One of the greatest dressage horses, the fiery Salinero, died in retirement today at the age of 28.
“My heart has been broken,” said the Netherlands’ Anky van Grunsven, who rode her partner to two Olympic individual gold medals and four World Cup titles.
“Salinero my hero has left us in tears. The memories never fade away.”
As the Dutch federation noted about the Hanoverian son of Salieri, “Together with Anky, he was the icon of Dutch and international dressage sport for years.”
Salinero on his way to another freestyle gold medal with Anky van Grunsven at the 2008 Hong Kong Olympics. (Photo © 2008 by Nancy Jaffer)
Anky’s Olympic freestyle gold medals in Athens (2004) and Hong Kong (2008) with Salinero followed her gold in Sydney (2000) aboard Bonfire, but Salinero carried her to new heights.
She continued her rivalry with her German counterpart, Isabell Werth, making the first part of the Twenty First Century an exciting time for dressage enthusiasts.
While Salinero, who began competing as a jumper, had an impressive style, he also was impatient. His hot and sparkly character was reflected in not wanting to halt properly. And at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games, he bolted during the team prize giving ceremony and seemed headed for downtown Aachen before he was stopped by a police horse barricade. But he was in fine form for the freestyle at the show in Germany, where he won again.
His long competitive career ended at the 2012 Olympics in London, where he and Anky helped the Dutch to a team bronze, and he was sixth in the freestyle. He spent the rest of his life in happy retirement.