Dublet, Ridden by Kasey Perry-Glass to Olympic, World Games Medals, Officially Retires

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Kasey Perry-Glass on Dublet at the 2019 World Cup Final in Gothenburg, Sweden, the last competition for the American Olympic and World Games team medal pair. File photo. © Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com

July 29, 2020

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

Dublet that Kasey Perry-Glass rode to Olympic and World Equestrian Games United States team medals, was officially retired Wednesday.

The announcement by Kasey was made “with both a heavy but joyful heart” on the day she imagined riding Dublet down the centerline at the Tokyo Olympic Games that have been deferred for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Dublet (Diamond Hit x Ferro) is 17-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding that Kasey last competed at the World Cup Final in Gothenburg, Sweden in April 2014.

The partnership was on the American team that earned bronze at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and silver at the 2018 World Games in Tryon. Kasey and Dublet were also U.S. national Grand Prix champions in 2017.

“I imagined that today I would be waking up and preparing myself to ride Dublet down centerline in Tokyo for one final freestyle as a competitive pair, but instead I come on here today to announce Dublet’s retirement with both a heavy but joyful heart,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

“The past almost decade with Dublet has changed not only my life but everyone’s around us. He has given all of us inspiration, hope, love, beauty, and a sense of belief that everything and anything is possible. He has taught me to listen to my gut and I’ve learned to listen to what is best for HIM.

“We have been through so many ups and downs, countries, stadiums, award ceremonies, and quiet one-on-one times together. It is hard for me to believe that this chapter of our journey is closing, but it calms my heart knowing that another chapter is opening in our relationship. I am so excited to take what Dublet has taught me and apply it to a pipeline of future horses!

“When I look back on our journey I see more than just his accolades and the ones he has given me. I see a horse with a huge heart to please, love, and try his hardest in everything he does. He doesn’t owe me anything and now I owe him the best retirement a horse deserves!

“I have come to the conclusion that purusing another year at the elite level is not in his best interest. Representing the USA has been one of the greatest honors of our partnership. We never took it for granted and did it with Pride.

“Obviously this is a lot harder for me than it is for him; he thinks he has the life with all-day turnout and easy rides. Horses teach us to take our own ambition and greed and put it to the side.”

Dublet began international competition with Kasey at Small Tour near her home at Sacramento, California in 2013 and included a European show swing two years later. The pair moved up to Big Tour at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Florida in 2016.

Kasey and Dublet were successful in the first Grand Prix competition in Europe, leading the United States team to victory in the Nations Cup at Compiègne, France. They went on to perform on the team at the Nations Cup at Rotterdam the following month.

Kasey Perry-Glass and Dublet at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. © Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com

The Olympic team of Kasey on Dublet along with Laura Graves on Verdades, Steffen Peters on Legolas and Allison Brock on Rosevelt then went to Rio de Janeiro where the U.S. captured bronze, the first Olympic dressage medal for America since the 2004 Games.

The pair competed at the 2017 World Cup Final in Omaha then returned to Europe where the team won the Nations Cup at Rotterdam and took silver at the Nations Cup in Aachen, Germany.

At the World Games in Tryon in 2018, Kasey and Dublet on the team that also included Laura on Verdades, Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper and Adrienne Lyle on Salvino claimed silver. The result was the most successful at the world championships since silver for the American team in 2002.

Dublet and Kasey won three events and placed second three times in the duo’s six starts at the 2019 Global circuit in Wellington in 2019 and earned a start at the World Cup Final in Gothenburg.

Kasey Perry-Glass on Dublet at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon. © Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com