Young horse stars or Grand Prix stars? That’s the question…

Analysis by Christopher Hector, photos by Roslyn Neave and archive

I started going to Warendorf and writing about the Bundeschampionate back in 1999. At the time there was a tendency to suggest that the winners never went on to successfully compete in the ‘big sport’. This just wasn’t true as any examination of the results – particularly in the five and six-year-old Dressage Classes – would show. The three and four-year-old Riding Classes, less so, but there were still a significant number of winners that went on to Grand Prix.

A young Isabell and Antony at Grand Prix level

The dressage classes produced horses that not only went on to Grand Prix, but to be Grand Prix stars, like Isabell Werth’s Antony, Lisa Wilcox’s Rohdiamant, Nadine Capellmann’s Farbenbroh and Ann-Kathrin Linsenhoff’s Wahajama.

Wahajama at the Bundeschampionate with Holga Finken, she went on to Grand Prix with Ann-Kathrin Linsenhoff

Farbenfroh and Nadine at the Sydney Olympics, part of the Gold Medal team. 

These days, I think we are seeing more and more the emergence of a young horse class specialist, horses that win young dressage horse classes, who are themselves by stallions that won young dressage horses classes, and never went any further…

Livijno with Rudolf Zeilinger, World Cup Star

Taking a trip back in time to the first Bundeschampionate to be held in Warendorf, in 1994, the finalists in the Five-Year-old class contained a wealth of Grand Prix talent. While the class was won by Alabaster (Akzent II / Wendepunkt) who did not go on, the 3rd placegetter, Livijno (Lysander / Graphit) was a superstar with Rudolf Zeilinger – third at the World Cup final of 2001 before he was sold for mega-money to Dr Bechtolsheimer, then disappearing. Livijno was regarded at the time by good judges as the best GP horse to have left Germany! Ninth place to Chaccomo (Calypso I / Marmor) who went on to represent Germany in the gold medal winning team at the Sydney Games.

Chaccamo and Alexandra de Ridder at the Games – scroll down for more

Thirteenth to FBW Kennedy (Tiro / Karat) a star with Lone Jörgensen and Robert Dover. Wow!

FBW Kennedy and Lone Jörgensen, another who went to GP

Kennedy competed not only  with Jörgensen, but also for the US with Robert Dover

In 1999, the sires were a wonderfully diverse group, but the new wave of dressage specialist stallions was emerging, there’s one by Weltmeyer and one by his uncle, World Cup II.

The six-year-old championship that year is less interesting, no future superstars, although another of the trinity of Great Dressage Stallions, Donnerhall is represented by Donnerschwee, who was a relatively successful sire, and, if the PR is to be believed, a Grand Prix competitor – alas not on the FEI database.

Cut to 2000 and the five-year-old Championship is won by Placido (Prestige Pilot / Watzmann) who like the majority of the finalists that year disappeared without trace.

Placido and Ulf Möller – no encore

Quando Quando at the Bundeschamps

Quando-Quando and Kristy Oatley at the 2008 Games

However in 5th we find Quando-Quando (Quattro B / Akzent) who competed at the 2008Olympic Games for Australia, and who is the sire of one of the current ‘hot’ young horse sires, Quaterback (Roccodero B).

We do find two Grand Prix performers – Breitling and Rohdiamant – with progeny in the final.

The six-year-old Championship sees the emergence of the third member of the dressage stallion trinity, Rubinstein – he sired the winner Royal Diamond (Rubinstein / Inschallah, and full brother to Rohdiamant) who went on to compete in a couple of Grand Prix with Lisa Wilcox. There are four finalists by Rubinstein, and two by Donnerhall.

Lisa Wilcox and Royal Diamond – a few Grand Prix…

The year 2005 marks the beginning of the end, or a great new beginning, depending on how you look at it. The class is won by San Rubin by the doyen of young horse sires, Sandro Hit (Sandro Song / Ramino) out of a Rubinstein mare. Like his sire, San Rubin’s career peaked at this point. Still there are progeny of some genuine Grand Prix competitors in the final – two by Fidermark, one by Breitling and one De Niro.

