Swiss show jumper Steve Guerdat officially retired his great mare Jalisca Solier in December at the Geneva CSIO, but he sadly had to say goodbye to her for good on Jan. 26 when the 17-year-old Selle Francais was euthanized following a pasture accident.
On Guerdat’s website, it states: “While she was quietly grazing in the pasture as usual, a slip caused an irreparable fracture in her right front. We had to make the difficult but unquestionable decision to put Jalisca Solier to sleep immediately.”
Jalisca Solier (Alligator Fontaine—Dune Solier, Jalisco B), owned by Yves G. Piaget, was at Guerdat’s stables in Herrliberg, Switzlerland. Guerdat was competing at the Zurich CSI and so was able to return to the farm to say goodbye to the great mare. It had been hoped she would have a second career as a broodmare.
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See a video of Jalisca Solier’s touching retirement ceremony…
With Jalisca Solier, Guerdat earned a team bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong and team gold at the 2009 European Championships. Together, they won the 2010 Rolex Top 10 Final and many World Cup-qualifier victories.
In a statement, Guerdat said: “You are and you remain one of the most beautiful things that have happened to me in my life and I could never thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me. I’ll miss you my princess Lisa, I love you.”
