‘See you in the ring soon’: Olympic medallist recovering from surgery after fall

Belgian Olympic showjumper Gregory Wathelet is recovering from shoulder surgery after a fall while competing in the United States.

Gregory had been in action on the Desert Circuit, taking place from 8 January to 16 March, at Desert International Horse Park, California, when he had a fall.

“After an operation on my shoulder and a few days in hospital, I wanted to give you some news to say that everything’s fine. More fear than harm,” said Gregory yesterday (30 January).

“The [sore] ribs and bruises will soon be a thing of the past. A bit of rest and I’ll be back.”

Gregory added a “big thank you to all the people on site who reacted in such a hurry to help me”.

“And thanks to all my family and all the people for their support and their many messages,” he said.

“I also wanted to reassure everyone that the horse is doing very well. See you all on the show ring very soon.”

Before his fall Gregory had been enjoying a successful week. On 23 January he scored a one-two with 13-year-old mare Argentina De La Marchette and 15-year-old gelding Ace of Hearts in the $63,000 CSI4* 1.50m welcome speed class. On 25 January he was fourth in the CSI4* grand prix with Ace of Hearts.

Gregory was part of the team that won silver at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and the gold medal-winning team at the 2019 Europeans. He is currently ranked fourth in the FEI World Cup standings, the final of which takes place in Basel, Switzerland (1-6 April).

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