Helgstrand Dressage, the stable whose training practices came out in the open via a scathing Danish undercover TV documentary in November, is calling 2023 a year that has “been challenging, evolving and educational.”
In a new year’s statement, the company noted, “2023 has opened an important debate on horse welfare in sport.”
It added that with the airing of the documentary, “it became clear that we have mistakes to correct and can continue developing our animal welfare.”
The documentary revealed the use of whips and spurs that left marks, which workers tried to cover up. The scandal led to the Danish equestrian federation’s decision to ban Helgstrand CEO Andreas Helgstrand from its teams, at least until January 1, 2025, which means no Olympics for him.
Among improvements in the wake of the documentary, Helgstrand stated it is upgrading continuing education and has put a new camera setup in its arenas.
“It’s all in our efforts to achieve the highest level of welfare for our horses and best framework for our staff,” the statement maintained.
“We have appreciated the debate that has come up afterwards — both in the general public, but in particular, in the industry. We believe that there is a lot we can learn from each other, and therefore we would like to continue the conversation and together become wiser about how to lift the task.” (They may mean “elevate the task”; this is a translation from Danish.)
A lot of the ways in which the company can improve simply involves basic horsemanship, respect for animals and common sense. Hopefully, what happened to the Helgstrand organization provides a lesson for other training facilities that need to learn one.
Helgstrand Dressage is owned by Global Equestrian Group, which also owns the Wellington International showgrounds, home of the Winter Equestrian Festival, in Florida. Plans for its expansion are tied to a hot issue about development in the “Winter Equestrian Capital of the World.” That situation remains to be resolved in 2024.
Eurodressage.com has a story about the finances of both Helgstrand and GEG. Here is a link to that piece.
For a review of 2023, go to the second featured item on this website, or click on this link.
Those seeking more detail can read past coverage by clicking the “previous columns” icon at the top of this website (www.nancyjaffer.com) or by going to the search function on the site. This website covered dozens of hours of proceedings on the development issue, beginning in June.