Going Her Own Way

Cornelia T Pettersson went on an extraordinary journey with the horse Final Cut, whom she was allowed to borrow from Per Sandgaard and Pether Markne. Together, they became Swedish champions and competed at the European Championships. But Cornelia chose to step away from that successful partnership. Today, she is living her dream with her own horse, Valegra.

It caused quite a stir when 16-year-old Cornelia T Pettersson was given the opportunity to take over the promising Grand Prix horse Final Cut in the spring of 2016.

Final Cut, a gelding born in 2004 by Federweisser–Carismo and bred by Martin Bergmann, came from her trainer, Per Sandgaard.

The then 12-year-old gelding had previously competed under both Per Sandgaard and Pether Markne, who was also her trainer and the owner of Markne Academy, the stable where Final Cut was based.

The three of them were invited to appear on TV4’s morning news program, Nyhetsmorgon. Tears of joy followed, and the media reported on the million-dollar horse given to a promising young rider with big dreams but limited financial resources.

The whole story seemed like a fairy tale. And in reality, it was.

“It was an incredibly exciting journey. I competed in my first European Championships with him, something I had never imagined I would do. Financially, I could only afford to buy a young horse. Buying an already trained horse was simply out of reach.

“With Final, I was able to move up through the competition levels, and I learned an incredible amount during those years from Final, Per, and Pether. I can never thank them enough.

“Just getting to experience winning that Swedish Championship gold medal was something I could never have dreamed of,” Cornelia says.

With Cornelia in the saddle, the pair quickly achieved success in competition. At the 2016 Nordic Championships, they won silver medals both individually and as a team and qualified for the European Championships.

In 2017, Cornelia and Final Cut reached their pinnacle by winning gold at the Swedish Championships.

Their progress had been rapid, but suddenly their success story took an unexpected turn.

A Painful Decision

In early 2018, Cornelia made the painful decision to leave Final Cut and Markne Academy and move back home.

Combining her commitment to elite-level competition with her high school studies had become too exhausting. She also missed her family, particularly her mother, Cecilia, whom she considers her best friend.

“It was the hardest decision I have ever made in my entire life. It was the worst thing I have ever had to do.

“I loved that horse so much, but it interfered too much with my studies. I was studying science remotely, and I was on the verge of completely breaking down.

“I had moved away from home and was doing everything myself—cooking, laundry, and studying—while also working at the stable. Everything was nonstop, all the time.

“On top of that, I missed my family and friends.”

“It was incredibly difficult, but today I feel that everything happened for a reason.”

Dropping out of school was never an option. Cornelia knew that she needed an education and a backup plan alongside her ambitions in equestrian sports.

After returning home and taking some time to recover, Cornelia began making new plans.

“At first, I simply stayed home for a month and rested. I was completely mentally exhausted. It had taken a tremendous toll on me, and I was very sad.

“But then I realized that I had to find my own star.”

And that is exactly what she did.

Per and Pether had a contact in Denmark. Cornelia traveled there, where she met the then four-year-old Valegra—or, more precisely, Fredensdals Valegra, a mare born in 2014 by Negro–Blue Hors Romanov, bred by Linda Falensteen and Martin Strande.

“Somehow, it felt as though she was the one I was meant to find. I knew almost immediately.

“But she certainly wasn’t easy. She was very unusual, but we really connected,” Cornelia explains.

Her Gut Feeling Told Her It Was Right

Valegra had not been ridden very much and was somewhat behind in her training. Cornelia’s mother was not entirely convinced.

But Cornelia saw her potential, and her gut feeling told her it was the right decision.

“Final was also very special, but Valegra is truly one of a kind. She is the most unusual horse I have ever met.

“She has very strong opinions of her own. She is a mare, after all, and she certainly isn’t afraid to express them.

“She has an incredible amount of energy, and in the beginning, she was jumping around everywhere.

“It was complete chaos, and there were quite a few times when I wondered whether I would ever manage to make it work.”

However, perseverance paid off, and the young horse and rider slowly but surely began to develop a partnership.

In the fall of 2018, Valegra qualified for Elmia as a four-year-old.

Cornelia continued working patiently with her young horse, gradually developing their partnership and helping Valegra become more confident and manageable.

Cornelia still has to work hard to get Valegra to settle down. She has an extraordinary amount of energy, but a great deal has changed over the past two years.

