KWPN Stallion Show 2015

The beautiful, the ugly and the normal: At the KWPN Stallion Show

Story: Adriana van Tilburg and Christopher Hector

Photos: Roslyn Neave

The KWPN stallion show has become a must-visit for serious students of sporthorse breeding, and in the audience you will find administrators from all Europe’s leading breeding associations checking out what the Dutchies are up to. There is also a good representation of international dealers set looking for smart ponies to take home and thousands of dedicated breeders looking for the next step in their breeding program, plus a growing band of foreign visitors who have come to enjoy what is one of the world’s great equestrian experiences…

This year the format changed, with the showjumping horses occupying the first two days, and the dressage horses, the next two. Day one of the jumping was a bit of a disappointment, lots of very cute horses, but not a lot of power to be seen, as Adriana van Tilburg reports:

Where to find the jumping stallion for the future?

The Dutch sure know how to make a show. The KWPN stallion approvals is a well-organized event with good music, lighting, a very interesting trade village, as well as very nice people to help out journalists with their never-ending questions. My last visit to the event was in 2003, so my information was in dire need of an update…

The first day was a drama! One Dutch journalist said, “it was the worst day in the last 10 years!” Did I pick the wrong year to come? What we saw were colts bred to jump, but with no scope or stallion type. One colt I liked was Haines by Carambole out of Stakkonita Z by Stakkato. He had stallion presence and showed a good jump. He could have opened his hindquarters a bit more but he was okay.

The one that got the crowd talking – by Saffier, a son of Stakkato out of an Escudo I mare

One that everybody talked about was number 212, a Saffier son out of the Holsteiner mare, Cassina by Cassini I. I liked his type and he jumped spectacularly, but I wonder how he will jump under saddle.

Horido S – fame at last for Sir Shutterfly?

Horido S (by Sir Shutterfly out of Cerasinaa by Chin Chin) was the only stallion that was good enough, according to the stallion selection committee, to join the six from the second day in the championship final. His selection was a bit of a surprise. Sir Shutterfly achieved his status because unlike his famous brother, he was not castrated… but also unlike his brother, he was not a star in the competition arena, and indeed has no results at all on either the FEI or SJA databases. The 13-year-old stallion has been banished from the PSI stallion station and is now standing in the UK…

That first day seemed to prove the much-heard lament, “at this time, all Studbooks are having trouble in finding some excellent colts for the future.”

The second day thankfully produced colts who were more of a stallion type. One of my favorites from the first groups was Hotspot (by Hors la Loi II out of Hermione de la Pomme by Nabab de Reve). His mother line, the Qerly Chin line, is one of the strongest from Belgium. Hotspot himself showed a very scopey jump. He was invited for the Championship.

Hotspot by Hors la Loi II, we trust he is more amiable than his sire who had to be shown in a muzzle because of his tendency to attack his riders…

All up, I liked the offspring of Arezzo VDL, Numero Uno and Zirocco Blue VDL. The Arezzos showed a lot of scope.

Like father, like son, History-Rilexy by Arezzo

History-Rilexy was the audience’s favorite and invited for the champions approval. He wasn’t selected as champion because he could have been more of a stallion type.

Hirocco VDL – by Zirocco Blue

The most interesting Zirocco Blue was Hirocco VDL out of Atendri by Contender. He was invited for the championship. I am a bit biased about this colt. I visited the VDL Stud in January this year and I noticed him right away. I have also worked with the full brother to his mother, Corrido.

The championship placings were: Hamilton (Numero Uno / Burggraaf); Horido (Sir Shutterfly / Chin Chin); History-Rilexy (Arezzo VDL / Indoctro); Hirocco VDL (Zirocco Blue VDL / Contender); Hotspot (Hors la Loi II / Nabab de Reve); Henxel K (Numero Uno / Voltaire); Huntelaar (Zirocco Blue VDL / Triomphe).

