The Olympic and world medal-winning dressage horse Suppenkasper has bowed out of competition aged 16 to enjoy retirement with his owners.
Akiko Yamazaki and Four Winds Farm’s KWPN gelding “Mopsie”, who helped the US to Olympic team silver in 2021 and world silver in 2018 with Steffan Peters, is one of the most successful horses in US dressage history.
“He earned the viral moniker Rave Horse for his popular freestyle from Tokyo 2020, becoming a highlight for viewers tuning into the Games,” a spokesperson for US Equestrian said. “In total, Suppenkasper competed in more than 80 international competitions with Steffan and earned 59 victories in grand prix CDI competition.”
Steffan said it had been a “true honour” to be part of Mopsie’s life and career.
“It’s hard to explain how much appreciation I have for Akiko for purchasing him eight years ago and then supporting us to compete around the world together,” he said.
“The historic silver medal in Tokyo was, of course, the highlight of our career together. For me, it will always be one of the proudest moments of our partnership – to have Mopsie deliver for our team that night in Tokyo.
“The individual victories were amazing, but I always felt the proudest delivering for our team, and it meant the world when we accomplished that in Tokyo. Mopsie became the Rave Horse; that’s still special to me because he connected so many people. They recognise him and his accomplishments, and there’s really no reason to mention my name, but it’s Mopsie’s character and energy which made people gravitate to him.
“The journey we’ve shared together is quite hard to put into words, but thoughts of gratitude, thankfulness, and friendship come to mind, both for Mopsie and Akiko, and I’m so privileged to have been a part of this journey with them.”
Steffan and Mopsie also represented the US at the 2022 World Championships, where the team finished sixth, and the Paris Olympics.
Akiko said she had been watching Mopsie “basking in the sun” from his window.
“As we mark 20 years together as a team, the time has come to end this amazing journey and it is with deep gratitude to Steffen, the horses and everyone that has been part of this journey that we now end this excellent adventure and long ride with this team,” she said.
“With Steffen as our rider, and with a number of horses, including Lombardi, Ravel, Legolas, Rosamunde, and Suppenkasper, our team has travelled around the world and had the honour of representing the USA in multiple international championships and events.”
A USEF spokesperson added: “Four Winds Farm and Yamazaki’s support of US dressage has produced tremendous international success over the years, with the highlight of the team silver medal from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which Suppenkasper and Peters played a significant role in helping to secure. Suppenkasper will now spend his days at Four Winds Farm in Woodside, California.”
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