The WBFSH Young Eventing Horse Championships – the show DOES go on…

Christopher Hector analyses the breeding at Le Lion d’Angers far from the venue, locked down in his home in Australia…

Given the very challenging coronavirus situation that has resulted in the cancellation of virtually all equestrian sport during the past summer season, it was with exceptional motivation that the organizers of the annual Mondial du Lion, eventing’s World Breeding Championship for Young Horses, took the decision to run the event behind closed doors.

Surprisingly, given the current coronavirus travel restrictions, the event welcomed a truly international field, with 38 entries representing 17 nations in the younger of the two age groups, and 11 countries fielding 43 athletes for the seven-year-olds. Ultimately, of course, the results will be recorded by studbook affiliation – the top three results providing a cumulative score – rather than the country of origin of both horses and riders, but as we will see, the brand doesn’t always tell us much about the breeding…

Through the spider – Ingrid Klimke and Cascama, on their way to victory
(Photo: FEI- Solène Bailly)

The winner of the six year old class this year was Ingrid Klimke and Cascamara (Cascadello ll / Templer GL xx). The pair finished on their dressage mark Dressage mark of 27.4.

Ingrid was well pleased with her youngster: “I bought her last year directly from the breeder, Helmut Bergendahl – one of the only breeders I know who still breeds for Eventing by crossing Thoroughbred mares with Jumping stallions. She competed at her first show on the last weekend in July and did a good job so I thought she could be ready for a 2-star quite quickly. She did three 2-stars and won the third, and when I brought her to Le Lion she was already more confident in the dressage.”

“She was a bit green in the cross-country, especially at the water and the house, but when I asked her to give it a try she was right there – so bold and smart and clever. I thought nine minutes might be too long for her but she galloped around easily.”

In large part thanks to the skill of master course designer, Pierre Michelet: “It’s one of my favourites for young horses because they learn so much here, there’s no other course with such a variety of fences and terrain. My inexperienced mare was spooky at the first water, but by the time she got to the second water she had already learned a lot and was in a nice easy rhythm. Thanks to everyone at Le Lion for giving us riders and horses a great opportunity in these difficult times!”

Cascamara is by the Holsteiner, Cascadello (a son of Casall) out of a 3/4 Thoroughbred mare, Taramanga, by Templer xx out of a Sir Shostakovich xx mare, that’s 64.65% blood.

Ingrid knows all about the importance of Thoroughbred blood for eventers, aside from Sleep Late who was all Thoroughbred, she had huge success with Butt’s Abraxas (Heraldik xx / Kronenkranich xx) who was one of the many successful products of Friedrich Butts’ eventing horse breeding program. Mr Butts  relentlessly used Thoroughbred stallions in every generation until they were all, like Abraxis, 63/64th Thoroughbred if you looked below their Hanoverian brand.

Ingrid must love that Heraldik xx blood, just a couple of weeks before the Young Horse Championship, she took out the German Eventing Championship at Luhmühlen riding SAP Asha P who is by the Holsteiner stallion, Askari but out of an Heraldik mare…

Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent (Photo: FEI- Solène Bailly)

Second place to Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent. Now when I started seeing the Cooley prefix proliferating in eventing results, my first thought was ‘wow, that must be a very successful stud’, but the truth is more interesting. Turns out that they are not breeders at all, but use the whole of Ireland as their stud farm and combine that with an uncanny ability to spot talent to produce their Cooley horses. The team, Richard Sheane and Georgina Phillips started their operation back in 2004 and they now have a client base that reads like a who’s who of international eventing.

I asked Georgina if she thought it was possible to spot an eventer on the basis of its breeding…

“No, is the short answer. We buy horses for eventing mainly from showjumping producers. They are horses that jump reasonably well and move well, but are not going to make the top grade. The long answer is a bit more complicated because, yes, you need blood, you need jump but you need the attitude to be right. So there’s no fixed formula for breeding an event horse. You need to breed something that jumps, and from there, work out if it is brave enough and has the right brain to go and do the eventing job.”

“The Cooley horses that you see that are successful, there’s no fixed pattern in their breeding, they all carry a bit of blood, they have to be right in their brain and good to ride, and that for us, is what we look for.”

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A number of the successful Cooley horses have European Warmblood in their pedigrees – do you look for that blood?

“Not really, the Warmblood crosses well with the Irish mares, there’s no doubt about that, but we don’t have any fixed impression of what we want. We like them to have the Irish in them because that makes them brave and sensible, which is not to say that we wouldn’t buy a horse that is all foreign that has been produced in Ireland. A lot of the reason the Irish horses are so good is because we have a good way of producing them here in Ireland. It’s a non-sterile environment and that’s very important. If you go to the continent they don’t have the same set-up we have, the bogs they walk through, the muddy conditions. When they are just foals in Ireland, they get used to the natural terrain, they get to experience all types of conditions under foot, and that for us, is important.”

