Fairytale Ending for Casall ASK as Celebrated Stallion Retires With Grand Prix Win in Hamburg

That was the view of Harrie Smolders this weekend, after the Dutch Olympic show jumper finished second in the Hamburg CSI5* Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix to Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and his famous 18-year-old stallion Casall ASK, who was retiring the very same day.

Amongst a world-class group of riders and in front of thousands of spectators under blue skies on home soil, Bengtsson and Casall took top spot in a five-pair jump-off with zero faults and a decisive time of 42.69 seconds, winning €99,000. Smolders and Don VHP Z were next in 45.13.

Bengtsson, 54, and Casall ASK are also Olympians and they won last year’s worldwide Longines Global Champions Tour, but this weekend’s victory on Frank Rothenberger’s challenging track at the Derby-Park Klein Flottbek — Casall’s last competitive ride at the elite level — was obviously a unique and memorable one.

“It can’t be a better end that’s for sure,” Bengtsson said. “Today the feeling was the same as if he was 11 years old or 18 years old. The more public there is in the ring, the more he likes it even better. To make the retirement of a horse like Casall ASK and to pick the show at our home ground in front of his home crowd, is a dream come true and the horse more than deserves this and many will remember him for many years, including me!”

“I would carry on if I could, but it can’t end any better — Casall really deserves it,” he added about his bay horse, who is stabled in the city, Germany’s second-largest.  Hamburg was the fifth leg on this year’s Tour, after Mexico City, Miami Beach, Shanghai and Madrid. And there will be a later stop in the powerful equesrian sports nation, in the capital Berlin from July 28-30. 

Jan Tops, President of LGCT and former trainer of Rolf, said: “Casall ASK is an amazing horse, they are an amazing couple. I have known Rolf for many years. This is great horsemanship. One of the things I really respect is the way the horse has been looked after. 10 years like that at this level is very rare and won’t happen again.”

Great Britain’s John Whitaker, riding Cassinis Chaplin, missed out on the jump-off after incurring four faults, but was warmly welcomed by the crowd and finished 12th. At the same time, Great Britain and Ireland combined for great results in the parallel Global Champions League team competition taking place in Hamburg this weekend. Scottish native Scott Brash (with Ursula XII and Hello Forever) and Ireland’s Denis Lynch (RMF Echo) both jumped multiple clear rounds over two days, leading their Miami Glory team to victory. In the current standings, the Hamburg Diamonds team is on top of the leaderboard.

Next up for the Tour and League is Cannes, France, from June 8-10, not long after the conclusion of the Mediterranean French city’s renowned film festival.