He was one of the Belgian team’s greatest hopes for the 2021 Olympic Games. However, it was not to be, as H&M Chilli Willi died at the end of March as a result of a tragic accident. We have therefore decided to honour H&M Chilli Willi posthumously with the title ‘Holsteiner of the Month’ for May.
As his long-time rider Nicola Philippaerts reported on his Instagram account, the son of Casall Lord had to be put out of his misery on Friday evening following his appearance at the CSI5* in Wellington (USA). “Immediately after the final jump, the stallion stumbled and broke his left front leg,” according to www.spring-reiter.de. A complicated fracture was diagnosed, meaning that Nicola Philippaerts and his family had to make the decision to put the licensed stallion from line 318D2 to sleep.

Chilli Willi was born on the island of Föhr at Peter Diedrichsen’s stud – as have so many international sport horses. His breeder sold him as a foal to the Holsteiner Verband. He reared the Casall son, who, incidentally, comes from the same dam as Camiro (Toni Andre Hansen). As a two-year-old, Axel Abhau eventually bought him for his trading stable, and after a few twists and turns, he made his way to Belgium. Since 2015, Chilli Willi – who was the spitting image of his sire Casall – had been stabled with Philippaerts. “He’s very clever, has plenty of power and very often completes the course clear of faults,” the Belgian once said of his successful horse. The pair made a name for themselves with, amongst other things, victory at the 2017 Belgian Championships, the Global Champions Tour win in Chantilly in 2018 and Nations Cups. “Thank you for all the wonderful memories and the years we spent together, my superstar,” said Philippaerts. “You will always have a special place in my heart and I will miss you very much.”

They were a successful pair for many years: H&M Chilli Willi by Casall (Peter Diedrichsen, Föhr) and Nicola Philippaerts. ©SL