Australian Olympic Team Horse Samhitas to Japan

Dressage

Australia

Australian Olympian Kelly Layne no longer forms a combination with her Tokyo Olympic ride Samhitas. The Oldenburg gelding has moved to Japan.

The 14-year old Oldenburg gelding Samhitas is by Sir Donnerhall I x Abanos x Rohdiamant. He is bred by Annette Engel and Andreas Wempe.

Gary Van der Ploeg

He was discovered by Canadians Gary and Jean van der Ploeg at the 2012 Oldenburg Autumn Elite Auction in Vechta, Germany, where they bought him as price highlight for 250,000 euro.

In 2015 the ride on Samhitas was allocated to Endel Ots from Wellington, Florida. He qualified for the 2015 World Young Horse Championships, where they finished 11th in the consolation finals.

In 2016 Ots competed the 7-year old Samhitas in the Prix St Georges at the CDI Devon and won the Open Prix St Georges Championship at the USDF Dressage Finals.

The horse did not compete in 2017 and 2018, but was in fact sold to Japan and ridden by Yuriko Miyoshi for a while.

Kelly Layne

In 2019 Samhitas was sent to Wellington to be trained by Australian Kelly Layne. Officially the ownership on his FEI passport changed from Van der Ploeg to Layne.

He arrived in her barn in February 2019 and they made their CDI debut at Grand Prix level at the 2019 CDI Tryon in September. In December 2019, Japanese Nora Maezawa was added as owner of Samhitas' passport, while Kelly retained the ride as her Tokyo Olympic hopeful.

In 2020 Layne competed him extensively on the Wellington circuit, but due to the corona pandemic the Olympics were postponed by a year. In 2021 Layne captured a team place after several Australians (both Oatleys, Jorgensen) dropped out of the race. In Tokyo, Samhitas did not cope with the electric atmosphere and reared in the piaffe. He scored 58.354% to finish 57th. It was their last international as a pair.

The pair returned to the national show ring at the WEC September Dressage (2022) and scored 69.348% to win a national Grand Prix

Japan

Layne has disclosed that she now no longer makes a combination with Samhitas as the horse has moved to his owner in Japan.

"The owner moved him to Japan and he is doing very well with his new rider," Layne told Equestrian Life. "I have been personally involved in the changeover to ensure a successful new partnership."