Halifax, Nova Scotia – In her quest to represent Canada at the 2008 Olympic Games, Cheryl Meisner of Blandford, NS, will prepare by spending the year competing and training in Europe.

With the equestrian sport of dressage thriving in Europe, particularly in Holland and Germany where the top athletes and coaches are based, Meisner is basing herself in the Netherlands with renowned trainer Bert Rutten, who she has been working with for the past five years. Having departed Canada in September with her top horses, Meisner will be based in Hunsel, in the south of Holland, until the Canadian Dressage Team is made known next summer. If all goes according to plan, she and two teammates will then compete in Hong Kong, host city of the Olympic equestrian events (quarantine concerns prevent the horses from traveling to Beijing).

“I chose to go to Europe because of the high quality of competitions, and the fact that there are more opportunities to get the scores that I need to qualify for the Olympics,” said Meisner, 26, noting that this year’s Olympic Team will be determined based on qualifying scores and not through formal Selection Trials. “I have been on the road to the Olympics for the past six years and I still have nine months to go. Competing at the Olympics has been my dream since I was a child.”

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