Hungarian Team Pony Macciato Retired from Sport

Dressage

Hungary

Macciato, a double European Championship team pony for Hungary, has been retired from competition sport.

Macciato is a 16-year old German Riding Pony by The Braes My Mobility out of Bajna Luka (by Bogenschutze x Lungau). He is bred by Dorte Erasmi.

From Jumper to Dressage Pony

He was first competed in 2012 as a 4-year old show jumper in Germany by Lara Holst. In 2013 Wiebke Esdohr switched him to dressage for some spring shows, but by the summer of 2013 Nadja Neubauer took back into the jumper ring. by July 2013 Holst was back in the saddle of the palomino stallion.

Hungarian Team Pony

Macciato sold as a 6-year old FEI dressage hopeful to Gabor Baranyai in Hungary and became the ride of Benedek Pachl.

They made their CDI show debut at the 2014 CDI Radzionkow and competed in San Giovanni, Fot, and Kaposvar that year. In 2015 they showed at three internationals before heading to the European Pony Championships in Malmo, where they finished 38th in the individual test.

Benedek Pachl and Macciato at the 2015 European
Pony Championships in Malmo

In 2016 Macciato sold to Gyula Hoffer for daughter Hanna Hoffer to ride. They made their CDI debut at the 2017 CDI Wiener Neustadt. Hoffer competed Macciato at a string of CDI's, in Mariakalnok, Lipica, Fot, Aachen; Zakrzow, Brno, and St. Margarethen, before making it to their first European Pony Championships, in 2019 in Strzegom, Poland, where they were 32nd in the individual test.

Macciato recorded no less than 17 (!!) international victories in pony tests at CDI competitions across Europe in his career. Hoffer and Macciato were the Hungarian Pony Champions in 2018, 2019 and 2020. In 2016 and 2017 they were national champions in the L-level division.

Hoffer last showed Macciato at the CDI Fot in September 2020 after which he was put up for sale, first in the Mariakalnok Online Auction, but then ended up selling privately.

Luxembourg

At the start of 2021 the palomino sold to Frédérique Buck from Luxembourg as a schoolmaster for her daughter Emmanuelle Wolfcarius. The pair never competed internationally but gained mileage at national level.

Macciato sustained a tendon injury and was operated on. He recovered but not enough for FEI level competition sport. It was decided to retire him from sport.

"He's living his best life at our home," Buck told Eurodressage. "Emmi is too old now (to ride ponies), so we took him home. He's happy, 16 now! hacking around."

Wolfcarius represented Luxembourg at the 2023 European Junior Riders Championships on horse Hocus Pocus.