NOTE if you click the blue links you get videos and all

Halifax – Approved for the performance test and by Vivant, the stallion that grew up in Australia and was ridden to world wide fame at the Lexington WEG by Chris Chugg

Accepted to go on to the performance test were: Hilfiger VDL (Arezzo VDL / Indoctro); Hudson DN (Arezzo VDL / Contender); H (Baltic VDL / Corland); Haines (Carambole / Stakkato); Helmig-K (Cardento / Damiro); Hazelhorst I (Cardento / Triomphe de Muze); Hummer (Carembar de Muze, that’s London / Concorde); NN (Catoki / Landor S); NN (Comme Il Faut / Colbert GTI); Cohinoor VDL (Cornet Obolensky / Stakkato); Cornel Cooper (Cornet Obolensky / Collin L); Hyperion (Der Senaat III / Dollar de la Pierre); Hasard la Tulipe (Diamant de Semilly / Emilion); Hero Blue (Douglas / Indoctro); Helsinki O (Eldorado van de Zeshoek / Indoctro); Horado V (Eldorado van de Zeshoek / Chellano Z); Happy Feet WD (Falaise de Muze / Celano); Harley (Indoctro / Chin Chin); Helios (Indoctro / Veron); Hamilton Leva WD (Kannan / Numero Uno); Helsinki (Lux / Libero H); Malibu Z (Mr. Blue / Hors la Loi II); Harvard (Nabab de Reve / Lux); NN (Namelus R / Cassini I); Highlander C (Numero Uno / Vingino); Helios VDT (Numero Uno / Ahorn); Holyfieldfee BN (Quasimodo vd Molendreef / Indoctro); H (Saffier / Cassini I); Hyperion (Tornesch / Cornet Obolensky); Hunter (Ukato / Roven); Hollywood V.D.W. (Ultimo / Cezaro); Heartbeat (Untouched / Vingino); Victor d’Ive (Vigo d’Arsouilles / Indoctro); Halifax (Vivant van de Heffinck / Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve); Harris VDL (Zavall VDL / Hold Up Premier); Hamilton (Zirocco Blue VDL / Colino).

Champion jumping stallion – Hamilton by Numero Uno

The Numero Unos were nice in type, but didn’t show the most scope. A son, Hamilton out of L-Brina by Burggraaf became the champion of this year. He wasn’t my pick for champion, but he showed good gaits, was a nice type and showed some good jumps. It was the total package that counted. He was sold in the auction for €50,000 and perhaps the market was delivering its assessment… The most expensive jumping stallion was another Hamilton by Zirocco Blue out of Ostara by Colino. He was sold to Brazil for €85.000.

My expectations were too high for the KWPN approvals, but I wasn’t disappointed. It showed that every Studbook is struggling to find the right stallions for showjumping.

The view from the judge’s chair – Cor Loeffen comments:

Cor is a horseman’s horseman, and he brings to the stallion commission a feel for history and the development of the Dutch horse. At the press conference he told a delightful story about the Zirocco Blue son, Huntelaar:

Huntelaar from a line that began with a crazy Hanoverian mare and a cool Trotter…

“Huntelaar, the colt that was in seventh place, the Zirocco Blue out of the Triomphe mare, comes from the line of one of the first breeders of jumping horses in Holland, Wim van Dam.”

“He was a good breeder, and he was a farmer and also a rider in the 60’s. He was right from the beginning breeding jumping horses – he was one of the first to do that. He bred the stallion Grandioso, who competed internationally, he also bred the stallion Damiro, he bred a lot of stallions.”

“In the beginning he bought in Germany, K. Torette, a Hanoverian mare. It was a very difficult mare and at that time we had no riding horses in Holland, just horses to work in the fields. Because the Hanoverian was very difficult, he asked the advice of a famous breeder from the Trotters, and he told Wim to take Peter Spencer, a Trotter stallion, and that was the beginning of his dam line, the line that produced Huntelaar!”

