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STAL TOPS STALLIONS
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BACARDI VDL (CORLAND X KANNAN)
An impressive international CSI5* Grand Prix resumé with a great canter, powerful jump, and intelligence
HORIZONTAL (CASALL X QUICK STAR) A highly promising youngster in the stable of Olympian Maikel van der Vleuten TO
JAN TOPS: “I have absolute belief in the characteristics of these two brilliant sires for today’s sporting arenas.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
THE WORLD CONTINUES TO TURN...
Last year’s edition spoke of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now entering its fourth year, but the world’s trouble spots, including heightned conflict in the Middle East, have been temporarily relegated from front page news thanks to the chaos being perpetuated by the USA’s newly relected president. Tariffs, deportations, continuing to embrace fossil fuels, and an executive decision to rescind the ban on plastic drinking straws that are polluting the world’s oceans and damaging wildlife. The world appears to be entering what might be called a ‘revenge’ era, with political edicts and financial instabilities that will impact industries, large and small, and lifestyle at every level of society.
Once again, the sport horse breeding world may appear far removed from global events, but foals are still being born, young horses are being prepared, competition horses continue to accumulate air and road miles to attend major events. Little has changed in that respect – although there are a few recent decisions by the FEI that could well impact rankings. Not least, the introduction of the Longines League of Nations series, at which Rolex testimonees (including riders in the top 10 of the world rankings) have declined to participate... A watchmakers’ war!
Auctions are also experiencing an evolution – or some might say, a revolution. Previously organized seasonally by the majority of studbooks, many have become monthly fixtures on event calendars. Live, ‘onlive’, hybrid – new vocabulary to suit every model of auction, in the same way that new reproductive technology has entered the 21st century dictionaries of sport horse breeding. Certainly, controversies still abound as to whether ICSI is legitimate or unnecessary, and how it might impact genetic diversity in the decades to come.
Over the past year, BN has tried to
put welfare at the forefront of peoples’ minds in terms of publishing various articles that investigate and report the true meaning of welfare. Does a horse spending 23 hours of every day in a stable constitute good welfare? I don’t think so!
Despite the issues facing the global family of sport horse breeders, we hope you will see this BREEDING NEWS WORLDWIDE SPORT HORSE STALLION DIRECTORY, as a familiar and honest friend that continues to be an invaluable addition to every breeders’ toolbox.
It’s the seventh year – our 21st anniversary (some might say, our coming-of-age edition) that we have published this directory exclusively online and completely free of charge! It represents the only ‘global’ database uniquely for stallions that is ‘live’ 365 days a year. As always, it offers self management of entries by stallion owners and representatives who can independently add/update information, making it even more accurate and efficient.
From 4,000 stallions recorded in the Directory’s first year, to over 11,000 curated entries in 2025. We strive to continuously improve to better inform you, the breeders. This is why, for the 16th year in a row, the WBFSH is supporting our initiative. This renowned Federation’s logo on our front cover is our motivation, our encouragement.
Our thanks go to all those stallion owners and studbooks who every year provide reliable information. We are also extremely grateful to our faithful and regular advertisers, whose valuable partnerships have taught us the meaning of mutual respect and loyal support.
Thanks to Xavier Libbrecht, Jean and Peter Llewellyn and the correspondents who have made this BN journey possible for the past 29 years. WORLD BREEDING NEWS wouldn’t be the same without you in our team.
Alban Poudret
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LOOKING TO THE FUTURE...
This21st edition of the BREEDING NEWS
WORLDWIDE SPORT HORSE STALLION DIREC-
TORY once again reflects consistent improvement and is maintained year-round to reflect the upto-date information provided to us by studbooks, stud farms, and individual breeders. Our ongoing thanks to them for their involvement and continued support. This year, the stallions and contacts appear online as a unique interactive database, where owners can self manage their stallions, adding and updating information. A major step forward for breeding in a world where technology is an essential tool.
PART I: THE STALLION LIST
• Life number: While some studbooks have embraced the UELN concept, there are others who have yet to adopt this universal numbering system for birth registrations. A pity, since registration numbers are essential for accurately tracking horses whose names may change several times during their sporting careers.
• Year of birth and pedigree: Virtually 100%
• Size and colour: Included in the database where provided by studbooks.
• Breeder, studbook of origin: It continues to be frustrating that some studbooks and independent breeders often fail to acknowledge or publish this information – which is somewhat schocking when they would undoubtedly wish this for themselves. So, dear breeders, please take pride in your role and honour the accomplishments of others by sharing this information with us and the rest of the world. Breeders are the most important component in this project, alongside the stallions themselves.
• Approval studbooks: A unique aspect of our Directory, as an increasing number of ‘star’ stallions are regularly approved by more than one studbook, even if they are not recognized by their own birth studbook. Ironic!
PART II: CONTACTS We continue to strive for alphabetical integrity by using primary names to better facilitate the search process and, hopefully, avoid any foreign language confusion.
The breeder who owns one stallion is as important as one who owns 20 or more. By cross-referencing every stallion entry (where the owner is known), our Directory database has become a valuable ‘interactive’ source. This is why it is unique, and why the searchable online database provides the ability to sort stallions by specified criteria. Power at your fingertips, although when contact information is minimal or unrecorded so a vital link is lost.
AND EDITORIAL CONTENT
Yes, once again, we have gathered together tables and ranking lists in one valuable volume:
• Who is the Sire of Sires?
• Who is the leading Dam’s Sire?
• The most influential bloodlines according to the entries and recognition of new stallions?
• The leading breeder according to the number of approved stallions produced?
• The leaders in the sport horse family?
• The LONGINES-WBFSH Breeders Awards?
• The best performance stallions?
• Which studbook is dominating the scene? How?
• Auctions – unique information, herein and online every month throughout the year
Our commitment to you the breeder is in continuing to provide invaluable information and interesting statistics that will hopefully impact and enhance your success. ■
(*In the past, the Directory has been reserved exclusively for ‘living’ stallions, but since the integration of our two databases – stallions and auctions – we have reinstated deceased stallions whoarestillprovingpopular,eitherthroughthe demand for semen or offspring. From nearly 10,000 there are now over 11,000 stallions.
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SIRES
SIGNIFICANT GAINS AS DIAMANT WIDENS THE GAP!
The past year, 2024, might be remembered as the ‘diamond’ year of Diamant de Semilly as he adds another jewel to his already sparkling crown. His gains over the past 12 months number 18 new sires, compared to only two for his closest rival, Cornet Obolensky.
died in 2013, whose 13 additional approved sons moved him from 13th in 2023 to 10th last year. Heartbreaker has also been promoted from 14th to 12th having increased his total by 11 sons.
Demonstrating the continuing popularity of very established and traditional Selle Français sires, Quidam de Revel also added 14 to his ever-growing total, now putting him within striking distance of Cornet Obolensky, so will we see the two French stallions topping these rankings for 2025? Coincidentally, just a few short years ago, in this very column, we questioned whether the days of Diamant’s domination might be numbered, given the sudden rise of Cornet, but breeders are demonstrating their continued loyalty to one of the great stalwarts of sport horse breeding.
Diamant de Semilly
Notable names to mention in the lower half of our top 40 Sires of Sires are: Carthago (+12/21 st ); Numero Uno (+8/25th), Calvaro (+11/22 nd ), Nabab de Reve (+8/29th).
And, of course, it would be imprudent not to mention Chacco Blue (+10), moving up from 33rd to 26th, and whose name is appearing more and more on the starting lists of competitors in high level showjumping classes. Many, however, are geldings, as well as non-breeding mares which, therefore, don’t impact Chacco-Blue’s ranking in this Sires of Sires list.
Notably, there are no new names in this year’s ranking list, so having faith in established names and bloodlines still seems to be the preference for breeders’ decision making.
Another showjumping legend, Darco, has also made significant gains this past year, jumping from 70 to 80 sires, although it was insufficient to earn promotion from last year’s ninth place. However, he’s moving closer to Contender ranked eighth, and Baloubet du Rouet, seventh.
Also celebrating a quiet resurgence in popularity, the brilliant For Pleasure – who
It should be mentioned that this ranking list is not discipline specific and, therefore, showjumping-oriented studbooks claim the majority of sires: Holstiner (13), Selle Français (6), and BWP (5). KWPN is the anomaly, also known for dressage, their six Sires of Sires are divided equally between jumping and dressage .
