Adelinde Cornelissen-Facebook
I decided to quit to protect him. My partner, my friend, the horse that has always given me everything throughout his life, did not deserve me to jeopardize his health.”
Those were the words used by the rider Adelinde Cornelissen to explain why she decided to quit the competition in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
She realized that her horse, Parzival, was not well and had high temperature. Therefore, she decided to get off his back, greet the audience and say goodbye to the competition.
At first we asked the federation if we could change the order of participation within our own team, so Parzi had more than one day to recover. We asked to compete on Thursday instead of Wednesday. But the federation did not accept. At that point I did not want to participate… Parzival’s health is more important than anything else in the world!”
said the rider.
Adelinde later added “I slept in the stables, checking to Parzi every hour… I was not leaving him alone! Of course, I could not sleep at all that night.”
But … what happened to the animal?
Veterinarians concluded that the horse was stung by an insect, a spider or some kind of animal that produces toxic substances. The horse developed a fever and a swollen head the day before the event. He was given fluids, underwent X-rays and blood tests,”
wrote the Dutch woman in her Facebook profile.
Cornelissen won silver medals in test riding in London 2012 and was a favorite for equestrian dressage competition, according to international media such as CNN and daily Ecology.