You made the point that you wanted the young stallions to look like their sires. You said that Numero Uno was good because he was most like his sire Libero…

“I think it is important for a breeding stallion that he is a look-alike and has the good qualities of the father. You can see that in the horse, that for me is very important. A long time ago, we had the stallion, Jasper, one sixty six high. He was jumping with Hugo Simon and his name was Little One. He came back to Holland and we tried to find a Jasper son, but with longer legs, a more modern horse – we bred them, but the quality of Jasper was gone!”

What did you particularly like about your champion?

“The Numero Uno son, Hamilton. Sometimes with Numero Uno they are a little bit square, and in the beginning, they can go to the level one twenty, one thirty, then they are finished. Now we know it is better to have a Numero Uno with a rectangular shape, and a good canter and a good heart, for the higher level, they are the better Numero Unos.”

And the Sir Shutterfly?

“He has a very good mother line, that is a fairly famous Dutch breeding line, lots of jumping horses come from that line – and he is a modern horse, an athletic horse. Maybe he could look more like a stallion, it is a sport horse but we think the sport horse type is very important.”

“The one in third place, History-Rilexy, by Arezzo VDL out of an Indoctro mare, this is a look-alike from Arezzo. When you see Arezzo, then you see that young stallion – he jumps like Arezzo, quick, a very good technique, very good reflexes, he is just like his father.”

The view from the side line: Jan Greve

Jan Greve is one of Holland’s famous breeders (he is also famous as a vet) and as always his observations are worth listening to, he makes the point that the jumps and the distances are set up to test the horses, not to make them look fancy for the customers:

“The first day was a little bit disappointing, but on the second day, there were some very nice horses. Here in Holland, the KWPN doesn’t make a big sales show, we try to select horses that are athletic, that have brains, that can come back in the short distance, that can collect their body… it might not look so sellable but we try to find the best ones to breed with – not trying to sell a shit one.”

Haines by Carambole out of Stakkonita Z by Stakkato

Were there any stallions that really impressed you?

“I think my Carambole is a very nice horse. Van Uytert had a very nice one by Hors la Loi, the Arezzo from Wiepke van Lageweg was good, the Arezzos may not be the most elegant types, but they are good sport horses. The Arezzo/Indoctro should have been the champion. The Mr Blues are good, the Zirocco Blues – but they need blood on the mother’s side otherwise they are too stiff in the body.”

Dr Greve points to the way a community of breeders guides the future of breeding in The Netherlands…

“I think we are on the right way. It is controlled by everybody, a lot of people talk together. It is not the mind of one person, it is more the meeting of a lot of people, there is a lot of discussion in a positive way. We have an association of people who breed horses, bring on horses, show them here, we have the guys who buy the foals and bring them to the show, we have a group of dealers and the stallion owners, and two times a year we come together and talk about how we should do this, or that. Everybody can say what he thinks, then altogether you come to a point, a consensus.”

 

The view from France – Arnaud Evain

French breeder, auction organizer, breeding guru and semen vendor, Arnaud Evain, is a regular visitor to Den Bosch, not least to see if he can find some top quality entries for his Fences Auction:

After the first day, you said there were some horses that you would like to take back with you to go to the auction, but nothing you would like to breed to, have you changed your mind after the second day?

“Today was more jumpers, at the end it is interesting to see groups of progeny from each stallion. They have been using Indoctro quite a lot, and know how to use him, and the ones they selected for here came because they were really nice. The same story with Numero Uno, and we saw some others, some very nice Diamant de Sémilly, very nice Hors la Loi… I don’t say that because they are French stallions, that is just luck.”

By Kannan out of a Numero Uno mare…

And one by the stallion you manage, Kannan…

“There was a very nice one, glad you noticed it. Today was a better day. Some stallions I would like to see in a couple of years in a competition, it is a combination of genes, and conformation and the natural – or close to natural – jumping ability. Preparation can be a good thing because they need to be prepared for what they have to do, that is a short distance and it is an exercise that the horse has to learn to do properly… a good horse prepared, is a good horse, a normal horse prepared, is a prepared horse, that’s the difference.”

