For a “joyful performance” there were an unusual number of tears in the packed St. Jakobshalle. “It’s very difficult,” four-time Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl admitted before saying goodbye to her sports partner. After the Trakehner Stallion Days in Neumünster and the Amadeus Horse Indoors in Salzburg, the CHI Classics Basel, the Swiss World Cup tournament, offered the worthy setting for the final farewell of TSF Dalera BB. The now 18-year-old mare showed her gold freestyle in Paris one last time and was celebrated with ovations.
The last big performance moved not only the rider and her team to tears, but also many spectators. Von Bredow-Werndl and her “Queen” were the defining dressage couple of recent years. They won Olympic double gold twice in a row, as well as all championship titles. They only missed the 2022 World Championships because the rider became a mother for the second time. In 2021 in Tokyo and last summer in Paris, the 38-year-old thrilled an audience of millions with Dalera – even though the sport of dressage has fallen into disrepute due to scandals. Hearts flew to the delicate rider and her elegant, brown Trakehner mare wherever they appeared in recent years. Harmony, lightness and grace paired with technical precision, power and dynamism – this combination is very rare and even rarer with such consistency.
She is “deeply connected to Dalera on a different level,” said von Bredow-Werndl, describing the secret of her success. “I know what Dalera thinks and she knows what I think. The viewers feel that,” she explained. Is it all just your imagination? Studies show that the heartbeat and breathing of horses and humans can synchronize, similar to those of lovers. It has also been proven that horses can recognize human facial expressions and remember whether someone was friendly or grumpy the day before.
From an early age, Dalera showed herself to be particularly active, docile, willing to perform and uncomplicated
Of course, living things have different levels of talent and willingness to learn. Top-class sport requires special qualities, which Dalera obviously had from the start. Verena Sammer, her first trainer, described the lanky four-year-old, who was already 1.76 meters tall, as particularly active, docile, willing to perform and uncomplicated. Master horse economist Werner Bergmann saw the Easy Game daughter on a course under her breeder Silke Druckenmüller and immediately recognized the potential. “Within five minutes the mare was mine. I didn’t even ride her,” he said on the phone. A video shows how Dalera was already piaffing and passing as a six-year-old. Even back then, according to Bergmann, she could “ride with very fine aids”.
“With a heavy heart,” the professional rider sold the mare to Béatrice Bürchler-Keller. The Swiss woman from near Basel is a passionate and experienced horsewoman and a former Olympic dressage judge. Since her horses are generally not for sale, Dalera was given sufficient time to mature with Susanne Eggli before she was promoted to the highest class in Aubenhausen. At that time, von Bredow-Werndl had already established himself in top international sport with Unee BB, another horse owned by Bürchler-Keller.
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The Upper Bavarian won her first rural S-level test in 2016 with the nine-year-old Dalera. In December 2017, the couple convincingly won the final of the prestigious Louisdor Prize. After that, the mare developed rapidly. She was already on the German gold team at the 2018 World Championships. “After the 2019 European Championships, I knew that anything was possible,” remembers the rider. In Rotterdam, the pair won free skate bronze, their first international individual medal.
“It’s just a moment when you’re on top with the medal. “It’s the path to get there that counts,” says Bredow-Werndl
A lot of precious metal has been collected over the past six years. The journey together was like a fairy tale, but also an exhausting one. “Dealing with the pressure to succeed and always going above and beyond is difficult,” says the former world number one. She got mental support from Felix Gottwald, Austria’s most successful Olympic athlete, among others. The title defense in Paris turned into an emotional rollercoaster. It was a shock when von Bredow-Werndl and Dalera made a mistake in the team classification, the Grand Prix Special. For the first time in three years, the pair were beaten internationally. After all, second place was enough to secure the team gold. Last but not least, the pair also won individual gold with a flawless free skate and made Olympic history. Two titles in two consecutive games with the same horse, something that only Nicole Uphoff and Rembrandt had achieved before.
Of course the rider is proud of what she has achieved with Dalera. “But it’s only a moment when you’re on top with the medal. The way there counts. It’s not the success, but the horses that are above everything,” states the Olympian. She was and is in agreement with Dalera’s owner on this. Shortly after her mare’s farewell gala, Bürchler-Keller was already standing in the stable, smiling and watching her mare eat. A few days earlier she was in the saddle herself. A social media video showed how eagerly Dalera piaffed and passed beneath her. “She is a mythical creature,” the grande dame of Swiss dressage is convinced.
Next year, the 19-year-old mare could have a new job as a mother – if she becomes pregnant. In any case, the “Queen” will be cared for and ridden in Aubenhausen until the end of her life. “Dressage helps maintain health and makes horses more beautiful,” says von Bredow-Werndl, referring to classical riding theory. In terms of sport, her focus is now on young horses. With Got it BB and Kismet she is aiming to qualify for the Louisdor Prize final in the fall. She is also excited about the development of Discover, which she took over from her brother in May 2024. She doesn’t want to reveal anything more: “Shut up and ride,” is her motto.
#Farewell #successful #mare #Dalera
