Isabell Werth (born 21 July 1969 in Issum) is a German equestrian who has competed in dressage at seven Olympic Games —1992, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2016, 2020, 2024— winning the gold medal in the team event in all seven, and one gold and six silver medals in the individual event. She stands alone in having medals from seven Olympics, or across a span of 32 years; her 14 medals are the most for any German or equestrian.[1] She also has numerous titles in the World and European Championships and World Cups.

Isabell Werth
Isabell Werth
Werth in 2004
Personal information
Born (1969-07-21) 21 July 1969 (age 55)
Issum, West Germany
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 8 6 0
World Championships 9 0 3
European Championships 21 5 1
World Cup 5 5 4
Total 43 15 8
Equestrian
Representing  Germany
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1992 Barcelona Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 1992 Barcelona Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 2000 Sydney Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 2024 Paris Individual dressage
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1994 The Hague Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 1994 The Hague Special dressage
Gold medal – first place 1998 Rome Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 1998 Rome Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2006 Aachen Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 2006 Aachen Special dressage
Gold medal – first place 2014 Normandy Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 2018 Tryon Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 2018 Tryon Special dressage
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Aachen Freestyle dressage
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Kentucky Team dressage
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Herning Team dressage
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1989 Mondorf Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 1991 Donaueschingen Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 1991 Donaueschingen Special dressage
Gold medal – first place 1993 Lipica Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 1993 Lipica Special dressage
Gold medal – first place 1995 Mondorf Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 1995 Mondorf Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 1997 Verden Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 1997 Verden Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 1999 Arnhem Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 2001 Verden Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 2003 Hickstead Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 2007 La Mandria Special dressage
Gold medal – first place 2013 Herning Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 2017 Gothenburg Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 2017 Gothenburg Special dressage
Gold medal – first place 2017 Gothenburg Freestyle dressage
Gold medal – first place 2019 Rotterdam Team dressage
Gold medal – first place 2019 Rotterdam Special dressage
Gold medal – first place 2019 Rotterdam Freestyle dressage
Gold medal – first place 2021 Hagen Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 2007 La Mandria Freestyle dressage
Silver medal – second place 2007 La Mandria Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 2011 Rotterdam Team dressage
Silver medal – second place 2023 Riesenbeck Team dressage
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Aachen Team dressage
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 1992 Gothenburg Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2007 Las Vegas Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2017 Omaha Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2018 Paris Individual dressage
Gold medal – first place 2019 Gothenburg Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 1999 Dortmund Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 2001 Aarhus Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 2006 Amsterdam Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 2008 Den Bosch Individual dressage
Silver medal – second place 2009 Las Vegas Individual dressage
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Den Bosch Individual dressage
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Gothenburg Individual dressage
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Leipzig Individual dressage
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Omaha Individual dressage
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Riyadh Individual dressage

Career

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Werth rode Gigolo, owned by Uwe Schulten-Baumer, her coach from 1986 until 2001.[2] On Gigolo, she won all her championships between 1992 and 2000, save for the 1999 European Championships in Arnheim, where she rode Anthony FRH. In 2006, she started riding Warum Nicht FRH at the international level and with him won the 2007 World Cup in Las Vegas. Warum Nicht retired in 2012.[3] Werth competed at the Olympic Games with Satchmo, who subsequently retired in November 2011. In 2010, Werth started riding El Santo at the international level until the horse was transferred in 2016 to Spanish rider José Antonio Garcia Mena.[4]

In 2016, Werth secured the ride on Weihegold Old, with whom she won the team gold medal and a silver medal in the Individual Dressage at the Rio Olympics.[citation needed]

In July 2024, she was named to the German dressage team for the Paris Olympic games with Wendy. It will be her seventh Olympic games.[5]

Controversies

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On 24 June 2009, the forbidden substance fluphenazine was found in the A-sample from Werth's horse Whisper at a Whitsun tournament at Wiesbaden.[6] She was suspended from all tournaments by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). On 2 September 2009, the suspension was set by the FEI to six months from 23 June.[7][8]

Werth subsequently stated that the drug was given to the horse to treat equine shivers—mainly for the safety of the horse's handlers—and that she does not believe the drug influences a horse's ability to compete.[9] She apologized for the positive result.[10] The German Federation requested doubling Werth's suspension to one year as they considered the positive result to be intentional.[11] Fluphenazine is not a medication approved for animal use in Germany.[12][13]

In 2013, Werth was banned from competing once again after her mount El Santo was found to test positive for a prohibited medication, cimetidine at a competition in 2012.[14][15]

In 2022, Werth was eliminated from the CHIO Aachen after blood appeared on her horse during the competition.[16]

Computer game

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In 2007, a PC Game was released called "Isabell Werth – Reitsport".[17] Made by French company Dancing Dots / German publisher Frogster Interactive,[18] it is an Equestrian Simulation with 3-day Eventing, Show Jumping and Cross-Country Riding. Isabell Werth takes a part as an on-screen trainer, giving advice and pointers on how to ride and handle horses during training and eventing. Now out of print, the original websites can be seen at the Internet Archive Wayback machine, and the game itself is now available at Big Fish Games retitled – "Ride! Equestrian Simulation",[19] with a French-man replacing Isabell as the trainer. Isabell's game character file is still in the data structure of the game, and using a patch still available,[20] the game executable can be overwritten, converting it to the original German version, except for the German instructional audio which is missing.

