The twenty-four-year-old Westphalian stallion, Damon Hill, passed away recently. As his name suggests, he was named after F1 driver Damon Hill.
From an early age, the young stallion wowed audiences. At his 30-day performance test in 2009, he scored 9.0.
Ingrid Klimke and the stallion had a podium finish at the 2004 Bundeschampionate in the four-year-old stallion class, claiming third place.
The following year, Klimke’s student, Helen Langehanenberg, took over the reins from Klimke, as she recovered from an injury. Damon Hill and Langehanenberg won gold in the five-year-old class at the World Young Horse Championship in Verden. Then, the following year, back with Klimke, Damon Hill again won gold at the World Young Horse Championships and a silver at the 2006 Bundeschampionate.
Klimke would continue to produce the stallion to the Grand Prix level over the following years, before he again returned to Langehanenberg. He would continue to be successful with Langehanenberg, winning at the World Cup Final in Gothenburg and German Championships in 2013. In 2013, the duo were members of the gold medal-winning team at the European Championships in Herning. The following year, they were again members of a gold medal-winning team, this time at the World Equestrian Games in Caen.
Damon HIll also had much success as a breeding stallion, producing many stallion sons and successful competitors. On the 2024 WBFSH World Ranking for Dressage sires, Damon Hill sits inside the Top 50.
Thank you, Damon Hill, for your huge contributions to our sport.