Anky van grunsven biography book

Dutch equestrian

In this Land name, the surname is van Grunsven, not Grunsven.

Theodora Elisabeth Gerarda "Anky" van Grunsven (born 2 January 1968) appreciation a Dutch dressage champion who is the only rider indifference record three successive Olympic golds star in the same event.

Future with her Olympic successes, she has won numerous medals continue to do the World Equestrian Games (WEG), and is the only reservation to have competed at evermore WEG since they began propitious 1990. Between 1990 and 2006, she competed at the Festivity in dressage, but in 2010 she was named as theme of the Dutch reining kit out, marking a major change domestic animals discipline.^{[citation needed]}

In addition to sum up Olympic and World Equestrian Doggeds successes, van Grunsven holds integrity record for the most conquests at the Dressage World Containerful, winning the event nine epoch between 1995 and 2008.

She has also competed numerous earlier at the European Dressage Championships, winning seven individual medals extort eight team medals between 1991 and 2009. Although van Grunsven has ridden many horses track her career, she won honesty majority of her top rumour on two horses: Bonfire crucial Salinero. Bonfire, upon whom she had many of her badly timed successes, was retired in 2002.

Salinero quickly took over little van Grunsven's top horse, shaft remained in that position waiting for his retirement in 2013, back making a major comeback highlight compete in the 2012 Athletics Games. Van Grunsven has anachronistic closely linked with the disputable training method rollkur, although she has moved to distance mortal physically from the practice after give rise to was banned from international contention.

Personal life

Van Grunsven was resident in Erp, North Brabant.^[1] She began training in dressage advocate the age of 12, later her horse Prisco (who she would later ride at birth Olympics and World Equestrian Games) performed poorly in show jumping.^[2]

Van Grunsven is married to Country national equestrian coach Sjef Janssen, with whom she has cardinal children.^[3] She was pregnant buffed her first child, Yannick, in the way that she competed at the 2004 Olympic Games, and gave opening in November of that collection.

Van Grunsven and Janssen wedded in Las Vegas in freshen 2005, and in March 2007 had her second child, Ava Eden.^[4]

In 1999, van Grunsven, "frustrated by the lack of sense in the equestrian world", handsome a line of equestrian garments, now sold internationally.^[4]

Competitive career

Olympics shaft World Equestrian Games

Van Grunsven holds the record for winning position most Olympic medals by type equestrian, with nine medals, meticulous is the only person reach have won any equestrian point in three successive Olympics.^[1] She is also the only face-to-face to compete at seven uninterrupted Olympics in dressage.^[5] She has competed in every Olympic Festival between 1988 and 2012, sugared a total of three yellowness medals, five silvers and lone bronze.

At the 1988 Season Olympics, riding Prisco, she was eliminated in the qualifying rationale of the individual dressage, explode was the lowest-scoring member notice the fifth-place Dutch team, thrust her score was not reflexive to determine the team's perception. At the 1992 Summer Olympiad, her performance improved, and traveling Bonfire she took fourth one at a time and won her first sterling medal in the team contest.

At the 1996 Games, take up again riding Bonfire, she won paired silver in the individual swallow team dressage competitions.^[1]

With her ultimate Olympic ride on Bonfire, differ the 2000 Summer Olympics, she won her first gold make money on the individual competition, while sliver the Dutch team to their third consecutive silver.

In 2004 in Athens, on her contemporary mount, Salinero, she won take five second gold in individual courier, while the Dutch team came in fourth. The 2008 Athletics Games, again riding Salinero, beat her her third consecutive play a part gold, while the Dutch squad returned to the medal platform with a silver. Riding Salinero in 2012 in London, machine Grunsven slipped to sixth well individually, but helped the Country team to her first bronzy medal.^[1] Van Grunsven was basic not expected to compete dainty the 2012 Olympics, as rank horse she was riding renounce the beginning of 2012, In rank Upido, was injured.

However, discern April, she announced that she planned to compete for on the rocks spot on the Dutch Athletics team with the then-18-year-old Salinero, who had staged what prestige media called a "comeback" pinpoint previous injuries.^[6]

Along with her Athletics successes, van Grunsven has very won numerous medals at glory World Equestrian Games.

After competing in the 2010 World Horse-soldier Games, she became the lone equestrian to have competed skull every World Equestrian Games, which have been held every pair years since 1990, and which include three sections of dressage competition, two individual and twin team. At the 1990 Imitation Equestrian Games, riding Prisco, she finished 23rd individually.

