Kristy Oatley Retires Du Soleil from Sport After Double Win at 2022 CDI Wiesbaden

Dressage

Australia

Australian Olympian Kristy Oatley has decided to retire her number one Du Soleil from international competition sport after he scored a double victory at the 2022 CDI Wiesbaden last weekend.

Du Soleil is an 18-year old Hanoverian gelding by De Niro out of Capri Sonne (by Caprimond x Wenzel I x Eisenherz I). He is bred by Sven Kahrens.

Keller - Rothenberger

The horse first came into the spotlight when he was owned by Flora Keller and represented Germany at the 2010 World Young Dressage Horse Championships in Verden, Germany under Austrian Saskia Lieben-Seutter. He finished 11th in the 6-year old Finals with 7.82 points. One month later the pair finished 13th in the 6-year old finals at the 2010 Bundeschampionate with a score of 7.40.

Right after the Bundeschampionate Du Soleil sold to Sven Rothenberger but the horse was returned to Keller after several months. Lieben-Seutter continued to train him and the duo returned to the arena two years later in 2012 at M and S-level. In 2013 they finished 7th in the Prix St Georges at the CDI Hagen and did two more national shows at small tour level in Walldorf and Elmlohe.

Kristy Oatley

In February 2014 Du Soleil sold to Kristy Oatley as a Rio Olympic hopeful. Kristy trained with Sjef Janssen at the time.

The new pair made its CDI debut in Deauville in July 2015 at small tour level, before stepping up to Grand Prix at the CDI Maastricht in October of that same year. In 2016 they were Australia's highest scoring combination leading up to the Olympic Games in Rio, where they were 42nd with 68.900% in the Grand Prix.

In 2017 they rode the World Cup Finals in Omaha and landed a 6th place with 76.995% in the Kur to Music Finals. In 2018 the pair successfully competed at numerous internationals, incmuding winning in Zakrzow and Hamburg, before heading to the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, where they were 12th in the Grand Prix Special with 74.605% (the Kur was cancelled due to weather conditions). For a time the pair held all three Australian Grand Prix records.

In 2019 "Duse" was lightly competed in Pilisjaszfalu and Stuttgart and then had a year off from showing as Kristy was operated on her back. He returned to the ring at the CDI Verden in May 2021, winning the freestyle and did one more show in Zakrzow.

Swang Song in Wiesbaden

This year Oatley and Du Soleil easily captured its two MER and Australian team qualification scores for the World Championships Dressage in Herning in August.

In Neumunster they got 72.526% and in Wiesbaden they won with 71.848% in the Grand Prix. Oatley and the 18-year old finished their Wiesbaden experienced with a second victory in the Kur to Music under floodlight with 79.430%. This momentous moment spurred Kristy to decide to call it quits and retire him from sport on a high point.

"I decided (it) last night, there would have not been a more perfect time," Kristy told Eurodressage.

When asked what her proudest moments in sport were on Du Soleil, Oatley replied, "most definitely Tryon, the World Cup Final and last night. He’s just simply a wonderful horse that has never let me down! A true partner, we just clicked from the first time I rode him."