Springbank II, owned by Yara Reichert, sustained an injury while out in the pasture, which will likely end his competitive career

Yara Reichert herself posted about Springbank II’s injury on her Instagram page. According to her, the stallion “injured his joint” while out in the pasture. She said she was on her way to the clinic. “It doesn’t look good at all. His competitive career is probably over.”

But there’s good news, too. Reichert: “Of course, I’m absolutely devastated. But I’m incredibly glad he doesn’t have to be put down. He’ll be a happy early retiree and a good stud horse.”

She also emphasizes that she doesn’t regret letting the stallion—as well as all her other horses—out to pasture every day. “Of course I wonder if this is the right thing to do. But it would feel so wrong to keep the horses locked up. I just can’t not put them out in the paddock. It’s like not letting children play outside. And the other two did NOT get hurt in the paddock.”

The “other two” are Valverde, who was injured in the box, and Force Majeur, who was injured at the tournament in Achleiten.

About Springbank II

Springbank II is a 12-year-old Swedish Warmblood stallion bred by the successful Västra Hobby Stutteri in Sweden, which is why he actually still bears the suffix “VH” in his name. His sire is the Danish elite stallion Skovens Rafael, who was trained up to the Grand Prix level; he is one of the last significant representatives of the Rubinstein line (by Romanov) out of a Don Schufro dam.

The Donnerhall and Rubinstein combination is also found on the dam’s side in Springbank II. The elite mare De La Reinne is a daughter of De Niro out of a Rohdiamant dam with Swedish roots. A full brother to the dam is Dalwhinnie, owned by Mattias Jansson, who is licensed and has enjoyed Grand Prix success in Sweden.

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of the same name, Springbank, caused a sensation at the 2015 World Championships for Young Dressage Horses under Jeanna Hogberg. He placed fifth in the qualifiers but was too nervous in the final to finish higher than 14th. But the horse’s exceptional quality was obvious. Two years later, the gelding returned to the World Championships arena, this time with Andreas Helgstrand in the saddle. The performance was not a success, and after that, things quieted down around the athletic dark chestnut.

From Helgstrand to Reichert

Four years later, a “new” Springbank made an appearance at the World Championships: Springbank II VH, or “Springi,” as Yara Reichert now calls him. As a five-year-old, he competed under the Spanish rider Severo Jurado Lopez, who was riding for Helgstrand Dressage at the time—the stable had secured the “brother of” in good time. In 2021, Springbank II was sold, along with Valverde, to Yara Reichert, who qualified with both horses for the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses and, as an amateur, took them all the way from the Louisdor Prize to Grand Prix competition, where she has made a name for herself.

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Offspring

Yara Reichert’s hopes for Springbank II’s offspring are well-founded. The stallion already has some highly promising offspring, such as World Championship finalist Atterupgaards Daimi. In addition, she herself has bred a licensed stallion by him named Springrock—one of a total of eleven licensed offspring that Springbank can point to, even though his focus has always been on competition. Another is the KWPN stallion Springdance, who also belongs to Reichert and is now enjoying success with her daughter Noraya.