Maikel van der Vleuten’s super mare VDL Groep Sapphire (Mr. Blue x Grand Veneur) will be retired from the sport. “The last couple of months, I could feel her age catching up with her body – so it is not fair to keep going, although she still wants it in her mind,” Maikel says to World of Showjumping.

“She is 16 now, and I rode her for the last seven years – and she always gave me 200 %. Sapphire did so many great things, and among my best memories with her is the World Cup win at Olympia in 2013 and also that she twice won the Grand Prix in Maastricht in 2013 and 2014. I will miss her in the coming time, it is not easy to find a horse like that!”

Sapphire B will now enjoy the field, and hopefully it will be possible to get some foals out of this fantastic mare.