TOP Dutch dressage rider Anky van Grunsven is determined to participate in the 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG). It will not be a surprise to most people as the 2008 Olympic Games Gold medallist looks set to stay at the top of her sport for many years to come but what is a surprise is that she wants to represent Holland in Reining!

At an Olympic celebration party with her family she was given a Western saddle as a present and so she decided to take reining lessons with her friend Rieky Young. "I think it would be super to ride at the WEG in Kentucky both in dressage and reining," she said.

As Rieky Young's stables are only ten minutes from Anky's home she is training with him after she has finished her own training. "I don't have my own reining horse but I'm testing a few at Rieky's. I first want to feel which horse fits me. The sliding and turning, which make the sport so spectacular, are easy to teach. The hard bit is the basis and that everything happens with only one hand."

Hanoverian tops rankings

Once again, the Hanoverian Verband (Horse Society) has topped the dressage studbook rankings of the World Breeding Federation of Sport Horses for 2008 with 11761 points in total. With the three Olympic dressage medals going to Hanoverians – Salinero gold, Satchmo silver, Bonaparte bronze – the Hanoverian Breed Society proves to be unbeatable in the annual WBFSH ranking.

It seems almost that one has to have a Hanoverian horse to win a Championship medal. Anky van Grunsven's Salinero (by Salieri x Lungau) tops the ranking with 2234. He is followed by Isabell Werth's Satchmo (by Sao Paulo x Legat) on 2115. In third position there is Heike Kemmer's Bonaparte (by Bon Bonaparte x Wenzel). The fourth ranked horse is also Hanoverian. The Dutch mare Sunrise (by Singular Joter) is nine points ahead of the first non-Hanoverian: Painted Black. The KWPN Dutch warmblood society ranks second again in the 2008 final standing. However it is closer this time with 10137 points in total. The approved stallion Painted Black, the top KWPN dressage horse, climbed three places in the rankings from last year and now stands at number five. Last year, Painted Black was the only Dutch dressage horse in the top ten; this year, he is joined by his peers Parzival and Pop Art (Amsterdam x Cabochon), who rank sixth and seventh, respectively. The Danish Warmblood society finished third with 9371 points in total. Best Danish representative is the 14th ranked horse Mistral Hojris (by Michellino) owned by the Bechtolsheimer family.

Dutch cuisine

Another Dutch dressage rider has also found a second career! Former reserve European Dressage Champion Arjen Teeuwissen has a new website. Part of his site is quite different from all other equestrian sites as it contains a section with cooking recipes.

This month's recipe is 'Chicken filet a la Frank' – which is inspired by Arjen's partner Frank!

Dover retires from training

Five times Olympian Robert Dover has announced his retirement from his teaching and training business. The top American dressage rider has a number of things planned.

"After 30 years, it is time for me to move my life to its next phase. I am writing a book and working on my non-profit making organisations, the Equestrian Aid Foundation and Well Wish International, which I am extremely passionate about. Needless to say, I intend to remain quite busy!"