British 2000 Olympic dressage team horse Dikkiloo dies

Kirsty Mepham‘s former British Olympic dressage team horse Dikkiloo was euthanased on Sunday 31 October after an attack of colic.

Kirsty and Dikkiloo represented Great Britain internationally in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

They qualified for the British National Championships at every level culminating in a team selection for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Dikkiloo retired from competition in 2002.

The 25-year old chestnut Gelderlander gelding was bred by GJ van ‘t Hof in Laag Zuthem, The Netherlands and was by Tourist out of Tomieka (by Monarch x Fameus).

He came to the Mepham family as a six-year-old, having previously served on Peter Munts’ international four-in-hand driving team.

Dane Rawlins discovered the horse and recommended him to Kirsty, who bought him for the bargain price of £4,500, as he had been “winding up the other horses in the team”.

The partnership continued after Dikkiloo retired from competition in 2002 and became a wonderful but cheeky schoolmaster to Kirsty’s working pupils until 2006 when he was completely retired through laminitis.

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