He held the title "Holsteiner of the Month for September" after London by Landos-Quinar, bred by Ocke Riewerts from the island of Föhr, returned home from the Olympic Games in Paris with two medals.

However, the success list of Laura Collett's (GBR) sporting partner was long even before that. London has been stabled at the Briton's yard since 2016. Peter Thomsen from Großenwiehe had once discovered the now 16-year-old gelding at a nearby showjumping competition. Under Felix Flinzer and later under Stefan Jensen, the gelding from lineage 3200 competed in young showjumping classes up to medium (M) level. "I simply liked him," Peter Thomsen recalls, "a light, long-legged horse." London stayed in Großenwiehe for only a few months before Laura Collett, who was looking for a horse, arrived. Thus, the bay gelding began his journey to Great Britain. And so began a storybook career with victories in various five-star competitions. At the Tokyo Olympic Games, the pair already won the gold medal with the British team, became European Team Champions in Haras du Pin (FRA), and crowned their successes with two medals in Paris.

Now the readers of PFERD+SPORT have voted this exceptional athlete Holsteiner of the Year with a clear lead.

Photo: Stefan Lafrentz