Baloubet De Talma, a top ride of French Olympic showjumper Penelope Leprevost, has died following an accident, aged 15.

The Baloubet De Rouet son joined Penelope in January 2025 and competed in top-level grands prix and World Cup legs, including at London International and Hickstead.

“Balou” was bred by Haras De Talma in France and started his international career with Alexandra Francart in young horse classes, then was produced up the levels by Audrey Teixidor and Valentin Pacaud.

Penelope stepped Balou up to five-star in April 2025; they competed at major shows including Royal Windsor, St Gallen CSIO5*, and the Paris leg of the Global Champions Tour. Some of their top results included finishing 12th individually in the Hickstead Nations Cup, and fifth in the London International World Cup leg.

Penelope said Balou died following “an accident while loose” on Monday (18 May).

“Thank you for everything you gave to all those who were lucky enough to cross your path,” she said.

“Your fiery temperament in the arena, your generosity and courage, your gentleness and kindness every day made you an exceptional horse that we will never forget. Thank you for everything, Balou.”

A spokesperson for Haras De Talma said Balou’s temperament made him “truly unique” and that he had a “heart bigger than himself”.

“Your energy was often difficult to channel, you always wanted to give 150%. From a very young age you left a real mark on the minds of everyone you met,” he said.

The spokesperson said Balou was “extraordinary from a very young age” and he credited Audrey and Valentin for their success with him, before a “new love story” started between Balou, Penelope and her groom Amelie, which “propelled” him to top grands prix.

“Your meeting with Penelope allowed you to earn your place. A place among the greats,” he said.

“There wasn’t a competition where Penelope didn’t tell us about your achievements. If you made a mistake she would say: ‘It doesn’t matter, if you only knew how much I love him’.

“You received love until your very last breath. You leave a huge void in the hearts of everyone who knew you. Thank you a hundredfold for everything you gave us.”

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Penelope Leprevost will face no further action over her riding of Vagabond de la Pomme in the Gothenburg warm-up, the FEI has announced.

A spokesman said the French showjumper has been “spoken to” about the collecting ring incident, which was caught on film during the Longines FEI World Cup final last month (28 March).

Horse & Hound reported that the rider was seen catching Vagabond de la Pomme hard in the mouth after he stumbled while trotting on a long rein.

The FEI said at the time that Penelope had “reacted very roughly”, while the rider later issued a public apology on social media, admitting she had “over-reacted” and “was too strong”.

But an FEI statement issued on Friday (22 April) read: “The FEI has investigated the full circumstances of the incident with Penelope LePrevost and her horse Vagabond de la Pomme in the warm-up arena at Gothenburg.

“Reports have been received from the chief steward, who had been briefed about the incident by the steward on duty at the time. The rider has also been spoken to.

“Penelope Leprevost has stated publicly that she regrets her actions and expressed her remorse for over-reacting in the heat of the moment. She has said that this sort of incident will not happen again and that the welfare of her horses is extremely important to her.

“After the incident, Vagabond de la Pomme was given a thorough check-over in the stables by the French team vet Jérôme Thévenot who reported that the horse was fit to compete.

“The FEI is assured that such an incident will not occur again and, in light of this, no further action will be taken.”

Penelope’s statement of 30 March read: “My horse was trotting, very relaxed and with his head down, when he stumbled. It was actually quite frightening and I really thought that both of us were going to fall down.

Related links:

• Penelope Leprevost apologises for ‘over-reaction’ in Gothenburg
• H&H readers’ views: Gothenburg warm-up incident

“I immediately checked that he was not injured. I then wanted him to pull himself together. My goal was to wake him up but not to push him too hard…

“I am deeply sorry that I over-reacted and was too strong with my horse and I want to express my sincere apologies.”

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Penelope Leprevost has offered her “sincere apologies” for the way she rode her horse in the Gothenburg warm-up ring.

The French showjumper published a statement on her Facebook page accepting that she “over-reacted” to Monday’s (28 March) incident.

H&H reported that Penelope’s horse, her World Cup final ride Vagabond De La Pomme, was caught on film stumbling badly, nose touching the ground, while trotting on a long rein in the collecting ring.

His rider’s reaction attracted widespread criticism as the video was shared online.

