German dressage rider Helen Langehanenberg has announced the retirement of her European team gold medal-winning partner Annabelle 110.
Helen said after almost 10 years together, “a wonderful chapter ends”, and “Mausi” will now return to her breeder and owner Günther Fielmann to become a broodmare at his Schierensee estate.
Mausi, by Conteur and out of a Linaro 3 mare, is currently 13th in the FEI dressage world rankings, and bows out from competition aged 15.
Helen said the Fielmann family wants Annabelle to have some foals and it was the right time.
“Of course I’m happy that she’s going into breeding in top shape. But letting go is not that easy,” she said.
Helen took on the ride of Mausi in 2013, and the pair made their grand prix debut in 2018. Their first international win was the CDI3* grand prix special at Vilhelmsborg, Denmark, in 2020, where they scored 75.66%.
Helen has previously said Mausi was not always straightforward or easy, and described her as “sensitive”, but said she “liked her from the start”.
The pair continued to go from strength to strength and in January 2021 scored a then personal best +81% in the Salzburg World Cup qualifier, where they were third in the freestyle behind Isabell Werth and Weihegold OLD, and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB. That year the World Cup final was cancelled owing to the European EHV-1 outbreak.
Helen and Mausi were travelling reserves at the Tokyo Olympics, and six weeks later were part of the German gold medal-winning team at the 2021 European Championships in Hagen, Germany. In November that year they won the freestyle at the Madrid World Cup qualifier on 80.50%, and at the World Cup final in April 2022 they were sixth in the grand prix and freestyle classes.
In December the pair scored another personal best, 82.14%, at the London International Horse Show. Their final international competition was last month in Göteborg, Sweden, where they were fourth in the grand prix, and scored 80.54% for fourth in the freestyle.
“I’ve been able to train her since the end of her fifth year and have been able to celebrate great successes with this dancing fairy – team gold, victories in the World Cup freestyle, sixth in the World Cup final and then we were reserves at the Olympic Games in Tokyo,” she said.
“But it’s not just the sporting successes. Above all, it is the common path. It’s the mutual learning from each other. I will miss that so much. Thank you very much, dear Fielmann family, for the long and very trusting cooperation.
“And thank you, dear Mausi. Have a good time and tell your hopefully many foals about our adventures together… I will miss you very, very much”.
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