The future of Uthopia, Carl Hester’s London Olympic partner, is still uncertain. The Dutch warmblood stallion, by Metall out of Odelia, was sold for £165,000 on May 27 by Wilsons Auctioneers on behalf of the trustees of two bankrupt estates.
News that Uthopia would be auctioned off first emerged at the end of April, dismaying dressage fans, who wanted the stallion to remain with Hester.
Hester himself worked tirelessly to secure funding and, in early May, he seemed optimistic about his chances of keeping Uthopia at his yard.
However, last week’s auction, which also included super cars, jewellery, luxury watches, a Banksy piece and a Cessna T206H aircraft, was a heated affair, with two bidders in particular vying for the stallion. Eventually, one of the two — who had been bidding anonymously — bought Uthopia for £165,000.
On May 29, Hester announced both on Facebook and on his website that he had been unable to secure the stallion himself. “Sorry for the silence, I am so grateful for all the support from all over the world,” he said in a statement. “Sadly, we couldn’t secure him with our investors.”
Rumours also emerged that Uthopia may have been purchased by Paul Schockemöhle and his Gestut Lewitz stud but these were firmly quashed by the stud manager in a statement to Horse & Hound, and the identity of the stallion’s new owner remains shrouded in secrecy.
There’s still hope that Uthopia may stay at Hester’s yard, though, as the Olympic team-gold medallist mentioned in his statement that he is “hoping and working on a positive outcome.”