The FEI has since announced it will be investigating the incident, describing Penelope’s reaction as “very rough”.

Penelope’s statement, published today, reads: “People have been upset by images broadcast via social networks of my horse Vagabond De La Pomme who nearly fell during the warm-up before the World Cup Final in Gothenburg.

“My horse was trotting, very relaxed and with his head down, when he stumbled. It was actually quite frightening and I really thought that both of us were going to fall down.

“I immediately checked that he was not injured. I then wanted him to pull himself together. My goal was to wake him up but not to push him too hard. The French team’s vet also checked that he was fine and had no problems.

“I am deeply sorry that I over-reacted and was too strong with my horse and I want to express my sincere apologies.

“I place great importance on the trust and cooperation between myself and my horses. I also have the greatest respect for their state of mind and their physical well-being.”

Related articles:

• Gothenburg warm-up video causes heated debate online
• Penelope Leprevost wins Olympia Grand Prix

An FEI spokesman said: “The FEI is looking into the full circumstances of the incident in which the French horse Vagabond de la Pomme stumbled very badly prior to the first round of Monday’s competition and the rider, Penelope Leprevost, reacted very roughly. The FEI steward on duty in the warm-up reported the incident to the FEI and also to the FEI chief steward.

“The French team vet Jérôme Thévenot also saw the horse stumbling, but felt that the horse was fine to go into the arena. Vagabond de la Pomme was clear in the first round, and was given a thorough check over in the stables afterwards by Jérôme Thévenot, who reported that the horse was perfectly fine.

“Horse welfare is central to everything the FEI does, and is also a priority for both the Swedish National Federation and the organising committee of the Gothenburg Horse Show. The FEI’s Code of Conduct for the Welfare of the Horse is in place to ensure that horse welfare is protected at all FEI events.”

Watch the video here.

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A video of Penelope Leprevost appearing to use excessive force while warming up for a class in Gothenburg, where the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping final took place, has sparked heated debate online.

Footage recorded at the weekend from the showjumping collecting ring has been widely shared online, with many comments condemning the rider.

The film shows Vagabond de la Pomme stumble badly while working in trot on a long rein. He falls on to his knees, nose touching the ground, but staggers back to his feet.

Penelope stops the horse and leans to her right, seemingly checking for injuries.

Apparently finding none, she kicks the horse, which moves forward quickly in response, then catches its mouth hard to pull up.

The film then shows Penelope pulling the horse up abruptly from trot, in another area of the collecting ring. The clip cuts to a different view just as it appears she is starting to repeat the move.

Facebook user Laura Jones shared the clip, writing: “Why do you feel this is an acceptable way to treat a horse?”

More articles about Gothenburg:

• Steve Guerdat retains his crown as World Cup jumping champiion
• All change on the FEI World Cup jumping podium – in Ireland’s favour
• Hans Peter Minderhoud wins dressage World Cup final

Amanda Kirtland-Page wrote: “People need to speak up and take action in these cases.

Jennifer Calamos Smith added: “Demand an investigation. Or politely check to see how the investigation is going on that horse and rider combo… then if there is none, demand one. Petition the association holding the show. That’s all I can think of to do but something should be done, I think.”

But Elizabeth Bailey countered with: “I am only speaking about what I see in this video, I do not know this person, but I wish these things didn’t turn into witch hunts and that we could be understanding and respectful of each other while sharing knowledge, instead of burning the house down in anger. the anger solves nothing.”

Gothenburg Horse Show event manager Tomas Torgerson told H&H he was aware of the video, had been contacting the FEI, judges and stewards and would make a statement once he “had the full picture”.

Penelope issued an apology about the incident via her facebook page on Monday 30 March, while the FEI has announced it will be investigating the incident, describing Penelope’s reaction as “very rough”.

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Laura Renwick (pictured), the sole British contender across both the dressage and jumping of the 2016 World Cup finals, has withdrawn her top horse Bintang II from the competition. The opening leg of the Longines World Cup final jumping took place tonight in Gothenburg, Sweden (Friday, 25 March) and Laura did not contest the class.

“Some really bad news. This morning Bing couldn’t put his head down to eat or move his neck,” she wrote on social media. “His bed was really messed up and we believe he had been cast [meaning that the horse had rolled all the way over in his stable and got his legs stuck against the wall. Horses can injure themselves in their efforts to stand up again].

