Sagacious HF, American Pan Am Medal Winner, Passed Away

Dressage

U.S.A.

Sagacious, a former U.S. team horse that won gold and silver at the 2007 Pan American Games, has passed awayon 6 January 2023.

His international career spanned 14 years of which 11 were at Grand Prix level. Four U.S. riders earned their USDF Gold Medals on him. He was to turn 25 in spring.

Start in Holland

Sagacious HF was a 1999 born Dutch warmblood by Welt Hit II out of Judith (by Cocktail x Lector). He was bred by G. Van de Boogaard in Erp and originally named Sjors B.

The black was scouted as a weanling by Toine Hoefs, who purchased the young colt together with Kathy Connelly and Al and Judy Guden of Hyperion Farms in Wellington, FL.

The horse was first trained in The Netherlands and presented at the 2002 KWPN stallion licensing, where he finished fifth in the premium ring.

In 2003 the Gudens purchased him from the partners and he was imported to the USA in 2004. He was first competed in the U.S.A. in 2005 by Mary Collier.

Lauren Sammis

With Sammis at the 2007 Palm Beach Derby

In 2006 Lauren Sammis took over the ride on Sagacious and she produced him to Grand Prix level. The gelding achieved his biggest career successes with her. Sammis first showed him in Wellington in February 2006 and they made their international show debut at small tour level in 2006 in Devon.

In 2007 the pair was nominated on the U.S. Pan Am team after winning silver at the 2007 U.S. Small Tour Championships. At the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro they won team gold and individual silver. In 2007 co-owner Judy Guden lost her battle to breast cancer.

In 2009, they made the successful transition to the Grand Prix, winning 10 out of 12 CDI competitions entered. At the 2010 U.S. Dressage Championships they pulled out before the freestyle and missed out on U.S. team selection for the 2010 World Equestrian Games. At the 2011 Nationals came close to a podium place.

In June 2012 Sagacious (by Welt Hit II x Cocktail) was withdrawn due to fitness issues right before the second week of competition at the 2012 U.S. Dressage Championships, which counted as Olympic selection trials. It was announced that the 13-year old could be retired from sport depending on his recovery.

Caroline Roffman

With Roffman at the 2013 CDIO-U25 Aachen

In August 2012 Al Guden handed the ride on Sagacious to young Grand Prix rider Caroline Roffman, the daughter of his second wife Andrea Nason, whom Al got engaged to in 2009 and married.

They debuted in Wellington in March 2013 in the Under 25 division were the first US pair to appear in the CDIO-U25 classes at Aachen where they finished second in both rounds.

Chase Hickock

In 2014 Roffman started to focus more on her own senior Grand Prix horse Her Highness O, with whom she was aiming for a team spot for the 2014 World Equestrian Games.

Sagacious moved on to his third rider, Chase Hickok, who leased him for four years. She began showing him in March 2013 while her trainer and then-fiancé Kevin Kohmann competed him twice in September that year. Chase won the 2015 U.S. Under 25 Championship. In April 2016 Hickok switched trainers to Endel Ots. The pair went on to become sixth at the 2017 U.S. Dressage Championships and led the US Nation's Cup teams in Fasterbo and Hickstead in the summer of 2017.

Upon returning from Europe in August 2017, Sagacious tested positive to glanders in quarantine. After major legal pressure, the horse was retested and came up negative.

In 2018 Sagacious celebrated his 10th year of Grand Prix level competition. After a successful campaign on the Wellington circuit this winter, Hickok and Sagacious were ranked 8th for the long list to qualify for the Euro tour in the lead-up to U.S. WEG team nomination. However in March 2018 Hickok decided to end her lease of Sagacious and returned the horse to his owner.

Alessandra Ferrucci

The Dutch warmblood continue as a schoolmaster for 18-year old Alessandra Ferrucci (now Alessandra Donev), who hails from Connecticut and was a working student of Caroline Roffman.

In April 2018 she was offered to the ride on Sagacious under the watchful eyes of Petra Hofmann.

With Ferrucci at the 2018 North American Young Riders
Championships
(Photo © US Equestrian)

At age 20 and in his 13th year competing on the CDI scene Ferrucci rode Sagacious at Young Riders level in two shows at the 2019 Global Dressage Festival. Five months later the horse did its final competition at the North American Young Riders Championships in North Salem, where he was 8th in the team test and got team bronze, but had to be retired from the individual test.

They competed at two more national shows in Wellington in October and November 2019. Ferrucci moved on, got married (now Donev) and became an equine dental technician in Colorado.

Jordan Lockwood

Sagacious kept ticking and the ride was allocated to his sixth official rider in his long-spanning career. At age 22 the gelding returned to the arena with Jordan Lockwood in November 2021 at small tour level. The pair was trained by Lars Petersen.

From January till March 2022 Lockwood and the 23-year old Sagacious showed in the national Intermediare II classes and one Grand Prix at the Global Dressage Festival. Five more shows followed through the spring and summer in Wellington, Ocala, Lexington and at the Festival of Champions, where they finished fifth in the 2022 U.S. Under 25 Championships. It was the horse's last show in a very long show career.

With Lockwood at the 2022 U.S. Under 25
Championships

"Sagacious never ran out of energy this week If anything he got more rallied up as the week went on. Quite a lot!" Jordan said after completing her rides at the National Champions. "He truly loves to compete and is really teaching me how to become a better rider every day. I look forward to continue riding Sagacious and learning from him for the future."

Retirement

Sagacious was retired from sport in October 2022 and spent his retirement at Hyperion Farm with Al Guden and Andrea Nason.

On 6 January 2024 he was put to sleep.

"An equine legend has left us," Caroline Roffman wrote. "Surrounded by his family and friends Sagacious HF was laid to rest. He remained brilliant , fresh and often completely wild until the end. Sagacious was a horse or a lifetime for so many people. He will never be forgotten and will be impossible to replace. Licorice remained his snack of choice until his last day. We know heaven has an endless supply."