Text © World of Showjumping

After a long and successful career, the 17-year-old stallion Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z (Otangelo x Mr Blue, bred by Jonas Bellemans, owned by Stephex Stables and Scuderia 1918) was honoured with a retirement ceremony on Saturday at the 2025-edition of the Brussels Stephex Masters.

With Germany’s Daniel Deusser, the little chestnut – bred and produced by Jonas Bellemans – won team silver at the 2019 Longines FEI European Championships in Rotterdam. In 2017, the pair won the CSI5*-W 1.60m Grand Prix in Oslo, while in 2018, they took the victory in the CSI5*-W 1.60m Grand Prix in Lyon and the CSI5*-W 1.60m Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ in Madrid. The year after, in 2019, the duo topped the CSI5*-W 1.60m Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ in Bordeaux. In 2020, the pair won the CSI4*-W 1.60m FEI Jumping World Cup™ in Riyadh, and in 2021, they took the top honours in the CSI5* 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, as well as in the CSIO4* 1.60m Grand Prix presented by JTWG, Inc. at the same venue.

Two of the biggest victories of Tobago’s career came in 2022; at The Dutch Master where he won the CSI5* 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix – one of the four Majors in the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping – and at the GC Prague Playoffs where he topped the CSI5* 1.65m Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix, after having won the CSI5* 1.60m Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of New York just two months prior. Other notable wins during Tobago’s career came in last year’s CSI5*-W Open Sires of the World in Mechelen, as well as in Brussels, Fontainebleau, Rome, Gothenburg, and Shanghai – to mention just a few.

Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z also topped the FEI WBFSH Breeders Ranking several times during his career.

“There was a moment when I was doubting how far this horse could go, but over the last couple of days, when checking his results, you actually realize how special he was," Daniel Deusser said about Tobago in a press release from Brussels Stephex Masters. "He was not only a friend and a partner, but also a kind of teacher. He taught me a lot about the sport and helped me enormously in my career. In the end, I can only thank him. I also want to thank my grooms, the breeder, and especially Stephan and Emanuel. I’m grateful for them trusting me with this horse.”

"Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z has always held a truly special place in our hearts," Emanuele and Maria Anchisi, founders of Scuderia 1918, said in the press release. "His extraordinary athleticism, remarkable character, and the unique bond he shared with Daniel made him an unforgettable icon, a horse that has moved us deeply, time and again. Now, he deserves to enjoy a well-earned rest.”

“He was fast, and he could jump anything you asked. This is a partnership I can only hope we will find again one day," Stephan Conter, founder and CEO of the Stephex Group, said in the press release.

At World of Showjumping, we wish Tobago a very happy retirement!