two-star.
Mackenna Shea announced earlier this week she was also withdrawing from Boekelo to re-route to Fair Hill. Four U.S. riders are now left to form a team for the Nations Cup: Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen, Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night, Tiana Coudray and Kinnordy Rivaldo, and Sharon White and Under Suspection. Click here to view Boekelo entries.
[Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen Anchor U.S. Contingent at Boekelo]