San Rubin and Ulf Möller – concentrated young horse breeding – scroll down for more

The six-year-old Championship is won by the Trakehner, Kaiserdom (Van Deyk / Gajus) who does not feature on the FEI database, but reserve goes to Belissimo, who went on to have a very brief Grand Prix career of six Grand Prix, never scoring above 69%, but who is proving a fine sire, best represented by Isabell Werth’s Grand Prix sensation, Bella Rose.

Bella Rose and Isabell, we hope to see the mare again…

Third to Insterburg TSF (Hohenstein / Giorgio Armani) a successful Grand Prix competitor with Carola Koppelman before being sold to Sweden, tenth to Hinnerk (Buddenbrock / Ravel), Grand Prix with Hubertus Schmidt and Carola Koppelman, and eleventh to Baldessarini (Breitling / Diego xx), a very successful Grand Prix competitor with Gina Capellmann-Lütkemeier, and the first of half a dozen products of the Breitling / Devisa liaison to go Grand Prix.

Insterburg and Carola, the Bundes star went Grand Prix

Ten years later, September 2015, and the five-year-old final is won in grand style by the bay Hanoverian stallion, Smirnoff. His breeding is concentrated young horse specialist – by the Sandro Hit son, and Bundeschampionate winner, Sir Donnerhall, out of a mare by World Young Dressage Horse champion (times two) Florencio.

Young Horse Champion times two, Florencio

Imperio was himself a Bundeschampion, and a reserve champion at the World Young Horse champs, but has recently been competing with Hubertus Schmidt at Grand Prix level, winning the Special at Verden on the weekend of the World Champs.

Imperio and Hubertus Schmidt win the Special…

There are only two other horses out of the 17 in the final by stallions that went Grand Prix: Bellena (Belissimo / Welzer), equal 4th and Damon’s Pauly (Damon Hill / Romantik-Boy). The rest are by stallions that were young horse stars full stop.

Fasine – Six-year-old champion this year

The champion of the Six-Year-Old Dressage Final, Fasine (Fürst Romancier / Sir Donnerhall I) is the very model of the modern young horse specialist. Her sire, Fürst Romancier’s career peaked as a five-year-old, with fourths at the World Young Horse Champs and the Bundeschampionate. His sire, Fürst Heinrich won a World Young Dressage Horse Championship in 2003, and died two years later… Fasine’s dam sire, Sir Donnerhall is by the original Young Dressage Horse Specialist sire, Sandro Hit who set the trend of winning young horse classes then retiring to stud. Sir Donnerhall himself won at the Bundeschampionate in 2006, and was second in the World Championships for five-year-old horses, that same year. He too quit the competition scene after his young horse triumphs. Will Fasine go on to the big sport? She is listed in the catalogue of the PSI auction, and most likely go for yet another record price, and disappear forever…

Reserve to Lady Loxley M (Lord Loxley / Abanos). Lord Loxley (Lord Sinclair / Weltmeyer) was himself a Bundeschampionate winner, and reserve champion at the World Young Horse Champs. He surfaced in Barcelona in 2014 competing small tour, with his best result, a ninth.

Damon Hill – Young Horse Star, Grand Prix Superstar

The third horse, the stallion Damon’s Dejaron is by Damon Hill out of a Matcho aa mare, while in equal 8th we have another by a Grand Prix competitor, Briatore, out of a Fürst Heinrich mare, by Benetton Dream, one Bundeschamp who did go Grand Prix. The rest are by young horse stars.

Given that every time I analyse a Championship, be it the Games or the WEG, I find that the horses that go well are themselves by Grand Prix competitors, perhaps we will see fewer and fewer horses coming out of the Young Horse classes to go on to the highest levels… which poses the question, just where are they going to come from?