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At the age of 19, Willem Greve’s long-time partner Carambole (San Patrignano Cassini x Concerto II) will be retired from the sport with a ceremony taking place during the 2023-edition of Jumping Amsterdam. 

The pair, that has been together since the stallion was four, was part of the Dutch team that won the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final in Barcelona in 2021, and also helped their country to victories in the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cups in La Baule and Rotterdam in 2016. Carambole and Greve have numerous other big wins on their record too, such as in the CSI4* Grand Prix in Amsterdam in 2015, the CSI3* Grand Prix in Drachten in 2015, the CSI3* Grand Prix in Hardelot in 2015 and the CSI3* Grand Prix in Knokke in 2017. The two also represented the Netherlands at the European Championships in Herning in 2013. 

“When we won the Nations Cup Final in Barcelona, I was already thinking about retiring him,” Greve tells World of Showjumping about Carambole. “He has given me so much, and he owes me nothing. You don’t get so many opportunities to give a horse a podium like Barcelona and let him finish his career with a result like that. He was four when I got him, and having produced him myself all the way to the highest level makes him a very special horse for me. I want him to finish his career on top and not on the way down. I had it in mind to do this last year in Amsterdam, but then the show got cancelled due to Covid-19. We could have done it at another show, but Amsterdam has been a special place for us and the crowd there is amazing so I decided to wait.”

“He has been an important horse for my career, and the relationship we have created with his owners is important for me as well,” Greve continues. “Carambole gave me the feeling that together we could beat the world, and that is an amazing feeling to have. He is an incredible horse. He is going to stay at my barn and get the attention he wants and deserves, and he will be fulltime available for breeding through Nijhof and my father’s breeding station De Watermolen.”

Carambole has already proved successful as a breeding stallion with international Grand Prix winners Elien, Eurohill’s Fyolieta, Fecybelle and Hello Senator among his many top offspring.

At World of Showjumping, we wish Carambole a happy retirement! 

10.1.2023 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.