Lucie-Anouk Baumgurtel's Sweetheart Passed Away

Dressage

Germany

European junior rider champion Lucie-Anouk Baumgurtel had to say goodbye to her junior career-starting horse, Sweetheart.

Sweetheart was a 12-year old Hanoverian mare by Scolari x Hohenstein). She was bred by Jörg-Christian Kruse.

She was trained by Marcus Hermes to small tour level. Hermes, a former assistant rider at Baumgurtel's at their yard Freiberger Hof, up to small tour level. They represented Germany at the 2015 World Championships for Young dressage Horses in Verden, where they were 10th in the finals for 5-year olds.

In 2016 they were re-selected on the German team for the 2016 World Championships for 7-year olds but ended up not going to Ermelo. The pair also qualified for the 2016 Nurnberger Burgpokal Finals, but the mare was not shown in Frankfurt as she underwent colic surgery that month.

In December 2018 Lucie-Anouk began competing at junior rider's level with Sweetheart (by Scolari x Hohenstein) and in 2019, at age 15, she tried for the German junior team. The pair finished second in the Preis der Besten and placed twice second and won once at the team selection trial at the 2019 CDIO-J Hagen.

They were selected on the German junior team for the 29019 Europeans, but had to withdraw right before the event due to an injury sustained in her stall. After a year of recovery, she made a come back to sport in September 2020.

A few months ago, Freiberger Hof announced that Sweetheart had been retired from sport and joined the broodmare fold, in foal.

Unfortunately, on 9 August the Baumgurtel family posted on their social media that the mare had to be euthanized.

"We have tried everything with the best vets in the last weeks, but we had to let you go as nobody could help you," said the Baumgurtel family. "You were so brave, made it through two surgeries after a field accident. We had hopes, you fought bravely but in the end we had to let you go. It is unbelievable that you won't return to us."