It was at the end of March during the 2014 Barcelona Dressage Tour when we said good-bye to a very special horse, one of the unforgettable glories in the Spanish and international dressage world. We hadn’t seen so many people in a long time in Spain as we did the night of the Grand Prix kur at BCN Dressage Tour.
And there he came, as majestic as he was in his youth, with his coat shining and his trot almost as astonishing as it was at the peak of his career. It was as if he was saying to us, “Look at me. I am the same as ever.”
On 30 March we said good-bye and honoured this special pair. We saw him once again, 27-years old, once more in a competition arena led by his inseparable Beatriz Ferrer-Salat. Surrounded by his fans and friends, he received a well-deserved homage to his enormous sports career, as the most important dressage horse that has ever been in the Spanish history of the discipline. It was this Hanoverian horse that opened the door to dressage in Spain, together with a team built of Pure Breed Spanish horses. Beau was the first to allow us to dream of competing with the big dressage nations such as Germany and the Netherlands.
An individual silver medal and bronze team medal at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, an individual bronze at the 2003 European Championships in Hickstead; as well as the bronze medal and team silver at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens are some of their outstanding results across a long curriculum. Bea and Beau. We saw him again with 27 years trotting spectacularly through the ring. His physical appearance is amazing. Beatriz explained that he enjoys a wonderful retirement. Very much deserving, he receives treatments and all kinds of attention. When he gets bored out in the paddock, they take him for walks. He is proud and loves to carry her out in the fields for their relaxing walk after work in the arena with her younger horses. Of course at Villa Equus, he has a marvelous life.
During the ceremony, Beatriz remembered how he was: a horse with a strong character and that she had decided to let him shine the way he wanted. She told us that one day Johann Hinnemann, his former trainer, told her that he had never believed in the saying that there was a rider for every horse, until he had met her and seen their connection. From thereon, he had understood that there was a rider for every horse and that Bea, without a doubt, was Beau’s.
“Beauvalais is the horse of my life,” Bea said emotionally during the ceremony. "I will never forget how we couldn't even warm up correctly at the WEG in Jerez. The conditions were horrible for him. Before the Grand Prix, he was so hot. When we entered the ring, I remember how I said to him, “Let me help you today. I will carry you through this and we’ll do it. He let me. On the next day, I was sick. I had had a bad night but I had to ride. So I said to him, “Today you have to help me, please. It’s your turn. And then we won the test. It was incredible! Afterwards the Kür came out really well for the two of us. We did our best. I will never forget how I went crying through the tunnels of Chapin. They had told me about the medal and I was so emotional that I couldn't stop weeping throughout the whole way until I arrived at the stadium."
And of course, Jan Bemelmans was at the ceremony. For 16 years he had been the trainer of the Spanish national team and he had been through all of it with the riders and with Beatriz and Beau. He recalled how Beauvalais became so hot before the Grand Prix in Jerez and how he had lost any hope that they would be able to do well on the test. When the medals came, he couldn"t believe it! It was such a joy and surprise.
There were other people that had lived those times together with the couple and who had been involved in the brilliant career of this horse full of character. Athens' team chief, Bobby Fernández de Bobadilla, spoke about the pride she felt to have been part of the history that this pair wrote for Spain, and to be beside them when they had achieved the biggest success of their sports career for Spanish dressage. “The pressure at Athens was high after Jerez. The expectations rose for them. And they made all our dreams come true! Those were unforgettable moments we lived together," said Bobby.
At the Games in Jerez, Rosin Fradera accompanied Beauvalais and Bea. She was also present at the ceremony. An emotional Rosin remembered as if it had been yesterday how the people would applaud for his trot in the jog. “It was amazing! He surprised and captivated from the first step onward. You couldn’t forget if you had seen him then. And I must say he still looks incredible," said Rosin.
His inseparable luxury groom, Robbie Sanderson, couldn’t be absent at this goodbye. Very humbly he said, “Thank you to Beau. Beau and Bea. Due to them I am known as Robbie.”
Saturday evening when he came once more into the ring with all of his glamour at Beatriz Ferrer Salat's side, he reminded us that his trot was as spectacular as always. We could see him enjoy the audience and the applause. It was a joy for all of us. Beauvalais will be immortal. He was set in our memory forever on that night. Few horses reveal such charisma and character just with their presence.
Text by Katharina Braren - Photos © Arnd Bronkhorst - Jacques Toffi
Related Links
What a Show, What a Night! 2014 Barcelona Dressage Tour a Real Boost for Spanish Dressage
Beauvalais Not to Compete at the 2006 World Equestrian Games
Invasor and Beauvalais Back in the Show Ring at 2006 CDI Saumur
Beatriz Ferrer-Salat: Inspired by Her Family, Worked For Success
Ferrer-Salat Returns to the Top Echelons of the Game