Corbinian sweeps all before him at the World Cup final
© Hippo Foto – Dirk Caremans
Christopher Hector interviews the breeder of the winner, Ralf Blüggel
Steve Guerdat has made a habit of producing horses out of no-where and winning big classes, and this year in Gothenburg, he did it again. His World Cup winner, Corbinian was a genuine dark horse. Looking back over the past two seasons with Steve, there is not a single victory to be found, a couple of thirds, one second at a smaller show, that’s it. At their last show prior to the final, the pair were 13th and 14th at den Bosch – but the signs were there that they were coming into top form. 
Certainly one person who believed in Corbinian from the start is his breeder, Ralf Blüggel from Hamm. He is described by Westfalian breeding manager, Wilken Treu as a “very enthusiastic and friendly breeder who tries to orientate himself at high performance show jumping. He is a ‘full Westfalian’ breeder but also tries to find good breeding mares in other breeding areas. He breeds with about ten mares, which were successful in sport (at least in young horse classes) or already who have already produced successful foals.” 
The proud breeder, Ralf Blüggel with Cobinian’s grandmother, Dina with his dam, Primavera, as a foal at foot
Mr Blüggel told me that his passion for jumping began when he was a rider:
“I started out as a rider, and from there, I thought I would like to start breeding my first mare. That was thirty years ago and during that time I have built a small breeding station. It’s my passion, my hobby, I want to see how it builds from that one mare – Corbinian was the third generation of my breeding program. That is what I like to do, building dam lines and to see the family growing.”
“I bought the mare Dina, and that was the beginning of the family of Corbinian.”
Dina was a Westfalian States Premium mare, by the Hanoverian stallion, Der Clou – from the old Hanoverian jumping line of Domspatz, with a cross of another influential Hanoverian jumping line, the S line which begins with the Trakehner, Semper Idem, through Senator. 
Corbinian’s mother, Primavera
“From Dina, I had two daughters of Pilot, one, Primavera, the other, Panama. These two mares have been very important for my breeding, the really good horses have come from these two. From Primavera, with Cornet, I had Corbinian.”
Corbinian
“I sold Corbinian as a foal. We can only keep fillies on our farm, with colts it is too much work to keep them.”
Right from the start, Corbinian was special:
“He had his own ideas sometimes, he was really sweet but he was full of energy.”
How important has Pilot been in the breeding program?
“The combination of Pilot and Cornet works really really well. We have a lot of Cornet / Pilot combinations and many of them are successful in the sport, and also in the Young Horse competitions. For us, the two Pilot mares are the basis of our breeding.”
Corbinian’s full sister, Cassandra, when she was a foal
“We have one full-sister to Corbinian, Cassandra, and she has one foal by Kannan for herself, and last year we used an embryo transfer with her, so she has two foals this year by Kannan.”
What are your selection principles with the stallions you use?
“Two ways. We use stallions that are already proven in the sport at a high level. Stallions that have lasted a long time in the sport, so we can see that they are healthy, and can handle the pressure of the sport. We look for these stallions that have produced good offspring – offspring with good legs, and with a good temperament, they have to like to work every day. For a jumping horse in these times, you need a lot of scope but they must have a positive attitude to work, and work with you not against you.”
“Sometimes we use younger stallions, but then we must see something special in him. Years ago we saw that in Cornet Obolensky, he was a special stallion for us, even though he was young horse. We used him really early, normally we like the older ones, but he was special. I don’t know how to say it, but he was something we must have for our mares.”
Proud breeders, Désirée Simon and her partner Ralf with Daylight at the mare show at Aachen for mares in sport and breeding. Daylight is out of Cassandra and by Diarado. She was a winner in the 5 year olds at the Bundeschampionate…
Were you surprised when your horse came out and won the World Cup?
“We try to keep track of our horses. Corbinian first went to the Swiss rider, Fabio Crotta, and he started to build him up in the bigger sport, and then he went to Steve Guerdat, and for us as breeders, it was really a success that one of the best riders in the world, takes a horse from our breeding. We tried to follow his career, and when we saw him jumping in s’Hertogenbosch, he was really in perfect form, and we hoped that he would go to the World Cup Final. We watched it every day on the television, and it was unbelievable for us to see him jumping like this – four times clear, only one fence in the second last round. This is what makes breeding great!”