Biography

German Olympian Michael Jung (35), who is based in Altheim in the south German state of Baden-Wurttemburg, is currently the World’s most successful rider. He is number one in the World FEI ranking and with La Biosethique Sam the current Olympic Champion. With Sam he has completed Badminton three times, winning the Mitsubishi trophy in 2016 and in doing so the Rolex Grand Slam (for consecutive wins at Burghley, Lexington and Badminton). The pair has twice been second – on their first visit in 2013 and last year in 2017. Last year with FischerRocana he won the Lexington four-star – his second Lexington win with the mare – and his seventh four-star win.

In 2012 he became the first rider ever to hold the Olympic, European (2011) and World (2010) titles at the same time – all achieved with Badminton entry La Biosethique Sam. At the end of that year he was the winner of the 2012 FEI ‘best athlete’ award.

In 2015 at Blair Castle, he won his third consecutive European Championship title – all on different horses – and won team gold. In 2014 he lost his World title to fellow German Sandra Auffarth – although won the individual silver and team gold. At the 2017 European Championships he lost his European title to Ingrid Klimke but won individual silver (FischerRocana). Michael has now won six individual championship titles and nine senior individual championship medals since his senior debut in 2009.

In 2015 with Sam he won Burghley. It later transpired he won riding with a broken ankle sustained during a fall with his first ride (FischerRocana FST) and also won the European Championships before the full extent of the injury was made known.

Both Michael’s Grandfather and father, Joachim, rode and Michael began riding aged six – he is still trained by his father. In 2003, he won the Young Rider European Championship and four years later was second in the seven-year-old World Young Horse Championship at Le Lions D’Angers with Sam. In 2008 the pair made their mark on the eventing world in the world cup final and arrived in 2009 when they won the four-star at Luhmuhlen and two months later the World Cup final in Strzegom.

Michael is also an accomplished and regular competitor on the international jumping circuit and currently has several horses competing in international jumping competitions

He trains with Christopher Bartle and his father Joachim.

La Biosethique Sam is an 18-year-old German-bred gelding (Baden-Wurrtemburg). Bred by Gunter Seitter he is by the Irish thoroughbred Stan the Man who in later life stood in Germany. (Stan the Man is the sire of Leslie Law’s 2008 Olympic gold medal horse Shear L’eau, 2000 Olympic team silver horse Shear H2O as well as four-star horses Sindy and Skampolo).

Sam is out of a mare by Heraldik, a Czech–bred thoroughbred who has become a leading sire of event horses – he is also the sire of four-star horses Butts Abraxxas, TSF Karascada M Happy Times and Butts Avedon. Sam has been produced by Michael since a four-year-old.