At the age of 30, Malin Baryard-Johnsson's former success mare Butterfly Flip (Robin I Z x Moderne xx – breeder Kristina Larsson) has passed away. “It is with a great sadness that we would like to say goodbye to Butterfly Flip. Malin Baryard-Johnsson's former mare has passed away earlier this morning,” reads a statement from the De Brabander-family, who the mare enjoyed her retirement with.

With Malin Baryard-Johnsson in the saddle, Butterfly Flip was during her career one of the best horses on the international showjumping circuit. In 2004, the pair jumped to team silver for Sweden at the Olympic Games in Athens, in 2002 to team silver at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez and in 2001 to team silver at the European Championships in Arnhem. Butterfly Flip jumped at five World Cup finals and finished third in Las Vegas in 2003. With Butterfly Flip, Baryard-Johnsson also took the first World Cup win of her career back in 2001 in Geneva. 

Baryard-Johnsson and Butterfly Flip were a mainstay on the Swedish team, and also jumped at the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000, at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen in 2006 and at the European Championships in Donaueschingen in 2003 as well as in San Patrignano in 2005 – to mention some of their many team performances. 

In 2003, Butterfly Flip and Baryard-Johnsson were crowned the world's best horse-and-rider combination. 

"She was a very, very special horse to me, and one of the very best horses ever," Baryard-Johnsson says to World of Showjumping. "She brought me all the way to the very top of the sport. We had so many great years together, I started riding her at the age of 6 and we won our last Grand Prix together when she was 17!"

Butterfly Flip also has offspring with success at the highest level of the sport, such as Flip’s Little Sparrow – that in 2018 won the World Cup in Zürich with Stephanie Holmén in the saddle. 

Our thoughts go out to all those close to Butterfly Flip.