Bundeschampionate 2014 – Looking at the Bloodlines…

Words by Christopher Hector & Photos by Kiki Beelitz and Roslyn Neave

Alas, this year as the Bundeschampionate clashed with the WEG, I was not there to see the action, but I hope this little analysis of the breeding of the finalists is of use to the serious breeder and all the other pedigree freaks out there…

The winner of the Six-year-old Jumping Championship, Coco Berlini, is very much the product of the new Holstein/Franco accord. In the past it was Cor de la Bryère providing the Gallic touch, now it is more likely to be Quidam de Revel. Thus the six-year-old champion is by Caspar – and who is Caspar? Our old friend Eurocommerce Berlin (Cassini I / Caretino), under his original name. Coco Berlini is out of a mare by Quidam out of an Oldenburg mare, but one by the recently deceased Selle Français import, Quattro B.

Coco Berlini, six-year-old Jumping Horse Champion

Caspar aka Eurocommerce Berlin

There are a few new stallions whose progeny made the top ten in this class: Carrico (Catoki / Capitol II / Lord), Quinta Real (by the Quidam son, Quite Easy, out of a Caretino mare), Cachas (Caretino / Corrado / Lord), Stakkatol (Stakkato / Capitol I), along with the more familiar names: Ferragamo (Freigraf / Ehrensold), Catoki (Cambridge / Silvester), Casall (Caretino / Lavall) and Chacco-Blue (Chambertin / Contender).

Chacco Blue

 Cornet Obolensky

Only Lordanos (by the Lord grandson, Landos out of an Ahorn Z mare) breaks the undisputed rule of the ‘Cs’ in the Five-year-old Championship – he is the sire of the 6^th placegetter, Lord Cassini, out of a Cassini I mare.

The champion, Caroly, is by Calido I out of a Contendro I mare. Indeed on his pedigree, three of his great grandsires names begin with the letter, C, with only the Pilot son, Peter Pan, on the bottom line breaking sequence. The Reserve was Clide 2 (Cassini / Cash and Carry), followed by Cellestis (Celestial / Figaro), Cassanova (Clinton I / Stakkato), Charming’s Special (Charming Boy / Espri), Cascadello (Casall / Clearway), Lord Cassini, SIEC Chicago (Cornet Obolenksy / Acord II) and Cairon (Comme il faut / Charisma).

Caroly, five-year-old Jumping Horse Champion

This year was the first for many where there was not one single young dressage competitor by the erstwhile dominating sire of young horse stars, Sandro Hit, although in the Six-year-old class, he was represented by his son, Sir Donnerhall I, who sired the champion, Sir Heinrich (out of a Fürst Heinrich mare), and another son, San Amour (out of a mare by the Pik Bube son, Plaisir d’Amour) who sired the 3^rd placegetter, Solitaire (out of a mare by Davignon I). San Amour also sired the 12^th placegetter, Stern von Africa OLD (Harvard).

Sir Heinrich, six-year-old Dressage Champion

 Don Frederico

Hotline (Hofrat / De Niro) won the Hanoverian licensing in 2005, and after being sold to Paul Schockemöhle and Blue Hors stud for €800,000 at the Hanoverian auction, was rumoured to have covered 800 mares in his first season; he supplied the Reserve Champion, Hollister (out of a Don Frederico mare), and the equal 12^th placegetter, Hermes (Lanciano).

The F line is again well represented with finalists by Fidertanz (4^th and =6^th place), Farewell III (=6^th), while the most successful D line sire is Don Frederico, sire of the 8^th placegetter, and dam sire of the reserve champion. The Don Frederico son, Don Henrico is the sire of the 11^th placegetter (out of a Fishermans Friend mare).

The Five-year-old class was won by a particular favorite of mine, DSP Belantis. The elegant grey is by Benetton Dream (Brentano II / Rotspon) out of the divine Philharmonie who is by the Holsteiner Expo’se out Pirouette, who is by Sandro Hit out of Pamina. Pamina, like her cousin, Poesie (dam of the Poetins and the Samba Hits, and grand-dam of Quaterback) traces to the foundation mare of the Neustadt stud, Pauline, and she was purchased from a local farmer as a harness horse back in 1946…

DSP Belantis, five-year-old Dressage Champion

Philharmonie with a young Belantis

 Poetin

San Amour is responsible for two of the placegetters, the Reserve champion, Soiree d’Amour OLD (Latimer), and Saphira Royal NG (Monteverdi) in 5^th.

