Imke Schellekens-Bartels' Sunrise Passed Away

Dressage

The Netherlands

Imke Schellekens-Bartels said goodbye to her Dutch Olympic team horse Sunrise. The mare was 27 years old.

Sunrise was a Hanoverian mare by Singular Joter out of Waidwerk (by Werther). She was bred by M. Schaefer.

Smarius Family

Dutch couple Thea and Piet Smarius were lovers of the Hanoverian horse and bought Sunrise as a youngster.

In 1999 the Smarius couple was looking for a rider for their 5-year old Hanoverian mare Sunrise (by Singular Joter x Werther) and found Tineke and Imke at Bartels Academy, where their plus-daughter Marianne was training.

Sunrise was first trained and competed by Tineke Bartels, but after the sale of the 2004 Olympic Games ride Lancet, Imke took over the ride.

Successor of Lancet

With her career on Lancet only being very short lived, Schellekens in fact achieved her biggest career successes on Sunrise.

They were a fixture on the Dutch team at the 2006 and 2010 World Equestrian Games, the 2007 and 2009 European Championships and 2008 Olympic Games. They won team silver in 2006 and 2008, team gold and individual bronze in 2007, team gold in 2009, and team gold in 2010.

At the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen

She competed in four World Cup Finals. In 2006 in Amsterdam they were fourth, In 2007 in Las Vegas they were second, in 2008 in Den Bosch they were fourth, and in 2010 in Den Bosch they were third. Sunrise's freestyle, piano music composed by Wibi Soerjadi, became one of the most recognizable and prettiest freestyles ever made.

In 2006 they were Dutch Grand Prix Champions

Retirement

The 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington turned out to be Sunrise's last international.

After injuring herself while being lunged in the winter of 2010, the bay mare needed a long time to recover. She missed out on the 2011 European Championships and 2012 Olympic Games. Despite attempts to bring her back to full fitness, she was retired from sport in November 2012 at the age of 18.

The Bartels' family tried to breed Sunrise but it didn't work. She was retired to the field with shetland companion Gestionneke and lived to the blessed age of 27.

"Yesterday she suddenly started getting co-ordination problems and we decided to put her to sleep," Imke explained. "Till the last day she was energetic and happy. She spent 22 years with us and together with her owners, the Smarius family, we experienced the greatest things. She was my absolute dream horse and once-in-a-lifetime horse. I'm deeply saddened but incredibly grateful to have her in my life this long."