Gigolo FRH (1983 – 23 September 2009) was a

liver chestnut Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs. It is one of the most common ...

Hanoverian The adjective Hanoverian is used to describe: * British monarchs or supporters of the House of Hanover, the dynasty which ruled the United Kingdom from 1714 to 1901 * things relating to; ** Electorate of Hanover ** Kingdom of Hanover ** Province o ...

gelding, ridden for Germany by

Isabell Werth Isabell Werth (born 21 July 1969 in Issum) is a German equestrian and world champion in dressage who competed in the Olympics six times (1992, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2016, 2020) ...

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

competitions. During their competition career, the pair won four gold and two silver medals at

Olympic games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, four world championships, eight

European championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

, and four German championships. Gigolo was euthanized in 2009 after being injured, but is known today as history's most successful dressage horse.

Early life

The

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

was bred in 1983 by Horst Klussmann. His sire was Graditz and his dam was Bunett (his dam's sire was Busoni xx). In 1989, Werth's then-trainer Uwe Schulten-Baumer purchased Gigolo.

Competitive career

Gigolo and Werth competed in their first Olympic Games in 1992 at the Barcelona Games. There, the pair took an individual silver, while helping the German team to a gold medal. At the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, they repeated the team performance, while improving to take the individual gold medal. In 2000, at the Sydney Games, the helped the German team to a third gold medal, while again taking the individual silver. After the Sydney Games, Werth replaced Gigolo with Satchmo as her Olympic horse, although the pair didn't compete until the 2008 Games. Gigolo and Werth also competed in two

World Equestrian Games The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive ...

. The first, the 1994 The Hague Games, resulted in both individual and team gold for the pair, as did the second, the 1998 Rome Games. In 1991, Gigolo made his European Dressage Championship debut at

Donaueschingen Donaueschingen (; Low Alemannic: ''Eschinge'') is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar '' Kreis''. It stands near the confluence of the two sources of the river Da ...

, Germany, where he and Werth took both individual and team gold. They repeated this double gold feat three times – in 1993 at Lipica, Slovenia; in 1995 at

Mondorf Mondorf-les-Bains ( ; ) is a commune and town in south-eastern Luxembourg. It is part of the canton of Remich. Mondorf-les-Bains is a spa town (hence its name), and has the only casino in Luxembourg. , the commune of Mondorf-les-Bains (other tow ...

, Luxembourg; and in 1997 at Verden, Germany. He was also a four-time national dressage champion in Germany. During his frequent musical kur performances, Gigolo was known for his elasticity – the pair's signature move was a transition from an extended canter directly to a pirouette. Gigolo was officially retired at the Stuttgart German Masters competition on October 24, 2000.

Legacy

On September 23, 2009, Gigolo was

euthanized Animal euthanasia ( euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditi ...

after being injured and experiencing a rapid decline in health. Werth described him as "my friend, schoolmaster and comrade. His reliability and willingness to work were two of his extraordinary traits." During his competitive career, he won 883,918 DM in prize money. Based on his monetary success and competition record, Gigolo is known as "the most successful dressage horse of all time."

References

{{Reflist Dressage horses 1983 animal births 2009 animal deaths Horses in the Olympics Hanoverian horses