Farewell to Dino

On October 2nd 2020, South African showjumping industry lost another great jumping talent in the form of the striking chestnut gelding, Gondor Dino.

Dino was born in 2004 at the Gondor Stud in Nigel. Bred by Elsi Parkin, this gorgeous chestnut gelding was a wonderful prospect right off the bat with notable bloodlines being by Dageraad out of a Kannan mare. While the stud prefix was not maintained, everyone who knew the horse was well aware of his origins.

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Owned by Coreen Barker, he rose to the spotlight in his competitive career under Carl Boonzaaier who has been successful at the top levels of the sport of several other horses including Cardoso WH and Callaho Casparon.  His first few 1.50m appearances in 2014 opened the doors to a successful top-level partnership as Dino and Carl quickly became a crowd favourite. With several shows under his belt and several top 5 placings, Dino quickly settled into the top echelon of the sport for a few years. 

Carl’s partnership with the gelding then came to an end in 2018 when the ride on Dino was given to top rider and coach, Chad Cunningham. Given the opportunity to compete with the talented gelding, the pair quickly returned to the top levels of the sport. With Chad’s on-going coaching commitments, it was decided to retire the gelding from the competition arena.

A beautiful horse with enormous character and heart. He will be missed. Condolences to all his connections. 

-The JumpOff- 

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