Tex © World of Showjumping

Luiz Francisco de Azevedo’s former championship ride Comic (Verdi TN x Heartbreaker, breeder H.A. Heijmerink) has passed away at age of 18, while enjoying retirement in Brazil.  

“Comic was an extremely special horse to our family, and to the Brazilian team,” De Azevedo tells World of Showjumping. “He was a once-in-a-lifetime horse.”

De Azevedo got the ride on Comic in 2013, and a year later – at the age of seven – the stallion placed 6th at the Young Horse World Championships in Lanaken. The two went on to have a successful career together. In 2018, they were part of the Brazilian team at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon and they were selected to represent their country at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo but unfortunately missed out after the stallion sustained an injury. Together, they were on the podium in five-star Grand Prix classes such as the CSIO5* 1.60m Longines Grand Prix in Samorin in 2018, as well as in the CSI5* 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix in Wellington in 2018, and the CSI5* 1.60m Fidelity Investments® Grand Prix in Wellington in 2017.

At World of Showjumping, our thoughts are with De Azevedo-family and all those close to Comic.