Editor's Choice

25th May 2002 - I.M. JHM

On May 23, 2002, a truly great, distinguished yet extravagant person has chosen that life on this planet was no longer worth living. John Müller (Johann Heinrich Müller) commited suicide in his home in Malaga, Spain, with a samourai sword according to the Japanese Harakiri rite. Müller was 49 years old.

John Müller was one of Eurodressage/Junior-riders.com's very first "fans". The launch of our websites did not go unnoticed to this Swiss enterpreneur, who was a horse lover in his heart. His personal emails, his compliments and critical suggestions are esteemed greatly and were of great support to me in the late 90s. It is incredibly regretable that Müller did not get enough support in his life to fight successfully against the depression that pestered him the last years of his life.

Together with a few partners of his Hong Kong based company Ozark, Müller bought Lord Sinclair, the most expensive dressage horse ever sold at an auction. Müller paid 2,8 million Deutsch Marks for the licensed stallion becoming the focus of the international equestrian media immediately. Lord Sinclair and his rider Miriam Henschke, therefore, became the specific topic of criticism for every equestrian journalist, who suffered from a hippic writer's block. They flamed at a green stallion who still simply needed to find his balance on the dressage scene. Every performance of the pair was the target of finger pointing and scepticism but Müller continued to believe in his horse who had 400 breedings the first year he was up for stud. John's goal with Lord Sinclair was to create a second Rembrandt, a horse that captured the heart of the audience and that made history.

Everything John worked for was for the benefit of his daughter. Natasha Müller's aim was to be the very first rider who would compete at the Olympic Games in both show jumping and dressage. With her Columbian nationality, a private training facility in Spain, numerous top quality horses (like Lord Sinclair and Iliado), Athens 2004 is a feasible goal for 17 year old Natasha.

John will be greatly missed.

--Astrid Appels
info@eurodressage.com