Setback for Pius Schwizer. The show jumper has to cancel his participation in the European Championships in Milan in early September. Vancouver de Lanlore, with whom he would normally participate, is recovering from a tendon injury in his left front leg.
The 14-year-old stallion, with François Vorpe and Giuseppe Marino as owners, will now first get two to three months of rest to recover. "We are not rushing anything," Schwizer said. "The time left then until the European Championships is very tight. We won't be ready to participate until Vancouver is 100 percent fit and strong again. The goal is to participate in the Paris Olympics in 2024. We know what we can do and what we are capable of, if we are healthy and fit of course."
Schwizer says the busy spring season is unrelated to the injury. "A participation in the World Cup final in Omaha was not on our plan, but after I was able to secure the final ticket and ride four super rounds in Omaha, I gave Vancouver almost a month's break. "In hindsight, the start at the CSI4* Montefalco (ITA), where the rider from Lucerne won the GP with Vancouver, may have been too much of a good thing. But hindsight is often wiser. "At the CSIO St. Gallen everything went well with Vancouver in the morning before the start, but then he became lame at the veterinary check. Apparently he injured himself there."
Team for the European Championships in Milan
After Schwizer's cancellation, the Swiss team for the European Championships in Milan should be fixed after all. After all, at this competition Switzerland wants to qualify for the Olympics. The winning quartet from St. Gallen will have that task on their shoulders: Steve Guerdat, Martin Fuchs, Edouard Schmitz and Bryan Balsiger. Also mentioned by team manager Michel Sorg and national coach Thomas Fuchs are names such as Elian Baumann, Alain Jufer and Niklaus Schurtenberger.
Source: Pferdewoche
