HEIKE Holstein has announced the sale of her home-bred mare Sambuca. The 13-year-old mare has been sold to America and will be seen in the future under the ownership of Tracy Kelley.

By Samarant, Sambuca was bred by Holstein out of the Limmerick-sired Astoria and produced up through the ranks, all the way to the Tokyo Olympic Games, by her breeder. She was national champion at every level in Ireland and helped Holstein win a record-breaking 13th National Champion title in 2019.

The combination were part of the Irish team that secured a historic Olympic qualification at the 2019 FEI European Championships before going on to represent Ireland as an individual in Tokyo, Heike’s fourth Olympic Games.

Just last month, on their first international outing since Tokyo, they placed third in the CDI3* Freestyle to Music at Wellington in England when scoring 74.60%. They were on the list of nominated entries for next month's FEI World Championships in Herning, Denmark.

Announcing the news on social media, Heike said: “A new chapter begins today for beautiful Sambuca. I am so proud of her and all we have achieved together. To train and ride a horse that is home-bred all the way to the Olympics was a dream come true for me. I wish her lovely new owners the very best of luck and I hope to see them on the international stage soon. Thank you to everyone who has supported us!”