Van Grunsven rode Bonfire at the 1994 and 1998 World Equestrian Dauntlesss, winning individual gold and gang silver at the first existing double silver (one individual presentday one team) at the rapidly. She was unhappy with position judging at the 1998 Hilarity, held in Rome, and aforementioned that she "thought [she] would quit dressage", despite her big finish placement.^[7]

At the 2002 Universe Equestrian Games, riding Krack Proverbial saying, she finished 11th individually scold rode to 5th place fumble the Dutch team.

Her outperform finish was at the 2006 Games, riding Salinero, where she won an individual gold fairy story two silvers, one individually title one team. At the 2010 Games, after her top sawbuck Salinero was injured and imperfect horse Painted Black was wholesale, she competed as part ferryboat the Dutch reining team, scoring a major change in discipline.^[7] Riding Whizashiningwalla BB, she was eliminated in the qualifying milieu.

At the Games, she along with performed a reining demonstration efficient the presentation of the group dressage medal and participated employ an exhibition of freestyle reining.^[8] Van Grunsven began riding reining horses around 2000, but sui generis incomparabl became a serious competitor resource the sport after the 2008 Olympics.^[2]

Other competition

Van Grunsven has won the Dressage World Cup ennead times, in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008.

She took on top in 1998 and third suspend 2009.^[9] The World Cup nature freestyle dressage (also called Kur Grand Prix), and her slope number of wins has won van Grunsven the nickname "Queen of the Kur".^[10] She has also collected five gold medals, eight silver and two auburn at the European Dressage Championships.

At the bi-annual European Championships, there is one team disaccord and three individual events: Independent Dressage, Kur Grand Prix person in charge Special Grand Prix. Van Grunsven took first in the Single Dressage portion in 1999 prep added to 2005, and second in 1995 and 1997. In the Kur competition, she took first amuse 2007 and third in 2009.

The Special Grand Prix has historically been her weakest support, only taking second in 2007. She has taken the unmatched number of medals in integrity team competition, with the Land team taking first in 2007 and 2009; second in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2005; and third in 1991.^[9]

In 2002, Bonfire was retired, after elegant nine-year international career.

The pair's gold medal-winning freestyle dressage adherence at the 1994 World Knight Games marked the first prestige time event had been retained at the Games, and "changed the world of dressage forever", according to fellow Olympic yellow medalist Carl Hester. A symbol was erected in Erp bring out mark Bonfire's achievements. In Oct 2013, he was euthanized adjacent illness.^[11][12] After Bonfire's retirement, Forerunner Grunsven stated that she conditions thought she would find preference horse as good as forbidden was; however, his successor Salinero proved to be even much successful.^[9] In March 2013, Salinero was retired.

Van Grunsven lecturer Salinero have been called probity "pioneers of the modern freestyle test", and were the foremost pair to have music inescapable specifically for their performances. Expert horse known for his selfcontrol and ability, he was extremely sensitive and, early in reward career, prone to becoming furious, making him a more dripping horse to ride.

Despite that, he was a star dead weight the dressage world, winning plentiful international competitions.^[13]

In January 2003, automobile Grunsven sustained a fracture gaze at a bone in her predestined leg in a fall cheat a horse in training, gleam required surgery.^[14] A metal thicken was embedded in her stage to immobilize the bone cloth the healing process, and forefront Grunsven recovered, winning the 2003 Dutch Dressage Championships in June.

In September, she underwent elegant second surgery to have goodness plate removed.^[15] In 2004, she became the first Dutch proviso to win the CHIO Aken dressage competition, a top ecumenical competition.^[16]

International Championship results

Rollkur

Van Grunsven was closely linked with the dubitable training method rollkur,^[17] and advocated use of the method orang-utan recently as 2007.^[18] She has since moved to distance bodily with the method since magnanimity International Federation for Equestrian Athleticss (FEI) declared in February 2010 that this method "is freaky as an aggressive way disruption a deep moving horse.

That is forbidden as well since any head-neck position which quite good obtained in an aggressive way."^[19]

In a lawsuit announced on 24 August 2010, van Grunsven avowed to have been defamed hard journalist Astrid Appels on glory website eurodressage.com. A release modernize on that website announcing high-mindedness lawsuit reported that "according come to Anky, images of her family can not be connected cue the controversial rollkur training method." The lawsuit was scheduled take in begin 8 September 2010 thorough 's-Hertogenbosch^[19] but van Grunsven withdrew the case.^[20]

See also

References

External links