Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum's success horse Checkmate 4 has been retired from the sport at the age of 20 after a fantastic career. Checkmate has been with Meredith since he was a 6-year-old, and during their time together they won team gold at the 2010 World Championships, as well as taking the team bronze at the 2009 European Championships. The pair also had numerous other bigs wins; they were on the winning German Nations Cup team in Wellington in 2012, and took the World Cup win in Lyon back in 2010 and the Global Champions Tour Grand Prix in Estoril in 2010 - to mention some of many, many great moments. All photos (c) Jenny Abrahamsson.