It might be appropriate to conclude that while new technologies are increasing the bounty of mares beyond their normal reproductive cycles, the ability to augment semen and multiply straws is now giving new life to longdeceased stallions; hence the reason they’ve been resurrected in our stallion database. ■
SIRES OF SIRES
SIRES OF SIRES
1 1 Diamant de Semilly Selle Français 169 151
2 2 Cornet Obolensky BWP 129 127
3 3 Quidam de Revel Selle Français 124 110
4 4 Sandro Hit Oldenburg 99 98
5 5 Kannan KWPN 92 92
6 6 Casall/Casall Ask Holstein 86 79
7 7 Baloubet du Rouet Selle Français 85 76
8 8 Contender Holstein 81 72
9 9 Darco BWP 80 70
10 13 For Pleasure Hanoverian 73 60
11 10 Cassini/Cassini I Holstein 70 65
12 14 Heartbreaker KWPN 70 59
13 11 Balou du Rouet Selle Français 67 62
14 16 Stakkato Hanoverian 62 56
15 15 C-Indoctro Holstein 61 57
16 17 Quick Star Selle Français 59 56
17 20 Diarado Holstein 55 47
18 19 Sir Donnerhall I Oldenburg
19 18 De Niro Hanoverian
20 26 Clinton Holstein
23 22 Voltaire Hanoverian
43 24 23 Caretino Holstein
42 25 28 Numero Uno BWP 44 36 26 33 Chacco-Blue Meckl 44 34 27 24 Donnerhall Oldenburg 43 40
28 25 Cassini II Holstein 43 38
29 29 Nabab de Reve BWP 42 36 30 36 Toulon BWP 38 32 31 21 Contendro I Holstein
45 32 30 Gribaldi Trakehner
35 33 31 Fürstenball Oldenburg
35 34 32 Le Tot de Semilly Selle Français 37 34 35 38 Catoki Holstein 35 31
36 39 Concorde KWPN 35 30
37 34 Florestan I Rheinland 34 33
38 35 Canturo Holstein 33 32
39 37 Ampere KWPN 33 31
40 40 Jazz KWPN 33 30
40 41 Quaterback DSP 33 30
40 42 Vivaldi KWPN 33 27
Next in the rankings, with 32 approved sons: C-Indoctro, Cardento and Florestan I, followed by Diamont Hit (31), and Chin Chin, Colman, Lordanos, and Mr. Blue, each with 30.
SIRES OF DAMS
“NO!” CONTENDER’S CROWN ISN’T SLIPPING
Last year, at this same time, the heading of this column asked the question ‘Is Contender’s crown slipping?’ We now know the answer is an unequivocal “NO”, as can be seen by his significant increase as the sire of 16 dams over the past year.
Naturally, there’s no way of assessing the reason for Contender’s increase or, similarly, other stallions at the top of this table. increase, In fact, when you look at the top of this table, there have been some highly significant increases in the Sires of Dams for the first four well-known, and also longdeceased, stallions: Contender (+16); Carthago (+17); Cassini (+18); Darco (+18). The only exception is Quidam de Reve (occupying third place alongside Cassini) who stands at +8. Any explanation would be purely speculation and nothing definitive, but modern reproductive technology may or may not be responsible!
interesting to see whether this heralds an end to their fashionable status, or simply a ‘blip’ in their otherwisew stellar breeding careers. We should make it easy and mention that one of these names is especially notable: Cornet Obolensky – who was certainly the blue-eyed boy for a number of seasons, and one of the few in this table that is still alive.
Obviously, these stallion come with unimpeachable reputations as legendary sport horse sires, but it almost seems an anomaly that below the top four, there are only five stallions with double-digit additions: De Niro (+12); Sandro Hit (+10); Heartbreaker (+12); Jazz (+13); and For Pleasure (+12).
Likewise, there is little doubt that the majority of the stallions in this Sires of Dams ranking are retaining their popularity and continue to ascend. Although it might be noted that only three stallions delivered a negative result in the past 12 months, so it will be
The other two negatives are Kannan and, not surprisingly, given that he’s been dead for 25 years, Cor de la Bryère. Another who left this earth a quarter of a century ago is Rubinstein, whose total remains unchanged, and Le Tôt de Sémilly who passed away in 2009. At the tail end of this table you will once again find the diminutive Selle Français stallion Quick Star making a reappearance with an additional five approved sons from his own dams.
If you are a regular reader of our Breeding News Worldwide Stallion Directory, you might have noticed that we are no longer identifying ‘deceased’ stallions, for the simple reason that the information is irrelevant given the longevity of frozen semen, which appears to have no use-by date, and reproductive techniques that allow a single straw to be multiplied and used for ICSI, for example.
It’s noticeable that some of our tables show few changes in terms of top names from year to year, therefore implying that the popularity of legendary stallions is being maintained long after their deaths.
Contender grandson, Monaco with Harrie Smolders (NED)
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5
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7
8 9
9
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SIRES OF DAMS
SIRES OF DAMS
SCHOCKEMÖHLE: A SPORT HORSE DYNASTY PAR EXCELLENCE
The
indomitable Paul Schockemöhle has created a breeding empire, a sport horse dynasty, par excellence. Given the sheer volume of horses in his stables, and his encyclopedic knowledge of bloodlines, there is no doubt that his legacy will survive for many decades as a footnote in history.
But, we transgress, because the gentleman appears to be as active as an octagenarian as he was as a much younger entrepreneur, starting out in the world of showjumping when it was still considered an amateur sport! Now, however, with younger partners, Paul Schockemöhle has turned his attention to dressage, which has undoubtedly contributed to his ongoing rise as the leading breeder in our rankings. To date, his breeding autonomy puts Schockemöhle no fewer than 77 stallions ahead of his nearest rival.
In fact, his breeding prowess has reached a point where his breeding accomplishments are a foregone conclusion so... One option might be to ignore the sheer volume of Schockemöhle’s enterprise, and focus on the breeders who are trailing in his wake, but no less deserving of our praise.
shouldn’t be overlooked, and Zangersheide’s destiny now rests in the hands of his talented daughter Judy Ann.
A truly international field of breeders occupies our ranking from fifth to eighth place: the Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, and, again, France, and the movement between VDL, La Silla, Ramsbrock, and Pignolet is fairly negligible – adding just one or two stallions to their names, apiece.
Haras de Semilly’s Richard Levallois would be a good starting point and a very worthy successor. Certainly, if we look at the fame of popular stallions alone, Diamant de Semilly and his sire, Le Tôt de Semilly, occupy top billing in the world of sport horse breeding; to say nothing about a wealth of other Semilly suffixed stallions and sport horses that are spectacularly representing their ancestors.
Belgium’s Joris Brabander, meanwhile, is steadfastly holding on to third place, despite a surge from Zangersheide – his much larger national rival. Obviously, León Melchior’s valuable contribution to sport horse breeding
In ninth place, Manfred von Allwörden continues to climb with the addition of three stallions, with other notables being Mickaël Varliaud/SCEA Riverland (+4) and Denis Musterd/Stoeterij Musterd (+7), with others adding two stallions to improve their standing.
Sadly, although Bernard Le Courtois also increased by two stallions, the clearance auction of all his Brullemail breeding stock earlier this year heralded his retirement, although it will be some years before his name slips into obscurity. Brullemail, like Levellois’ Semilly, will forever be linked to many well-known stallions, and Le Courtois himself will be fondly remembered historically, as the rescuer of Almé, whom he returned to his rightful birthplace.
Like Judy Ann Melchior, we can only hope that the descendants of other exceptional breeders will themselves be passionate devotees of sport horse breeding in the coming years. No one’s getting any younger, and as the world tries to survive the Trump era, with all its divisiveness, who knows what the future may hold for humankind in general. ■
Paul Schockemöhle
30=
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LEADING BREEDERS
count
WBFSH/FEI WORLD HORSE RANKINGS 2023-2024
LONGINES-WBFSH BREEDERS AWARDS OF THE YEAR 2023-2024
The 2025 Longines-WBFSH Breeders Awards for 2023-2024 were presented to the worthy winners during Jumping Bordeaux in France on Saturday, February 8.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS, AND TO BREEDERS EVERYWHERE
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
Walt Disney (1901-1966)
1: Julien Gazé representing Longines; Diego Rotty, Romain Rotty’s nephew collecting the award on his uncle’s behalf; Jan Pedersen; Nadine Brandtner
2: Julien Gazé; Karsten Druckenmüller – collecting the award on behalf of his wife Silke Fass-Druckenmüller†; ?; Jan Pedersen; Nadine Brandtner
3: Julien Gazé; Volker Göttsche-Götz; ?; Jan Pedersen; Nadine Brandtner
37 Foxy de La Roque (2015/SF/m Armitages Boy x Kannan) Top Stallions Company
38 Nikolaj de Music (2013/BWP/st Kannan x Nabab de Reve) Lelie Walter
39 I-Cap CL Z (2012/Z/g I'm Special de Muze x Air Jordan) Alexander Liefsoens
39 Leone Jei/ex Hay El Desta Ali (2012/KWPN/g Baltic VDL x Corland) G.M. van Mersbergen
LEGACY/EX CHAVANTELE Z (Z)
(CHIPPENDALE Z X BON AMI)
BRED BY ROMAIN ROTTY
Ridden by Irishman Daniel Coyle, the mare was purchased by Ariel Grange Somes, who heard about her via Dutchman Jeroen Dubbeldam in 2018. During a visit to Europe to try a few horses, she and Daniel recalled the moment she saw Chavantele Z walk out of her stable, demanding attention. It’s a character trait that Legacy, renamed by her new owner, displays today.
