Egyptian rider Nayel Nassar is retiring his 16-year-old 5* Grand Prix horse Lucifer V from competition

Egyptian rider Nayel Nassar is retiring his 16-year-old 5* Grand Prix horse Lucifer V from competition. He announced this himself on his social media channels. 

Nayel Nassar shone with the gelding up to CSI5* level and won several top placings including gold in the CSI5* Longines Speed Challenge of New York and the CSI5* Longines Grand Prix of New York as well as the Olympic Qualification in Rabat in 2019, which earned the Egyptian team a ticket for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

"Special week as we send this amazing horse into retirement after a remarkable sports career. Lucifer is one of the longest tenured horses at Evergate and has given us countless great memories with Hardin Towell and myself in the irons. 

He always had the biggest personality in the barn, constantly poking his head into his barn mates’ stalls just to say hi or offer up some neck scratches. There is no cookie jar he couldn’t master, with his expressions and mannerisms always seeming more human than horse. 

However, Lucifer was also notoriously mischievous and cheeky. He had a penchant for weaseling his way out of work with an array of moves; be it the patented face-rub to get me to drop the reins, the pump-fake so he could stop and take a breather, or how he would suddenly plant his feet and just stand there motionless so he could take in the sights. Lucifer had a way of making you work for what you wanted as if he knew it would all be worthwhile in the end.

Idiosyncrasies aplenty, it took a few months for us to find common ground and luckily Hardin was always just a phone call away. They had come up winning together, and I’m grateful I had him and Chris Howard in my corner because nobody knew Lucifer or believed in him like they did. 

The rest feels like a bit of a whirlwind, punctuated by Lucifer ending 2019 as one of the best horses in the world. He was an extremely versatile horse that could win a speed class, a Grand Prix and jump double clear in a Nations Cup. A true warrior. One of a kind. 

Lucifer, thank you a million times over; not only for the memories, but for the trust you instilled in your people, the patience you taught your riders, and the relentless competitiveness you brought to the arena. You are special in every sense and I can’t wait to see you frolicking through retirement the way you always do. No one deserves it more. It’s been an unbelievable ride Luci."