Desperados, Kristina Bröring-Sprehe’s Olympic & Championship Gold Medal Mount, Dies Unexpectedly
5 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Desperados, Kristina Bröring-Sprehe’s Olympic & Championship Gold Medal Mount, Dies Unexpectedly
Feb. 14, 2020
Desperados, the Hanoverian stallion that Kristina Bröring-Sprehe rode to Olympic and championship gold medals, died unexpectedly of an aortic rupture Friday at the age of 19.
The black stallion that Kristina began competing at Big Tour in 2011 was highly successful on the powerhouse German team, earning team silver at the 2012 Olympics in London and team gold and individual bronze at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The partnership of Desperados (De Niro x Wolkenstein II) and Kristina were on the 2014 World Equestrian Games gold medal team and also captured individual and freestyle bronze.
The pair won team gold at the 2013 European Championships in Herning, Denmark and at the 2015 Europeans was on the bronze medal team and took freestyle silver behind Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro of Great Britain.
The duo won the German championships in 2014 and 2015.
Kristina competed Desperados a total of 79 times over eight years at Big Tour, fewer than 10 starts a year.
Desperados died an hour after Kristina rode the stallion’s offspring, Destiny OLD, to victory in the national level Grand Prix at Neumünster, Germany.
