Text © World of Showjumping

Rolf-Göran Bengtsson’s 11-year-old gelding Lyjanair (Lyjanero x Coriano, breeder Wendy Davis Gerrish) has been acquired by USA's Richard Spooner. With Spooner in the saddle, Lyjanair made his international debut in Tryon (USA) and Ocala (USA) at the end of last year and the two have started the new year off with a fifth place in the CSI3* 1.50m Grand Prix in Ocala. 

As a 6-year-old, Lyjanair won the Bundeschampionat (the German championships for young horses) with Rolf-Göran Bengtsson’s stable jockey Bart van der Maat, and afterwards Bengtsson took over the reins – developing the gelding up to five-star level. The two have podium finishes from venues such as Gothenburg (SWE), Stockholm (SWE), Kronenberg (NED), Herning (DEN) and Falsterbo (SWE) to look back at.

“I’m very happy that Lyjanair is with such a good rider as Richard Spooner and the two of them have already produced great results together. I’m excited to follow them in the future,” Bengtsson commented to World of Showjumping.

"Lyjanair is a wonderful horse, and he already exceeded my expectations,” Spooner said about the gelding he has been getting to know for the past four months. “I am really enjoying getting to know him and right now we take it one day at the time. Rolf did an amazing job educating him, so I’m lucky to be able to follow up on that - I’m just trying to do the horse justice and see where it takes us.”