“The vet and physio were called straight away and confirmed this and the physio has been working on him all day. Although he has improved a lot it was impossible for him to jump — a really hard decision as we believe he had a great chance in this final and he jumped a super clear in the warm up on Wednesday.

“But his welfare is paramount. Gutted doesn’t begin to sum up our feelings,” she added.

The opening class was dominated by French riders who filled the top two spots.

Second-last to go, Penelope Leprovost was untouchable on the speedy Vagabond De La Pomme (Vigo D’Arsouilles x For Pleasure), shaving the best part of three seconds off the previous best time of 66.04 seconds set by Simon Delestre.

“My horse is fast and he’s simple to ride,” said Penelope. “He has a super character with a lot of scope. In the beginning the problem was control, but now he’s done enough dressage and we have the control.”

Simon — the current World number one — put in a blistering round for second on the 12-year-old L’Arc De Triomphe stallion Qlassic Bois Margot.

Germany’s Daniel Deusser had to settle for third with Cornet D’Amour, a sporty 13-year-old grey gelding by Cornet Obolensky.

This is the first of three days of strenuous competition before the World Cup showjumping wraps up with the individual medals on Monday evening.

Click here for the full results from the first leg of the final.

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Britain’s riders performed brilliantly again today (20 August) to remain in the hunt for medals — and crucially, for a Rio 2016 Olympic qualification — at the FEI European Showjumping Championships in Aachen, Germany.

Having been third after yesterday’s speed leg, the team now hold fourth place. They are just 2.59 penalties behind the Germans in bronze position and within one fence of the Dutch, who are lying second before tomorrow’s final team contest.

Joe Clee was one of Britain’s star performers again today in the Mercedes-Benz-sponsored class and his clear with Ludwig Criel’s Utamaro D’Ecaussines means he retains third individually.

“I was more relaxed than yesterday,” said Joe. “My horse jumped great — he was a bit too good in the beginning [jumping too big] but he settled down after fence four.”

The pressure was on Britain’s final two riders, Joe and Michael Whitaker, after mixed fortunes for the first two.

Pathfinder Ben Maher was having a superb round until the last combination, which was meant to be taken on two strides. But Ben’s ride, Tatiana Korsakova’s Diva II, took off after one stride, landing in the middle of the final oxer in a scatter of breaking poles. Ben did a fantastic job just to stay on the 10-year-old chestnut mare.

“She felt perfect the whole way and I purposefully took a longer line to the last double, to create a lot of pressure for her [to jump this double of big oxers],” said Ben.

“I put pressure on her at the first — and she took off a stride early. It became a survival moment — four faults wasn’t a bad round today, but if I’d been on the floor it would have all been over.

“She’s still inexperienced and young. I don’t think I could have got it any better if I did it again. But she jumped as good as any horse and that’s the way it goes. It’s still a solid round for the team and hopefully it gives the others confidence.”

Individually, the error pushed Ben from seventh last night to 22nd, but Michael Whitaker said he deserved a medal just for staying on the mare.

Jessica Mendoza was next in and was unable to improve on her two fences down yesterday, with Sarah Mendoza’s Spirit T knocking down the last two parts of the treble at fence five, plus the silver Mercedes upright at 12.

With 12 faults on the board, it was clear that to remain competitive the British would need to drop Jessica’s score. Joe rose to the occasion — and then anchorman Michael Whitaker did the same, putting in a clear with Beverly Widdowson’s grey stallion Cassionato.

Afterwards, Michael was clearly emotional.

“I said when I came out of the ring I’ve never felt pressure like that — if I’d gone in and cocked it all up that would have been it, we wouldn’t have been going to the Olympics,” said Michael.

And he was right — had the team had to count Jessica’s 12 faults, they would have missed the cut for tomorrow’s final team competition, as only the top 10 teams go through, and it would all have been over for Britain’s Rio hopes.

Michael is now 22nd individually. The top 25 contest Sunday’s individual final.

Ireland also made it through to tomorrow, with a clear from Cian O’Connor (Good Luck) helping the team to ninth.