The mare was started by the Vorsselmans family, who first acquired the mare from her breeder, Romain Rotty when she was two years old. Rotty, who has been breeding horses for over 40 years, explained that he wasn’t in a position to produce horses to a high level, hence the decision to sell her. According to Marilyn Vorsselman, she put Chavantele Z under saddle at the age of four, and competed with her in the Belgian classic cycle for young horses. The pair placed fifth in the five-year-old age group, before Marilyn’s partner, Jerom Broecks took over and improved to third place one year later.
Marilyn’s sister, Annelies, competed with Chavantele Z in one-star shows where she jumped clear round after clear round ‘like a machine’... Enter Ariel Grange Somes who was looking for a horse to complete Daniel’s team. He had already watched videos and knew her history, tried the mare, and felt she was definitely a horse for the future, saying; “Jeroen [Dubbeldam] had her before, so he could tell me immediately what she liked and didn’t like, and what was the best way to go forward with her. Their stellar period leading up to the breeding aware 2023-2024, began with fourth place in the 2023 Longines-FEI World Cup Final in Omaha, Nebraska, the pair contributed to the Irish team win in the Rotterdam Nations Cup two months later, then victory in a 1m60 class in Aachen’s aweinspiring arena. In August 2023 they finished second in the Hickstead Nations Cup, and were victorious in the BMO Nations Cup at Spruce Meadows in Calgary.
Numerous victories followed in 2024: CSI4*-W Table A 1m55 in Toronto; the CSI5*-W 1m60 Grand Prix in London, CSI5*-W Longines FEI World Cup in Amsterdam, a.o. After starting well in both team and individual qualifiers during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Coyle and Legacy’s campaign ended with retirement in the individual jumping final jump-off.
According to Daniel Coyle, “Legacy is just getting better and better. Everybody can ride good rounds and jump-off rounds, but not every horse can jump like that. She has been a horse of a career for me.” ■
WBFSH/FEI DRESSAGE RANKINGS YEAR-END SEPTEMBER 30, 2024
1 TSF Dalera BB (2007/Trak/m Easy Game x Hendryk) Silke Fass-Druckenmüller
2 Queenparks Wendy (2014/DWB/m Sezuan 2 x Blue Hors Soprano) Kurt Gosmer
3 Emilio 107 (2006/Westf/g Ehrenpreis x Cacir AA) Heinrich and Wilhelm Strunk
4 Imhotep (2013/KWPN/g Everdale x Vivaldi) T. Huizing
5 Everdale (2009/KWPN/st Lord Leatherdale x Negro) P. Kluytmans
6 Touchdown (2012/SWB/g Quaterback x Sack) Verbena Dressage
7 Bluetooth OLD (2010/Oldbg/g Bordeaux 28 x Riccione) Paul Schockemöhle/Gestüt Lewitz
8 Vayron (2011/Westf/st Vitalis x Gloster) Heinrich Sterthoff
9 Fame (2010/KWPN/st Bordeaux 28 x Rhodium) Gerritsen
10 Mount St. John Freestyle (2009/Hann/m Fidermark x Donnerhall II) Stephan Kurz
11 Indian Rock/ex Igor (2013/KWPN/st Apache x Vivaldi) J. de Bruijn
12 DSP Quantaz (2010/DSP/st Quaterback x Hohenstein 4) Kathrin Damm
13 Jagerbomb (2010/KWPN/g Dante Weltino OLD x Jazz) Becky Moody
14 Sertorius de Rima Z IFCE (2010/Z/g Sandro Hit x Voltaire) Marine Ferte
15 Glamourdale (2011/KWPN/st Lord Leatherdale x Negro) J.W. Rodenburg
16 Blue Hors Don Olymbrio/ex Don Olymbrio (2008/KWPN/st Jazz x Olympic Ferro)
Jan Lamers
17 Destacado FRH (2013/Hann/st Desperados x Londonderry) Heinrich Giesselmann
18 Total Hope OLD (2012/Oldbg/st Totilas x Blue Hors Don Schufro) Christine Arns-Krogman
19 Hermes NOP (2012/KWPN/st Easy Game x Flemmingh) G. Gijsbers
20 Dante Weltino OLD (2007/Oldbg/st Danone 4 x Welt Hit II) Olaf Bahls
21 Franziskus 15 (2008/Hann st Fidertanz x Alabaster) Elisabeth Albers
22 Flynn (2014/Hann/st Tannenhof's Fahrenheit x Sir Oldenburg) Anton Muhr
23 Greek Air (2011/ZfDP/st IPS Gribaldi x Florestan I) Gerd Küst
24 Maxima Bella (2016/Oldbg/m Millennium x Christ 3) Renate Hormann
25 Jovian (2014/KWPN/st Apache x Tango) E.T. Ten Bosch
26 Jewel's Goldstrike/ex Gobarde-E (2011/KWPN/g Bretton Woods x Scandic) Mts. Van Esch
27 Great Escape Camelot (2011/KWPN/g Johnson TN x Turbo Magic) C.C. Kerssens-Rademaker
28 Torveslettens Titanium RS2 (2012/DWB/g Totilas x Stedinger) Andreas Helgstrand-Paul Schockemöhle
29 Denoix PCH (2012/Oldbg/g Destano x Pik Noir) Friendrich Kuhlmann
30 Heiline's Danciera (2011/DWB/m Fürstenball OLD x De Niro) Stald Heiline
31 Drombusch 2 (2011/Oldbg/g Destano x Dimaggio) Ralf Stienke
32 Flambeau (2010/KWPN/g Ampere x Zeoliet) J. van Eijkelenburg
33 Habibi DVB (2012/KWPN/g Blue Hors Don Schufro x Johnson TN) Dresserstal Van Baalen
34 Gotilas du Feuillard (2011/KWPN/g Totilas x Olympic Ferro) Unlimited Stables 99
35 Matchball OLD (2012/Oldbg/g Millennium x De Niro 6) Helga Luetje
36 Florine OLD (2012/Oldbg/m Foundation 2 x Lauries Crusador xx) Klaus Gustenberg
37 Dayman 4 (2012/Westf/g Daily Deal x Flovino) Hermann Gerland
38 Blue Hors Zepter (2008/Oldbg/g Blue Hors Zack x Wolkentanz II) Bernhard Sieverding
39 Hexagon's Ich Weiss (2013/NRPS/st Hexagon's Rubiquil x Negro) Stal Hexagon van Liere
40 Suppenkasper/ex Danny Boy (2008/KWPN/g Spielberg x Krack C) F. van de Poel
TSF DALERA BB (TRAK) (EASY GAME X HENDRYK)
BRED BY SILKE FASS-DRUCKENMÜLLER†
Winning one leading breeder award is a sensational achievement, but for Silke Fass-Druckenmüller four in a row is a unique achievement. Her husband Thorsten Druckenmüller received the award on her behalf, saying that he is grateful and proud of Silke’s achievement.
“It is an overwhelming feeling in every respect to be a breeder standing in the middle of the arena, where the best riders of the best horses usually receive their awards. Thank you Longines, and WBFSH, for this magnificent recognition. And thank you to Brigitte Boss, the statue is the icing on the cake of a wonderful evening.”
Silke’s 17-year-old Trakehner mare TSF Dalera (by Easy Game out of the mare Dark Magic, by Handryk) has been a standout in dressage at the highest international levels under the saddle of German rider Jessica von Bredow-Werndl. Their journey together began in 2016, quickly ascending to the top echelons of the sport and keeping the number 1 spot in the FEI Dressage rankings for years. The milestones they reached together include the World Equestrian Games and European Championship titles, as well as both team and individual gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics. They concluded their incredible journey together by successfully defending their titles at the Paris Olympic Games 2024, securing once again both team and individual gold medals.
In August 2024, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl announced Dalera’s retirement from competition. The mare will remain with her at her home based in Aubenhausen, where she “will be spoiled until her last breath”, says Jessica, as “she deserves only one thing, and that is the very best”. To honour Dalera’s contribution to the sport, and ease her into retirement, the couple made two special appearances, at the Trakehner Verband’s annual Hengstmarkt in November 2024, and at the FEI Dressage World Cup of Basel in January 2025, where they received a standing ovation from the public.
