Va Va Voom: Formerly Viva la Vida - a second chance in sport?
Return of Gut Neuenhof stallion at Westphalian Spring Auction
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Catalog number 3 of this year's Westphalian Spring Auction, Va Va Voom, is causing a stir: Behind the new name is none other than Viva la Vida (Viva Gold OLD x Rosengold OLD), who was acquired by Equus Invest AG in 2022. This is also officially noted in the auction catalog - yet the stallion's sudden rehabilitation raises many questions.
After his successful licensing and first tests, Viva la Vida was considered a promising young stallion and son of Viva Gold, who goes back to the line that once also produced Ahlerich, Rembrandt and Rubinstein. In 2024, he unexpectedly had to abandon his sport test due to unwillingness to perform. A veterinary examination revealed a healed rib injury, whereupon the stallion took a break for several weeks. On the initiative of breeding manager Thomas Münch, he was finally transferred to the Westphalian Horse Center, where he was observed under controlled conditions.
According to Münch, the stallion showed no signs of pain either on the lunge or under saddle. After further veterinary examinations, he was given the green light for careful training in August 2024. With Bundeschampion Bentheim, the stallion station Gut Neuenhof already has a representative of the Dodona line in its stallion catalog, which is why Münch has now received the go-ahead to offer the stallion under a new name at the auction, around a year after the supposed end of his career.