Olympic Experience
Wauters brought the knowledge of two previous Games and an Olympic team medal to the partnership.
Warmblood Horse Sales · Hall of Fame
Bon Ami
The Belgian 1.60 m stallion who carried the colours of his country with Eric Wauters at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games—and whose blood now lives in three generations of our breeding programme.
Foaled 1985 · BelgiumGrey sBs Stallion1.60 m ShowjumpingElegant de l'Ile × LuckeyAtlanta 1996 Olympian
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01 · A Belgian Superstar
A Famous Horse and a Rider Belgium Never Forgot
Thirty years ago, while Brian Mills was buying horses around the small Belgian town of Mol, the name Eric Wauters was spoken again and again. Tracing Bon Ami today reveals exactly why that name carried such respect: horse and rider represented Belgium together on the greatest stage in world sport.
02 · Bon Ami
Belgian-Bred, Internationally Proven
Bon Ami was a grey Belgian Sport Horse stallion, foaled in 1985 and registered with the sBs. He was bred in Belgium by L. Mardaga and stood approximately 1.68 metres.
His sire was the Selle Français stallion Elegant de l'Ile. His dam was the KWPN mare Luckey, by Hus. Bon Ami was licensed for sBs and Selle Français breeding and is recorded at 1.60 m international showjumping level.
Those details establish him as far more than a name in a pedigree. Bon Ami was both a breeding stallion and a top-level sport horse—tested over the largest tracks of his era.
SireElegant de l'IleSelle Français
DamLuckeyKWPN mare
Dam's SireHusKWPN
03 · Atlanta 1996
Bon Ami Was an Olympic Horse
In 1996, Eric Wauters selected Bon Ami to represent Belgium at the Atlanta Olympic Games. They contested both the individual and team showjumping competitions at the Georgia International Horse Park.
The Belgian team—Eric Wauters with Bon Ami, Ludo Philippaerts with King Darco, Stanny Van Paesschen with Mulga Bill and Michel Blaton with Revoulino—finished thirteenth. Bon Ami and Wauters completed all three individual qualifying rounds.
An Olympic appearance does not need embellishment. Reaching Atlanta placed Bon Ami among the small number of horses trusted to carry their nation at the very highest level.
“Bon Ami did not borrow the word ‘Olympic’ through an ancestor. He earned it in the arena with Eric Wauters.”
04 · Eric Wauters
The Respected Belgian Horseman Brian Remembered
Eric Wauters represented Belgium at three Olympic Games: Munich in 1972, Montreal in 1976 and Atlanta in 1996. At Montreal he won team bronze with Gute Sitte. Twenty years later, Bon Ami became his Olympic partner for his third Games.
Wauters' standing in Belgian jumping reached beyond results. His name remains attached to one of the country's great equestrian occasions: Jumping Mechelen is staged as the Memorial Eric Wauters.
That enduring memorial supports what Brian remembers from the Belgian horse world around Mol. Wauters was not simply a rider whose name appeared on a start list. He was one of the defining Belgian horsemen of his generation.
05 · The Partnership
Experience Met Courage
International Scope
Bon Ami was recorded at 1.60 m—the standard of major international and Grand Prix sport.
Belgian Identity
A Belgian-bred stallion and a celebrated Belgian rider carried their country's colours together in Atlanta.
06 · The Direct Bloodline
From Bon Ami Through Goedele to Davina and Our Mares
Bon Ami's connection to Warmblood Horse Sales is direct and documented through the female family:
Bon Ami sired Goedele van de Kruishoeve. Goedele produced Davina van het Gonnehof, the BWP mare by Olympic Ramiro. Bred to our licensed AES stallion Noah, Davina produced Elizabeth Diamond and Maggie May.
07 · Three Living Generations
The Olympic Blood Did Not Stop With Davina
Elizabeth Diamond carried Bon Ami's blood into the next generation when she produced Bella Ragazza in July 2026. That creates three living generations within our own story: Davina's daughters Elizabeth Diamond and Maggie May, followed by Elizabeth's filly Bella Ragazza.
Through Davina, Bon Ami is joined with Ramiro Z through Olympic Ramiro. Through Noah, the same youngsters also carry Parco, Darco and Lugano van la Roche. This is where history stops being a list of famous names and becomes a living breeding programme.
08 · Archive Photographs
A Record Worth Preserving
The surviving photographs are modest in size, but their historical value is far greater than their pixel count. They are displayed within restrained archive frames, never stretched beyond their natural resolution.
09 · Why Bon Ami Belongs Here
Performance Proven, Bloodline Preserved
Bon Ami belongs in this Hall of Fame on both sides of the test. His own record reached 1.60 m and the Olympic Games. His breeding contribution reached our programme through Goedele and Davina, then continued into Elizabeth Diamond, Maggie May and Bella Ragazza.
He also reconnects Brian's present-day breeding programme with the Belgian horse world he knew three decades ago. The name Eric Wauters, heard repeatedly while buying horses around Mol, now appears inside the documented history of horses bred at home.
Bon Ami was a Belgian superstar. His rider was one of Belgium's most respected horsemen. Their story is no longer merely remembered—it is preserved.
10 · Continue the Story
From Atlanta to the Next Generation
Bon Ami's identity, pedigree, studbook status and 1.60 m level are supported by sBs and established sport-horse pedigree records. His 1996 Olympic appearance and results with Eric Wauters are recorded by Olympic results archives. The Bon Ami–Goedele–Davina connection is confirmed across sBs, HorseTelex and AES pedigree records. Brian's memories of buying horses around Mol are presented as his personal recollection.