American Crowd Favourite Rocher Returns to Devon for Final Goodbye

Dressage

American Dressage News

Rocher, one of America's most beloved Grand Prix horses and a spectator favourite, returned to the Dixon Oval show ring on Saturday evening 28 September 2013 to bid a final farewell to the crowds in a belated retirement ceremony.

In an emotional farewell ceremony, Rocher's long time rider George Williams led the 22-year old black mare around the arena right before the Devon freestyle on Saturday evening. The mare, which is owned by Joann and Chuck Smith, was then untacked, a cooler put on and she was presented roses (and treats) from the Dressage at Devon committee while her list of achievements and accomplishments were being read out. Finally Rocher paraded round the arena in-hand one last time to her famous Madonna freestyle.

"At the end, after the saddle was removed and the cooler put on her, George led Rocher around the arena. Well, maybe Rocher led George around the arena," George's wife Roberta Williams told Eurodressage. "It was to her Madonna freestyle music, which starts with "And you can dance - for inspiration". When she heard the extended trot music, she took her front legs and knew just what to do."

Bred by Friedrich Vekens in Germany, the Westfalian bred Rocher is by Rolls Royce x Fruhlingsstern and is known as "The Diva of Devon" being the sole horse to win the Devon Grand Prix and Freestyle three times.

Rocher came to the United States in 2000 to be ridden by George Williams for the Smith family at Gypsy Woods Farm. In 2001 at the CDI in Germany, as an unheard of mare with a virtually unknown American rider aboard, she astonished dressage aficionados when she led the field for the most of the competition. Two weeks later at the CDI Munich Indoors, Rocher needed no introduction.

Owners Joann and Chuck Smith watch Rocher being led around by George Williams in a farewell ceremony at Devon At the same time, she was not well known in the U.S. and Dressage at Devon was the first to experience her magic. In 2002 she won the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle for the first time and the crowd proudly claimed her as its own. Rocher transformed Devon freestyles that night, raising the bar with an unheard score of 75-plus percent. Her freestyle to Madonna music brought the capacity crowd to its feet with joy, and the announcer spontaneously invited the spectators down to the arena so they too could dance. And they did.

Rocher returned in 2003 to win a second time – both the Grand Prix and The Grand Prix Freestyle. After an injury prevented her return in 2004, she came back in 2005. She swept the Grand Prix and the crowd roared before she even began the Grand Prix Freestyle. When her 77.85% score, a new record, appeared on the leader board the spectators could not contain themselves.

Rocher's career highlight with a 5th place finish in the 2003 World Cup Finals in Gothenburg, Sweden. In the same year she was named U.S. Dressage Federation Grand Prix Horse and Grand Prix Freestyle Horse of the Year as well as Chronicle of the Horse Dressage Horse of the Year.

The mare was retired from international competition in 2009 at age 18 at the same time the partnership between the Smiths and Williams ended. Joann took over the ride on Rocher and trained her down in Florida for two year with Michael Barisone. "I started riding her with great hopes of obtaining the gold medal that was on my bucket list," Joann Smith told Eurodressage. "I also rode her in clinics with Linda Zang and Silke Rembacz. We were able to do pretty much all the movements of the Grand Prix. I made the decision that showing her was probably not going to happen but I was just having fun riding her."

Rocher is also the dam to a 2-year old embryotransfer filly Gardez La Foi (by Rousseau). "Rocket is going to be special. She will continue to be ridden by me and my friend Elise Elman, who considers riding her for the Olympics," Smith explained.