Pia Fortmüller Retires Grand Prix Mare Frieda

Dressage

Canada

Canadian Pia Fortmüller will not be fighting for an Olympic team spot in 2024 with her number Grand Prix horse in the barn, Frieda. Fortmuller announced the mare's retirement from sport last September.

Frieda is a 12-year old Hanoverian mare by Furstenball out of Romance (by Rouletto x Trapper x Vollkorn xx). She is bred by the Schmidt family

Frieda

The black mare was discovered and bought by Fortmüller and her life partner Lars Busch as a young horse. Pia developed the mare to Grand Prix level.

"Lars was trying to cheer me up, as I had just lost my very special Orion, who was my first international Grand Prix partner," Pia explained. "Lars brought me to the barn to show me Frieda as he was getting ready to start her under saddle and I distinctively remember saying to Lars. “Lars, she is just thee years old” and his response was “Pia just wait, she is a special one”"

The pair made its show debut in February 2015 in Germany in the riding horse classes. They first came into the international spotlight when the pair represented Canada at the 2016 World Young Horse Championships in Ermelo, The Netherlands. They placed 6th in the consolation finals with 80.20 points.

Pia and Frieda at the 2016 WCYH in Ermelo

In 2017 the mare competed in one CDI in Wellington in the 6-year old classes. Three years later, in 2020, she returned to the international stage in Wellington. In January 2020 she competed at small tour level, in February she moved up to medium tour level. In 2021 the pair became the winners of the national level circuit in Wellington for Developing Prix St. Georges horses. In 2022 Frieda did her first CDI at Grand Prix level in Wellington and then went to Europe (Hagen, Brno) before ending up in California at the end of the year for a show in Thermal.

In 2023 the pair competed at the summer CDI'(s in Sherwood and Langley in an attempt to qualify for the Pan American Games. Their last CDI was in Langley in July 2023, where they won the Grand Prix (68.457%) and placed second in the Special (68.553%).

Early Retirement

In September 2023 Fortmüller announced the early retirement of her mare.

"My journey with Frieda has taught me so much. And I have recently learned probably one of the hardest but most important lessons and that is to let go of goals because it’s best for the horse," Pia stated. "The road to Grand Prix is a very high and complicated climb. And our journey was(n't) always easy, we had many road blocks along the way, and the biggest road block is the reason why we are retiring her at the prime age of 12. Of course, I had hoped that this moment would be much farther in the future, but it just isn’t in the cards."

Fortmuller added that Frieda will be "living a beautiful retired life out in the field with her friends." They will try to put her in foal.

Olympic Dream

Fortmüller, who grew up in Calgary, initially trained with Albrecht Heidemann and Leslie Reid. In 2006, she won team and individual gold at the North American Young Rider Championships. In 2012, she was named reserve rider for the Canadian Olympic team in London with Orion. She spent several years in Europe training with Heike Kemmer and Jonny Hilberath before returning to North America in 2017, first to Wellington and then back to Canada.

At the 2023 Pan American Games Canada obtained an Olympic team slot for Paris. In 2023 Fortmuller sold her second Grand Prix horse Goldfinch to Brittney Eastgate. In February 2023 she became the recipient of the 2023 Brosda Olympic Bursary

Pia has been competing a string of young horses in Canada: Furst London (by Furst Bellisaro x Londonderry), Esmeralda (by Escolar x Furst Nymphenburg) and Fedora (by Furst Jazz x Louis Le Bon). She also owns the 8-year old Hanoverian Fireball (by Furstenball x Londonderry) which she last showed nationally in 2021.