Thibaut Vallette Lt Col and Qing du Briot ENE HN (FRA). Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.
Lt. Col. Thibaut Vallette has formally retired his team Olympic gold medal partner, Qing du Briot (Éolien II – Henriette, by Étalon OR), following a decade-long partnership that spanned the globe and saw the pair named to every senior French team since 2015. The Selle Francias gelding is 18 this year.
“Thank you Qing for all these years shared, for this mutual trust and this beautiful complicity,” Thibault shared on social media (translated from French). “You will teach me a lot and you first can be proud of how far you have come. [Longtime groom Yann Devanne], who knows you so well, and I won’t be far. You will always be our heart horse.”
Thibaut Vallette Lt Col and Qing du Briot ENE HN (FRA). Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.
Qing du Briot first made his mark on the international stage when he secured a podium finish — both an individual as well as a team bronze with Thibaut — at the 2015 European Championships at Blair Castle, his first time representing France in team competition. The gelding followed that up with a 13th individual finish at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, paired with a team gold medal. Thibault and Qing du Briot also helped secure team bronze for France at the 2018 World Equestrian Games at Tryon International.
The French team was set to reunite for the Tokyo Olympics last year, and Qing du Briot saw yet another selection to the senior team before a bone bruise was sustained the month before the Olympics, prompting the team to withdraw replace him with Karim Laghouag and Triton Fontaine.
Please join us in wishing Qing du Briot a very happy, comfortable, and well-deserved retirement!
