Popular dressage horse Mr President IV will now be completely retired after being diagnosed with a grade 5 heart murmur.
Routine check
Mr P’s rider Steph Croxford made the announcement today (7 January) on Facebook: “Following a routine vet check of Mr P (aka Rimmer) on Monday prior to his annual booster, it was found that he had a Grade 5 Heart Murmur. This had suddenly developed over the last 3 months from nowhere.”
The decision was made to fully retire the 21-year-old Gelderlander gelding, who will no longer be ridden and will live out his days in the field.
“We were advised that it was no longer safe to ride him as the vet could not guarantee our safety,” Steph said.
Looking fit
Steph had never competed in dressage when she first bought Mr President as a three-year-old. While she bought him for his scopey jump, Steph was encouraged to try dressage – the pair started off at Prelim level and made it to Grand Prix six years later.
They went on to compete internationally, including top 10 finishes at the Olympia World Cup leg in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
He was retired from high-level competition in October 2013, but continued to be kept ‘ticking over’ at home. However,Mr P had been looking so fit and well recently that Steph had been considering taking him to another Premier League show.
“We will both miss having fun together,” Steph added.