Thursday June 1, 2006

Catherine Haddad Aims at the 2006 World Equestrian Games

Catherine Haddad has expressed her intent of qualifying for the United States Equestrian Team to compete at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. Permanently based in Vechta, Germany, Haddad has been in the Euro-picture this year aboard the 12-year old Danish Warmblood Maximus JSS. With top sixty percentage marks, Haddad is walking in the footsteps of Lisa Wilcox who had to go through specific procedures to qualify for the U.S. team, as she too was based in Germany.

"After consulting my trainer, my sponsor and the US Team Coach, I have decided to request a "bye" from the USEF for the Selection Trials in Gladstone," Haddad explained. "I would like to stay in Europe to try to qualify for the 2006 World Equestrian Games. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to show at Gladstone and my sponsors are willingly support the trip, but the consensus is that it does not make sense to change venue now when we are just gaining momentum on the European circuit," Haddad stated. "Also, in the time that it would take to fly to the US, compete at Gladstone, fly back to Germany and recover from the trip--we can compete at three of the largest CDIs in Europe against the world's best competitors, for half the price."

Haddad has been living in Germany since 1993 when she moved there to train with the late Willi Schultheis. After his death in 1995, she established her own training stable in Vechta near Oldenburg. "I have a twenty stall barn with training and show horses and a small breeding operation. I was given the Silver Pin Award for excellence in breeding by the Oldenburg Verband in 2004," Haddad said.

In 2002 she began training with Rudolf Zeilinger, with whom she currently keeps two horses at his stable in Emsbueren. "I drive there every morning at 5:30 am to ride my two top horses under his supervision before returning to work in my own stable for the rest of the day."

Haddad's top horse Maximus JSS is owned by her sponsor, the Janet Schneider Trust. Janet Schneider began her sponsorship in 2003 before her untimely death last year. Maximus JSS is a 12 year old Danish warmblood by May Sherif. "We were very successful in the small tour in Germany, winning the Golden Horseshoe Trophy in 2003, before we started in our first Grand Prix in 2004."