The inspiring story of a horse named Parzival and its owner Adelinde!

The life of athletes is not easy. Competition does not begin at the signal from a referee but years and years before! Workouts and training push your body to the limit so as not to fail at the decisive moment --- those few minutes that are the outcome of endless hours of preparation and dedication.

Although losing is part of the game, some events in life can make defeat much more bitter! Here is what happened to Adelinde Cornelissen, the Dutch Champion of Dressage, an equestrian discipline in which the horse and rider perform maneuvers in response to body signals given to the horse by the rider.

via diyhilfe.com

The awards that Adelinde Cornelissen has won together with her trusty horse Parzival are countless! In fact, they were both called to participate in the Rio Olympics.

Disaster hit them precisely on the occasion of a major event such as the Rio Olympics! Adelinde shared her touching story with her fans on Facebook.

Adelinde says that the first day in Rio passed peacefully. Moreover, there had not been any problems with the flight and Parzival was not agitated excessively.

The next morning, Adelinde arrived at the field where the training exercises were to be held. At 5:00 am, she greeted her faithful friend Parzival, and she immediately noticed a swelling on his nose. The thermometer showed a high fever, immediately arousing her concern about the outcome of the race the next day.

Veterinarians diagnosed Parzival as the victim of a sting by a poisonous insect that had spread toxins throughout his body.

The veterinarians subjected Parzival to intense hydration to make him expel the poisonous substances released by the insect. Already, on the same day, Parzival showed clear signs of improvement. He was energetic and his fever was slowly coming down.

Although Adelinde thought about the health of her beloved horse, however at the same time, she was worried about the upcoming race.

She contacted the race competition authorities, asking them to swap her turn with another teammate in order to give Parzival more time to recover. Her request was denied.

The next day Parzival had no fever, did his paces perfectly as usual, although there was still a slight swelling on his nose.

Adelinde's indecision reached unbearable levels! Parzival seemed to be well, her desire to compete was strong, but the fear of subjecting the horse to an additional stress put her to the test. 

Adelinde's worry and uneasiness were also due to the fact that not competing would put the whole team in difficulty because there were no reserve athletes.

Eventually, Adelinde made a decision, the final one --- to not compete in the Rio Olympics.

Her horse, Parzival, had filled her heart with joy countless times, had given her success without ever disappointing her; the horse's show of strength during its recovery was only due to his strong and stubborn nature. So, for Adelinde, to compete at all costs would be a selfish choice, which would put the chance to win a medal before the need to preserve the health of her horse. 

Consequently, Adelinde left the arena and all the athletes in Rio, with the sadness of not having competed but with the pride of having made the right choice, that of respecting first and foremost her friend and teammate, Parzival.