U.S. Olympic Team Horse Rainier Passed Away

Dressage

U.S.A.

Rainier, the 2000 U.S. Olympic team bronze medal winning horse, has passed away. The 28-year old grey Oldenburg gelding suffered from laminitis and had to be put to sleep.

Rainier was a 1991 born Oldenburg gelding, bred by Ernst and Edith Fleithmann in Grossenkneten, Germany.

He was by Rolando out of elite mare Elinora (by Figaro x More Magic xx x Cortez). He was a half brother to Isabell Werth's Aleppo S (by Argentinus ut of Elinora).

Originally named Royal Hussar, the grey gelding sold at the 1995 Oldenburg Spring Elite Auction in Vechta, as a 4-year old. Frank Lamontagne trained Rainier to Grand Prix level.

In the autumn of 1999 he sold to Jane Forbes Clark as Robert Dover's 2000 Olympic hopeful. The horse was shipped to Anky van Grunsven and Sjef Janssen's yard in The Netherlands where Dover trained at the time. The horse stayed there for two months before being shipped to Florida for the 2000 Olympic selection trials.

Royal Hussar was renamed Rangoon, but it quickly changed to Rainier.

Dover had two Grand Prix ready irons in the fire that year for the 2000 Sydney Olympics: Everest and Rainier. Because of Dover's back problems, Everest moved to Guenter Seidel mid-season in 2000, which led to the disqualification of Everest from the U.S Olympic trials. Rainier ended up being selected on the U.S. team.

Dover and Rainier won team bronze in Sydney. They were 17th in the Grand Prix with 67.12%. In the Special they finished 23rd with 63.90%. Sue Blinks and Christine Traurig were the two Americans moving on to the Kur to Music Finals.

In the spring of 2001 Rainier was allocated to Betsy Steiner, who competed him at a few CDI's that year including Devon. They were also in the running for the U.S. Team spot for the 2002 World Equestrian Games but a minor injury to a suspensory at the end of the selection trials dashed their Jerez dreams.

In 2003 he made a brief return at national level under Dover's groom and assistant trainer at the time, Katherine Bateson(-Chandler), who rode him as a guinea pig at the 2003 Festival of Champion and later on at the 2003 USDF Region 8 Championships.

In 2004 Dover took back the ride and started campaigning him again s a back-up horse in his Olympic qualification attempt for the Athens Olympics. Sponsor Jane Forbes Clark had bought another ready Grand Prix horse for Dover, FBW Kennedy, who was his first choice at the time and ended up going to Athens.

In the summer of 2004 Clark decided that Rainier would become the Grand Prix schoolmaster for Katherine Bateson. She competed him from 2005 through 2008 with CDI starts in Raleigh, Saugerties, Devon, Palm Beach, Wellington and Hartpury amongst other shows.

In 2008 Rainier was retired from sport. He spent his last years of retirement with Gunnar Quist and Traci Barry.

"Rainier was one of the biggest personalities of any horse I have had the privilege of having in my life. He was as cheeky as they come and as talented and beautiful," said Bateson. "I could go on and on as to how much he gave me and many others. The first horse I groomed and then was rewarded by doing my first international grand prix’s. He was as smart as all of us (probably smarter!) and I will miss him."

Dover added, "Rainier foundered and after doing everything possible to save him, the pain he was going through made it clear that he was saying it was time for him to meet his friends, Everest and Kennedy, in heaven. I hope that they are all frolicking through beautiful fields of tall grass together! They and the others before them, filled my life with joy and made me who I am."