1955 -1967 168 cm Brown
Breeder: W D Oosterbaan
Jacob Melissen in his excellent The Leading Stallions of the Netherlands, 1994/95 recounts the historic split in Dutch breeding between the southern based Dutch Improved Agricultural Driving Horse Association (LN), which ‘opted for the Anglo-Norman breed, the invasion of l’Invasion had begun, at the autumn stallion examination of 1947’ and the northern North Netherlands Warmblood Studbook (NWP) which covered the provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe and traditionally used material from northern Germany.
This northern base produced Sinaeda, one of the foundation sires of the modern Dutch sporthorse.
In 1951, the NWP Stud Book manager purchased 17 three to six year old Holstein mares, which were distributed to NWP members. Of these, the most important was Morgenster – a large and noble beast, standing 1.64 m, with a cannon bone measuring 21.5 cm, and an ample chest that came in just on 200 cm.
Her sire, Gabriel, was a representative of the famed Holstein line of Ethelbert. Ethelbert was ‘a beautiful, elegant refined stallion of totally modern conformation,’ but according to the historian of the Holsteiner breed, Romedio Graf von Thun-Hohenstein, ‘Thanks to his heavy boned, high quality dam, Adophine 6, he passed on more bone and substance than he himself possessed.’
His great-grandson Lorbeer (by Elegant) founded the Lorbeer/Loretto line that dominated Holstein breeding in 50s and 60s. Morgenster’s sire Gabriel, is a great great grandson of Lorbeer, and Morgenster has a double cross of this line, since her dam Banka is by Lorentin, a grandson of Lorbeer. In fact she traces to the Ethelbert line again, since Banka is out of Lanziska who is by Makart, from the other dominating Ethelbert line of the period, the Mackensen line. Mackensen is a son of Elegant and he in turn is the sire of Makart.
Romedio Graf von Thun-Hohenstein, describes the influence of this line in his work, The Holsteiner Horse:
“Let it be said that Ethelbert 1197, particularly through his grandsons, had a lasting effect on the modelling of the Holsteiner. They gave the Holsteiner elegance and sparkle, and they brilliantly succeeded in demonstrating the synthesis of the central breeding goal: substance combined with quality.”
Morgenster was the product of one of the very famous Holstein breeding lines, one established in 1896 by William Weber, with the one Hanoverian mare he brought with him to Holstein. This was the beginning of the famed family 1907.
In her new home in Holland, Morgenster produced two approved sons, Senator (by Paladijn) and Sinaeda (by Camillus) – she also produced the mare, Lyda, who returned to Germany where she was the grand dam of the World Cup winner, Anka.
Sinaeda’s sire Camillus was by Cambrinus, by the foundation NWP stallion Kambius. Kambius, born 1936, was one of the more elegant offspring of the Oldenburg stallion Gambo, who came to the Netherlands in 1928 and who was, for the 25 years or so that the heavy Warmblood stood, the most important Groninger stallion.
Camillus was out of Anita, who was by another stallion of Oldenburg breeding, Godin.
Now to modern eyes, Sinaeda might look like an old fashioned ‘clumfer’ but to the conservative Dutch farmers, his progeny were the ultimate modern type and took some getting used to!
According to Jacob Melissen: “His 24.5 cm cannon bone and 215 cm chest were not abnormal at the time. It was his size of 1.68 m, his luxury appearance and remarkably free shoulder action that amazed them. In ten years of service, Sinaeda produced 14 approved sons for the NWP and two for the VLN. The full brothers Senner and Sportman (out of Ritta by Tello) were the most valuable for the breed. Lineages rooted in a Sinaeda, Senner or Sportman daughters are still expensive assets.”
And they could jump. American rider, Armand Leone finished 11th at the 1985 World Cup Finals in Berlin, riding Jonker, a fifteen year old gelding by Sportman, out of Tondria by Senator by Camillo.
And just to prove that those lines are still alive and kicking – No Mercy, the silver medallist at the 2005 European Championships, and a competitor at both the Athens and Beijing Games, is by Libero H but out of a mare by Dillenburg – and Dillenburg is out of a mare by Naturel by Lucky Boy out of a mare by the Sinaeda son, Sportman.
