Casall – a living legend. The association-approved stallion, bred by Wilfried Thomann (Drelsdorf), turns 25 this week. On 13 April 1999, the son of Caretino-Lavall I (line 890) was born and was destined to make history both as a sire and in sport. Holsteiner Verband Hengsthaltungs GmbH has organised a themed week in his honour, which will be featured on the Holsteiner Verband’s channels this week. You can read Part 1 of his life story here.
And then came Bengtsson
Towards the end of Casall’s fifth year, the rider who was to lead him to all these unforgettable successes took his place in the saddle for the first time: Rolf-Göran Bengtsson. “That was Breido’s suggestion at the time,” recalls Norbert Boley, the managing director at the time, referring to the Count of Rantzau. The main aim was to seek Bengtsson’s assessment, to gauge where things stood. After all, the Swede’s opinion and experience had always been a vital source of support for the Holsteiner Verband. Rolf-Göran Bengtsson “immediately had the right feeling about Casall”. And he said he’d love to ride him. From then on, Casall and Bengtsson were a team.
When Casall was just over five years old, Rolf-Göran Bengtsson took his place in the saddle for the first time. It marked the beginning of an exceptional career.
The rest of this story is known throughout the world. It began with the title of Holsteiner State Champion in 2005 and the bronze medal at the National Championships. The first international placing followed in 2006 in Wiesbaden. That year, Casall was also given his first name suffix, ‘la Silla’. A sponsorship agreement set out the competitive programme for the stallion, who was henceforth known as Casall la Silla. He bore this name until Rolf-Göran Bengtsson entered into a partnership with the Danish stud farm Stutteri Ask.
Rolf-Göran Bengtsson had “immediately had the right feeling about Casall” and proved to be right about the association’s stallion.
A guarantee of success on the Global Champions Tour
Two years later came the big breakthrough with victories in the Grand Prix events at Aarhus and Falsterbo. From then on, Casall and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson were among the frontrunners in almost all the world’s major show jumping events: Hamburg, Monte Carlo, Lyon, ’s-Hertogenbosch, Doha, Chantilly, Basel, London, Rome, Valkenswaard and Paris are just a few examples. He competed in 40 Global Champions Tour showjumping events, winning ten times and failing to qualify for the second round on only three occasions. Indeed, the Global Champions Tour proved to be a fertile ground for the Holsteiner, who celebrated many of his greatest successes with the suffix ‘Ask’ to his name. Having already finished second in the overall standings in 2014 and third in 2015, the pair achieved their greatest success in 2016, when he outperformed the world’s top show jumpers not only in the final Grand Prix in Doha but also in the Global Champions Tour overall standings.
Just two years after his first international appearance, in 2008, Casall was already enjoying great success in Grand Prix events all over the world.
Of course, we must not forget to mention the team bronze medal at the European Championships in Herning, as well as fourth place in the individual competition at the World Championships in Caen. One could go on indefinitely listing the sporting successes of Casall and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson here. However, one thing must not be forgotten: Casall did not merely prove himself over more than ten years in international sport. His offspring were already doing so whilst he was still competing himself, meaning he often found himself competing against them in Global Jumping events. It was with mixed emotions that this world-class horse, aged 18, bid farewell to international sport – which had been his great stage for eleven years – in 2017 at the German Derby in Hamburg, whilst still in top form. And even though he is no longer with us, he is not forgotten. This is ensured by his numerous offspring, who have long since followed in their father’s footsteps, both in breeding and in sport.
You can read more about his most successful offspring in sport tomorrow in our Casall theme week.
Photos: Janne Bugtrup
Video: Longines Global Champions Tour
