Where are They Now? Cassio

Focus

F.O.C.U.S.

Considered one of the most talented and most exciting up coming Grand Prix horses in 2014, the dapple grey Oldenburg gelding Cassio was the talk of the town and then quickly sold to Danish Agnete Kirk Thinggaard. Unfortunately after a very short show season in 2016 the horse disappeared from the scene and never returned. Where is he now?

Cassio: Start in Denmark, Stellar Rise in Sweden

Bred by Helmut Wingenroth, the Oldenburg registered Cassio is by Conteur out of Jacoma (by Calato x Landgraf I).

The 185 cm tall gelding first came into the spotlight as a young horse under Danish Rikke Dupont, who competed him nationally from 2009 till 2012. They were 6th in the 2010 Danish Young Horse Championships and 4th at the 2011 Danish Young Horse Nationals.

In 2012 he sold to Swedish investor Patrik Hannell and moved to Sweden, where junior (!) rider Marina Mattsson got the ride, trained by Jan Brink.

Mattsson made her show debut at junior level in 2012 and finished 7th at the 2012 Swedish Young Horse Championships in the 7-year old division.

In 2013 they pair moved up to Young Riders level. Marina and the 8-year old Cassio won the 2013 Swedish Young Riders Championships, the 2013 Nordic Baltic Championships, and then went to the 2013 European Young Riders Championships, where they were 5th in the individual test and 6th in the Kur to Music.

There was no stopped of this pair and in 2014 they moved up to Grand Prix level in the Under 25 division, competing at CDI in Kapellen, where they won two classes and drew the attention of powerful horse shoppers.

Future Star for Agnete Kirk Thinggaard

Danish Agnete Kirk Thinggaard went after Cassio and secured the deal for an amount with six zeroes. Cassio was meant as a successor for Agnete's number one Jojo AZ.

The pair started competing nationally in Denmark in november 2014 at small tour level and moved up to national Grand Prix level in May 2015. They finished 8th in the Grand Prix Special at the Danish Championships, but they did not ride the freestyle. They went on to ride a few national shows before making their international show debut at the CDI Roosendaal Indoor in December 2015.

In 2016 they were seventh in the Grand Prix Special at the Danish Championships, but as Agnete also rode Jojo to better scores, so took him into the national freestyle final. Agnete and Cassio performed at four internationals: Herning, Hagen, Odense and Aachen, after which he disappeared from the international show scene entirely.

She still competed Cassio at two further national events that year: in November 2016 in Helsinge and in December 2016 in Middelfart, but that was the pair's last competitive start.

Where Is He Now?

So where is Cassio now? The grey gelding was hailed as an absolute mega star for Grand Prix but his break through at the highest echelons never came to fruition.

Eurodressage contacted Agnete Thinggaard who confirmed that Cassio is still with her but that he has been struggling with injuries.

"Cassio was injured in 2017 and ever since, it has been hard to get him back to show form without a new injury," Agnete told Eurodressage. "He has had many treatments and for the past 9 months, he has been happy and enjoyed life in the field. Soon, we will decide if we will try to train him up again, or if he should retire for good."

The 185 cm tall gelding may look impressive but his height has not always worked to his benefit. "He is huge and it takes a lot out of him to get that huge body to do Grand Prix," said Agnete.

Agnete briefly tried to match the taller rider Daniel Bachmann Andersen to Cassio, but unfortunately the grey kept relapsing. "He tried him for a very short while and it fitted quite well, but Cassio was too fragile and kept getting injured," Agnete said with some sadness. "It's really a pity because Cassio is an amazing and very talented horse."