Adrienne Lyle's Salvino Retired from Sport

Dressage

U.S.A.

Salvino, U.S. Olympian Adrienne Lyle's career-making Grand Prix horse, has been retired from sport.

The news was announced on 4 April 2024 just days after Adrienne confirmed herself as a U.S. Olympic team hopeful on new horses Lars van de Hoenderheide and Helix at the CDI Wellington on 28 - 31 March 2024.

Sandronnerhall

Salvino is a 17-year old Hanoverian stallion by Sandro Hit out of Dynastie (by Donnerhall x Brentano II x Imperator)..

He is bred by Joachim Essink and was originally named Sandronnerhall.

The stallion sold as a youngster to Spain and was first competed by his owner Susana Vazquez Mostaza as a 5-year old. He showed in the young horse classes at the CDI's in Vejer de la Frontera and Toledo in 2012.

One year later, the now U.S. based Spaniard Antonio Diaz Porras, showed him in the international 6-year old young horse classes at the CDI's in Toledo and Madrid. The pair qualified for the 2013 World Young Horse Championships but did not compete in Verden. Diaz Porras produced Sandronnerhall up to green Grand Prix level.

Acquired by U.S. Syndicate

In the spring of 2015 German horse dealer Jochen Arl sold Sandronnerhall to an American syndicate, headed by Akiko Yamazaki. They gave a new name to the Hanoverian stallion, Salvino.

The owners group was called "Sandronnerhall Partners LLC," led by Yamazaki and managed by Jen and Bruce Hlavacek, owners of 2011 U.S. Pan Am team and individual gold medal winning Weltino’s Magic. Other investors included Betsy Juliano, Elma Garcia-Cannavino and Jim Cannavino.

The stallion was intended as Adrienne Lyle's successor for her 2012 Olympic team ride Wizard.

Career Maker

Under the supervision of trainer Debbie McDonald, Lyle and Salvino became a fixture on the U.S. Team. They made their international show debut in 2017.

Lyle and Salvino represented the USA at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, where they won team silver and placed 29th in the Special. At the 2019 World Cup Finals in Gothenburg they were 7th and at the 2019 CDIO Aachen they were sixth in the Kur.

In 2018 Betsy Juliano obtained full ownership of the horse.

Niggling Injuries

Salvino struggled with some niggling injuries and there was a 13-month break from showing in 2020. They resurfaced in the very last competition of the 2021 Global Dressage Festival, just in time to put them back in the running for Tokyo Olympic team selection.

At the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon

They swept the Olympic selection trial in June 2021 with stellar scores and at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics they placed 14th in the Grand Prix with 74.876% and qualified for the individual medal finals as second placed pair in heat 4. In the Grand Prix Special they posted 76.109 % to help USA clinch team silver, with Sabine Schut-Kery and Sanceo being the American high-scoring duo.

The horse did not show optimal regularity in both rides, but completed the mission of assisting in securing a team medal for the U.S.A.. He was pulled from the individual medal freestyle finals in Tokyo.

Fenix in Herning

After a 7-month break the pair returned to competition at the CDI 5* in Wellington on 24 - 26 February 2022 and won four classes in two CDI's back to back with upper seventy percentage scores.

They were sent to Aachen, Germany, as part of the U.S. team selection process and competed in the 4* tour instead of the CDIO 5* division. They placed second in the Grand Prix (76.891%) but were eliminated in the Kur to Music.

Lyle and Salvino got selected on the U.S. team for the 2022 World Championships in Herning, where Team USA had dropped to a sixth place (coming from bronze in Tokyo), but individually the duo motored on and were 9th in the Special (75.699%) and 6th in the Kur (83.704%). They were named US International Equestrian Athlete of the Year 2022.

Swang Song

For 2023 the target was set on the World Cup Finals in Omaha, U.S.A, which the dressage community expected to be Salvino's retirement show on home turf.

He won the two CDI-W World Cup qualifiers in Wellington in December 2022 and on 12-13 January 2023 with the highest scores a U.S. pair was able to achieve at that moment, but a colic scare happened in February and shortly afterwards Team Salvino announced that they pulled the horse out of the race for Omaha because he popped a small splint.

At the 2022 World Championships in Herning

Although lips were tightly sealed when questions were asked about the stallion's come back or retirement ever since, owner Betsy Juliano and rider Adrienne Lyle seemingly maintained the idea that the Paris Olympics was in the cards for the horse.

The sudden purchase by Heidi Humphries of two confirmed Grand Prix horses as Olympic hopefuls for Lyle at the end of December 2023 were a clear sign that Salvino's come back was unlikely. The horse's absence from the entire twelve-week 2024 show circuit in Wellington confirmed that notion.

Retirement

Salvino's World Cup qualifier victory on 13 January 2023 with 83.540% ended up being his last win and competition. On 4 April 2024 they announced the horse's retirement from sport.

In an official press release Juliano noted, “Salvino is still quite fit and energetic, but Adrienne and I feel the rigors of the qualifying process, in addition to the leadup to the Olympics would not be in his best long-term interests. He will soon transition to a life of retirement while still being ridden at home. We are also very proud to be able to offer Salvino for breeding."

Lyle added in the press release, "This has been a very difficult decision to make, but more than anything we feel it is the right decision for him. He continues to be ridden at home; he loves to work and show the other horses how it should be done. He has given us so much, and Betsy and I are committed to making sure he keeps on living his best life.”

Adrienne also took to Facebook and posted, "You are the best friend, teammate and partner anyone could ever have, and you were an absolute warrior in the ring. You had my back every time we went down centerline… if I was nervous you took the lead and showed me there was nothing to be afraid of… if I messed up, you picked up the slack and did it right anyways… if I doubted myself, you reminded me that we could make it happen, and when we turned up the final centerline and I would whisper under my breath, “Take it home, buddy”… I could always feel you rise another foot off the ground and give it your absolute everything. You taught me that if you really believe in something, keep your head down and work until the rest of the world believes in it too."