Alexandre Cheret's Six-Time Team Horse Bamona Retired from Sport

Dressage

France

French Under 25 rider Alexandre Cheret will be retiring his six-time French youth team horse from competition sport. Bamona is 20 years old.

The bright bay mare is a 2006 born KWPN mare by United out of Ramona (by Inspekteur x Saluut). She is bred by A. van der Koppel.

French Youth Team Horse

Listed with the FEI as owned by Haras de Piques in 2016 and then by Aurelie and Jean Jacques Pruede as of 2018, Bamona made her international show debut in 2016. First competed by Veronique Pruede Seguret, she was shown at international small tour level in Saumur, Nice, Pompadour and Le Mans through the autumn of 2017.

In February 2019 Alexandre Cheret debuted the mare at junior level in Nice, but three months later Veronique showed her again at medium tour level at the CDI Saumur. As of June 2019 Bamona and Alexandra became a steady combination. They won bronze at the 2019 French Junior Riders Championships.

The pair represented France at the 2020 European Junior Riders Championships, finishing 23rd in the individual test (68,088%). In 2021 they briefly competed at Young Riders level before switching to Under 25 Grand Prix in October 2021. They won bronze at the 2021 French U25 Championships, but then reverting back to Young Riders level to show at the 2022 European Young Riders Championships, where they were 25th in the individual test (69,265%). They won silver at the 2022 French U25 Championships.

As of 2023 they stuck at Under 25 level and were fifth and second at the 2023 and 2024 French U25 Championships. They competed at four consecutive European Under 25 Championships, finishing 15th in the Kur (71,325%) in 2023, 20th in the short Grand Prix (67,077%) in 2024, 29th in the short Grand Prix i(69,923%) in 2025, and 8th in the Kur (73,555%) in 2026.

Retirement

In an interview with Grand Prix magazine, Cheret confirmed that the 20-year old Bamona will now be retired from competition sport, slowly winding her down from high performance training.

At the 2022 European Young Riders Championships

"We know each other inside and out. After all these years together, she knows me perfectly as a rider. There are no secrets between us," Cheret told Grand Prix. He added that the mare taught him, "Perseverance. I learned that despite the daily challenges, it's essential to keep learning from your mistakes. In competition too, after each event, you have to take the time to observe what you can improve and implement it in preparation for the next events. Patience and precision are also necessary."

Cheret plans to continue U25 sport with the 8-year old Rhinelander registered Hanoverian x Lusitano crossbred mare Doriane de Malleret (by Danciano x Maestro JGB x Galopin de la Font). Alexandre has been competing her since 2022 when the mare was four.