Horse&Hound ran a beautiful story on former British Olympic team horse Rascher Hopes who celebrated his 33rd birthday and is still thriving in his retirement.
Owned by Hilary Sawyer and Leonie Porter, Hilary secured him as an untrained 3-year old in Denmark in a horse swap deal with a brood mare. He is bred by Kristen Thomsen and is by Dwight out of Tosen (by Luxemburg x Atlantic) and originally named Danish Delight.
Sawyer trained him to Prix St Georges level. The bay became Emile Faurie's catch ride in 2000 when his Olympic hope Legrini suddenly passed away. As one of the youngest and smallest horses in the field, he competed at the 2000 Olympics. In Sydney they scored a personal best of 66.96% in the grand prix, qualifying them for the special and making them the highest-placed British combination.
The combination went on to be a stalwart of British teams in the early 2000s, representing Great Britain at the 2001 European Championships and the 2002 World Equestrian Games before peaking with a bronze medal at the 2003 European Championships at Hickstead.
Rascher Hopes, aka Streaky, was retired from sport in 2006 at the British Grand Prix Championships. He has been based with Hilary Macdonald in Gloucestershire ever since.
Read the full article here.
Photo © Dirk Caremans
Related Links
Eurodressage Photo Database: Rascher Hopes
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Emile Faurie sponsored by Press Agency Reuters