Gelding of the month

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TEXT: GEORGIA HARLEY

ALBERICH 10 - IT'S A TEN OUT OF TEN

Alberich 10 (Albie) is owned and ridden by Imogen Hilterman. This lovely, tall, 10-year-old gelding was purchased in 2019 in Germany. He has a unique marking on his face which Imogen fondly refers to as his "simba smudge". This duo are based at Burlington Stables and coached by Anne-Marie Esslinger.

HISTORY

Albie happened to be the last horse Imogen was to try at Hilmar Meyer Sporthorses. As he walked in, Imogen had a good feeling, and after a very short 10-minute ride, she was on the phone with her mom to say she had found the horse of her dreams.

After Albie arrived in South Africa, the team needed some time to get to know each other and learn all the buttons, but still, progress was swift. After a little while in the 1.20m and 1.30m classes, they moved up to the 1.35m classes and even snatched a second place in their first class. And the plan is, of course, to keep going! Imogen hopes to jump confidently around the 1.40m and even the

No horse has given me so much confidence

He has made my dreams come true

1.50m tracks, and with his sire scoring a 10 for scope, Albie seems like an excellent partner to reach that goal.

PERSONALITY

Imogen describes Albie as a "giddy goat". He is a horse full of contrasts and contradictions. As one example of his quirks, he can make a lot of noise if a horse leaves the arena but similarly can get a huge fright if a horse comes too close to him in the warm-up.

Albie's playful, giddy side, unfortunately, got to the better of him when in 2021, he was hacking and leapt in the air and landed on a rock. However, with the work of Dr Mike Ross and the team at North Rand Animal Clinic, he made a full recovery.

BREEDING – THE FOUNDATION IS STRONG

Superior Equine Sires described Alberich 10's sire Asti's Amsterdam as having "a fantastic genetic makeup". This is abundantly clear when you look back at his pedigree and see two very well-known foundation stallions, Alme and Cor de la Bryere.

Cor de la Bryere was one of the greatest stallions of all time. He revolutionised showjumping breeding, not only as a sire but as a sire of sires and a dam sire. Alme, like Cor de la Bryere, needs no introduction to the breeding world. He is, in fact, known as the "father of world breeding" and is the grandsire to another foundation stallion, Quidam de Revel.

Asti's Amsterdam completed his 30-day performance test in 2004 and achieved a very impressive 10 for scope, 9.25 for style and 8.24 for his overall mark. These marks proved accurate when he went on to win the Hanoverian Free Jumping Competition in 2005. Not only was he a champion, but one of his progeny was the Champion Show Jumping Foal in Donnenburg and scored a 9 for movement and suppleness. This quality is a clear stamp he passes on to his offspring and is evident in his son Alberich 10.

Roeschen, Alberich 10's mother, is by yet another foundation stallion, Raphael. Raphael was the 1981 Reserve Champion of Oldenburg Stallion Licensing and third at his stallion performance test. He was a better breeding stallion than competitor, having few competition results himself but having produced 22 licensed stallions.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This gelding has already made Imogen's childhood dreams come true, but we feel certain there is more to come for this duo in the very near future.

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