
Double Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl has announced the retirement of her number one Grand Prix horse, Dalera BB.
Although she explicitly stated to the media twice that Paris would not be Dalera's final show as the emotional burden would be too heavy on her during the Games, von Bredow-Werndl has now officially confirmed that Paris was the 17-year old mare's final competition.
Farewell Tour
The "two to three more shows" planned for 2024-2025 have turned into a farewell tour, starting at the 2024 Trakehner Stallion Licensing in Neumunster (GER) in November followed by the CDI-W Basel (SUI) in January.
Jessica calls these farewell rides "a few joyful appearances."
The Pair to Beat as of 2021
Von Bredow-Werndl and Dalera (by Easy Game x Handryk) have dominated international dressage sport since 2021.
After winning the 2017 Louisdor Cup Finals in Frankfurt, they first made it on the German team at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, where they won team gold and placed 9th in the Special. At the 2019 European Championships in Rotterdam they won team gold and kur bronze with their celebrated LaLa Land freestyle. This was the start of their ascent to the top.
At the 2019 CDI-W Stuttgart their string of success truly started. In the 2020 corona year they won Neumunster, Hagen, and Donaueschingen. In the spring of 2021 they had a "lul" in their winning streak, meaning in four tests that year they did not win (2nd in the Grand Prix at the 2021 CDI-W Salzburg, 2nd in the GP Special at the CDI Hagen, and 3rd and 2nd in the Olympic team qualifier at the 2021 CDI Kronberg). As of then their total conquest started, at least internationally as nationally they were once beaten by Rothenberger/Fendi in Balve 2023.
They won the German Dressage Championships four times (2020 2021, 2023, 2024) and capped off their career with team and Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
A Legendary Mare
Dalera will go down in the history books as a legendary dressage horse because of her dominance on the show scene for five, consecutive years. She opened the door to a new level of harmony, lightness and effortless.
Small cracks in their 'perfect' image started to arise in her last show year with the mare developing tongue issues despite the light bridle contact. She first showed tongue in the Kur at the 2023 Europeans in Riesenbeck as well as in the Special and Kur at the 2024 Olympics. The judges however chose to fully disregard this contact issue because of the overall harmonious image the pair delivered.
A Look at the Records
As unbeatable as Dalera was she did not achieve the triple crown: individual European, Olympic and World Champion. Jessica missed that opportunity as she gave birth to her second child during the 2022 World Championships.
Only a handful of horses achieved the Triple Crown in the past five decades: Valegro, Salinero, Bonfire, Gigolo, Rembrandt, Ahlerich, and Granat. The latter was the first horse to ever win the triple crown under Christine Stuckelberger.
at the 2023 Europeans
Dalera is part of a group of only four horses to ever won two individual Olympic gold medals consecutively. Only Salinero, Rembrandt, and Valegro achieved a similar feat! Granat won the 1976 Olympics and the alternative Olympics in 1980, so officially that doesn't count (Max-Theurer won Moscow in 1980). Rembrandt and Dalera were the only two to win four gold medals at two consecutive Olympics.
Retired Life at Aubenhausen
Dalera is owned by Swiss, former dressage judge Beatrice Burchler-Keller, who bought her almost GP ready as a 7-year old from Werner Bergmann.
The Trkehner mare will now get to enjoy her retirement at Werndl's yard in Aubenhausen, Germany, where she first arrived as a 7-year old in 2014.
She continued, “Dalera has been so much more to me than just my sport partner over the last few years. I’ve never experienced anything before like connecting with a horse on such a soul level that we didn’t need words, which don’t even exist. We just understood each other and I always knew what she needed – and she always knew everything. She just understood me and still understands me today, and that is the beauty of it."
for international dressage sport
At the Olympics in Paris Jessica disclosed that Dalera will be bred in the spring of 2025.
Photos © Astrid Appels
Related Links
Eurodressage Photo Database: Dalera BB
No Retirement for Dalera After Paris Olympics, A Few More Shows Before Her Swan Song
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl Refutes Retirement Rumour - Olympics Not Dalera's Last Show