 
Isabell Werth competing Weihegold OLD

International championship results

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Results
Year Event Horse Score Placing Notes
1989 European Championships Weingart 13th Individual
1991 European Championships Gigolo FRH   Team
  Individual
1992 Olympic Games Gigolo FRH   Team
  Individual
1993 European Championships Gigolo FRH   Team
  Individual
1996 Olympic Games Gigolo FRH   Team
  Individual
1998 World Equestrian Games Gigolo FRH   Team
  Individual
1999 European Championships Antony FRH   Team
16th Individual
2000 World Cup Final Antony FRH 4th
2000 Olympic Games Gigolo FRH   Team
  Individual
2001 World Cup Final Antony FRH  
2001 European Championships Antony FRH   Team
16th Individual
2002 World Cup Final Antony FRH 5th
2003 World Cup Final Antony FRH 4th
2003 European Championships Satchmo 78 17th Individual
2004 World Cup Final Apache OLD 9th
2006 World Cup Final Warum Nicht FRH  
2006 World Equestrian Games Satchmo 78   Team
  Individual Special
  Individual Freestyle
2007 World Cup Final Warum Nicht FRH 84.250%  
2007 European Championships Satchmo 78 76.750%   Team
78.360%   Individual Special
83.200%   Individual Freestyle
2008 World Cup Final Warum Nicht FRH 82.600%  
2008 Olympic Games Satchmo 78 76.417%   Team
78.100%   Individual
2009 World Cup Final Satchmo 78 84.500%  
2010 World Cup Final Warum Nicht FRH 79.750% 4th
2010 World Equestrian Games Warum Nicht FRH 75.404%   Team
72.000% 10th Individual Special
80.000% 6th Individual Freestyle
2011 World Cup Final Satchmo 78 77.143% 5th
2011 European Championships El Santo NRW 75.213%   Team
76.533% 7th Individual Special
80.536% 7th Individual Freestyle
2012 World Cup Final El Santo NRW 79.964% 4th
2013 World Cup Final Don Johnson FRH 80.429% 5th
2013 European Championships Don Johnson FRH 75.213%   Team
71.890% 20th Individual Special
2014 World Cup Final El Santo NRW 79.089% 5th
2014 World Equestrian Games Bella Rose 2 81.529%   Team
31st Individual Special
2015 World Cup Final El Santo NRW 77.875% 6th
2015 European Championships Don Johnson FRH 74.900%   Team
75.924% 7th Individual Special
82.483% 4th Individual Freestyle
2016 Olympic Games Weihegold OLD 80.463%   Team
89.071%   Individual
2017 World Cup Final Weihegold OLD 90.704%  
2017 European Championships Weihegold OLD 83.743%   Team
83.613%   Individual Special
90.982%   Individual Freestyle
2018 World Cup Final Weihegold OLD 90.658%  
2018 World Equestrian Games Bella Rose 2 84.824%   Team
86.246%   Individual Special
2019 World Cup Final Weihegold OLD 88.872%  
2019 European Championships Bella Rose 2 85.652%   Team
86.520%   Individual Special
90.875%   Individual Freestyle
2021 Olympic Games Bella Rose 2 83.298%   Team
89.657%   Individual Freestyle

