Eventing Team Vet Christiana Ober CREDIT: Libby Law Photography
Eventing vet Christiana Ober may be a veteran of three WEG campaigns but this is her first with New Zealand.
Christiana attended 2006 in Aachen, 2010 in Kentucky and 2014 in Normandy with Team Canada, but she is looking forward to Tryon.
“During the past three years I have really gotten to know the (Kiwi) horses, riders, grooms and support staff,” she says. “I have so much belief in all of the riders’ programmes and our High Performance Programme and want that to translate into championship results.”
Christiana says the team spirit, intensity and dedication to the end goal of a successful result is tangible.
“What am I looking forward to most? A team gold!” Watching the horses and riders perform to their potential and walking away with a successful team result would be the icing on the cake.
“I see every day the effort that goes into the programme from the riders and their staff, and the dedication to excel.”
An American, Christiana joined the Kiwis in 2015 after a decade with the Canadians. She is married to German vet Andre Buthe, who is the UK team’s dressage vet, and with three-and-a-half-year-old Luca, is now ensconced in Marlborough. The shift drew her to formalise her relationship with the New Zealand eventers.
She had met eventing coach Erik Duvander more than a decade earlier and had helped a number of Kiwis competing in the four star in Kentucky.
She’s confident Tryon will deliver as a top-notch venue and is looking forward to another big season ahead.
By Diana Dobson – HP Media Liaison