Gigolo FRH, a six-time Olympic medalist and arguably the most successful dressage horse in history, was euthanized Sept. 23 after he suffered complications from an injury. He was 26.

Gigolo was bred by Horst Kulssmann in 1983. In 1989, Isabell Werth’s then-trainer and sponsor, Uwe Schulten-Baumer, purchased the horse for Werth to ride.

Werth and Gigolo first achieved acclaim during the 1991 European Dressage Championships (Germany), where they earned team and individual gold medals. Gigolo later won Olympic team gold for Germany in 1992, 1996 and 2000, individual gold in 1996 and individual silver in 1992 and 2000. He also had four World Championships and eight European Championships to his name.

The liver chestnut Hanoverian gelding was retired Oct. 24, 2000 at the Stuttgart German Masters. He was then moved to Werth’s farm in Rheinberg to enjoy his retirement.

“Twenty-six is a blessed age, and I’m glad that he could spend the autumn of his life here at our place where he had a good time with his friend Fabienne out in the pasture,” Werth said. “Once in a while he might have thought of all our victories we celebrated in 10 years as a team.”