‘You stayed true to yourself and us until the end’: final farewell to medal-winning superstar, aged 24

German dressage star Isabell Werth has paid tribute to her medal-winning ride Don Johnson, who has been put down aged 24 after a long and happy retirement.

German-bred Don Frederico gelding “Jonny”, with whom Isabell won European team gold in 2013, and bronze on home soil at Aachen two years later, had suffered an untreatable leg fracture.

Isabell shared a video of Don Johnson online, showing him as the “leader of our retirees’ herd”, roaming in fields with his friends.

“Dear Jonny, you were a truly special character horse… for nearly 15 years, a millipede who became a model athlete,” she said.

“You were always there whenever a party was being thrown, always ready to deliver a special dance performance.”

Don Johnson, owned by Madeleine Winter-Schulze, was ridden by Isabell throughout his international career.

As well as their European medals, they notched up 55 wins in grands prix, grand prix specials and freestyles across Europe between 2011 and 2019. They were unbeaten between November 2016 and the following September, scoring 16 wins in a row.

They represented Germany at three other European Championships and contested the World Cup Final in 2013, finishing fifth individually.

Jonny last competed in 2019; he and Isabell ended a run of six consecutive wins with victories in the CDI5* grand prix and freestyle in front of a home crowd at Frankfurt.

“You stayed true to yourself and to us until the very end,” Isabell said. “Thank you for the special moments and years.”

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