Who would deserve the title "Holsteiner of the Month" more in September than an Olympic champion? With London by Landos-Quinar bred by Ocke Riewerts from the North Sea island of Föhr, Holsteiner breeding has produced an eventing horse that is second to none.
The list of successes of Laura Collett's sport partner is long. London has been in the Briton's stable since 2016. Peter Thomsen from Großenwiehe had once discovered the now 15-year-old gelding at a nearby show jumping competition. Under Felix Flinzer and later under Stefan Jensen, the gelding from stem 3200 had competed in young horse show jumping classes up to M level. „I simply liked him,“ Peter Thomsen recalls, „a light, long-legged horse“. London stayed in Großenwiehe for only a few months, because then came Laura Collett, who was looking for a horse. A phone call to friends in England – „my own budget wasn't enough for him“ – and the dark bay started his journey to Great Britain. And with that began a picture-book career with victories in various five-star classes and several championship titles. At the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the pair already won the gold medal with the British team, became team European champions last year in Haras du Pin (FRA) and have now crowned their successes with two medals in Paris: Gold with the team, bronze individually. No wonder, then, that Laura Collett calls her London a "once-in-a-lifetime horse".
Photo: London by Landos and Laura Collett (Stefan Lafrentz)
