Shutterfly (horse)

Shutterfly, originally named Struwwelpeter, was foaled on January 14, 1993^[6] at the farm of Uwe Dresmann. He was trained by Carsten Raschen as a five and six year old, where he qualified for the National Championships.^[7][8]

Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum discovered the horse when he was six years old, after finding him in a competition for young show jumping horses. Michaels-Beerbam eventually encouraged Uwe Dresmann to sell him, and he was purchased by Nancy Clark.^[7] After he was sold, his name was changed to Shutterfly. His barn name was Petey.^[8]

As a young horse, Shutterfly was challenging to ride. He was described as "spooky" and "frightened of everything".^[8] At seven years old, Michaels-Beerbaum entered Shutterfly in the finals of CHIO Aachen, which ended disastrously after Michaels-Beerbaum fell off. It would take Michaels-Beerbaum a year to regain the horse's trust.^[9][10] By 1999, Michaels-Beerbaum credited Shutterfly with helping her top the FEI World Show Jumping rankings.^[9]

As Shutterfly developed into a champion show jumper, he remained insecure and nervous in the show ring. Michaels-Beerbaum noted his bashfulness, compared to other show jumpers. His insecurity left him sheltering behind his groom as he entered the arena,^[11] who would use music to soothe him.^[12]

After placing second at the 2004 World Cup final in Milan, Shutterfly tested positive for the banned substance acepromazine. As a result, Michaels-Beerbaum was not selected for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.^[13][14] The decision was controversial at the time.^[15] The positive ruling was overturned months later and Shutterfly returned to competition in 2005.^[8] Two weeks after the decision was overturned, Michaels-Beerbaum and Shutterfly won the 2005 World Cup Finals in Los Vegas.^[16][17]

At the 2006 World Equestrian Games, Shutterfly was rattled during the final four horse rotation phase, reacting "extremely nervous and upset".^[18] When changing riders, Shutterfly began rearing in the practice area. The horse's reaction caused some commentators to question the necessity of the horse rotation round.^[19] Michaels-Beerbaum would not bring Shutterfly back to the World Equestrian Games, and the horse change was eventually eliminated from the format.^[20]

In 2007, Shutterfly tested positive in a doping test at the European Championships in Mannheim for the use of Triamcinolone, a corticosteroid.^[21] The medication use was disclosed to stewards before the event and was allowed to start.^[22]

In 2008, the pair were selected for the Summer Olympics in Beijing, and were expected to be medal finalists going into the competition.^[23] The combination eventually placed fourth in the individual competition.^[6] The next year, Michaels-Beerbaum and Shutterfly won every round of their competition at the 2009 World Cup Finals in Las Vegas, winning the gold medal.^[24] It was the third World Cup Finals the pair would win together.^[25]

In 2011, at the age of 18 Shutterfly won the Warsteiner Prize at CHIO Aachen.^[26][10] After the win, Michaels-Beerbaum's husband Marcus Beerbaum encouraged her to retire Shutterfly, to end his career on a high note.^[9] A few days later, Shutterfly was retired in a ceremony at CHIO Aachen.^[27][28]

After retiring from competition, Shutterfly went to live at the Beerbaums’ German base in Thedinghausen, Germany.^[8] On 28 January 2023 Shutterfly died at the age of 30.^[29][30]

• First place, 2003 Olympia Grand Prix^[31]
• Individual gold medal and team silver medal, 2007 European Show Jumping Championships in Mannheim^[32]
• Gold medals, 2005,^[16] 2008^[33] and 2009 Show Jumping World Cup finals^[34][35]
• Individual and team bronze medals, 2006 World Equestrian Games
• First place, 2008 and 2010 Stuttgart Mercedes German Masters Championship^[36]
• First place, 2005 Aachen Grand Prix^[37]
• First place, 2006 Stuttgart Grand Prix^[38]
• Top placed horse and rider combination in the world, 2004 and 2006