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Mistral Højris
Horse & Hound
|December 24, 2020
Naturally blessed with athleticism and presence, the striking Michellino gelding overcame stage fright with the help of Laura Tomlinson to join the top flight and take his place in British dressage history. Polly Bryan charts his story

Factfile
DOB: 4 April 1995
BREEDING: Michellino x Ibsen
STUDBOOK: Danish Warmblood
HEIGHT: 17hh
BREEDER: Betty Rasmussen
OWNERS: the Bechtolsheimer family
RIDER: Laura Tomlinson (née Bechtolsheimer)

Medals timeline
2009 European Championships, Windsor – team silver, individual bronze
2010 World Equestrian Games, Kentucky – team silver, double individual silver
2011 European Championships, Rotterdam – team gold, individual bronze
2012 Olympic Games, London – team gold, individual bronze
WHEN a 19-year-old Laura Bechtolsheimer (now Tomlinson) first sat on an imposing nine-year-old chestnut gelding in Denmark, she instantly knew he was special. What she couldn’t have known, back then, was the impact that Mistral Højris would have, not just on her own career, but on British dressage as a whole.
This story is from the December 24, 2020 edition of Horse & Hound.
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