TSF Dalera with Jessica von Bredow-Werndl during the 2021 European Championships in Hagen, Germany (FEI/Liz Gregg)
37 Classic VI (2009/AES/m Calvaro FC x Unknown) P. Charles/Pembers Hill
38 Commando 3 (2013/Holst/g Connor 47 x Amigo xx) Joachim Siebke
39 Box Leo (2010/SWB/g Jaguar Mail x Quite Easy) Therese Örup
40 ACSI Champ de Tailleur (2007/KWPN/g Quidam de Revel x Oberon du Moulin) A.C. Hoogendoorn
JL DUBLIN (DIARADO X CANTO 16)
BRED BY VOLKER GÖTTSCHE-GÖTZ
This year’s Eventing Breeder Award has been bestowed upon Volker Göttsche-Götze from Gross Buchwald, Germany, for breeding JL Dublin, a Holsteiner gelding who has become a cornerstone in eventing. Ridden by Tom McEwen, JL Dublin has proven to be a reliable and versatile competitor, excelling in dressage, cross-country, and showjumping.
JL Dublin’s accomplishments over the past year include a gold medal in Team Eventing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, as well as top finishes in major competitions such as the Defender Kentucky 5* and Luhmühlen 4*.
McEwen, who has been competing with JL Dublin since 2022, described the partnership as a dream, emphasizing the gelding’s exceptional talent and temperament. “He’s the perfect championship horse, riding him is a true privilege, and every competition feels like an opportunity to show what he’s capable of.”
However, JL Dublin’s career began under the saddle of British eventing rider Nicola Wilson who said she thought he was nicely put together with a lovely jumping technique. She realized she had a future star when she started working with him as a young horse. In the seven-year-old age group, the pair finished fifth in the World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Le Lion d’Angers, but he jumped into the spotlight by winning the CCI4* at Bicton Horse Trials in 2021. In 2022 JL Dublin was selected with Nicola for the British team at the eventing European Championship in Switzerland, where they finished on their brilliant dressage score to win team and individual gold.
Tragically, Nicola Wilson’s eventing career came to an abrupt end when riding JL Dublin at Badminton Horse Trials in 2022, after which the ride passed to British Olympic double medallist Tom McEwan and the pair have celebrated a phenomenal run of success with top four places virtually everywhere they’ve competed: Boekelo (2nd); Lexington, KY ( 2nd); Pau (3rd); Kronenberg (1st); Lexington again ( 2nd); Luhmühlen ( 2nd); and, finally, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games where they finished fourth individually. ■
JL Dublin with Tom McEwan (FEI/Libby Law)
EXAMINING THE 2024 WBFSH STALLION RANKINGS
Overthe past 30 years, the annual WBFSH stallion rankings have become something of an institution, but as with all institutions, there comes a time when we have to ask – is it still working?
In the early days, the rankings were very heavily weighted for high-level success, thus a stallion like Rebus could be crowned world number one dressage sire on the basis of one star – Rusty – despite not producing anything else of note.
More recently, the wheel seems to have turned full circle, with the horses topping the list – the ones with the most international competitors – not necessarily the sires of the best competitors. In fact, you only have to scroll down to 40th on this year’s dressage rankings to find a stallion who would have been the shining star at the top of the list on those early rankings.
Quantity or quality?
For example, the Dutch stallion, Johnson (Jazz x Flemmingh) heads the standings again, yet his top competitor, Great Escape Camelot (out of a mare by the Cabochon son, Turbo Magic) ranks only 27th in the world, although he has recently proven just how good he is, when ridden by Raphael Netz, he placed fourth in the Grand Prix and in the Freestyle at Stuttgart, with scores of 72 and 78.
Johnson’s second-ranked offspring, New Zealand team horse, Windermere J’Obei W (Pompeii Court xx) comes in at 41st in the world, and underlines why Johnson progeny are regarded with suspicion by many; they tend to be a bit wild. Indeed Windermere J’Obei W
(alias Johnny) was, in the words of his owner/rider, Melissa Galloway “particularly difficult – he was the first horse in Australasia by Johnson. He didn’t get a very good reputation because he bucked and had to go to three breakers. He bucked me off six times in the first six months. He was very difficult.”
Ranked second on the dressage stallions list is Quaterback (Quaterman x Brandenburger), and this one does have elite progeny. Quaterback’s highest point scorer is the sixthranked Touchdown (Sack), with DSP Quantaz (Hohenstein) just out of the top 10 in 12th
The next stallion with progeny in the world’s top 10, is the ninth-ranked Bordeaux (United x Gribaldi) represented by world number seven, Bluetooth (Riccione), and world number nine Fame (Rhodium), though there is little doubt they would have been joined in the top 10 by Bohemian (Samarant) if he was still being ridden by Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour. As it is, the gelding ranks 54th with his American rider.
Of recent years, the buzz has been around the new ‘V’ line, but on these 2024
Patrick Kittel (SWE) riding Touchdown (Quaterback)
rankings, we find Vivaldi’s best in 46th and he has dropped from seventh last year to 10th, while his influential son, Vitalis in number 11, has Vayron (Gloster) at eighth, though his next best is 64th.
Consider the case of Easy Game (Gribaldi x Schwad-roneur), ranked 40th but the sire of the world’s number one, Dalera (Handryk), and Hermes (Flemmingh), currently ranked 19th, who would have ranked higher, but for injuring himself travelling to the Omaha World Cup.
Easy Game has also established a sire line, through his son, Millennium (Ravel). This is something the rankings stars of the past, like Jazz, Donnerhall, De Niro and Gribaldi did over and over again. However, we are yet to see notable stallion sons of the 2024 champion and reserve.
As usual there has not been a lot of movement in the rankings. Johnson is first for the second year running. Quaterback moves from fourth to second, while Blue Hors Zack drops from second to third. Totilas moves up from sixth to fourth, and Jazz slips from third to fifth. Apache moves from eighth to sixth, and Ampere from fifth to seventh. Bordeaux stays at ninth, while Vivaldi drops from seventh to 10th The only newcomer in the top 10 is San Amour I (Sandro Hit x Plaisir d’Amour), up from 12th last year to eighth, with his best product, Jibraltar de Massa (Hohenstein) ranked 141st in the world!
Obviously the initial system that produced one-horse wonders, needed to change. In the very first rankings 1995/1996, it was Graditz in sixth, thanks to
Gigolo; in 2000/2001, it was Rebus and Rusty; and in the 2002/2023 rankings, there were three stallions Freudentanzer, Argument, and Tiro earning their 15 minutes of fame on the basis of one clever foal each. Right now it seems we have gone too far, and the jumping rankings may well show the way out of the dilemma.
Jumping rankings
The dressage rankings are based on percentages scored in international Grand Prix at CDI 3/4/5*/CDI-W events. And while bonus points are awarded for special competitions such as the Olympic Games, and World Cup final, all the other competitions are treated as equal; a win in Australia provides as many points as a win at Aachen.
The jumping calculations are more sophisticated. Jumping competitions are divided into groups, mostly based on their prize money and type of competition. Each group has its own scale of points. The higher and more difficult the competition, the more points a horse can accumulate. This is very different from the dressage formula, and you might expect that the
Frederic Wandres (GER) with Bluetooth OLD (Bordeaux)
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BREEDING NEWS STALLION RANKINGS 2023-2024
SHOWJUMPING STALLIONS
(EXTRACTED FROM LONGINES-WBFSH BREEDERS AWARDS/HORSE YEAR-END RANKINGS)
BN WBFSH
1 23 Fancy de Kergane (2015/SF/st Berdenn de Kergane x Cor de Hus)
SCEA de Kergane
2 28 No Mercy van't Kamerveld (2012/Z/st Norton d'Eole x Toulon)
Gudrun and Jozef Patteet-van Ramsbeeck
3 30 Vistogrand (2013/AES/st Fantaland x Mr. Visto) Carron Nicol
4 34 Vermento (2013/BE-SEIS/st Argento x Skippy 12) John Whitaker
5 35 I Amelusina R51 (2013/KWPN/st Dexter R x Chin Chin) Stal Roelofs
6 38 Nikolaj de Music (2013/BWP/st Kannan x Nabab de Reve) Walter Lelie
7 44 Cornet Blue PS (2013/OS/st Chacco-Blue x Cornet Obolensky) Paul Schockemöhle
8 47 Zuccero (2012/Holst/st VDL Zirocco Blue x Caretino 2) Hanno Köhncke
9 48 El Balou OLD (2012/OS/st Eldorado vd Zeshoek x Balou du Rouet)
Astrid Tiemann
10 54 Dexter de Kerglenn (2013/SF/st Mylord Carthago HN x Diamant de Semilly) Alain Richard
11 58 United Touch S (2012/Westf/st Untouched x Lux Z) Julius-Peter Sinnack
12 63 Point Break (2014/SWB/st Action-Breaker x Balou du Rouet)
NYA Appelvikens Ridskola AB
13 68 Uricas vd Kattevennen (2012/Holst/st Uriko x Cassini) Otto Boje Schoof
14 71 Daniel (2008/KWPN/st Heartbreaker x San Patrignano Mister)
Gebr. Bosch, Luttenberg
15 74 Kick On (2014/BE-SIES/st Warrior x Caretino Glory) Brendon Stud
16 92 Iglesias DV (2013/KWPN/st Quasimodo vd Moldndreef x VDL Indorado)
R. de Vries
17 96 Con Quidam RB (2006/Holst/st Quinar x Cardino) Bröecking ZG
18 98 Bond James Bond de Hay (2011/SF/st Diamant de Semilly x Kannan)
Jean-Luc l'Helgouarch
19 102 Cordial (2009/Holst/st Casall x Chicago Z) Hans-Hermann Stelle
20 104 Kasanova de la Pomme (2010/BWP/st Bamako de Muze x Malito de Reve)
Hara de la Pomme/Baertson-Keldermann
21 114 Palladium KJV (2014/Westf/st Falkenhof's Lancer x Cornet Obolensky)
Yuryi Kashka
22 117 Funky Fred Marienshof Z (2014/Z/st Fantomas de Muze x Libero H)
Stal Marienshof
23 123 Tabalou PS (2012/OS/st Tabloubet Z x Balou du Rouet) Paul Schockemöhle
24 130 Bingo Ste. Hermelle (2011/SF/st Number One d'ISO x Diamant de Semilly)
Elevage Ste. Hermelle
25 133 Equitron Naxcel L (2013/BWP/st Balou du Rouet x Landetto)
Leo Vermeiren
26 134 Ermitage Kalone (2014/SF/st Catoki x Kannan) Magali Dessalles
27 144 VDL Cartello/ex Cartello (2007/Holst/st Cartani 4 x Lord)
Witt Pferdezucht
28 147 Crack Balou (2012/Hann/st Balou du Reventon x Chacco-Blue)
Paul Schockemöhle
29 149 Jordan Molga M (2014/KWPN/st Etoulon x Dulf vd Bisschop) H. Merlgerd
30 155 Enjoy de La Mure (2014/SF/st Vigo Cede x Calvados/ex Sable Rose)
Beatrice Drigeard
BREEDING NEWS STALLION RANKINGS 2023-2024
stallions at the top of the jumping lists were the sires of the stars of international competition. Well, not really...!
