Text © World of Showjumping
Callan Solem has decided to retire her long-time partner VDL Wizard (Gentleman x Ahorn). With the 17-year-old KWPN gelding, Solem competed at the 2016 Longines FEI World Cup Final in Gothenburg, Sweden, where the pair finished 7th overall. In 2015, Solem and VDL Wizard finished second in the CSI4* Longines FEI World Cup in Washington as well as third in the $1,000,000 Grand Prix in Ocala while the following year they were second in the CSI4* Longines FEI World Cup in Lexington. The two were also part of numerous Nations Cup teams for the US, winning the CSIO4* Nations Cup in Coapexpan, Mexico in 2015 and were on the US short list for the 2016 Olympic Games.
“He brought me to a new level in competition, and I will always be so grateful to his owners for allowing me to ride him for the entirety of his career,” Solem comments to World of Showjumping. “Wizard and I knew each other inside out, the strengths and the weaknesses, and we really did love jumping a big class together. I will sure miss him at the shows, but the McNeils and I are so happy that he will enjoy the retirement that he deserves at home.”