Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour has bid farewell to Bohemian, her Tokyo Olympics ride and European Championship individual silver medallist.
Cathrine’s long-time supporters, the Zinglersen family, have sold the 13-year-old Westfalian gelding to South Korea’s Dong Seon Kim.
“An era is over and it’s with a bleeding heart that our lovely Bohemian is leaving his long-time home with me,” said Cathrine.
“Staying on top of dressage sport takes A LOT and sometimes it means that one horse has to go,” explained the world number two. “In very close corporation with family Zinglersen we decided that now was the right time and together we will invest in new youngsters so that we hopefully can chase more dreams and produce more one-in-a-million horses like Bohemian.”
As a six-year-old, the liver chestnut Bordeaux son was eighth in the final at the World Breeding Championships in Ermelo, under Katrine Kraglund, before Cathrine took over the ride in 2017. She and Bohemian went on to become one of the best dressage combinations in the world; the spicy gelding became her number one horse by the time of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The pair finished fourth as part of the Danish team, and also took individual fourth. Seven weeks later their medal dreams came true, as they won team bronze at the European Championships in Hagen, plus individual bronze in the grand prix special, and silver in the freestyle with over 88% for their emotive Les Misérables routine.
Cathrine and Bohemian swept the board during the summer of 2022, with a double win at Herning CDI5* – with over 90% in the freestyle – and a double win at the Aachen CDI4* in July. Despite this success, Cathrine opted to take the Pidgley family’s Vamos Amigos to the World Dressage Championships in August, where they took team gold and double individual silver behind Britain’s Lottie Fry and Glamourdale.
Bohemian’s last outing with Cathrine was at the Stockholm CDI5* in November 2022, where he knocked himself and was withdrawn from the freestyle.
“Bohemian has been an absolute dream to work with throughout the past many years and I almost can’t believe what we have achieved together. From a young horse to an Olympic horse, European medallist, 90% barrier-breaking dream horse,” said Cathrine.
Vamos Amigos moved to the UK in September 2022 to be ridden by Annabella Pidgley, and Bohemian’s departure means that Cathrine is now without a top championship horse in her stables, having lost her two top rides within five months.
But she has several up-and-coming future stars, including the eight-year-old Swedish warmblood Vividus, with whom she made an international small tour debut in late 202, and who has now reached grand prix level at home.
Cathrine described Vidivus as “brave, bright and always ready for whatever you offer him”, adding that she felt “happy to the bottom of my heart” that she and her wife Rasmine own him along with the Zinglersen family.
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