Samourai du Thot

Like Amande de B’Neville and Sandra Auffarth’s Opgun Louvo, Samourai du Thot also found his way from France to Germany via the Belgian Myriam Meylemans. With his pedigree, he could also have become a show jumper. His sire Milor Landais was himself successful in 1.60 meter show jumping competitions. More importantly, however, his granddam is also the dam of the 2007 World Cup final winner, Ideo du Thot. As a young horse, you could not tell at first glance that Samourai du Thot (“Sam”) would go on to become a great rider.

Small (very), brown, inconspicuous – that’s how the then six-year-old Samourai du Thot appeared at his first appearance in an international eventing competition in Bad Harzburg in 2012. But even at this first CIC1* appearance, he gave a hint of what he was capable of and was zero in the cross-country as well as on the course. Even though he had refusals in the two other tests in this first season, three top three placings and a victory in Chatsworth in England the following year confirmed that the pair were on the right track. And so it continued in the following seasons.

The first major tasks

One of the reasons why Julia Krajewski calls “little Sam”, as she calls him in reference to Michael Jung’s legend of the same name, her “heart horse” is that the gelding approaches everything he does with enthusiasm. He didn’t just walk up to the transporter, he jumped up, ready for new adventures. He was also quick-witted, a genius when he was with himself, felt comfortable and everything was right. After the pair had been victorious in Wiesbeiden in 2015, finished third in the CCI3* (now CCI4*-L) in Strzegom and ended the season with a fifth place at the Nations Cup in Waregem (BEL), the first really big tasks followed in 2016. In Luhmühlen, rider and horse wanted to compete in their first CCI4* (CCI5*-L) competition. Sam was ready. And how.

No one who saw this little brown speedster flying over the cross-country course at Luhmühlen will ever forget the picture. Julia Krajewski called it her “little go-cart”, which is very fitting. Sam was in his element on the heath. He finished the four-star premiere (CCI5*-L) in third place, securing his place in the team for the Olympic Games in Rio.

Setback I

Here, however, things did not go as planned. After refusals, the pair were eliminated in the cross-country. The team still managed to win silver. But the disappointment was great. TV commentator Carsten Sostmeier later had to apologize to Julia Krajewski for his unpleasant choice of words during the live broadcast. A bitter Olympic premiere for the then 27-year-old. But she didn’t let it get her down.

After ending the 2016 season with an encouraging victory in the CIC2* in Strzegom, they gathered new strength over the winter and started the 2017 season with four second places in four starts. Thus prepared, they traveled to Luhmühlen to compete again at five-star level. This time it went even better than the year before: victory with a clear round despite one knockdown on the course. This recommended them for the European Championships, which took place this year in Strzegom, Poland, where Sam had already proven himself.

Setback II

The European Championships in Strzegom got off to a good start. The German team was in the lead after the dressage. Julia Krajewski and Samourai du Thot were the first pair for the team on the cross-country course. They got as far as obstacle 8, but Krajewski explained later that Sam had always slipped when she tried to take a turn faster than working canter. The ground was soft and slippery. Obstacle 8 was a combination. Sam slipped again and this time he was unable to balance it. The result was a run past 8b. However, the pair continued to fight and eventually crossed the finish line without any further obstacle faults and with only 3.6 time penalties. That was a shame, especially as Bettina Hoy and Sir Medicott were eliminated after a fall. But after top rounds from Ingrid Klimke with Hale Bob and Michael Jung with Rocana, the team was still on course for silver. They then completed their success on the course. Ingrid Klimke also became individual European champion and Michael Jung won silver. So everything was actually going well.

Actually. Because during the medication check, Samourai du Thot tested positive for the banned substance firocoxib, a painkiller and anti-inflammatory. Julia Krajewski swore (she still does to this day, by the way) that she had no idea how the drug could get into her horse’s body. But she was unable to prove her innocence. So she accepted the FEI’s punishment, which was accompanied by a disqualification. Without Krajewski’s result, the team was out of the running. The team had to return silver. But life had to go on. In the fall, the pair returned to Strzegom once again to end the season with a fourth place with a dressage result in the CIC2*.

Two-time German champion

Every person, and especially every athlete, has to deal with defeats, dips in form and less good times. But in Julia Krajewski’s case, there were two bitter setbacks within a short space of time, which also attracted a lot of media attention. It says a lot about her that she didn’t let it get her down and kept fighting – to secure her first German Championship title with Sam in Luhmühlen in 2018. The fact that it was not Sam with whom she was nominated for the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, but her up-and-coming star Chipmunk, who she also trained herself, was due to the events at CHIO Aachen. There, Sam was eliminated in the cross-country, while Chipmunk won.

The fact that Julia Krajewski’s third championship outing in Tryon also ended in disappointment is not part of Sam’s story. Or somehow it is, because it was the work with her horses that Krajewski was always able to build on. And working with Sam was fun. After the disappointment in Aachen, the gelding won seven competitions in a row, including the German Championships in 2019. Mission title defense successful.

Corona and end of career

The 2020 tournament year was dominated by the coronavirus pandemic. Krajewski and Sam did well every time they were able to take part in competitions. With a CCI4*-L victory in Strzegom, they went into the winter break with their eyes set on the coming year, in which the Olympic Games would hopefully be made up for. That’s how it turned out. But not for Sam.

Over the winter, he contracted a bacterial infection that got so bad that one eye was affected. It had to be removed. There are horses in top sport that are blind in one eye. But they are usually used to this situation from a young age. His trainer saw no point in only riding Sam in small competitions. She certainly didn’t want to let him out of her hands. So Sam took early retirement, which he is now enjoying.

Even though his career ended sooner than expected, his tournament record is impressive: 18 victories in 56 international starts, plus a further 22 top five placings. It is this record and performances like the one in Luhmühlen that the gelding will be remembered for.