Stefanie Palm's Royal Happiness Sold

Thu, 11/15/2018 - 08:33
Austria
Stefanie Palm and Royal Happiness at their last CDI, the 2018 CDI Fritzens in Austria :: Photo © Astrid Appels

Austrian Grand Prix rider Stefanie Palm has decided to put her international dressage career on the back burner and has sold her top horse Royal Happiness to an Austrian amateur rider as her schoolmaster.

Dr. Stefanie Palm is a judge at the regional court in Feldkirch, Austria, and her time consuming job alongside being a mother and international dressage competitors has become too much to juggle. Palm, therefore, decided to sell her horse.

"I found a very nice and sensitive lady in Renate Voglsang’s yard who will ride Happy under Voglsang’s supervision as a schoolmaster. So he can stay in his own box and familiar surroundings," Palm told Eurodressage. "His new owner doesn‘t want to untertake Happy the stress of competitions anymore, so that he will be just trained at home and in the surrounding woods. This is perfect for Happy and the best new „job“ he could get."

Royal Happiness is a 14 year-old Oldenburger gelding by Royal Diamond out of a Trakehner mare by Consul x Mahon. 

Palm acquired the gelding as a 3-year old at the Oldenburg Summer Mixed Sales in 2007. Palm took the gelding from young horse level to Grand Prix, but in 2010 Helen Langehanenberg briefly rode the horse at the Bundeschampionate as Palm had injured her knee and required surgery. They made their international show debut at small tour level at the CDI Stadl Paura in 2012 and moved up to Grand Prix in 2015. Palm's coach Renate Voglsang campaigned the grey in 2017 while Palm was pregnant. In 2018 stefanie rode three CDI's: Ebreichsdorf, Munich and Fritzens.

It was a hard decision for Stefanie to set aside dressage for a period of time in her life and sell Happy.

"This was a very, very difficult decicion because I had Happy since he was 3 years old. He was a family member and friend to me. Because of my professional and private situation I unfortunately don’t have enough time anymore to care for Happy as I want and train as it is necessary on this high level," said Palm. "At the moment there is also no time for new horses, but we will see what the future brings... a life without horses seems to be impossible for me."

Photo © Astrid Appels

Related Links
Eurodressage Photo Database: Royal Happiness
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