Latimer

I think the third placegetter, Bodyguard, is another horse that deserves watching. He is by Burlington who has been a star with German young rider, Charlott-Maria Schürmann. In 2012 (when the rider was just 19) they won the prestigious Nürnberger BurgPokal, and in 2014, the pair took out the under 25 Grand Prix Kür at Aachen. Burlington covered a few mares before taking up his full-time career as a competition horse, and Bodyguard, out of a Pik L mare, is one of the results. Bodyguard’s grand sire, Breitling has been an astonishingly successful sire of Grand Prix dressage horses but his get tend to be a bit plain – Bodyguard, like his dad, is a good looking individual.

Bodyguard, third in the five-year-old Dressage horse event

Other stallions represented in the Five-year-old final are Quaterback (4^th placegetter), Fürst Hohenstein (5^th), Belissimo (7^th), Zack (the Dutch invasion? By Rousseau out of a Jazz mare = 8^th), Dimaggio (=8^th), Fidertanz (=10^th) and Ehrenwort (=10^th).

In the Three-year-old Stallion ring, after the first part of the final, three stallions clearly dominated the class, Baccardi (Belissimo / De Niro) was in front with a 9.1, followed by Lilliano with a 9.0 and Nymphenburg’s First Ampère on 8.9 but Baccardi consolidated his lead when test riders Bettina Hoy and Kim Pfeiffer tried the trio and awarded Baccardi a total of 19 points.

Baccardi, Champion of the three-year-old stallions

 Lilliano’s sire, Lissaro competing at the Bundeschampionate

The Reserve, Lilliano OLD, is out of a Sir Donnerhall I mare, and by ‘the accidental dressage horse’ Lissaro, who despite being purchased by the Belgian stud, Stoeterij v/d Helle as a future jumping sire, went on to win the Three and Four-year-old Stallion Championship at the Bundeschampionate, and then the Five-year-old Dressage title.

Again we see the KWPN influence creeping in with the third placegetter, Nymphenburg’s First Ampère, by the Dutch sire of young superstar, Ampère, out of a mare by the Weltmeyer son, Weltruhm.

The Three-year-old mares and gelding Championship went to the mare, Special Diva, by Sir Donnerhall I out of a Diamond Hit mare, with the reserve to the gelding, Lordswood Dancing Diamond, by Dancier out of a Wolkenstein II mare.

Special Diva, Champion of the three-year-old mares and geldings

 Sir Donnerhall

The Champion of the Four-year-old stallions was Equitaris, the son of 2006 Westfalien licensing champion, Estobar who went on to be sold for €550,000. Equitaris sold for a ‘mere’ €176,000 at the 2013 Hanoverian Elite Auction, but his blood is concentrated Westfalien. Equitaris is by Estobar by Ehrentusch, out of a Rubiloh mare, which means he has two crosses of Ferragamo, and one of Rubinstein, who would have been a Westfalien had their licensing commission not rejected him and passed him on to Oldenburg. The stallion was bred by Stephan Borgmann who is very much his own man when it comes to selecting his bloodlines: “I am not thinking like a lot of breeders today, only to the modern stallion star of this year, and next year we have the next star stallion… I know my mares for ten generations and I know what stallions I need for those mares.” Indeed so far his own man, that he recently told me: “We have 100 horses and not one with the blood of Sandro Hit… no Sandro Hit, no Sir Donnerhall, no San Amour, no Show Star… and in the future I can advertise – no Sandro Hit here!”

Equitaris, Champion of the four-year-old stallions

 Stephan Borgmann with his Champion, Equitaris

The reserve was Fürst Fohlenhof by Fidertanz out of a mare by Mephistopheles.

The Champion Four-year-old mare or gelding went to the Trakehner mare, Zikade (Singolo / Tambour) with the reserve to the Oldenburg mare, Fame W OLD, by Fürstenball out of a Lauries Crusador xx mare.

 Zikade, Champion of the four-year-old mares and geldings