David Engelen's Rosantica Passed Away

Dressage

Belgium

Rosantica, David Engelen's 2007 Belgian Grand Prix Team horse, has passed away. She was 30 years old.

Rosantica was a Belgian warmblood mare by Camus and out of the Thoroughbred lare La Madeleine xx (by Saint Philippe xx x Nativio xx).

Belgian Young Horse Sensation

She was bred by Roger Janssens at brood farm De Verbrande Brug north of Brussels.

The very elegant chestnut mare was a young horse sensation in Belgium in 1999 - 2000. She looked like a prototype of a modern dressage athlete despite her old bloodlines.

At age three, the mare won the BWP Young Horse Championships and was selected to represent the BWP Team at the European Breed Championships in Brussels in 1998.

Under Geert van der Borght she was a strong contestant on the Belgian young horse circuit in 1999 and became reserve champions of the circuit at the end of the year. They won the 1999 Belgian Young Horse Championships for 5-year olds was proclaimed the BWP 5 year old Mare Champion.

Rosantica at the 2000 World Young
Horse Championships

In 2000 the pair represented Belgium at the World Young Horse Championships in Arnheim, where they finished 17th overall. They also won the Belgian Young Horse Championships for 6-year olds.

David Engelen

Rosantica sold to Belgian dressage rider David Engelen and received the sponsor pre-fix Arctic.

The pair debuted at international small tour level in 2004 and competed at several CDI's through 2005. They moved up to Intermediaire II-Grand Prix level in 2006.

The pair gained steam at Grand Prix level in 2007 with starts in Stadl Paura, Saumur, La Mandria, Balve, Loingen, Vierzon and Pompadour. They were selected on the Belgian team for the 2007 European Championships at La Mandria/Turin, where they placed 48th in the Grand Prix with 62.417%. Their last international show was in September 2007 at the CDI Herentals.

Broodmare

Rosantica stayed with Engelen for her retirement till her last day.

Rosantica produced three foals for breeder Roger Janssen: the 1999 born Weltica (by Welt Hit II) and the 2001 born embrytransfer foals Benfica (by De Niro) and Belissima (by De Niro). Belissima went on to produce Lisa Wilcox' former international Grand Prix horse Galant (by Escuro), born in 2006.

During her time with David, she produced one more foal, the 2016 born Belgian warmblood mare Miss Rosantica (by San Amour). She become a broodmare too and produced a now 4-year old by Picasso van den Bruel and a 2-year old by Breitling W. She is in foal to Vitalos.

Rosantica was put to sleep on 1 May 2024.

"Despite her being 30 years old and having enjoyed a good retirement in the field with us, it was still a shock to say goodbye," Engelen told Eurodressage. "She had a tumour behind her eye for a while, which didn't affect her at first but in the last few days it suddenly started to grow and it was no longer bearable. She was our first horse that we brought to Grand Prix ourselves and the only one with whom we had such a strong bond."