Does it make a big difference to you if the horse is by a stallion that has jumped Grand Prix?

“Was Jalisco really a Grand Prix horse? Was Voltaire a real Grand Prix horse? Sure they did a few Grand Prix but they were not consistent like today’s horses. I think once you have seen a stallion at seven or eight years old, you have seen his qualities – the rest is longevity, a lot to do with the rider, and so far, no sperm of the rider is in the straws of the stallion, so what they do after they are eight, helps for the marketing but it doesn’t change their worth as a stallion. Look at Contendro, he never showed in a high competition but by his progeny, he deserves to be recognized as a good stallion. It’s partly genes, and partly marketing, but at seven or eight you have seen everything you need to see, you have seen the scope, you haven’t seen the longevity, but what happens after then has little to do with the genes and a lot to do with the environment, and as breeders we focus on what is inheritable.”

Do you think Dutch breeding is on the right track?

“They have always been very pragmatic, and they remain pragmatic. They know they need scope, and they try to introduce that into their bloodlines. They get good results because they play the game properly…”

The Dressage horses… Christopher Hector agonizes over the Dutch riding style:

While it is very good for the horses that the breeding commission is now looking for horses that are more relaxed and natural in their way of going, I suspect it is a great disappointment for many in the audience, and now they really only get to yell and stamp their feet when the carriage horses go absolutely berserker as they explode around the ring. I personally find it a bit depressing to see the horses ridden, because I think the Dutch are still too wedded to the lean and grind into the back, spur, and pull style of riding.

Glamourdale – looking glamorous…

Last year we all loved the Totilas colt out of the full-sister to Jazz, Governor, and were a bit suspicious of the champion, Glamourdale (Lord Leatherdale / Negro). A year later, Glamourdale, ridden by the Portuguese, Carlos Caetano, looks lovely, like a young horse should, freely moving forward, quietly accepting the contact. The same cannot be said for poor Governor, held rigidly in place by Adelinde Cornelissen, looking just like Parzival at his worst, all movement, except for a vigorously protesting tail, disappeared – and not surprisingly, no build up of muscle in his topline. Perhaps it is time for Adelinde to give up on her highly aggressive sports psych conditioning program and take up meditation, maybe then she won’t need the weights training.

Governor and Adelinde Cornelissen…

Another with the protesting tail syndrome, was last year’s third placegetter, Edward Gal’s Toto Junior (out of a Desperados mare). Edward has always had a tendency to the chair seat, but it now looks more like the wheelchair seat, as he hunches over the pony-like black stallion, who again shows most movement in the tail department. Toto Junior seems to more or less accept the bit, or maybe his nose band is tighter than that of Governor who spent most of his time in the ring with his mouth open.

Edward Gal and Toto Junior

Like I said, depressing.

The dressage colts were certainly not depressing, there were some wonderful types with great movement, and with a much better tendency to get their hind legs under them. Which groups stood out? The Apaches, the Charmeurs (although they were better in trot than canter on the whole), the group from Totilas were nice again, and the Johnsons were simply stunning – and remember Johnson is that very rarest of creatures, a licensing winner who went on to compete Grand Prix. There is a free copy of my Making of the Modern Warmblood for the first reader to name another from any of the European studbooks…

The view from the judge’s seat: Wim Ernes

“I think we had a real nice crop of horses. We tried to select horses with conformation, long legs, long lines in the body and three good gaits. A good walk is important and that is also where we had to improve the Dutch Warmblood – we have been selecting on that aspect for a couple of years now and you can now see with these horses, that it is coming better and better.”

Which ones did you like?

“Today it was the young stallions of Apache and Charmeur, they did a really good job. There were also some other good ones, but Apache was clearly the biggest group, also compared to last year, they were more relaxed in the performance. Last year the Apaches were really tense and we thought it was more or less because Apache himself was also a really quick horse and a work willing horse, and we thought maybe that would be too much, but today you could see after the first few that they were nice and relaxed. I think the people who are training the horses, they have seen from us in the last few years, that we don’t want to have the over-reacting horses, we want good horses which are normal, in a natural balance, and natural quality, and you can recognize it now.”

