Dressage Champion Gigolo Has Died in Germany

by Fran Jurga | 28 September 2009 | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com

Gigolo was simply the world's most successful sport horse...ever. (Isabell Werth photo)

He dominated dressage competitions for years, and helped elevate the sport to where it is today.

The naughtily-named Gigolo has been put to sleep in Germany.

I learned the news today when his 20-year partner, Germany's Isabell Werth, wrote "To me he was a friend, a teacher and a sport partner. His reliability and his commitment were most outstanding. 26 is a blessed age and I am glad that he could spend the autumn of his life here at our place were he had a good time with his friend Fabienne on the pasture. Beyond the sport Gigolo had shaped my life and I remember our years with gratefulness."

Consider this Hanoverian gelding's record: Four Olympic gold medals, two Olympic silver medals, four world championships at WEG, eight European championships and four German championships.

Quite contrary to his name, Gigolo competed only with Werth and the two were almost unbeatable. They competed head-to-head with Anky Van Grunsven and her Bonfire for years in one of horse sport's greatest rivalries that continues today, although the riders are on new horses.

Gigolo went on a farewell tour after the Sydney Olympics and has been turned out at Werth's farm for almost ten years.

Werth contends that Gigolo was the most successful sport horse in competition history. Who could argue?

And who could forget?

Aachen Prepares for Drug-Free Competition, Dressage Without Isabell Werth

The largest competition in showjumping and dressage in Germany, the World Equestrian Festival, begins in a few days in Aachen, Germany. The show has already geared up with perhaps the most tight anti-drug security of any show in the world. News of dressage star Isabell Werth's charges for violation of FEI rules has shocked the competition scene, but Aachen's latest news release says it is time for a new beginning. And their show will be the first step.

Here are some excerpts from their news release, which was provided in English:

CHIO organisers: "No alternative to our stance"
The Isabell Werth case underlines the need for a new beginning

The organisers of the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen, see the positive doping result of Isabell Werth's horse Whisper, announced today, as confirmation for their stance in their rigorous anti-doping battle.

"The Isabell Werth case proves that there is no alternative to our viewpoint. The equestrian sport needs a new beginning," commented Michael Mronz, General Manager of the Aachener Reitturnier GmbH.

This new beginning is to be guaranteed by an independent Commission implemented by the German Olympic Sports Association, under the Chair of the former Constitutional Court Judge, Udo Steiner. "We supported the German Equestrian Federation from the very beginning in their decision to disband the German team and install this independent Commission. The current development shows that this is the right approach," said CHIO Show Director, Frank Kemperman.

"We welcome Isabell Werth's preliminary suspension by the FEI," continued Kemperman. Subject to the decision of the FEI tribunal, Isabell Werth will thus not be competing at the CHIO Aachen (June 26th - July 5th, 2009).

Independent of the Commission, the CHIO organisers already decided several weeks ago to intensively expand its anti-doping battle during the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen 2009. 42 stewards will be in action, statistically speaking, that is one steward for every eleventh horse. The staff members of the "Horse Watch Service" will be on duty at night to guarantee the round-the-clock monitoring of the horses.

The number of doping tests has been considerably increased, in this way every eighth horse in Aachen will be tested. All testing will be carried out by the independent doping inspectors of the MCP (Medication Control Programme). This guarantees the maximum quality and indefeasibility of the testing.

In addition, a thermographic camera will be put to use in Aachen, which can detect irregularities on the legs of the horses. "Should any suspicion arise that substances have been applied to the skin of a horse, the veterinarians can immediately carry out further on-site inspections," explained Frank Kemperman.

Five-Time German Dressage Olympian's Horse Tests Positive for Banned Medication

Just a few weeks ago, Germany's equestrian federation sent seismic shock waves through the horse showing world by disbanding its national teams after show-jumping riders began to tell shocking tales of medication and manipulation of their horses to bring home gold medals. Germany promised heads would roll.

So this morning's news was more shocking than ever, read through that lens.

According to the Associated Press and confirmed by Horse and Hound and English-language newspapers in Germany, double Olympic gold medalist Isabel Werth has been suspended from competition and will attend a hearing later this week to answer charges that her horse Whisper tested positive for an anti-psychotic medication at the competition at Wiesbaden on May 30, 2009.

“This is a catastrophy for equestrian sports," said Breido Graf zu Rantzau, president of the equestrian federation, in the Associated Press report.

All sources confirm that Isabel has been suspended; however the system includes a backup: the "B" sample may still be tested and prove her innocent of illegal doping. While the investigation continues, she will not be able to compete at Aachen, the biggest competition for German riders in the run-up to this summer's European Dressage Championships.

Should the "B" sample test positive, Werth would face punishment by both the FEI and German authorities.

Up to this time, most emphasis on doping has centered on show jumping.

Video: Watch Dutch Dressage Team Horses Enter Quarantine for Olympics

There are two women in the world who can get away with the appellation "dressage queen" without it being an exaggeration. Both are about to embark on the trip of a lifetime to Hong Kong, and are likely to be one-two/gold-silver (ah, but which one on top?) at the Hong Kong Olympic Dressage competition next month.

The horses of both Germany's Isabel Werth and the Netherlands' Anky van Grunsven are settling into quarantine. Anky's horses are in Handel, Holland for isolation and observation before they are flown to Hong Kong. They will be in isolation for the next eight days.

Luckily for us, Dutch television filmed the departure of Anky's Salinero and Painted Blank, and you can see a little behind-the-scenes glimpse of the training center for Anky and Svef Jepsen, the Dutch chef d'equipe. The horse vans are amazing; the "Hunter Douglas" one really is related to those honeycomb blinds in your house. The company sponsors the #2 horse on the Dutch team, Hunter Douglas Sunrise, a beautiful mare ridden by Imke Schellekens-Bartels. That combination will surely be at or near the top in Hong Kong.

You will see the vet taking swabs from the nostrils of the horses before they are allowed to unload at the quarantine facility.

The Olympics will be here before we know it!