It was recently announced that Ingrid Klimke’s Franziskus has retired from the sport.
Franziskus is a sixteen-year-old Hanoverian stallion. He is the son of Grand Prix stallion Fidertanz. He has been successful from the very start of his career. He won the qualification for the German Championships as a foal, and he was awarded Premium status at the Westphalian licensing in 2010. He wowed at his performance test with 9.0s for his trot, canter and rideability and a 9.5 for his character. His success didn’t stop there – he was the winning four-year-old at the Bundeschampionat.
In 2013, Klimke took over the reins, and the two have been in a partnership ever since. In 2017, Klimke piloted Franz around his first International Grand Prix at the VDI Munich Indoors competition, where he won both the Grand Prix and the Kur. In 2018, he competed more often, and the team was in pursuit of German Team selection; unfortunately, injuries would prevent him from achieving this goal.
2019 saw them nominated for the German A Squad, and in 2020, they finished just outside of a podium placings at the German Championships. Once again, however, injuries impacted the process when they had to withdraw from Tokyo Olympic contention. The team was the German Reserve heading into the Paris Olympics but withdrew again due to injury.
It seems injury may have prevented us from seeing Franziskus’ true potential at the top level, but regardless, he has been an incredible horse and sire. His legacy will live on through his offspring.
“My dear Franz, you are an extraordinary horse, and over the many years, we have managed to grow together into a super team.” – Ingrid Klimke on Instagram