Such an elegant Apache – out of a Ferro mare…

The Charmeurs were nice but not quite so nice in the canter…

“The trot is more expressive but with the Charmeurs it is always important for us that they are showing that they are still young in the body, we like horses of this age that show they are only three-year-olds not already five or six in the body.”

 

And the Johnsons?

“There was one marvelous Johnson, it was a king in the way of going, he is in the champions ring so I am very excited about what he will do.”

Overall?

“I think at the moment when you also see the group that are four years old that were shown here, there is a lot of quality in the group. What I like to see is that they are all rideable, and even in this environment, there is no running away or tenseness, that is important for us, because in the past we had too many horses that were a little bit spooky, everyone talked about the Jazz horses, but now we are leveling it out I think. We have improved the walk in our breeding and we have kept the active and quick hind legs and I think it must go on in this way.”

There were twenty five colts selected to go on to the performance test: Apache provided four, Charmeur, three, and Jazz, two.

I was chatting to Wim just before the Championship began and asked him to give me the name of the winner so I could win a little money betting on the outcome, but he assured me that even at this late stage, the outcome could change depending on how the horses showed in this final test – “like last year.”

Cruising into the championship – Handsome O is Oh so Handsome…

But this time there was no upset. While some of the horses that had moved with liquid grace in the first showing, were freaked out by the over-the-top crowd and slightly hysterical handlers, and lost their movement and strutted like roosters, the Johnson, Handsome O, showed what a cool brain he has and once again showed what an elegant, loose moving dressage model he is. Handsome O is out of a mare by the Ferro son, Rousseau, out of a mare by Boy B by one of the early dressage sires, Roemer, out of Halita, and she yes, has two crosses of our old pal, that unruly Hanoverian, K. Torette, and one of the cool minded Trotter, Peter Spencer!

Another Handsome – this time by Wynton out of a Cabochon mare…

The placings in the Championship ring were, in order: Handsome O, Hornrose (Apache / Ferro), Handsome (the breeders have to name their horses by the letter of the year, but there is nothing to stop a number of them registering the same name, so this year there was quite a crowd of Handsomes), by Wynton out of a Cabochon mare;

Happiness Returns, sold to Andreas Helgstrand – Happiness Departs?

Happiness Returns (Jazz / Flemmingh);

 

So unlike a Hummer – Hummer

 

Hummer (Westpoint / Farrington);

 

Another lovely type – Harlem D

Harlem D (Vivaldi / Donnerhall);

Hilltop headed for the performance test…

Hilltop (Chagall D&R /Tuschinski) and Handsome Boy (De Niro / Jazz).

Can I have him?  The De Niro / Jazz

I’d take any of them home if I could, I particularly liked the De Niro / Jazz, since he was super elegant and didn’t look at all like his famous father or grandpa, you just have to pray he has the movement of his damsire, and the brain of his dad…

Not surprisingly, Handsome O was a sensation at the KWPN Select Sale, selling for €300,000 to Norway’s Kirsten Andresen.

Second highest price for Hot Game…

The next highest price went for Hot Game by Easy Game for €140,000. Perhaps the RS2 Dressage Center de Horst BV is hoping for another Millenium. The two Jazz sons, Hot Shot V.D.T. and Happiness Returns were purchased by Andreas Helgstrand. Hot Shot V.D.T. for €100,000 and Happiness Returns for €90,000.

The average price was almost €57,000, and sales totaled more than €1,300,000. Once again, the stallion show in den Bosch was a roaring success, and the next day, the KWPN took a group of foreign visitors on a tour, to two of the best studs – Van Olst Horses and Team Nijhof, but for those reports gentle reader, you will have to wait just a little while we catch our breath.