The jumping number one is Kannan, still shining four years after his death. When he died at the age of 28, he was the sire of offspring in 40 countries and had produced team representatives for 50 nations. He sired 202 1m60 jumpers and 194 approved sons, but for all that does not seem to have been a stallion maker.
Kannan’s best son, certainly the best looking since the Kannans tend to be a bit plain, Quabri de l’Isle (out of a mare by the Grand Veneur son, Socrate de Chivre) was a genuine international superstar with Brazil’s Pedro Veniss, but has not been so successful as a sire; there’s 14 licensed sons, but not one 1m60 jumper to his name.
Kannan’s top point earner on this year’s standings, is the Irish-bred, James Kann Cruz ranked sixth in the world. The grey gelding is out of a Cruising x Clover Hill mare, and
this does seem to have been one of Kannan’s strengths, his ability to ‘click’ with a wide variety of bloodlines.
This is perhaps not so surprising since Kannan himself is such an interesting genetic mix, branded KWPN (though he was only licensed in that book at the age of 19) and by Voltaire out of a Nimmerdor mare, he balanced 6/16ths French (from Furioso II and his full-brother’s son, Le Mexico), 6/16ths solid German, Gotthard and Farn, along with a touch of Thoroughbred and a dash of traditional Dutch Gelderlander
It is one of those ironic breeding twists that the stallion line of the great French Thoroughbred Furioso had died out in that country, and was only revived, first through the Furioso grand-son, Voltaire, and more recently by the Voltaire son, Kannan. But once again it would seem that Kannan’s pre-eminence is due more to the number of his progeny competing than their quality. Over 200 of his get contributed to this year’s points tally, and they soon
Irishman Shane Sweetnam riding James Kann Cruz (Kannann)
WORLDWIDE SPORT HORSE STALLION DIRECTORY
fall away. After James Kann Cruz, the next best is Nickolaj de Muze (Nabab de Rêve) in 38th, then Derby de Riverland (L’Arc de Triomphe) 94th, and then we are in the hundreds…
It’s much the same with number two on the jumping standings, Chacco-Blue (Chambertin x Contender). His best points earner was Veneno (Baloubet de Rouet) ranked 13th – his highest payout in the current cycle being €15,000 in Frankfurt with Britain’s Graham Gillespie. After that it’s 44th, 84th, 99th, and we are back to the 100s.
Third ranked Diamant de Sémilly’s best is Blood Diamond du Pont (Arpege de Pierroville) ranked 21st.
Even the great Cornet Obolensky, who returns this year to the top 10 in fourth place, is represented at best by the 56th ranked Millfield Colette (Clearway), while Mylord Carthago in fifth, has as his frontliner the 54th ranked Dexter Kerglenn (Diamant de Sémilly).
It’s a relief to find that at least one of the jumping sires top 10 ranking has a horse in the world’s top 10 competitors. Comme il faut (Cornet Obolensky x Ramiro) is the sire of the Olympic gold medallist, second-ranked Checker (out of a Come On x Baloubet de Rouet mare), but his next best comes in at 173rd.
We have to scroll down to the stallion ranked 17th to find Cascadello, the sire of the world number seven Cydello (Forsyth), further still to the great Baloubet de Rouet languishing in 22nd spot; but the sire of the thirdranked Iron Dames, Dubai du Cedre (Diamant de Sémilly), was the bronze medallist at the 2023 European Championships.
Enough! I think I have made the point, that the jumping standings, just like dressage, are also measuring quantity rather than quality, so let’s see how the eventing sires’ standings shape up.
Dubai du Cedre (Diamant de Semilly) ridden by Julien Epaillard – the gelding was sold following the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to Germany, and will now be ridden by Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmerman
DRESSAGE STALLIONS
(EXTRACTED FROM LONGINES-WBFSH BREEDERS AWARDS/HORSE YEAR-END RANKINGS)
BN WBFSH
1 5 Everdale (2009/KWPN/st Lord Leatherdale x Negro) P. Kluytmans
2 8 Vayron (2011/Westf/st Vitalis x Gloster) Heinrich Sterthoff
3 9 Fame (2010/KWPN/st Bordeaux 28 x Rhodium) Gerritsen
4 11 Indian Rock/ex Igor (2013/KWPN/st Apache x Vivaldi) J. de Bruijn
5 15 Glamourdale (2011/KWPN/st Lord Leatherdale x Negro) Rodenburg
6 16 Blue Hors Don Olymbrio/ex Don Olymbrio (2008/KWPN/st Jazz x Olympic Ferro) J. Lamers
7 17 Destacado FRH (2013/Hann/st Desperados x Londonderry)
Heinrich Giesselmann
8 18 Total Hope OLD (2012/Oldbg/st Totilas x Blue Hors Don Schufro)
Christine Arns-Krogmann
9 19 Hermes (2012/KWPN/st Easy Game x Flemmingh) G. Gijsbers
10 20 Dante Weltino OLD (2007/Oldbg/st Danone 4 x Welt Hit II) Olaf Bahls
11 21 Franziskus 15 (2013/KWPN/st Fidertanz 2 x Alabaster) Elisabeth Albers
12 22 Flynn (2014/Hann/st Fahrenheit x Sir Oldenburg) Anton Muhr
13 23 Greek Air (2011/ZfDP/st IPS Gribaldi x Florestan I) Gerd Küst
14 25 Jovian (2014/KWPN/st Apache x Tango) E.T. ten Bosch
15 39 Hegagon's Ich Weiss (2013/NRPS/st Hexagon's Rubiquil x Negro)
Stal Hexagon-van Liere
16 46 Botticelli (2006/KWPN/st Vivaldi x Koss) A.J. van Straalen
17 58 Gladiador do Lis (2011/APSL/st Peralta Piñha x Spartacus) Coudelaria Flor do Lis
18 59 Hit Plus (2012/PSH/st Bretton Woods x Peralta Pinha) Dressage Plus
19 65 Destano (2007/Hann/st Desperados x Brentano II) Heinrich Giesselmann
20 70 Boston STH (2006/KWPN/st Johnson TN x Quattro) J.W. Temmink
21 72 Imperador dos Cedros (2013/Lusit/st Rubi x Hostil) Coudelaria
Quinta dos Cedros
22 78 Blue Hors Zatchmo (2009/Oldbg/st Blue Hors Zack x Donnerhall II)
Inge Bastian
23 82 Blue Hors Znickers (2013/Oldbg/st Blue Hors Zack x De Niro 6) Hans Rode
24 84 First-Step Valentin (2012/Westf/st Vitalis x Fidermark) Hubert Waning
25 85 Euclides Mor (2009/APSL/st Riopele x Gingão) Manuel Calheiros Braga
26 86 Valparaiso 2 (2011/Westf/st Vitalis x Fürst Piccolo) Josef Deimel
27 86 Harmony's V-Plus (2014/Oldbg/st Vivaldi x Fürst Romancier)
Paul Schockemöhle
28 93 Gut Wettlkam's d'Avie FRH/ex d'Avie (2012/Hann/st Don Juan de Hus x Londonderry) Dorothee Heitmüller
29 100 Amplemento (2011/Bad-Wü/st Ampere x Sir Oldenburg) Willy Waidelich
30 103 Cennin (2007/KWPN/st Vivaldi x Donnerhall II) J.E.J. Cuppen
31 105 Frizzantino FRH (2015/Hann/st Finest x Quaterback) Hermann Ulbrich
32 105 Horizonte (2012/APSL/st Rico x Icaro) Coudelaria Antonio Barreira
33 118 Fürst Kennedy OLD (2015/Oldbg/st Fürsten-Look x Don Kennedy) Paul Schockemöhle
34 122 Meggle's Boston/ex BB-King (2006/KWPN/st Johnson TN x Partout) Maatschap Pleyter
35 125 Guapo (2011/APSL/st Unrecorded) Manuel Braga
36 132 Hi-Rico do Sobral (2012/APSL/st Rico x Oriente) Fransisco Vera Sanchez
37 136 Incrivel (2013/APSL/st Pioneiro x Oasis) Sociedade Das Silveiras
38 140 Quartar (2014/Hann/st Quantensprung x Laurentino 3) Ralf Zierke
39 141 Jibraltar de Massa (2013/PSH/st San Amour I x Hohenstein 4) Sylvain Massa
40 142 Mala Skala's Hermes/ex Habil Do MT (2012/APSL/st Assirio d'Atela x Quarteto da Broa) Unknown
Eventing hits the jackpot
This time it’s BINGO! The number one WBFSH eventing sire, Diarado is also the sire of the world’s highest ranked eventing competitor, JL Dublin and, despite his name, the horse is German, bred by respected breeder Volker Göttsche-Götze. The gelding is solidly Holstein bred, out of a Canto x Lombard mare, though, thanks to his sire, Dublin carries 25% Selle Français blood.