The Irish are also looking for Rio 2016 qualification, which goes to the top three nations here excluding those already qualified. The teams still in the mix for those crucial Olympic places are Great Britain (currently fourth), Switzerland (sixth), Spain (seventh), Denmark (eighth) and Ireland (ninth).

France take control

Germany dropped from first overnight to team bronze today, having to count one four fault round alongside two clears. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum’s grey Fibonacci 17 had a toe in the water, while Christian Ahlmann and Taloubet Z took the back bar off the Turkish Airlines oxer at fence six.

But clears from Ludger Beerbaum (Chiara 222) — who retains second individually — and Daniel Deusser (Cornet D’Amour) kept the team in the medals.

“I wasn’t fully aware of all the other results, but I knew we needed a clear to stay in the game,” said Daniel.

France recorded three faultless rounds today, with Penelope Leprovost keeping her individual lead with Flora De Mariposa. She was backed up by Simon Delestre (Ryan Des Hayettes) and Kevin Staut (Reveur Du Hurtebsie HDC). They moved up to take the gold position overnight.

The Netherlands also added nothing to their score from yesterday and so bounced up the leaderboard from fifth to second.

Individual standings

Team standings

Full report on the European Showjumping Championships in H&H next week, out Thursday, 27 August.

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Britain’s showjumpers made a fantastic start to their campaign at the FEI European Showjumping Championships in Aachen, Germany, today (19 August).

The team sit in bronze position after the Turkish Airlines-sponsored speed and handiness competition, with Joe Clee also third individually.

Placings in today’s competition are converted into points to determine the team standings. Riders then carry these points with them throughout the team competition (Thursday and Friday) and, for the top 25, into Sunday’s individual final.

Joe was the final team member today and he rode tight, economical lines to finish clear in 69.67sec on Ludwig Criel’s Utamaro D’Ecaussines.

“I was aware I had to go fast and he’s a great horse to go fast on — the faster you go, the more he tries,” said Joe. “But I was worried about going fast for the first time in the arena as the faster you go the bigger he jumps. But he handled it well and the further round I went, the more risks I felt I could take.”

Britain’s first and second team members in, Michael Whitaker and Ben Maher, put the team in a strong position.

Michael was sent in first for the team as his horse is not particularly fast. His clear with Beverly Widdowson’s Cassionato put him 41st of the 92 starters today in 76.56sec.

“My horse is pretty inexperienced and not very fast because he jumps so high,” said Michael. “I did as good as I can today and I just need to carry on doing that, but the other three need to be faster than me.”

Ben was next in on Tatiana Korsakova’s Diva II and had a fantastic round for seventh place in 70.78sec.

“I played it safe to one jump, the Mercedes fence at number 10,” he said. “I saw one less stride quite a way back, but I felt her lose balance a bit [so I added a stride].”

Jessica Mendoza took the number three slot today on her senior championship debut with Sarah Mendoza’s Spirit T. She started off well, but had the second part of the double at fence 8 down and then also fence 11, a purple oxer off four strides from the Mercedes upright. Her time was fast, but with 8sec added for the knockdowns she sits 56th on a total of 79.35sec.

“It wasn’t my best round,” said Jessica. “The first fence was a bit unlucky, then I pushed her on and she found the distance a bit short in there [to fence 11]. I try not to get nervous, but today I was a bit nervous.”

Britain’s focus here in Aachen is to win qualification for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, which means finishing in the top three, excluding the teams already qualified (the Netherlands, France, Germany, Sweden, the Ukraine). The team certainly got off the start blocks towards that aim in great style today.

Home side lead

Germany leads the team competition after today’s speed class. Three of their riders went clear, with Ludger Beerbaum (Chiara 222) sitting second, Christian Allman (Taloubet Z) eighth and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (Fibonacci 17) 11th.

“We’ve only done a third of the team competition, so no one went completely flat out like you would in a jump-off, but I’m happy with my performance and that of my team,” said Ludger.

The fourth home side pair, Daniel Deusser and his 2014 World Cup champion Cornet D’Amour, had the gate at fence six down to sit 22nd — this was the largest fence on the course at 1.53m. This was one of the two places where course-designer Frank Rothenberger had given riders a choice of an inside or outside line over different fences, but the slower outside route was barely used.

