It seems it was no coincidence when Swedish top dressage rider Patrik Kittel was caught on tape in Odense, warming up his horse in an unpalatable fashion.
German dressage magazine, St. Georg, writes today that Kittle has previously attracted unwanted attention from stewards and bystanders while riding the chestnut KWPN Stallion, Watermill Scandic. In January, the renowned dressage trainer and former USA chef d'equipe, Klaus Balkenhol, was heard shouting at Kittel as he prepared for a competition in Münster, Germany.
"Two more centimeters to go," uttered Balkenhol, according to St. Georg, somewhat provocatively referring to the fact that Watermill Scandic was very nearly able to bite his own chest.
In Wiesbaden, several people were uncomfortable seeing that Scandic's double bridle was fitted with a very low noseband. The judge as well as the chief steward opted to intervene. Friedrich Otto-Erley, head of the German FN's elite sports division said to St. Georg: "The noseband was fitted where a drop noseband would normally sit. The horse couldn't breathe, and was blowing like a locomotive. Where the noseband should have been, there was a sore."
Patrik Kittel was ordered to fix the noseband, and Watermill Scandic placed last in the freestyle, having performed the test with his tongue hanging out. It is not mentioned whether on this occasion, the FEI found it necessary to investigate.
The following weekend, several riders asked FEI veterinarian Dr. Hermann-Josef Genn to check Scandic's bridle. Unable to find any lesions, Dr. Genn noted that the noseband was once again badly adjusted. "The noseband was so tight I could barely open it," he said to St. Georg.
In 2008, a reporter from St. Georg described in his blog, how Scandic bled so profusely from the mouth during a training session in Donaueschingen that Patrik Kittel had to give up riding despite efforts by his groom to clean up the horse. Back then, the FEI did not opt to look into the allegations made by the reporter.
Read the article here on St.Georg's website
The FEI is still investigating the now infamous "blue tongue incident" sparked by Epona.tv's video clip from the World Cup dressage qualifier in Odense, Denmark. In the meantime, the FEI has sent out a press release, stating that "with immediate effect" stewards must penalize riders who break the rules of the FEI. But the FEI has still not explained what constitutes "prolonged" or "excessive" hyperflexion of the neck in this respect, or how the technique should be executed by the skilled professionals in whose hands it is accepted by the federation.
