His offspring did very well at the international dressage competition in Opglabbeek this weekend. Therefore, in our 'Legendary Horses' series, it is the turn of Totilas (by IPS Gribaldi), the dressage stallion that conquered everyone's heart. The stallion died in December, sending shock waves through the horse world. But who was Totilas and how did he reach the highest level?
Totilas was born on 23 May 2000 in the breeding farm of J.K. Schuil as a son of Kribaldi and the mare Lominka. In 2005 he stood out during the World Championships for young dressage horses in Verden. Totilas rode there to the fourth place in the final. After that the stallion developed further under the saddle of Dutch rider Edward Gal, under whom he had his greatest success.
As of 2007, there seemed to be no stopping the duo: they won the Prix St. George in Schaijk and Emmeloord, in 2008 they rode to victory in the Prix St. George (Intermediaire I Kür) in Aachen, did the same in the St. George of Rotterdem and won the Grand Prix of Hengelo.
In 2009 and 2010 the duo had their greatest successes: on 16 December 2009 they rode Totilas to first place in the Grand Prix in London, breaking the world record in the Freestyle (92.30%). Earlier that year they had also broken the world record in the Grand Prix with a total score of 84.05%. In 2009 the duo also rode to the double Dutch title. The then 9-year-old Totilas won both the title of Dutch Indoor Heavy Champion and the title of Dutch Outdoor Heavy Champion.
In 2010, the pair became World Champions at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington and won the World Cup Finals in 's Hertogenbosch. It is no surprise then that the Dutch were already dreaming of a gold Olympic medal in London, but unfortunately the sale of the stallion threw a spanner in the works. The stallion was sold to Paul Schockemöhle for a record amount of over 10 million Euros and Matthias Alexander Rath took over the reins. Unfortunately, Totilas never achieved the successes he had hoped for under Rath. Totilas had to contend with injuries. He did appear at the European Championships of Rotterdam and Aachen, but could not live up to expectations there. He retired in 2015 after which he continued his career in breeding.