U.S. Olympic Team Horse Rosevelt Retired from Grand Prix Sport

Dressage

U.S.A.

Allison Brock's 2016 U.S. Olympic team horse Rosevelt has been retired from sport. The 16-year old Hanoverian licensed stallion sustained an injury right after Rio and was never able to return to full show fitness.

Rosevelt is bred by Henry Peters in Germany and is by Rotspon out of Lore (by Lauries Crusador xx).

He was discovered as a youngster by Dutch horse dealer Eugene Reesink. The dark bay was licensed for breeding in Denmark and Sweden and became a stallion performance test winner in those Scandinavian countries. He also participated in the 2006 Hanoverian Young Horse Championships

In March 2007 Reesink sold the stallion to Americans Fritz and Claudine Kundrun, but he continued to supervise the management of the horse, who was standing at stud in Sweden. In June 2007 the horse moved to The Netherlands and was competed by Hans Peter Minderhoud at the 2007 World Young Horse Championships in Verden, where they finished fifth in the Finals for 5-year olds.

Rosevelt then moved back to Sweden to Jan Brink's yard for breeding and training before coming "home" to Deer Meadow Farms in Keswick, VA, in 2010.

Trained by Hawaiian born Allison Brock, who was the former groom of Kundrun's other sponsored rider Sue Blinks, Rosevelt finished fourth in the 2010 U.S. Developing Prix St Georges horse Championship.

He made his international Grand Prix debut in 2013 at the CDI Saugerties. He then had a one year break from international competition to do only one CDI show in 2014. In 2015 the combination went full power in Wellington and was invited to the Euro tour, competing in Munich and Achleiten, in the lead up to 2015 Pan American Games. However, they became the team alternates that year. At the 2015 U.S Championships they ranked in the top 6 in the first two rounds, but had to withdraw from the freestyle.

They made 2016 count and gradually climbed on the score board to get selected on the U.S. Olympic team for Rio. Their swan song became the 2016 Olympics, where they finished 25th in the Grand Prix with 72.686%, 19th in the Special with 73.824%, and 15th in the Kur to Music with 76.160%.

Rosevelt injured himself shortly after Rio. He was supposed to make his come back in the late spring of 2017 but that never came to fruition.

Rosevelt (by Rotspon x Lauries Crusador xx)

"He’s had quite a few hiccups last year with different health issues and as optimistic as I was that he may come back to competition, I have let go of that dream," Brock told Eurodressage on 1 February 2018.

While Brock is still riding Rosevelt, the horse will not return to the high performance Grand Prix show ring. The 38-year old is now focusing on a coming 6-year old Swedish gelding which she says is "very clever and thinks he’s very important. Lots of quality for a Grand Prix horse."

In an interview with Dressage News on 10 February, the Kundruns stated that Rosevelt is "healthy enough to possibly be a riding horse for Claudine or as a well-trained schoolmaster for a youth rider.