2006 CHIO Aachen

For Pleasure's last appearance in Aachen
One of the most successful show jumping horses says farewell

Aachen press release - posted May 21, 2006

According to Marcus Ehning the German national anthem is For Pleasure's favourite song, even if it was not played at the official farewell celebrations of the Hanoverian stallion, he was given a dignified goodbye ceremony after eleven years in the sport including a lap of honour around the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein (ALRV) jumping stadium. "If there is a suitable platform for his farewell, then it must be Aachen", said show jumper, Marcus Ehning. Of course at the CHIO 2006, before the Prize of the AachenMünchener, the "Grand Prix of Aachen".

For Pleasure visited the Soers in Aachen eight times and competed in the Mercedes-Benz Nations' Cup every time - winning with the German team in 1996 and 1998 still under Lars Nieberg at the time - and he won the WARSTEINER Prize, "Prize of Europe" in 1997 with Nieberg and in 2000 with Marcus Ehning. Further successes of the horse, who enabled both riders the break-through into top sport: Two-time German Champion, Olympic team gold at the Games in Atlanta and Sydney, three-time team European Champion. For Pleasure also reached the finishing line first in numerous Grand Prix competitions, earning 1,83 million Euros of prize-money in the course of his career. The breeding successes of this exceptional stallion are equally impressive: He has sired 18 graded stallions and 78 registered brood mares are For Pleasure daughters, 14 of which are in fact state premium mares. His offspring in competitive sport - 183 competition horses were registered up to the end of 2005 - have won 768,000 Euros to date.

His farewell to the main stage of the equestrian sport didn't quite come voluntarily: The 20-year-old Hanoverian stallion sustained a ligament injury at the show in Arezzo, Italy in June 2005, which ended his career. For Pleasure will now be fulfilling his breeding duties at Paul Schockemöhle's stud in Mühlen, but his is still at home at Ehning's Stall in Borken.

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