Death of Totilas: How the dream of the horse of the century ended

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Matthias Rath and Totilas, that didn't work out

Photo: Uwe Anspach / dpa

In May, Totilas was briefly in the headlines again.

The stallion celebrated his 20th birthday, the ARD “Sportschau” broadcast a small contribution, but the horse was no longer relevant in terms of sport for a long time.

At an age when other dressage horses like Isabell Werth's famous gelding Gigolo were still winning Olympic gold, Totilas was already retired.

Because the lofty plans the owners had for the horse had ended in what was probably a unique debacle.

The story of Totilas is a story that tells a lot: of ambition, of addiction to fame, of big business and above all of the fact that, despite all attempts, competitive sport can only be planned and programmed to a limited extent.

It was to be a success story, it ultimately became a deeply sad sports story, which ended with Totila's death on Monday as an aftermath of colic.

The story of the horse begins in the Netherlands and it seems to be a fairytale story.

The young stallion comes into the hands of the renowned rider Edward Gal.

At that time the Dutchman was still overshadowed by compatriot Anky van Grunsven, the international star of the scene.

That should change with Totilas, both of which will become something like the dream couple in dressage.

Even if only for a short time.

The press raves about the horse of the century

In 2009 and 2010, Gal and Totilas win everything there is to win.

In 2009 they beat Van Grunsven in the Dutch championships, and then things really started: European champions, world champions, world record marks.

The press speaks of the "miracle horse", of the "horse of the century", ARD equestrian reporter Carsten Sostmeister raves about the "lacquer black magician with his white ballet shoes" at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, where the duo won gold three times.

After two years the magic is over.

The duo Gal and Totilas will be separated in October 2010.

Paul Schockemöhle, not only one of the most successful German show jumpers, but also one of the most influential and powerful breeders and string pullers in equestrian sports, supposedly lands his greatest coup: he buys the horse for a rumored ten million euros.

The Dutch are not particularly fond of it, but in Germany the media are overwhelmed.

Never has a horse been as in public focus as Totilas.

The goal of Schockemöhle and co-owner Ann-Kathrin Linsenhoff is clear: Totilas should win Olympic gold for Germany, ideally as early as 2012 in London.

Now all that remains to be done is to find a rider for the wonder horse who, instead of Gal, now wins the successes for the German association.

And Linsenhoff in particular has clear ideas here.

Linsenhoff's stepson should collect the successes

The presentation of the person who is to form the new dream duo with Totilas is staged as a spectacle.

With light effects, curtains up and artificial fog in front of 70 journalists, the young Matthias Alexander Rath was presented as a rider.

His main qualification was less his reputation in the dressage arena, but the fact that the then 26-year-old is Linsenhoff's stepson.

From then on the problems started.

A picture from the heyday: Edward Gal and Totilas

Photo: © John Sommers II / Reuters / REUTERS

The horse and its rider are under constant surveillance from now on, every appearance of the two is an event, the pressure is enormous.

But at first both seem to hold up.

Rath and Totilas win the title at the German Championships in Balve 2011, they are also victorious at the CHIO in Aachen, the plan seems to be working.

But then things don't go well anymore.

Rath and Totilas do not harmonize as one had hoped in the Schockemöhle / Linsenhoff camp, at the EM 2011 the duo will not have an individual medal, the public appearances will be rarer after that, and if the two show up like at a stallion show in Vechta then it becomes obvious that the two are wrong.

The first voices are loud, which think Rath is unable to cope with this horse.

Controversial Rollkur

The owners change the coach, instead of Rath's father Klaus-Martin, the Dutch star coach Sjef Janssen should fix it.

Janssen, Van Grunswen's husband, had already looked after Totilas in his home country, but with his commitment, the team is also bringing a discussion into the house that puts a strain on working with the horse.

Janssen's training methods are at least controversial, in the Netherlands he used a form of the so-called roll cure.

The neck of the horse, which is curled up tightly and unnaturally, is and has been heavily criticized by animal rights activists.

Interestingly enough, Rath senior had spoken out in a petition the year before against the Rollkur as a training method, now the trainer, who was known for it, one could also say: notorious, was hired.

But things don't get any better with Janssen on board either.

Rath first fell ill, so that the planned start of the Olympic Games in London 2012 had to be canceled.

Totilas disappears from the public for more than two years, restart announcements are repeatedly postponed, the 2014 comeback is only a snapshot, before the World Equestrian Games in the same year Totilas is injured again.

2015 shouldn't even be the big hit.

Rath and Totilas compete as a team at the European Championships in Aachen.

The two win bronze with the team, but the horse is noticeable that it is not running smoothly.

After the competition, a bone edema is found; experts believe that the horse should not have started at all.

It is the last sporting appearance of Totilas, the owners decide to withdraw the animal from competitive sport.

The career of the horse of the century is over.

Schockemöhle still made money with Totilas, the horse reliably performed its services as a sire at Linsenhoff's Kronberger Schafhof, whoever wanted a foal from Totilas had to pay several thousand euros.

According to Totilas, Rath mainly took care of the rearing of younger horses.

Edward Gal became Dutch champion in September this year.

He rode »Toto Jr.«.

The father's name: Totilas.

Gal rode exactly the freestyle with which he became world champion in 2010.

Even the music was the same.

When Gal celebrated his first triumphs, ARD man Carsten Sostmeister cheered that Totilas was celebrated "like a pop star, like Michael Jackson".

He probably had no idea how much prophecy was in it.

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