The FEI Dressage World Cup was supposed to be the swan song for German Isabell Werth’s 19-year-old Antony. After a successful winter season, Werth had been looking forward to one last competition before retiring him.

But the Hanoverian gelding didn’t pass the veterinary inspection on April 19 in Las Vegas, Nev. He could have been re-presented the following morning, but after a short ride, Werth decided to withdraw.

“He was fine when he left, otherwise I wouldn’t have brought him,” Werth told www.eurodressage.com correspondent Lita Dove. The German team veterinarian, Bjorn Nolting, diagnosed a fetlock injury.

Canadian Evi Strasser will fill the vacant slot with her Oldenburg gelding Quantum Tyme (Quattro–Argentinus).