France holds silver position, spearheaded by Penelope Leprovost, who retained the individual lead she took as the seventh rider into the arena today. She scorched round in 67.67sec on Flora De Mariposa.

“I was too long to the triple bar, but she was amazing,” said Penelope. “I didn’t think I would be so fast.”

The ground in the arena felt a little soft underfoot today after some rain over the past few days, but riders said it rode well. Frank Rothenberger explained that he avoided setting any tight turns to protect the ground with nearly 100 horses running over it.

All the competitors progress to tomorrow’s team competition. After that, only the top 10 teams (out of 23 who have started today) and the top 50 individuals will move forward to Friday’s class.

Full report on the European Showjumping Championships in H&H next week, out Thursday, 27 August.

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The Netherlands have been crowned world champions at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. France took silver and the USA finished with bronze.

The Dutch quartet of Jeroen Dubbeldam (Zenith SFN), Maikel Van Der Vleuten (VDL Groep Verdi TN NOP), Jur Vrieling (VD Bubalu) and Gerco Schroder (Glock’s London NOP) showed fighting spirit in a tense competition in which barely a fence separated the top five teams.

“As a coach, your heart goes up and down but when you have good spirit in the team, you can achieve a lot of things,” said the winning chef d’equipe Rob Ehrens.

France came in to the final round in fourth place but battled back, much to the delight of the packed D’Ornano Stadium in Normandy, with clear rounds from Penelope Leprevost (Flora De Mariposa) and Kevin Staut (Reveur De Hurtebise HDC) to complete less than 2pen behind the leaders.

USA just pipped Germany to the final medal – by 0.1pen.

“An unlucky touch is the difference between winning gold and finishing fourth or fifth,” said US rider Kent Farrington.

The team’s anchorwoman Beezie Madden (Cortes C) has yet to touch a fence in the championship and now heads the individual standings ahead of Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson (Casall Ask).

Brazil took fifth but, as Olympic hosts, they automatically qualify, meaning the fifth and final Olympic qualification spot goes to sixth-placed Sweden. Just missing out was the seventh-placed Irish squad of Darragh Kenny (Imothep), Bertram Allen (Molly Malone V), Denis Lynch (All Star 5) and Cameron Hanley (Antello Z).

Great Britain dropped out of contention yesterday when finishing 18^th of the 31 teams.

The final 30 individual riders return on Saturday, after which the final four will be decided for the horse-swapping final on Sunday.

Don’t miss the full report, reactions and behind-the-scenes news in next week’s Horse & Hound, out Thursday 11 September.

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Bertram Allen of Ireland holds the lead at the half-way point in Tuesday’s (2 September) opening leg of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) showjumping in France.

The 19-year-old rode the British-bred Kannan mare Molly Malone V to the fastest time of the morning (77.01sec) in this first round against the clock in which both individual and team riders compete.

“It all went according to the plan, which was to get a sound round,” said Bertram, a recent winner of the grand prix in Dublin. “Molly Malone just took everything in her stride. We had some tight turns, but she can handle it and we got the measure right today.”

Bertram is based in Germany with Marcus Ehning, who currently sits in 12th place with Cornado NRW. He added: “My student is in the lead, so it’s special.”

75 of the 153 riders have jumped so far and France’s Penelope Leprevost (Flora De Mariposa) holds second place in 77.82sec with Peder Fredricson of Sweden third on H&M Sibon (78.96sec).

The course has resulted in a surprising number of problems with eight eliminations including Brazil’s pathfinder Doda De Miranda, who fell when AD Rahmannshof’s Bogeno refused at a vertical.

Team GB’s Michael Whitaker (Viking) is best of the British, lying 18th, with Joe Clee (Utamaro D’Ecaussines) in 21st position individually.

“I’m very proud to be here,” said Joe, who produced a great clear in 85.49sec with the “fresh” but slightly spooky 10-year-old stallion.

Michael added: “It was a solid start. My horse did everything I wanted him to do so it’s been good for the team.”

Spencer Roe (Wonder Why) and anchorman Scott Brash (Hello Sanctos) jump for the team later this afternoon.

Don’t miss the full report on all the showjumping action from WEG in H&H next week, out Thursday, 11 September.