Notable horses

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  • Weingart – 1984 Chestnut Hanoverian Mare (Weinstock x Winkel)
    • 1989 European Championships – Team Gold Medal, Individual 13th Place
  • Gigolo FRH – 1983 Chestnut Hanoverian Gelding (Graditz x Busoni XX)
    • 1991 European Championships – Team Gold Medal, Individual Gold Medal
    • 1992 Barcelona Olympics – Team Gold Medal, Individual Silver Medal
    • 1993 European Championships – Team Gold Medal, Individual Gold Medal
    • 1994 World Equestrian Games – Team Gold Medal, Individual Silver
    • 1996 Atlanta Olympics – Team Gold Medal, Individual Gold Medal
    • 1998 World Equestrian Games – Team Gold Medal, Individual Gold Medal
    • 2000 Sydney Olympics – Team Gold Medal, Individual Silver Medal
  • Antony FRH – 1986 Dark Bay Hanoverian Gelding (Argument x Wenzel I)
    • 1999 European Championships – Team Gold Medal, Individual 16th Place
    • 2000 FEI World Cup Final – Fourth Place
    • 2001 FEI World Cup Final – Silver Medal
    • 2001 European Championships – Team Gold Medal, Individual 16th Place
    • 2002 FEI World Cup Final – Fifth Place
    • 2003 FEI World Cup Final – Fourth Place
  • Satchmo 78 – 1994 Dark Bay Hanoverian Gelding (São Paulo x Legat)
    • 2003 European Championships – Team Gold Medal, Individual 17th Place
    • 2006 World Equestrian Games – Team Gold Medal, Individual Gold Medal, Individual Bronze Medal Freestyle
    • 2007 European Championships – Team Silver Medal, Individual Gold Medal, Individual Silver Medal Freestyle
    • 2008 Beijing Olympics – Team Gold Medal, Individual Silver Medal
    • 2009 FEI World Cup Final – Silver Medal
    • 2011 FEI World Cup Final – Fifth Place
  • Apache OLD – 1993 Bay Oldenburg Gelding (Alabaster x Grundstein I)
    • 2004 FEI World Cup Final – Ninth Place
  • Warum Nicht FRH – 1996 Chestnut Hanoverian Gelding (Weltmeyer x Wenzel I)
    • 2006 FEI World Cup Final – Silver Medal
    • 2007 FEI World Cup Final – Gold Medal
    • 2008 FEI World Cup Final – Silver Medal
    • 2010 FEI World Cup Final – Fourth Place
    • 2010 World Equestrian Games – Team Bronze Medal, Individual Tenth Place, Individual Sixth Place Freestyle
  • El Santo NRW – 2001 Bay Rheinlander Gelding (Ehrentusch x Rythmus)
    • 2011 European Championships – Team Silver Medal, Individual Seventh Place, Individual Seventh Place Freestyle
    • 2012 FEI World Cup Final – Fourth Place
    • 2014 FEI World Cup Final – Fifth Place
    • 2015 FEI World Cup Final – Sixth Place
  • Don Johnson FRH – 2001 Bay Hanoverian Gelding (Don Frederico x Warkant)
    • 2013 FEI World Cup Final – Fifth Place
    • 2013 European Championships – Team Gold Medal, Individual 20th Place
    • 2015 European Championships – Team Bronze Medal, Individual Seventh Place, Individual Fourth Place Freestyle
  • Bella Rose 2 – 2004 Chestnut Westfalen Mare (Belissimo x Cacir AA)
    • 2014 World Equestrian Games – Team Gold Medal
    • 2018 World Equestrian Games – Team Gold Medal, Special Gold Medal
    • 2019 European Championships – Team Gold Medal, Special Gold Medal, Freestyle Gold Medal
  • Weihegold OLD – 2005 Black Oldenburg Mare (Don Schufro x Sandro Hit)
    • 2016 Rio Olympics – Team Gold Medal, Individual Silver Medal
    • 2017 FEI World Cup Final – Gold Medal
    • 2017 European Championships – Team Gold Medal, Individual Gold Medal, Individual Gold Medal Freestyle
    • 2018 FEI World Cup Final – Gold Medal
    • 2019 FEI World Cup Final – Gold Medal

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Merrell, Chloe (3 August 2024). "Isabell Werth: All medals, records and titles - full list". Paris 2024 Olympics. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Gigolo Passed Away". Eurodressage. 23 September 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  3. ^ "Warum Nicht Passed Away | eurodressage". www.eurodressage.com. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Jose Antonio Garcia Mena Gets Ride on El Santo for 2016 Olympic Year | eurodressage". www.eurodressage.com. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  5. ^ "German Olympic Dressage Team for Paris 2024 Announced". Eurodressage. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Werth Suspended For Six Months For Doping Infraction - The Chronicle of the Horse". Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  7. ^ Schock für Olympiasiegerin Werth Süddeutsche.de from 24 June katie 2009
  8. ^ Werth kann in London für Deutschland reiten FAZ from 2 September 2009
  9. ^ "Isabell Werth 'deeply regrets' horse doping incident". horsetalk.co.nz. 25 June 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2016. 'This illness is not painful and does not influence a horse's ability to compete, but it entails an increased risk for the persons working with the horse (farrier, groom, rider),' Werth said.
  10. ^ "Isabell Werth Releases Statement on Positive Doping Test". Eurodressage. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  11. ^ StraightArrow (25 September 2009). "Isabell Werth's Suspension for Doping Doubled to One Year". Dressage-News. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Isabell Werth's Sponsor Madeleine Winter-Schulze Reacts to Positive Doping Case". Eurodressage. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Isabell Werth Suspended For Doping - The Chronicle of the Horse". Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Isabell Werth Suspended from Competitions for Six Months". Eurodressage. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  15. ^ Heath, Sophia (5 November 2013). "German Federation bans Isabell Werth from competition for 6 months". Horse & Hound. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  16. ^ Bryan, Polly (5 July 2022). "Isabell Werth among riders eliminated under blood rules at CHIO Aachen". Horse & Hound. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Isabell Werth – Reitsport". 29 June 2007. Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  18. ^ "Frogster Interactive". 25 May 2007. Archived from the original on 25 May 2007. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  19. ^ "Ride! at Big Fish Games". Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  20. ^ "The Patches Scrolls – Ride! Equestrian Simulation patch 1.2". patches-scrolls.de. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
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