Diarado’s second highest ranked competitor, Diabolo (23rd in the world), has already had two four-star wins in 2024 with Will Coleman; he is out of a Holsteiner mare by Aljano, but in the last line we find the secret ingredient, his grand-dam, Memory is by the greatest eventing sire of them all, Heraldik xx.
I’m sure that when the Holstein Verband crowned Diarado champion of their 2007 licensing, their mind was on success in what has always been the focus of their breeding program, showjumping. Trouble was, while he looked classy, Diarado was no star in the jumping arena,
and when he was retired from competition in 2016 he had lifetime earnings of €7,175.
As a showjumping sire, Diarado produced one superstar, Don Diarado who took home €595,668 with Maurice Tebbel, and 29 others who jumped 1m60 or better, but the comparative lack of success was a worry for masses of breeders who had sent mares in their hundreds to the young stallion who was marketed jointly by the Holstein Verband, Paul Schockemöhle, and Joop van Uytert, each with their own crowd of loyal mare owners.
Luckily, Diarado turned out to be a very good sire of eventers, at a time when the eventing showjumping demands were reaching new heights, and eventing riders were discovering in the modern lighter style of Holsteiner, just what they needed for clear rounds in the showjumping phase.
The second-ranked eventing stallion, Obos Quality is one of those European imports that saved the Irish Sport Horse from the dead-end of a closed book. The stallion was a nice balance of blood, on the top the French sire, Quick Star, solid old Hanoverian stock on
the bottom. Obos Quality has been a consistent sire of top class eventers, thanks in large part to the excellent Irish broodmares he covered, though the breeding of the dam of his 2024 frontliner, MGH Grafton Street, is forever shrouded in mystery – breeding unknown.
The third-ranked Jaguar Mail (Hand In Glove xx x Laudanum xx) has always had what looks like the perfect pedigree to breed eventers –three-quarters jumping Thoroughbred, with the other 25% shared between two of sport horse greats, Almé and Gotthard. He was a member of the Swedish Olympic showjumping team, but as a sire he has made his mark on the world of eventing. His leading points earner this year is a five-star eventing star with Austin O’Connor, Colorado Blue (out of a mare by Rock King, a son of Just A Monarch xx).
The fourth-ranked stallion, the Trakehner, Grafenstolz (Polarion x Camelot) is the first on the list that has actually evented himself, winning the six-year-old World Breeding Championship for Young Horses in Le Lion d’Angers, and competing three-star with Michael Jung. His top horse this year is Ros Canter’s recent Burghley winner, Lordships Graffalo (Rock King), but Grafenstolz has produced many many top eventers, even though he covered only a fraction of the number of mares served by Diarado.
Kannan’s top showjumper was ranked sixth in the world, and his top eventer, Dao de l’Ocean (out of a mare by Heraldik xx) is also sixth in this year’s eventing standings, ridden by the Swiss rider, Felix Vogg. Again, one suspects that the huge pool of mares Kannan covered provided a legion of nice jumpers that were not quite good enough for the showjumping arena, but perfectly adequate eventers.
Sixth-ranked Upsilon won five threestar eventing competitions before he almost died from a mystery illness; luckily he was nursed back to health by his talented rider, Thomas Carlile. His success as a sire is also a stroke of luck for the French Anglo-Arab, a breed that was in danger of
disappearing when it was finally realized what a super source of eventers it could be. Upsilon is classified as an Anglo stallion, and the most popular in that book, even though his sire, Canturo is solid Holsteiner, because his dam O’Vive comes from a distinguished AA line. Sure enough, he has seven AA progeny amongst his point earners for this year’s standings.
Contendro I died at the age of 27 just seven days after the close of the current rankings year. He is seventh on the 2024 eventing sires rankings, but has topped them four times in the past.
The stallion is Holsteiner bred, by the great Contender, out of a mare by Reichsgraf, but he was most popular in the Hanoverian breeding district before his sale to France in 2013. The versatile stallion produced showjumpers and even dressage horses, but was most successful as a sire of eventers. His best eventers came from Hanoverian mares, many by Heraldik xx, indeed three of his top four points earners this cycle are by that great stallion, including his number one, Fischerchipmunk FRH. This year however, they are joined at the top of his team by the Selle Français Gaiete d’Agenais (Oberon de Moulin).
In recent times, the Dutch breeders have shown an interest in a growing market for eventing horses, with some success. The eighthranked Tolan R is by Namelus R (Concorde x Joost) out of a Dutch mare by the Almé son, Aramis Z, with another cross of Joost on the last line, not surprising since Tolan R is a product of Stal Roelofs whose star stallions for many years were Joost and Abgar. Tolan R’s most successful competitor of 2024 is HSH Blake, who adds more Dutch blood through his dam sire, Kannan, but his ISH brand from his grand-dam, Mount Cashel Queen.
Belgium too is getting into the act, with master breeder Joris de Brabander producing a handful of eventers out of his Thoroughbred mare, South Gale xx, bred to the stallion that has produced so many showjumping superstars for Joris, Vigo d’Arsouilles who is ninth on
BREEDING NEWS STALLION RANKINGS 2023-2024
EVENTING STALLIONS
(EXTRACTED FROM LONGINES-WBFSH BREEDERS AWARDS/HORSE YEAR-END RANKINGS)
WBFSH
1 83 Leipheimer van't Verahof (2011/BWP/st Vigo d'Arsouilles x South Gale xx)
Joris de Brabander
2 160 Enjoy de Keroue (2014/SF/st Padock du Plessis*HN x Socrate de Chivre) Yohann Chopin and Gaëlle Jambou
3 165 Zam F (2014/SWB/st Conthargos x Ephebe For Ever) Eva Gudmundsson
5 242 Je'Vall (2014/KWPN/st Zavall VDL x Corrado) C.J.M. van Engelen
6 338 Ultrasource del Cerro 35 (2014/AA/st Ultra de Rouhet x Tresor du Renom)
7 363 Georges d'Elm (2016/SF/st Upsion x Grenat de Grez) Mathilde Montginoux
8 371 Laidal (2014/CZEWB/st Lyjanero x Marobod SV) Alice Hovjacka
9 389 Cosmo La Riviera (2013/MIPAAF/st Cascari x Lancer II) Metrangolo Ettore
10 404 Chilli Morning II (Cl: 2017/SHBGB/st Phantomic x Kolibri) Mr. & Mrs. Stone
Lara de Liedekerke-Meier (BEL) with Hooney d'Arville (Vigo d’Arsouilles)
the eventing standings.
This time, Vigo’s number one is another bred to event, Belgium’s first five-star winner Hooney d’Arville who carried Lara de Liedekirke-Meier to victory at Lumühlen in June of last year. Hooney is home-bred, out of Lara’s first eventing star, Nooney Blue, who is by the Jalisco son, Jet Set du Residal.
Rounding out our eventing top 10 we have one of the stallion stars of the mighty Dutch
Stud, VDL, Zavall VDL (Casall x Emilion) who is the sire of the world’s number three, Ros Canter’s frontliner, Izilot DHI (Marlon).
