Betrand Liegard has decided to retire his number one Grand Prix horse, Star Wars, from sport. The gelding is 20 years old and competed in his last show at the CDI Crozet last weekend.
Star Wars is a 2002 born Luxembourg sport horse by Show Star out of Raphaella (by Rosenkavalier). He is bred by Marc Nollomont.
Eleven Years at Grand Prix
First based in Belgium, Liegard began riding Star Wars in 2008. They made their small tour debut in 2011 and did their first Grand Prix rounds in 2012.
Their CDI Grand Prix debut was in Paris in December 2013.They gained mileage over the years and as of 2015 they started to consistently score around 70 percent.
Liegard and Star Wars consistently competed at international Grand Prix level from 2014 till 2020, but did not make the French team for an international Championship. They did represent France in the Nations Cup in Vidauban and Compiegne and rode at a few World Cup qualifiers, such as London and Mechelen. They recorded seven international victories in their career together. At the 2018 French Grand Prix Championships they were fifth. At the 2020 Nationals they were fourth.
Soft Retirement
In 2020 Liegard hinted at a soft retirement for his then 18-year old when he announced the purchase of Franz Federleicht.
However, the bay gelding made a surprise come back to the CDI ring in March 2022 in Cascais, Portugal, followed by a start in the CDI Jardy Grand Prix (no Special or freestyle). At the CDI Crozet on 26 – 28 August the horse did its last competition, scoring 68.891% in the Grand Prix and 67.468% in the Special. Liegard disclosed his decision to pull Star Wars from sport in a Crozet press release
« Star Wars is twenty years old, I decided to end its career, » he said. « I am happy that he has had a good last run. He has already given a lot, I bought him when he was six years old, he has been competing in Grand Prix for ten years, he was French champion in 2012, he has done more than a hundred international shows, won five-star competitions, Nations Cup and World Cup events, he has well deserved his retirement. He is undoubtedly one of the French horses with the most extensive record of success. He will stay at home in Grosrouvre where I have twenty five boxes and a wellness area for the horses. For the next generation, I have Ginger, a good mare who is going to start the medium Tour. »
More information: https://www.eurodressage.com/index.php/2022/08/30/bertrand-liegard-retires-star-wars-sport