Shutterfly retires at Aachen

Shutterfly, the popular show jumper owned by Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum was retired yesterday at Aachan. The 18 year Hanoverian gelding old won the Warsteiner Prize at the show on Wednesday, July 13th and Beerbaum decided to withdraw him from the Grand Prix and retire him on his last winning performance. The team had an impressive history of accomplishments including three World Cup victories, the last one in 2009.

In an interview in the Chronicle of the Horse in 2010, Michaels-Beerbaum said of his future:

I’m going to let him dictate his own program and let him tell us whether he wants to go to a show or not. That’s my plan over the coming months—to show him according to his form and when he feels good to me, without any pressure on the horse. Everyone knows what an extraordinary horse he is, and he’s become part of our family. Part of me wants him to have the easiest time possible but another part recognizes Shutterfly as a wonderful partner who loves competing.

Here’s a video of Michaels-Beerbaum and Shutterfly back in 2007 when he was in his prime. While he’s known for being a difficult horse to ride, he sure makes that course look easy.

And here is is last class from July 13th.