So there we are, of the three WBFSH sires rankings, the one that best combines quantity and quality is the eventing list. It’s somewhat ironic since for so long those who claimed to know, would repeat over, and over and again, you can’t breed an eventer. ■
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HEFFINCK EFFINCK.BE SELL CHAMPIONS
SIRING THE STARS OF TOMORROW
HOW MEANINGFUL ARE BIRTH STATISTICS?
Tostart by explaining the table: this 2024 ranking counts youngsters born from 2017 to 2022 inclusive. Naturally, this does not include earlier-born sires who were approved retroactively based on either their own or their offsprings’ competition results – although these would likely be in the small majority.
Naturally, this period still completely encompasses the Covid years when all studbooks reported a downswing in foal registrations, representing fewer births. In the year immediately following Covid there was a small increase in foal registrations, likely due to competition mares being allowed to breed themselves.
Since then, the continuing war in Ukraine as well as significant shifts in the global political landscape are creating economic anxiety that is rarely seen at this level. Due to the rather uprecedented nature of the current upheaval and the precipitous imposition of bizarre tariffs, it’s impossible to speculate how the sport horse breeding industry might adjust over the next few years.
Certainly, 2024 saw the closure of a number of well-known studfarms, not least of which was Bernard Le Courtois’ Haras de Brullemail in Normandy. Admittedly, some have been prompted by retirement age and/or the absence of family members to take the reins of a decades-long operation.
There are highly noticeable changes to the 2024 table – including at
the very top where, for the second year running, Cornet Obolensky has dropped by a significant number, creating an ever-decreasing for his closest rivals. Secret, on the other hand, has increased by 40% from 15 to 21.
Given the popularity and volume of his successful showjumping offspring, we expected to see Chacco-Blue enter this table last year, and although he now appears =20th with seven young sires, it’s his own son, Chacoon Blue – also a new arrival – who jumps straight in to 10th place. Is the cost of semen a factor? Or breeders deciding to skip a generation for a younger sire but still acquire valuable genetics?
TOP 20 YOUNGSTER SIRES 2024
1 Cornet Obolensky 28(42)
Another notable increase is +4 for Comme il faut NRW and Escamillo. Meanwhile, although the ever popular For Pleasure had dropped out, he now makes a reappearance with eight offspring in =16th, although his son, Balou du Rouet has dropped from 10 to eight young sires.
2 Secret 21(15)
3 Escamillo 15(11)
4= Casall 14(15)
4= Diamant de Semilly 14(15)
4= Glock's Toto Jr. 14(n/a)
7= Aganix du Seigneur Z 13(n/a)
7= Comme il faut NRW 13(9)
7= Conthargos 12(n/a)
10= Chacoon Blue 13(n/a)
10= Dominator 2000 Z 12(n/a)
10= Kannan 12(14)
10= Vitalis 13(12)
14 Emerald 10(n/a)
15 Untouchable 9(9)
16= Balou du Rouet 8(10)
16= Bonds 8(n/a)
16= For Pleasure 8(n/a)
16= For Romance I 8(n/a)
20= Bon Coeur 7(11)
20= Chacco-Blue 7(n/a)
20= Mylord Carthago 7(7)
20= Revolution 7(n/a)
20= Totilas 7(n/a)
20= Vivaldi 7(7)
20= Zirocco Blue VDL 7(n/a)
With the exception of the above mentioned stallions, there are 50% new or returning arrivals, with the highestplaced being Glock’s Toto Jr., straight in to =4th. It should be remembered, however, that some of these names were listed just outside last year’s table, so an increase of just +1 has been sufficient to elevate them.
As this table is not discipline specific, we can say with certainty that the majority of stallions are representing showjumping bloodlines, but with some notable dressage names. ■
Theannual WBFSH/FEI horse rankings are based on points earned in FEI competitions from October 1 to September 30 each year. From these rankings we have created a list of the top sires per discipline by calculating the points earned by their top six performance offspring in FEI competitions. As some stallions have many more offspring than others, limiting them to their best six representatives creates a level foundation for comparison.
In fact, in early 2024 we received a communication from Anne-Sophie Levallois of Haras de Semilly, voicing her concerns over the calculation of the WBFSH sire rankings, as follows: “I would like to take this opportunity to suggest several points that would be useful to breeders.
“Evaluation of the production quality of the stallions: For the moment, the [WBFSH sires] current rankings are largely influenced by the number of products. The more a stallion has a significant production, the more chance he has of appearing at the top of the rankings. It would be interesting for breeders to have access to other classifications allowing them to see the intrinsic production quality of each stallion, if he is on average an improver
compared to the mare he covered.
“Evaluation of ‘pure’ jumping quality: More and more artifices (hind gaiters, etc.) are masking the natural qualities of horses, which distorts breeders’ views of stallions and adds grist to the mill of animalist associations who want to ban equestrian sports. Banning all these tricks would allow breeders to improve their crossbreeding and make equestrian sports ‘cleaner’. This would also make it possible to avoid having events with more than half having faults, which are uninteresting for the general public.”
In fact, our Directory sire ranking based on the top-six performing offspring of a stallion has supported Anne-Sophie’s hypthesis for many years in what we also believe is a more ‘pure’ representation of a sire’s qualities rather than those stallions with the highest volume of competing offspring always rising to the top. ■
Note: Any bracketed number following a jumping sire’s name represents the small number of offspring contributing to the result – fewer than 15.
n/a = not listed in our 2024table. The bracketed number in the dressage and eventing tables represent the WBFSH ranking.
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WORLDWIDE SPORT HORSE STALLION DIRECTORY
SHOWJUMPING SIRES – BASED ON
STATISTICS
WHAT ’S IN A BIRTHPLACE, SIZE, COLOUR, OR YEAR OF BIRTH?
This21st edition of the BREEDING NEWS
WORLDWIDE SPORT HORSE STALLION
DIRECTORY – our sixth digital version –includes over 10,000 stallions, cross-referenced to their owners/representatives in our online database. This number fluctuates marginally throughout the year as newly approved/licensed sires are added, and deceased stallions or those whose licenses have been revoked or have expired are deleted. This online format provides an interactive and dynamic database that allows owners or studfarms to self-manage their stallion entries, including uploading photos and/or videos.
CHART 1 – GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION of stallions on a global scale, per birth studbook. We have only included those countries whose total represents a significant percentage of stallions. Naturally, with the largest volume of studbooks, Germany occupies the largest slice of the pie chart, followed by France (SF and AA) and the Netherlands (KWPN, NRPS, KFPS). We
CHART 1
continue to include Thoroughbreds in our analysis as they are licensed for Warmblood breeding by any number of studbooks. virtually all the major studbooks, but have no relevance to birth countries.
‘Other’ includes Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, NZ, South Africa, North America, etc., representing virtually every continent that boasts worldclass sport horse breeding, but with a smaller percentage of approved stallions.
CHARTS 2 AND 3 – COLOUR AND SIZE, RESPECTIVELY. Typically, there are only small differences from year to year which are due more to the upgrading of information as it becomes available, although it’s obvious to the eye that bay continues to dominate.
CHART 4 – YEAR OF BIRTH: It should be noted that the smallest segment is 20162020, which illustrates the cancellation and or postponement of licensing events and approvals during the years impacted by the Covid pandemic. ■
AREZZO
Chin Chin x Heartbreaker
DALLAS
Douglas x Heartbreaker
GLASGOW VAN’T MERELSNEST Nabab de Rêve x Darco
CHATINUE
Chacco-Blue x Continue
DOUGLAS Darco x Capitol I
ETOULON Toulon x Calvados
HARDROCK Heartbreaker x Carthago
ZIROCCO BLUE Mr. Blue x Voltaire CARRERA Cardento x Baloubet du Rouet
HARLEY Heartbreaker x Carthago Z
STATISTICS
CHART 2
3
4
CHART
CHART
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FOTO: PERNILLA HÄGG
AUCTIONS: MAJOR FLUCTUATIONS DURING 2024
The auction marketplace during 2024 certain witness some upheaval, in more ways than one. Bear in mind, when reviewing the tables on the following two pages, that the top 40 stallions are not the same for horses/foals and embryos, as these are two entirely different market sectors.
Looking at the auction landscape overall, 2024 saw sustained sales in terms of those that were studbook-organized sales, while the number of private auctions dropped.
Our tables on the following two pages show the top 40 sires of horses and foals sold (page 58) and embryos (page 59). In 2023, the total number of sires producting auction lots totalled 1,869, but this figure dropped to 1,518 in 2024. The value of products sold from these top 40 sires totalled €68 million in 2023, and €61 in 2024... However, this represents an average increase from around €90,000 (2023) to €138 (2024). Obviously, we might speculate that this means breeders spent more to invest in the more popular stallions in 2024
The embryo market saw a compelling downturn – close to 40% – with regard to the top 40 stallions from 483 sales in 2023 to just 296 in 2024. This can perhaps be explained by the drop in private sales; i.e. organized by ‘nouveau’ investors who used the Covid era to their advantage before the breeding industry returned to more normal sales and marketing strategies.
