1966 – 1984 167 cm Brown
1976 Keur
1979 Preferent
The Thoroughbred stallion Lucky Boy was responsible for the first of the Dutch modern jumpers to set the world alight. Melanie Smith’s Calypso finished second in the 1980 World Cup final and then followed that up two years later with a victory in the 1982 final in Göteborg.
Calypso and Melanie Smith
Jacob Melissen comments in his 92/93 edition of The Leading Sires of the Netherlands that: “Calypso has been of fundamental importance to the development of showjumping in the ‘new style’, he was one of those elastic, plucky horses that perform intelligently and are keen to tackle anything without being too hot. Bold horses, with a light-footed canter. The kind of horses in which the athletic action of the Thoroughbred is united with the balanced character of the part-bred. That’s what Calypso was, and that’s precisely what Lucky Boy contributed to Dutch sport horse breeding.”
In fact Lucky Boy contributed a string of top jumpers to the international scene. There was Willi Melliger’s Van Gogh, and The Freak with Hugo Simon and later Dirk Hafemeister, and Anne Kursinski’s Medrano – and all three of them were in Los Angeles for the 1984 Olympic Games.
The Freak and Hugo Simon
In fact, the Lucky Boys seemed to come in threes, because three years later, the winning American team in the Nations Cup at Spruce Meadows found room for three Lucky Boy offspring: VIP and Debbie Dolan, Victor and Joan Scharffenberger, and Anne Kursinski and Medrano.
Anne Kursinski and Medrano
Other international performers include Urchin (Rene Tebbel), Logo (Dianne Shaw), Dutch Regard (Mike McCormick), Revlon Rascal (Lisa Tarnopol), Servus (Martha Burstein), Windsor (Guido Dominici), Zazou (Phillip Heffer), US Neapolitan (Annemarie Kynsilehto) and Bokilly (Eugenie Legrand, now Eugenie Angot).
Lucky Boy’s sire, Compromise is rich in the blood that says ‘jump’ on any Thoroughbred pedigree. Phalaris (three times) and Bayardo (twice).
Lucky Boy produced 16 stallion sons, the most famous of which was Octrooi, who had a successful career in the USA under the name, Best of Luck. Interestingly, he was out of a mare by yet another Thoroughbred sire, Koridon.
Octrooi aka Best of Luck
Best of Luck, competed in Europe as a Grand Prix jumper where he was a champion, and in North America where he was a Champion Hunter. A horse of elegance and impressive appearance, Best Of Luck sired winners in all Hunter and Jumper divisions from Junior / Amateur to Open, Puissance and International Grand Prix, as well as FEI dressage and Combined Training champions. He scored over 100 points in both Dressage and Jumping on the Dutch Stallion Index.
Lucky Boy is also proving a valuable brood mare sire. Beezie Madden’s star, Authentic is by Guidam but out of a grand-daughter of Lucky Boy. Rolf-Goran Bengtssen’s Mac Kinley is out of a great grand-daughter of Lucky Boy. Katharina Offel’s, Nike, is by Indoctro out of a daughter of Octrooi (Best of Luck).