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British domination of the 2010 Olympia Horse Show finally ended in the €60,000 Kingsland Olympia grand prix, when France’s world silver medallist Pénélope Leprevost proved unbeatable in the 10-horse jump-off.

Pénélope produced a stunning display from first draw on Miss Vallette to set a 33.5sec target that no one else could match.

“My mare is very fast,” said Pénélope. “I was confident that I had gone fast enough.”

Compatriot Simon Delestre finished a full second behind in second place riding Oslo Du Chalet.

“I am really happy with my week,” declared the 29-year-old, a young rider team gold medallist with Kevin Staut at Hartpury in 2000. “It’s a great atmosphere here, even if the audience does prefer the British riders!”

Continental domination continued with Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson in third on H&M Reveur De Hurtebise, and last year’s winner, the elegant Dutch horseman Eric van der Vleuten (VDL Groep Utascha SFN) in fourth.

Tim Stockdale upheld British honour in fifth with a double clear on his King George V winner, the powerful Fresh Direct Kalico Bay, but the bookies favourite, Ellen Whitaker, was eliminated for taking the wrong course.

Leading rider of the show

The consistent Dutch Olympian Marc Houtzager snatched the H&M leading rider trophy, beating crowd favourite Laura Renwick, by just two points. Ben Maher, who had been leading the points table for most of the show, ended up third, ahead of Ellen Whitaker.

Don’t miss H&H’s full report on all the action from Olympia horse show, on sale Thursday 23 December

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France’s Penelope Leprevost is having and excellent first visit to Olympia. Riding King Solier she won £14,000 in the Renault Christmas masters when she was the only rider to remain clear after five rounds.

The class is open to the top five leading riders after the first two days’ competitions, excluding the puissance.

The field included four Brits — Ellen Whitaker (CS Online), William Funnell (Kepi D’Elle), Robert Whitaker (Udo DV) and Geoff Luckett (R Little Lefanie).

Riders in the masters choose a fence to be raised in the first round once the course has been jumped cleanly, which Ellen did from first draw. Once all of the six fences have been raised, remaining riders then elect any fence they wish to be raised. If the course is jumped clear, the value of the winner’s purse increases by £500. If not, the choosen fence is lowered and the prize fund remains the same.

After two rounds, all the competitors were still in the game, but France’s Philippe Le Jeune (Mozart Des Hayettes) and William Funnell both had fences in the third.

Robert Whitaker elected not to jump his young horse over the rapidly rising fences in round four, while another Frenchman, Kevin Staut (Pinball 4) and Geoff Luckett both had fences.

This left just Ellen and Penelope to contest the fifth and final round. The first and fourth fences fell for the previous night’s puissance joint-winner but Penelope’s son of Narcos cleared all six fences immaculately to take the substantial first prize.

“He’s in great condition and just didn’t get tired,” said Penelope, who is based in Deauville, Normandy.

Despite winning such a large prize, Penelope was more excited with her adrenalin buzz.

“I don’t jump for the money, I do it because I love it,” she said. “I wasn’t at all nervous, just excited.”

Philippe Rozier claimed a second win for the French in the Tom Hudson eraser stakes with Ideal De Roy. He pinched victory from long time leader Geoff Luckett (Brickfield Boy).

“My horse is very quick across the ground,” said Philippe, who was recording his 32nd international victory this year with the chestnut gelding.

German rider Alois Pollman-Schweckhorst dashed Britain’s hopes of a win for a a third time by winning the strong Martin Collins Santa stakes with Paul Schockemohle’s Chacco-Blue. He beat William Whitaker (Carnaval Path) by just 0.39sec.

“I’ve been riding him for exactly one year and he’s getting better and better,” said Alois.

But, William Whitaker, joint-winner of the puissance with his cousin Ellen, saved the day for the Brits by winning day’s opening speed stakes with Johnny Greenwood’s versatile mare It’s Super Girl.

“I share the ride with Michael,” he said. “She’s a really useful horse who can do a variety of classes and is naturally quick and sharp.”

Stay in touch with all the action from Olympia on Horseandhound.co.uk throughout the show and don’t miss H&H’s show jumping reports in 25 December issue (on sale 23 December) and 1 January issue (on sale 2 January).

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