Fogo de Lyw Passed Away

Dressage

Sweden

The internationally competed Grand Prix horse Fogo de Lyw has passed away in the spring of 2023.

Fogo de Lyw was a 13-year old Lusitano by Trovador out of Sardinha (by Altivo x Vidago). He was bred at Coudelaria La Lira e La W.

Career in Spain

The bay Lusitano began his sport career in Spain.

He first came into the spotlight at the 2016 Spanish Young Horse Championships where he finished 7th in the 6-year old division under Joseph Robert Hunt.

Owned by the couple Helene Svedin-Figo and her Portuguese former top football star Luis Figo, Fogo de Lyw changed rider and moved into the barn of Spanish Grand Prix team rider Claudio Castilla Ruiz. The new pair placed fifth in the developing GP Horse class at the 2018 Spanish Young Horse Championships.

The pair made its international show debut at Grand Prix level at the 2020 CDI Cascais and also competed in Segovia. The finished fourth at the 2020 Spanish Dressage Championships, clearly marking themselves as Spanish Olympic team candidates. Their last international was the 2021 CDI Doha.

Move to Denmark

With Betina Jaeger in Flyinge on 30 September 2022

The owners decided to sell Fogo de Lyw and moves him to sales yard Helgstrand in Denmark.

Danish Bettina Jaeger took over the training of the horse and showed him once internationally at the 2022 CDI Herning in March 2022, where she achieved 67% twice, slightly lower marks than what Castilla rode with the horse.

Sold to Sweden

In October 2022 Fogo de Lyw sold to Swedish Annelie Arnbäck from Stockholm.

She decided to keep the horse in training at Helgstrand Dressage for five months, before bringing him home to Sweden. He arrived in Sweden on 23 March but shortly afterwards got seriously ill and had to be put down.

Tumour

According to Danish newspaper Nordjyske, the horse was diagnosed with advanced cancer in his abdomen and was euthanized immediately to spare him from unnecessary suffering. Arnbäck had the cancer investigated and according to the vet reports she obtained the tumour had been developing for more than six months. She is now in a negotiation procedure with Helgstrand to get the purchase price of 437,000 euro back.

Helgstrand stated on Facebook on 3 November 2023 in Danish: "During the five months the buyer has been in the stable with us to ride the horse and receive training, just as the horse has participated in various competitions without any signs of illness whatsoever. (...) We can completely deny that we have sold a horse knowing that it was ill. All our horses are examined by veterinarians before a sale, and that is also the case here. Whether the veterinary examination before the sale in October, the authorities' examination before the transport, or a check-up by the buyer's trainer on arrival show there was something wrong with the horse or that it showed signs of illness. We are talking about a very sad situation with a horse that died of a cancerous tumor."