Mary Hanna Acquires Sam as 2028 L.A. Olympic Hopeful

Dressage

Australia

Australian multi-Olympian Mary Hanna is not even close to thinking of retiring. The 69-year old has set her sights on the 2028 L.A. Olympics and purchased a new Grand Prix horse, Sam.

Sam is an 11-year old Oldenburg by Sezuan out of Rapunzel (by Licotus x Harvard). He is bred by Arlette Jasper-Kohl.

Premium Stallion

Sam is from Sezuan's first crop of foals and became the third ranked premium stallion at the 2015 Oldenburg stallion licensing in Vechta.

At auction he sold for 90,000 euro to Denmark but the stallion seemed to have lived the majority of his life with his owner and breeder at Gestut Peterhof in Perl, Germany.

Sam did his 14-day suitability test in April 2016 in Schlieckau, scoring 7.75 for dressage and 7.23 for show jumping, totalling 7.55 points. He did his first sport test in Munich in March 2017 (score 7.86) and his second in Munster in April 2018 (scoring 6.59).

The German equestrian federation has no offspring registered.

Sport Career

Sam's sport career began in 2016 under Madita Zurheide, who debuted him in September 2016 at a local shopw in Hünsdorf. She showed him lightly through 2017.

In 2018 Luxembourg GP rider Sascha Schulz continued the horse's training and premiered him at the CDI Leudelange in the 5-year old preliminary test (70.80 points). He rode him in only one show.

Three years later Sam resurfaced in the show ring with Stefan Wieser onboard at M-level. He rode the horse in its first S-test in February 2022.

Sam then moved to Patrik Kittel's yard where the ride was allocated to Swedish Malin Wahlkamp-Nilsson. The new pair debuted in Ankum in March 2023 in the Intermediaire II and also rode in Haftenkamp two months later. Their international show debut was at the 2024 CDI Sint-Truiden, where they won the Grand Prix (70.348%) and the Special (71.043%). They did one more CDI in Mannheim a month later. Six months later they entered the arena again at the CDN Ankum on 7 November, their last show.

Sold to Australia

Sam has been sold to Australian Mary Hanna.