The German para dressage team is grieving the loss of championship medal-winning mare Nautika, who has died weeks before she was due to compete in the Paralympics.
The 18-year-old mare and her 63-year-old rider Martina Benzinger had been selected to represent Germany together at a second major championship but Nautika had been found “not in her usual form”.
“To get to the bottom of the matter, Nautika was subjected to a CT scan, which unexpectedly revealed serious complications,” a spokesperson for the German equestrian federation said.
“For several days, everything was tried to save the mare, but in the end it was unsuccessful.”
Martina and the Lipizzaner, a former driving horse, had been together since 2020 and had 28 international wins together.
They were selected for the 2022 World Championships but had to withdraw at short notice, making their debut together instead at the 2023 Europeans, where they were on the team that won silver. They also took silver in the grade I individual test, and bronze in the freestyle.
“We are all so very sorry for Martina. We know how much Nautika meant to her and how great the loss is for her. Nautika was something unique in all her ways, a real personality,” said Nico Hörmann, German para dressage team leader.
In a separate statement, the German para dressage team said Nautika’s death came “far too early”.
“The grief of the loss of this special horse runs great across the team,” the statement said, adding a quote from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “What you possess deep in your heart cannot be lost by death.”
Martina said: “We will never forget you, in my heart Nauti will always have a very big place.”
Regine Mispelkamp, also a member of the German para dressage team, said Nauitka was a joy to work with.
“A lot of charisma, character and an enormous expression were the characteristics of the little mare,” she said. “Equipped with a tactful and even stride, the little mare carried her rider Martina safely, reliably and piously through every test. With her sometimes very lively temperament and her own strength of opinion, she was a little special to deal with.
“We’re sure Nauti now has a place of honour in the sky on the special clouds, she certainly deserves it. We still can’t believe it and wish you, dear friends, our condolences and a lot of strength. Nauti will always be in our hearts!”
Isabell Nowak joins the German team with Siracusa OLD, and Melanie Wienand and Lemony’s Loverboy are the new reserves.
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