The total sales of embryos by the top 40 sires amounted to €8 million in 2023, and €4 million in 2024 – which rep-
resented little change in the average price: €14,000 in 2023, €17,000 in 2024. So a higher price for fewer embryos.
As this average price trend for horses/foals and embryos is similar, are we seeing a swing to quality over quantity? Only time will tell.
As both tables rank sires in terms of total sales values of products sold, it’s fascinating to see a father and son take the top spots. Chacoon Blue as the sire of horses/foals, and Chacco-Blue as the sire of embryos. And while Cornet Obolensky headed the horses/foals table in 2023, with overall sales, in 2024 his volume dropped by 25%, his average price dropped by a massive 55%.
As we’ve seen in previous years, there always seems to be an anomalous result, and in 2024 it occurred with just one sale at auction for Hesselhøj Donkey Boss at €2 million – average price €2 million. Born in 2018, and still a young stallion – so are we seeing a one-off in terms of offspring value, or a future rival to some of the legendary sires?
There are a few other less wellknown sires who also achieved huge average prices for only a few products that may also be worth watching.
In the embryos table, Pacino is also the anomaly with just one sale at €44,000 – for the same average price. It would take an expert statistician to create a historic analysis of auction sales over the years and, as always, an element of ‘luck’ to predict the future. ■
FOALS/HORSES (PER SALES TOTAL)
WORLDWIDE SPORT HORSE STALLION DIRECTORY
EXPLANATORY NOTES
• Life No: When stallions are sold and/or change nationality, a birth number may be lost or a new registration number subsequently issued by a different licensing studbook. The use of the 10-digit ULN (Unique Life Number) is gradually being adopted, if not yet universally.
• Birth studbook: For the majority, ‘part-bred’ means a Thoroughbred/Warmblood cross. Part-bred stallions are typically approved or licensed later in life based on their own or their offsprings’ competition results. In some cases, no WBFSH-recognized studbook may have existed in the stallion’s home country at the time of birth. Similarly, birth studbooks may have merged and former acronyms may now be meaningless to the majority of breeders. We have, therefore, adopted either the new studbook name, where it is provided and recognized, or used ‘unknown’. And, although the WBFSH does not recognize the Jockey Club as an independent studbook, many Thoroughbreds (designated by the ‘xx’ suffix) are approved/licensed for Warmblood breeding by a WBFSH member studbook.
Special note: Only full members and association studbooks in good standing with the WBFSH are included in the directory so, from time to time, a studbook and its stallions may be deleted.
• Clones: When a clone is approved/licensed as a sire by a member studbook of the WBFSH he qualifies for inclusion in the Stallion Directory. When a clone is listed in the Directory, we will add (Clone of CL) in parenthesis following their birth name. Similarly, in the ‘Breeder’ column, the name of the original stallion breeder will be followed by the clone’s breeder (where known).
• Colour: Among the world’s studbooks, nomenclature for horse colours are as diverse as the colours themselves. In general, we have adopted the birth studbook’s recorded colour, although they may not be universal. For instance, in Europe, a black and white horse is typically known as Piebald, but may be designated as Black Tobiano or Pinto by some breeding associations. It should be noted that the various shades of ‘bay’ (bright bay, brown bay, black bay, … etc.) have been condensed to either ‘bay’ (B) or ‘dark bay’ (DB) in the Stallion Directory. The online database provides a drop-down menu for colour abbreviations.
• Name: Where known, we have included a former name by which a stallion might have been commonly recognized, although this information is not always notified to us. Similarly, where a stallion’s name has been changed with the addition of a sponsor prefix or suffix, we have primarily retained the original name, with a few exceptions. In some cases, Cornet Obolensky being one, an entry may not include a birth name where they have all but disappeared from later pedigrees. (Hopefully, this will help to mitigate any confusion given that competition names change several times during a horse’s career.)
• Contact Information: To avoid confusion and maintain alphabetical integrity, it should be noted that the ‘proper’ names of contacts appear first; Lewitz Gestüt, rather than Gestüt Lewitz. Breeders are advised to contact the studbook of approval if no contact information is available.
• Conclusion: If anyone has any suggestions regarding the format of the entries or information provided, please let us know so we may consider useful changes for forthcoming editions of the BREEDING NEWS WORLDWIDE SPORT HORSE STALLION DIRECTORY (Online forms are available year-round for stallion owners and representatives to self manage information)
While we make every effort to ensure that the information provided is correct, errors sometimes occur in stallion registers and the updated lists provided to us by studbooks and breeders, over which we have no control. ■
WORLD BREEDING FEDERATION FOR SPORT HORSES
MEMBER AND ASSOCIATE MEMBER STUDBOOKS
The following list includes full and associate members of the WBFSH as at January 1, 2025, The breed/studbook acronyms throughout the Stallion Directory reflect those that are internationally recognized and used by the WBFSH.
• ARGENTINA
ASOCIACIÓN ARGENTINA DE FOMENTO EQUINO (AAFE)
Tattersall de Palermo, Av. Del Libertador 4611
C1495CW Buenos Aires, Tel: +54 911 6398 2254 secretaria@fomentoequino.net www.fomentoequino.com.net
• AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIAN CONTINENTAL EQUESTRIAN GROUP INC. (ACE)
Partner of the Holsteiner Verband Hengsthaltungs GmbH:
Trust in quality and find the right stallion for your mare. The Holsteiner Verband Hengsthaltungs GmbH strives to advance the breed and works in close cooperation with the breeders to bring Holsteiners to the top. We offer a wide range of studs, from promising young stallions through youngsters proven in competition and international elite sireseverything you need to realise your dreams as a breeder. holsteiner-verband.de
VERBAND DER PFERDEZÜCHTER MECKLENBURGVORPOMMERN E.V. (MECKL)
Access to a complete and certified information about horses registered in the French database SIRE (pedigree, progeny, performances, indexes, etc), from your computer or any mobile device.
www.infochevaux.ifce.fr
NORSK VARMBLOD/NORWEGIAN WARMBLOOD
ASSOCIATION (NWB)
Postboks 10, 2091 Hurdal
Tel: +47 (0)975 55902
post@norskvarmblod.no www.norskvarmblod.no
• POLAND
STUDBOOK FOR POLISH SPORT HORSES / POLISH HORSE BREEDERS’ ASSOCIATION (SP)
Ul. Koszykowa 60/62 m 16, 00-673 Warszawa
Tel: +48 22 629 9531
Fax: +48 22 628 6879
hodowla@pzhk.pl www.pzhk.pl
STUDBOOK FOR POLISH MALOPOLSKA HORSES (M)
STUDBOOK FOR POLISH WIELKOPOLSKA HORSES (WLKP)
Both these studbooks – as above
• PORTUGAL
ASSOCIAÇÃO PORTUGUESA DE CRIADORES DO CAVALO PURO SANGUE LUSITANO / ASSOCIATION OF PURE-BRED LUSITANO BREEDERS (LUSIT)
CHINA HORSE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION (CHIA) No 1 Ma Xinzhuang, Shunyi District, Beijing Tel: +86 10 604 88801 international@chinahorse.org www.chinahorse.org/home/en
• FRANCE
SOCIÉTÉ HIPPIQUE FRANÇAISE (SHF) 259-261 rue de Paris, 93100 Montreuil Tel: +33 (0)01 53 59 31 31 contact@shf.eu / www.shf.eu
• HUNGARY
KISBERI AND GIDRAN HORSE BREEDERS’ ASSOCIATION (KG) 2464 Gyuro, Marias-tanya Tel: +36 30 9310 183 kisberi.gidran@t-online.hu www.kisberigidran.hu
WORLD BREEDING FEDERATION FOR SPORT HORSES (WBFSH) VILHELMSBORG ALLÉ 1 8320 MAARSLET, DENMARK
• DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT – managed by the British Hanoverian Horse Society – administered by Katy Holder-Vale, assisted by Renai Hart.
• BREEDING DEPARTMENT – managed by the Selle Français studbook – administered by Bérengère Lacroix and Armand Perron-Pette.
• MARKETING DEPARTMENT – managed by KWPN (Royal Dutch Sport Horse) – administered by Ralph van Venrooij, assisted by Eva Maria Broomer. [ \ [ \
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• EXTERNAL COOPERATION DEPARTMENT –managed by Deutsche Reiterliche Vereinigung/ German Equestrian Federation (FN) –administered by Klaus Miesener, assisted by Norbert Camp
\ [ \
• FINANCE DEPARTMENT – managed by Belgisch Warmbloedpaard/Belgian Warmblood –administered by Stephen Kelchtermans and Céline van Durme.
