Grand Prix dressage stallion Uthopia, who helped Great Britain to team gold at the 2012 London Olympic Games with Carl Hester aboard, sold at public auction May 27 for $241,056, or 165,000 British Pounds. The buyer is currently unknown. 

Uthopia was sold through Wilsons Auctions, with no reserve, and online and phone bidding was available. Horse & Hound reported the buyer was in attendance at the auction in Ireland. “Uti” remained at his home stable in England. 

The sale came about after Sasha Stewart and her father Derek Harrison, former owners of the stallion, filed for bankruptcy. Uti, a 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Metall—Odelia, Inspekteur), most recently competed with Charlotte Dujardin aboard at the Amsterdam CDI-W this January

Before the auction, Hester posted on his Facebook page: “I would just like to say how amazing it is that so many people have been in support for helping us keep Uthopia; the enthusiasm of the equestrian community is incredible! We have hopefully arranged enough money through owners to keep Uthopia’s future secure.”

But Hester updated his facebook page May 29 to say he was not the buyer of the stallion. “I am so grateful for all the support from all over the world regarding Uthopia,” he wrote. “Sadly, we couldn’t secure him with our investors. We are still hopeful and are working on a positive outcome.”  

Tom Keenan of Keenan Corporate Finance and James Neill of the NHN Group sold the horse as trustees for the estate bankruptcy.