At the end of April Susanne Lebek's 18-year old Hanoverian licensed stallion and German Grand Prix team horse Potomac passed away probably from a ruptured aorta.
"Potomac was something really special to us," said Lebek, and not just because he helped me produce my biggest successes. Everybody loved him because of his reserved disposition. He was never the boss in the barn and he felt best when everything went its usual way."
Sired by Prince Orac xx out of Weserprinzess (by Wenzel x Absatz), Potomac was bred by Friedrich Lührs-Behnke and trained up to S-level by Annabel Wolff (neé Vogler) with help of Lebek's trainer Philip Becker. The coach recommended Susanne to try out the sensitive stallion and she acquired him as an 8-year old.
Lebek and Potomac made their Grand Prix debut at the national show in Mannheim one year later and placed 6th in the Grand Prix. The shy stallion quickly followed in the footsteps of Susanne's first Grand Prix horse Healey's Beluga and became a member of the German B-team soon after.
Lebek and Potomac were a combination with many highs and lows. The uber-sensitive stallion often failed to keep the pressure lid on his cooker an exploded regularly on the final centerline. In 2009 the combination celebrated their career highlight by becoming members of the German team that competed at the 2009 European Championships in Windsor and won team bronze. In 2010 they won the Grand Prix Special at the Munich World Dressage Masters with a 75.542% score.
Potomac's forté were the passage and super uphill flying changes.
The stallion was not a super popular breeding stallion, but Lebek has several talented offspring in her yard, including Prinz Paul, Rufinjo and Femme Fatale. Lebek will continue her own dressage career aboard the 9-year old Lionheart (by Laurentio), a rising Grand Prix horse, and with Sirius Black (by Stedinger x Jazz).
Photos © Astrid Appels
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