Bohemian wins CDI3* Grand Prix in Wellington

The Bordeaux son Bohemian, bred by Heinrich Langwellpott, was already a striking appearance as a young horse. As a six-year-old, Katrine Kraglund presented him at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses. He came last in the qualifying round, but still made it to the World Championships by winning the small final and finishing in eighth place. Even then, it was clear to see that this horse was made for the big arena.

Kraglund had stood in for Bohemian’s actual rider, Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, at the World Championships because she had been nominated for the Olympic Games in Rio. Laudrup-Dufour then took over the training of “Bo” again and turned him into a world-class horse with Grand Prix results of over 80 percent. The highlights of the pair’s career: fourth place in the individual and team rankings at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, team bronze as well as individual silver and bronze at the 2021 European Championships in Hagen.

2024 Olympics?

Bohemian then changed hands at the beginning of 2023. The Korean Dong Seon Kim, himself a participant in the 2016 and 2021 Olympic Games, invested in the dark chestnut. It would have been a possible pairing for Paris 2024. But that did not happen. The pair’s performances in Wellington were moderately successful. However, an Olympic start was no longer an option anyway, as Dong Seon Kim decided to focus more on his career in the future and sell his Grand Prix horses.

Bohemian was given to the Dülmen-based Swede Patrik Kittel to ride. He presented him with significantly more success than the gelding’s current owner. At the end of October 2023 in Herning, they won the Grand Prix Special with just under 76 percent. It then became known that Kim wanted to sell Bohemian and other horses from his Galleria Sportpferde GmbH via an online auction.

Sold to the USA

This caused an outcry in the social media and a public dispute between Kittel and Galleria Sportpferde GmbH with the accusation that such a horse should not be auctioned on Kittel’s side and counter-accusations that he could have bought the horse himself etc. on the other side.

In the end, the auction did not take place. Instead, Bohemian was sold to the up-and-coming dressage stable Zen Elite Equestrian in the USA. His new rider was to be Endel Ots, who had no international Grand Prix experience to date. He quickly made up for this with Bohemian.

After regularly achieving results of 70 percent and better, the pair were nominated for the CDIO Aachen, where they came eleventh (71.435), tenth (72.064) and 14th (74.665) in the Grand Prix, Special and Freestyle. This was Bohemian’s last show for the time being. The gelding had to take a break due to illness, but has now been back in full training for some time.

Return to the international arena

Endel Ots and Bohemian had already competed nationally in Wellington in recent weeks. Today was the first international Grand Prix on the program, the CDI3* Tour. 13 pairs took part. Ots and Bohemian won the test with 69.261 percent ahead of their stable and team colleague Christian Simonson and the Parzival full brother Fleau de Baian (69.065). Bohemian was able to score points in the piaffe, just like in the past. A mistake in the double changes was costly. But he is back and with a victory – even if the result is still a long way from the 74 percent that pairs in the USA must have achieved at least twice in Grand Prix and/or Special within twelve months to be eligible for the championship squad.

Two German pairs also competed in Wellington. Christoph Koschel took fifth place with the ten-year-old Dante Weltino son Dante’s Peak (67.739). The young Rhineland U25 rider Emma Caecilia Lienert placed sixth on Windermere J’Obei in her first CDI3* Grand Prix with 67.543 percent. Lienert has a real teacher in the 16-year-old “Joey”. Before the Johnson son came to her, he was trained up to Grand Prix level by New Zealander Melissa Galloway and took part in the Olympic Games in Paris with her.

You can find all the results from Wellington here.