“In the beginning, I could barely take her out for a walk. She was everywhere and nowhere at once, constantly bouncing around.

“But now she has matured a little,” Cornelia says.

At the same time, the mare is a true competition horse, something Cornelia noticed from the very beginning.

“She has a lot of confidence and isn’t afraid of anything. She absolutely loves showing herself off, and she feels magnificent to ride.

“But she can still be wild to handle, and she isn’t always easy to work with.

“She prefers having me on her back. She feels secure when I’m in charge.

“Then we can ride bareback and head out for a gallop in the woods.”

An Unexpected Setback

Despite their growing partnership, Cornelia and Valegra experienced a significant setback.

After approximately one year together, Valegra began displaying increasingly unusual behavior.

She became difficult in the horse truck, started tossing her head, and began rearing.

She was also extremely irritated by the leg aids.

Cornelia took her to the veterinarian several times in an attempt to identify the problem.

Her teeth were examined, and X-rays were taken, but the behavior continued and remained a mystery.

Sought Help from Ditte Young

Eventually, Cornelia got in touch with Ditte Young, once again through Per Sandgaard and Pether Markne, who had worked extensively with Ditte and had also sought her help with Final Cut.

Ditte Young conducted what is known as a remote animal communication session.

Cornelia was asked to email photographs of Valegra from different angles and submit three questions.

“I wanted to know why she was behaving so badly in the horse trailer, why she disliked going for walks, and why she spent more time on two legs than four. I had so many unanswered questions, and I received answers to every single one of them.”

According to Cornelia, the session indicated that Valegra had a nerve blockage in her neck, and Ditte recommended craniosacral therapy to help release the blockage.

Cornelia then received assistance from Daniel Suurna, who had extensive experience working with people but less experience treating horses. Cornelia described the results as remarkable.

“Ditte and Daniel treated Valegra, and now the behavior is completely gone. People thought I had lost my mind, but the veterinarians weren’t getting anywhere, no matter how many times I went back. I chose a different approach, and I chose to believe in Ditte. Today, I am incredibly grateful that I did,” Cornelia says.

“It had become impossible to ride her. She was behaving very strangely, but thanks to Ditte and Daniel, I got my Valegra back.

“She has completely stopped banging around in the horse trailer, and she no longer rears.

“She is a completely different horse.”

Ditte Young’s services are widely used in Denmark and, to some extent, Norway, but people in Sweden are more skeptical, according to Cornelia.

“Here, people expect veterinarians to solve everything.

“But I believe many horse owners could get help with their horses if they were more open-minded.

“Sometimes there are other ways of treating problems.”

“Valegra is proof of that. I was absolutely terrified when she started behaving strangely. It was frightening because I didn’t know what was wrong.

“The hardest part was knowing that she might be in pain and that I couldn’t help her.

“Now I have truly gotten to know her on a deeper level. I know what she likes and what she doesn’t like.

“We have developed a very special bond because of everything that happened,” Cornelia explains.

“It Feels Amazing to Have Done It Myself”

The pair has not suffered from their break from competition. On the contrary, the time away has been good for Valegra.

She is still a young horse who benefits from being trained calmly and patiently.

They have been practicing shoulder-in and haunches-in, working on simple lead changes, and gradually progressing toward more advanced movements.

Cornelia believes that having experienced the entire journey with Final Cut, who taught her everything she knows about competitive riding, moving up through the levels, and the blood, sweat, and tears involved, has made it a privilege to embark on this very different journey with Valegra.

“It feels so wonderful to be able to take this journey with a horse I believe in so much, even when everyone else wonders what kind of crazy horse I have bought.

“Winning her over, something that felt so far away not that long ago, was a huge victory.

“Now she is starting to grow up, and it feels amazing to have accomplished this myself.”

Cornelia works at Stora Coop in Eskilstuna. She receives support from several sponsors and pursues her elite-level riding ambitions at a scale that suits her well right now.

She plans to study some business administration alongside her riding, with the possibility of running her own equestrian business in the future.

In the meantime, Valegra is kept at a smaller stable with three other horses, one of which is Cornelia’s former category B pony.

He has been leased out, but Cornelia has never quite been able to bring herself to sell him. She has now owned him for 13 years.

“I always seem to find the horses that are a little unusual, and then I can’t bear to part with them.

“Now he gets to keep Valegra company. Those two really are the best of friends,” Cornelia says.