Horse Illustrated Magazine

Woodside, Calif. — Akiko Yamazaki and Four Winds Farm have announced the retirement of Suppenkasper, a staple of the U.S. Dressage Team for the past six years. Ridden by six-time Olympian Steffen Peters, Suppenkasper represented the U.S. Dressage Team at two World Championships, two Olympics, an FEI Dressage World Cup Final, and numerous Nations Cup competitions.

Suppenkasper, known adoringly in the barn as Mopsie, is one of the most successful horses in U.S. Dressage history, earning both Olympic and World Championship medals (Tryon 2018, Tokyo 2020), and made an appearance at the 2023 FEI Dressage World Cup Finals in Omaha, Neb., while earning the viral moniker of “Rave Horse” for his popular freestyle from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, becoming a highlight for viewers tuning into the Games. In total, Suppenkasper competed in more than 80 international competitions with Peters in the irons and earned 59 victories in Grand Prix CDI competition throughout their career together.

“Today, I look out my window to catch Ravel and Mopsie basking in the sun, the large crowds and long airplane rides now a distant memory. As we mark 20 years together as a team, the time has come to end this amazing journey and it is with deep gratitude to Steffen, the horses and everyone that has been part of this journey that we now end this excellent adventure and long ride with this team,” said Akiko Yamazaki. “With Steffen as our rider, and with a number of horses, including Lombardi, Ravel, Legolas, Rosamunde, and Suppenkasper, our team has traveled around the world and had the honor of representing the USA in multiple international championships and events.”

Through their partnership with Peters, Yamazaki and Four Wind Farms have represented the U.S. on the world stage for more than 20 years, including at five Olympic Games (2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024), four FEI World Championships (2010, 2014, 2018, 2022), a Pan American Games (2019), and five FEI Dressage World Cup Finals, including a historic win aboard Ravel in 2009 in Las Vegas, N.V., while continuing to represent the United States at prestigious Nations Cup events, like CHIO Aachen and CHIO Rotterdam.

“What a true honor it has been to be a part of Mopsie’s career and life. It’s hard to explain how much appreciation I have for Akiko for purchasing him eight years ago and then supporting us to compete around the world together. The historic silver medal in Tokyo was, of course, the highlight of our career together,” said Peters. “For me, it will always be one of the proudest moments of our partnership – to have Mopsie deliver for our team that night in Tokyo. The individual victories were amazing, but I always felt the proudest delivering for our team, and it meant the world when we accomplished that in Tokyo. Mopsie became the ‘Rave Horse’, that’s still special to me because he connected so many people. They recognize him and his accomplishments, and there’s really no reason to mention my name, but it’s Mopsie’s character and energy which made people gravitate to him. The journey we’ve shared together is quite hard to put into words, but thoughts of gratitude, thankfulness, and friendship come to mind, both for Mopsie and Akiko, and I’m so privileged to have been a part of this journey with them.

“We have been fortunate to be part of so many teams with great riders, horses and owners over the years, and as anyone knows, there are countless hours of work and multiple shows to get to these culminating events and it truly takes a village to make things happen. We have had the amazing support of USEF staff, including Gil Merrick, Jim Wolf, Jenny van Wieren, Will Connell, Hallye Griffin, and Laura Roberts and knowledgeable Chef d’Equipes Klaus Balkenhol, Anne Gribbons, Robert Dover, Debbie McDonald, and Christine Traurig throughout the years, as well as the tremendous commitment of the team’s veterinarians Dr. Rick Mitchell, Dr. Cricket Rusillo, Dr. Paul McClellan, and Dr. Laura Faulkner and talented staff support,” added Yamazaki. “We’ve been lucky to have so many successful horses come through the U.S. Dressage Program, and we feel indebted with the deepest gratitude to the USET Foundation, led by Bonnie Jenkins, the competition organizers, and all the excellent service providers, including Dutta Corp, Klatte, JetPets, and Rockridge, among others, who have overseen the care and transportation of Mopsie and our other horses throughout their careers.”

Four Winds Farm and Yamazaki’s support of U.S. Dressage has produced tremendous international success over the years, with the highlight of the team silver medal from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, in which Suppenkasper and Peters played a significant role in helping to secure. Suppenkasper will now spend his days at Four Winds Farm in Woodside, California.

“Mopsie’s career would not have been possible without the support and dedication of our home team, which includes Dr. Rodrigo Vazquez and physiotherapist Tom Meyers who both have been on this journey with us as a team for more than 20 years; Suppenkasper’s groom Eddie Garcia, and our other staff and supports Rafael Hernandez, Dawn White O’Connor and Haley Smith; our farriers Jim Carr, Stephan Tournier, Chuck Mundo; and the many staff at Arroyo Del Mar who have been a part of taking care of our horses, as well as my incredible staff at Four Winds Farm, Merced Huerta, Humberto Bejinez, Bryant Cruz and Artemio Cruz who look after and love our horses once they’re retired at the farm, as well as Alyson Hamilton, Greg Hardester, and CFM for all of their behind the scenes work. Alongside Steffen and myself, Shannon, Jerry, Miki, and Emi have traveled the world together and shared the deep emotions that come with the highs and lows of being part of something so extraordinary,” concluded Yamazaki.

US Equestrian wishes Mopsie the best in his well-deserved retirement!

— Edited Press Release | US Equestrian