EQ P E O P L E
THE HORSE OF A LIFETIME The 19-year-old show-jumping icon, CEDRIC, retires.
O
lympic gold medalist and show-jumping superstar Cedric, ridden by Laura Kraut and owned by Margaret Duprey of Cherry Knoll Farm, was recently honored and retired at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, Florida. Kraut rode the 19-year-old Holsteiner gelding around the International Arena at WEF for the last time on the first Friday in March. She fought back tears as crowds of Cedric’s adoring fans cheered and a highlight reel from their outstanding career together played on the jumbotron. Kraut and Cedric were key members of the United States show-jumping team that claimed the gold medal at the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. The pair made numerous Nations Cup appearances around the world, including Rotterdam, La Baule, Rome, St. Gallen, Aachen, Wellington, Dublin, and Barcelona. 14 | EQ UE S T R I A N L I V IN G | AP RI L / MAY | 2017
ANNAN HEPNER
BY TAYLOR RENNER
Cedric’s retirement at WEF in March 2017, with Laura Kraut, and owner Margaret Duprey.
Kraut and Cedric have also been successful players on the Global Champions Tour and are the only horse-and-rider combination to win back-to-back events—Chantilly, France, and, just two weeks later, Valkenswaard, Netherlands. “Cedric has been the horse of a lifetime for me,” Kraut said. “He has been incredible, and I’ve learned not to give up and to persevere. It took a long time, as he was a little bit slower to develop than your normal grand-prix horse. He’s been amazing, and I think I’ll never have another horse like him.” U.S. chef d’équipe and legendary horseman, George H. Morris, coached Kraut and Cedric to the team gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Morris was a huge supporter of the pair from the start, and he was confident in their
abilities to rise to the occasion in Beijing for Team USA. “I wanted to go with him because he was a careful and competitive horse,” said Morris regarding selecting Cedric for the Olympic Games. “I never underestimate a little horse and the rider—nobody rides better than Laura. He is an absolute blood horse. With all of that Thoroughbred blood in his veins, there is no bottom to Cedric. Careful, clever as a cat, so handy, so fast—all of the qualities that really make a superb show jumper.” Cedric is one of the nation’s leading money winners, amassing well over $2 million in prize money won and, in major competitions of $100,000 or more, producing 81 clear and 45 double-clear rounds. “He’s what I call a darling horse,” continued Morris. “That, of course, was a great asset for the team. Besides the Olympic Games, he’s a horse you won’t forget. You won’t forget Cedric.”