Michael Jung’s double Olympic eventing champion La Biosthetique-Sam FBW has been retired from competition.
The German rider said in March that this would be Sam’s final season, and today confirmed to H&H that the 18-year-old gelding has retired from the sport.
“He is good, he is being ridden four or five times a week and goes in the field — he is fit and looks well,” Michael told H&H.
“He will stay on our farm, nothing changes for him.”
The horse’s final international competition was at Badminton in May, where he finished 10th.
After clinching the Badminton title on Sunday (8 May 2016), we take a look at what makes Michael Jung's ride
His wins at Burghley 2015 and Badminton 2016 helped Michael to take the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing in 2016. His Badminton finishing score of 34.4pen that year was also the lowest-ever winning score at the Gloucestershire CCI4*.
The bay gelding won Olympic team and individual gold at London 2012, going on to retain his individual title at Rio 2016 and add a team silver medal to his collection.
He won individual gold at the 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Kentucky, team and individual gold at the 2011 European Championships in Luhmulen, plus individual European bronze in 2009 at Fontainebleau.
In total, Sam has contested 10 four-stars during his career, winning four (Kentucky WEG 2010, Luhmulen 2011, Burghley 2015 and Badminton 2016), finishing second twice, third three times and 10th once.
As a six- and seven-year-old, he won back-to-back silver medals at the World Championships for Young Horses in Le Lion d’Angers.
Do you think Sam deserves the title of best event horse of all time? Place your vote below…
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
