Christian Simonson is having the time of his life. The 2023 PanAm Games saw the 22-year-old enthralling the attendees with his performance and graceful poise. Simonson and his partner, Son of Lady, have been pivotal to Team USA winning gold at the tournament. While his place in the 2024 Olympics isn’t confirmed yet, a recent development may convince the equestrian prodigy otherwise.
As per Simonson’s latest Instagram story, he will be to partnering with the 13-year-old Dutch warmblood stallion Fleau de Baian soon. The horse has been reared by Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup Champion Adelinde Cornelissen. With a heartfelt note, Cornelissen bid adieu to her longtime companion, and Simonson expressed his gratitude for this rather unique opportunity to transpire.
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Equestrian star finds aid from Olympic medalist
In his Instagram story, the rising star in the dressage and equestrian universe thanked Adelinde for letting him ride de Baian. The horse was previously competed by Cornelissen in the World Young Horse Championships. The duo was also selected as part of the national team in the Dutch Nations Cup. Understandably, with so much history between them, it’s tough for Adelinde to let go of de Baian. And it looks like Simonson understands what such a goodbye entails.
In his latest Insta story, Christian looks ecstatic with the latest opportunity to compete alongside Fleau de Baian. Simonson wrote, “Have to pinch myself for this amazing opportunity“. In the next story, Simonson made a nod to Cornelissen for being kind enough to allow for this partnership to flourish. However, the imminent departure made Cornelissen emotional, and she acknowledged that it’s “never easy to see your best buddy leave the stable“.
Despite the bittersweet scenario, Cornelissen also said that she thinks the pairing of Simonson and de Baian looks like a hit match already and their working together will only reap rewards for both. She said they just “clicked“, while Simonson couldn’t stop gushing about “the sweetest stallion ever“. Simonson, paired with this reward-worthy allegiance, is also on a professional sojourn by winning over his ardent fans and folks.
Simonson making hearts melt
Along with the 2023 PanAm Games, Simonson has also been winning the internet. The US Dressage team was seen “killing it“ while gleaming delightfully at the 2023 Annual Gala. The whole team reunited at the Gala to share behind-the-scenes snippets of their journey to the gold medal in Santiago, Chile.
While Simonson was witnessed to be mourning the demise of his hero Charles Munger, surely his newest partner would help to alleviate the heartbreak. With the calling from Paris getting louder, it waits to be seen if Simonson overcomes challenges to bring more glory to the country.
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Edited by
Himanshu Sridhar