SAP Hale Bob OLD retired: Ingrid Klimke’s championship star steps down

SAP Hale Bob OLD retired: the horse is pictured at the 2017 European Championships — Ingrid Klimke and Horseware Hale Bob OLD - whose prefix was later changed to SAP as Ingrid changed sponsors – take individual gold at the 2017 European Championships in Strzegom.

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Ingrid Klimke has confirmed that her great team horse SAP Hale Bob OLD will be retired from eventing after an injury at the World Championships test event this month.

The horse injured a tendon on a stretch between the obstacles at the event in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy, and she pulled up.

A son of the thoroughbred Helikon, SAP Hale Bob OLD’s greatest individual achievements were two individual European golds – at the 2017 championships in Strzegom, Poland, and the 2019 event in Luhmühlen, Germany – and individual bronze at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, USA. He led after cross-country and looked set to take the title until hitting the very last showjumping fence, handing victory to Britain’s Ros Canter and Allstar B.

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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.

Five-star victor and winner of seven medals retires from eventing

“Bobby”, who is now 18 years old, has been a stalwart of the German eventing team over the past decade, attending a championship every year from 2015 to 2021.

SAP Hale Bob OLD also claimed two European team golds (2015 and 2019) and one team silver (2021) and helped Germany to team silver at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil.

Bobby would very likely have contested a second Olympics in Tokyo last year, but Ingrid suffered an injury in a fall from another horse in the spring.

But she recovered in time to campaign Bobby at the European Championships in Avenches, Switzerland, in September and the pair finished fifth individually, helping Germany to team silver. This turned out to be a championship swansong for SAP Hale Bob OLD before he retired.

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