“I hope Dalera can have a baby one day,” said the German rider at the post-medal ceremony press conference today. “So next year we will try to get her pregnant. This year it’s too late anyway.
“I said I couldn’t handle the emotions that this is her last dance, so maybe we will do two or three more shows and hopefully she can be a mum after that.”
Jessica confirmed the 17-year-old mare will definitely not go to the European Championships next year, so today was her final championship appearance.
TSF Dalera BB to retire as Olympic champion
Dalera is a Trakehner by Easy Game, out of a mare called Dark Magic by Handryk. She belongs to Béatrice A. Buerchler-Keller and Micaela Werndl.
With Jessica, she has won four Olympic gold medals – individual and team in Tokyo in 2021 and here in Paris – as well as world team gold in 2018 in Tryon, four individual European Championships gold medals (special and freestyle in both 2021 in Hagen and 2023 in Herning), European team gold in 2021 and 2019 and European team silver in 2019 in Rotterdam.
The mare did not contest the 2022 World Championships because Jessica gave birth to her second child Ella Marie that week – and watched her brother Benjamin finish fourth in the freestyle in Herning from the delivery room at the hospital.
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Jessica and TSF Dalera BB scored 90.09% in the freestyle in Paris today, the only pair to crack the 90% barrier in the dressage at these Games. They were unbeaten in their past 36 international tests until the special yesterday in Paris, which was won individually by Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour on Freestyle.
To stay up-to-date with all the breaking news throughout the Olympic Games, Burghley, Horse of the Year Show and more, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
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.
