In January, Patrice Delaveau’s Lacrimoso 3 HDC returned to his winning ways – jumping to the top of the four-star Grand Prix of Amsterdam after a year troubled by breaks. The now 13-year-old gelding has been one of the most-winning horses on the circuit: Who will forget when he won both the Miasuki Trophy and the Longines Grand Prix at the Longines Masters of Paris in 2015 or made a hat-trick in Hong-Kong back in 2013 taking three wins including the Gucci Gold Cup and the Longines Grand Prix. Then there is Aachen, Geneva, Los Angeles, London, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Rome and the list goes on and on – there are few places Lacrimoso did not win.

Was Lacrimoso always a winner? We sat down with his former rider Katharina Offel – who had the gelding from his was four until he turned eight – to find out about his path from being an unknown youngster with a strong will to international super star.  

Lacrimoso was bought half as a four-year-old, and went to Jesper Lund Kristensen in Denmark to be ridden in and to do some smaller shows. “Lacrimoso came from Max Faninger, who also had his father Landjunge,” Offel tells. “The first time I sat on Lacrimoso was when he was five – in Denmark – and then it was decided to bring him home. I took him first time internationally when he was a six-year-old, and that year he jumped the FEI World Breeding Championships in Lanaken with one down in the jump-off in the final.”

“Lacrimoso was always a very special guy,” Offel smiles. “It was not just riding him. He behaved a lot like a stallion at that time, and would often be the one to decide what to do and what would happen next. You could work with him and ask him things, but you could never force him. Lacrimoso was similar to his father Landjunge, and also to Lifestyle – which was a stallion I rode earlier in my career that also was by Landjunge. They all had a strong character, and they told you what they wanted and what they didn’t want. But, I got along quite good with Lacrimoso and we found our way.”

In the early beginnings, Lacrimoso really tested Offel – and the first time she sat on him she got a taste of what he could do. “Sometimes when he jumped he would make this amazing jump, and then all of a sudden after the landing – when you did not expect it at all – he would just stop. This he did with me the first time I sat on him,” she laughs. “He enjoyed to test me I think.”

“But, the moment he trusted and knew me – he was the loveliest horse!”

When he was seven, Lacrimoso caught the eye of many. “He had a few amazing rounds, and he always jumped quite flashy. At the end of that year, I did not have so many horses for the international classes and as I had a super feeling and he felt quite ready I took him to Stuttgart for the smaller classes. I think he jumped three rounds, and two of them clear. In January I took him to Basel, and there he did his first 1.50. Patrice spotted him, and after this it went quite fast. Actually, Patrice did not even try him. It was a vet-check, and he was sold.”

Just like with Offel, Deleveau had to find his way with the gelding as well. “In the beginning, I think Lacrimoso gave Patrice a bit of head ache – like when he jumped in Aachen the first time and ran off at the wall. But the moment it clicked, their partnership became amazing! It’s like I said; when you find the connection with Lacrimoso he would do anything for you. This is what he is like.”

“It’s been a pleasure to follow Patrice and Lacrimoso. I was in Hong Kong when they won three classes including the Grand Prix, and then in Lyon when he was in the lead of the World Cup Final but then unfortunately not able to jump because of an injury. After his recent break, I am even happier to see him back in shape – winning!” Offel smiles.

Last year, one of Kathi’s supporters bought Lacrimoso’s half-brother. Cascrimoso is out of the same mother as Lacrimoso – Intschuschuna – and by the stallion Casario II. “Cascrimoso is very much the same as Lacrimoso. However, he is grey stallion so he does not look that similar – but he reminds a lot about his brother when I ride him. The canter, the power – it’s the same as Lacrimoso.”

Text © World of Showjumping // Picture © Jenny Abrahamsson (No reproduction without permission)