The eventing world has said a final farewell to double Olympic champion La Biosthetique-Sam FBW, the horse who defined an era of eventing.
Tributes to the sporting giant have poured in since rider Michael Jung announced the horse’s death last week.
The German federation was among the many to remember this extraordinary horse, who “remains unforgettable as an exceptional eventing horse and leaves a lasting impression on the history of equestrian sport”.
Statisticians EquiRatings crunched the data to show the magnitude of Sam’s achievements in the modern sport (since 2008). He is, by a long way, the highest-rated horse on their leaderboard, which measures the strength of a horse’s results over time.
“La Biosthetique-Sam FBW is not just considered the best event horse of all time. By the numbers, he is,” said EquiRatings.
Commentator John Kyle called a number of Sam’s major wins, including when he was crowned world champion in 2010, his double gold at the 2011 Europeans, both his Olympic titles (London 2012 and Rio 2016), and his securing the Rolex Grand Slam at Badminton 2016.
“In my job, you don’t always know when you’re calling a winner, let alone a great. With Sam, we always knew. He wasn’t just winning. He was something very special. We were fortunate to witness greatness,” said John.
Many of the events at which Sam had success have paid tribute.
Luhmühlen, where Sam won his first CCI5* in 2009 and led the German team to glory at the 2011 European Championships, said he “shaped an entire era of our sport”.
“We say thank you for all that this extraordinary horse has given to our sport and are in our thoughts with all those who were close to him,” said a statement from the event.
Chris Bartle was German team coach from 2001 to 2016, overlapping with the height of Sam’s success.
“Sam and Michi were the essence of what partnership means,” Chris told H&H.
“Sam was not pure thoroughbred, but he was a lot of blood, and he had a tremendous personality, always wanting to go, always positive. Michi had a cool temperament to manage him. The development of him, from the young horse to the champion that he was, was through tremendous skill and the partnership they built up.”
He added that “every medal is special to me, having been on the journey with them both”, and the individual bronze at the 2009 Europeans where it all started is a moment he “always thinks back to”.
“That was the start of many, many more medals,” he said, speaking of memories of Michi heading out as pathfinder at those Europeans, as well as special memories of London 2012 and other major championships.
“A memory from Rio that sticks in my mind is Michi going in last to jump [of the German team] and it all hung on him for team Germany to win a medal, and for his own personal result. Again, that partnership came into play – Michi was as cool as; Sam did his job. They were like hand in glove and I’m just privileged to have been part of that journey in a small way.”
One particularly special personal memory came following Sam’s 2015 Burghley victory, when Michael travelled via Chris’s yard on his way up to Blair for the Europeans.
“I have a photo of La Biosthetique-Sam FBW and Word Perfect in our little paddock together – two Badminton winners, side by side,” he said.
“He was a blood horse, he wasn’t blessed with ‘wow’ paces. Michi trained him in his dressage to develop that presence. The correctness of the training underpinned their partnership.”
Michael Jung and La Biosthetique-Sam, who would go on to win Badminton in 2016, alongside 1998 Badminton winners Chris Bartle and Word Perfect. Credit: Chris Bartle
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