I was looking at your website, and even before your horses are backed, you lunge them over jumps…

“Yes. My partner, Richard is the ultimate horseman and in Ireland with the hunters, they teach them to jump over big ditches and drains that way, because it is easier to teach them than with a person on them. It seemed like a natural progression for us, that we would school all our event horses, from the four-star horses to the four-year-olds, all go cross country on the lunge regularly, because it is so much easier to give them confidence and teach them when there is not anybody on their back. They don’t have to worry about balancing the rider, all they have to worry about it what is in front of them. It teaches them to think, so it is done in a very slow manner, they really thrive on it. Lots of people say lots of things about Cooley horses, you might have a horse that doesn’t do the best dressage test but they all go cross country and that’s the reason, because they are started that way.”

Are there any names on pedigrees that when you see them, you say, wow, I’m interested…

“We’ve been very lucky with Ramiro B, lots of good ones by him, so he’d be a favourite, but we are not fussy. If we see a horse we like, we like it regardless of who its mother and father are. Judge the horse, and not the breeding.”

Cooley Rosalent is by the Dutch bred Valent (Hors la Loi II / Lux Z / Jasper) who had one 1.60 start with Demott Lennon, but mainly competed 1.40, and out of the Thoroughbred mare, Bellamey Jewel (Roselier xx/ The Parson xx). That’s 72.85% blood.

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The third placegetter, Merel Blom’s Corminta vom Gwick has just 42.77 blood. She is solidly Holsteiner, by Cormint (Calido / Carthago) out of a mare by Contendro I (Contender / Reichsgraf) who has headed up the WBFSH eventing sires rankings for the past couple of years.

Fourth to another mare and another Holsteiner, Tiana Coudrey’s Cabaret. She is by the Carolus I son, Clinton I (so not the rather more famous sire of Cornet Obolensky who is by Corrado) and out of a mare by the Anglo Arab, Jayadeva de Mackinac (Alban A) out of a Cantus mare. Just a touch under half blood – 49.22%.

Obos Quality – another of the European stallions that kick started
eventing breeding in Ireland

The next two places go to mares by Obos Quality, the Oldenburger stallion that put Ireland’s Coolballyshan Stud on the map. The now 28 year old stallion is the sire of last year’s Burghley winner, MGH Grafton Street, as well as numerous other event horses including Zara Tindall’s ride Class Affair and US-based Irishman Tim Bourke’s ride Luckaun Quality. His progeny also include top-level showjumpers such as Mark Q, Lisona and Castlefield Eclipse. Once again, he is a cocktail of books and breeds. Branded Oldenburg he is by the Selle Français jumping star, Quick Star (Galoubet / Nithard) out of a mare that carries the classic Hanoverian lines of Domino and Flugel van la Roche. The stallion jumped 1.60 and in Nations cups, and competed in the Samsung Super league in 2002 with Denis Coakley.

His fifth placegetter, Cathal Daniels’ LEB Empress is out of the classic cross, Irish Sport Horse, Colin Diamond (a grandson of King of Diamonds) out of a mare by the influential Thoroughbred stallion, Imperius (High Lupus xx / Nearco xx).

Obos Quality’s second representative is the dressage leader MHS Brown Jack, ridden by Tom McEwen. The gelding is out of a mare by the Holstein import that did so much to renovate Irish breeding, Cavalier Royale (Cor de la Bryère / Liguster).

Seven Year olds…

Sophie and Ziethen star cross country (PhotoThomas Thiesen courtesy Sweetwater Stud)

Sophie Leube topped the 7-year-old category with Sweetwaters Ziethen TSF (Abendtanz / Campetot AA). The German pair were on familiar territory having finished fifth in the 6-year-old division last year, and the stallion never put a foot wrong after posting the best dressage score of 27.6.

The stallion is from the Sweetwater Stud in Bulgaria, and is by the Trakehner stallion Abendtanz out of an Anglo Arab mare by Campetot. Abendtanz’s pedigree is studded with the names of the famous Trakehner stallions – Sixtus, Kostolany, Enrico Caruso and Kassiber. Sweetwaters Ziethen TSF was purchased as a foal at foot with his dam, and raised at Sweetwater.

Now I am sure that I have never encountered a Bulgarian bred champion at a world championships before, so it was time to find out more about Sweetwater Stud. I tracked down the man in charge, George Muehlethaler…

George and the stallion, Sturmklang

When was the stud established?

“Sweetwater Stud was only established in 2012; before I bred Swiss Sporthorses on Selle Francais lines as a hobby and to support my tuition and then Standardbreds in Canada.”

What is your breeding background?

“I majored in Animal Science and developed in 1980 the first  Selection  Index for Swiss Sporthorses. After graduating I had the chance to work for two and a half  years at the Swiss Main Office for Small Animal Breeding (Pigs, Sheep and Goats), responsible for selection. In 1983 I migrated to Canada with my young family, developed farms and bred Holstein Dairy cattle under the Petinesca and Genervations Prefix. We sold semen, embryos and stock worldwide and had, beside others, with Petinesca Charisma the Number 1 Bull for type in Canada. After going back to University in 2000 for an MBA we dispersed the breeding herd in 2005 and pursued full time the new project in Bulgaria.”

George with the Trakehner yearling Boxberger, by Careless Secretary xx
out of Batisda by Arrak

Is the main aim to breed sport horses or racehorses?

“Our aim is to breed Eventers with a minimum of 50% Thoroughbred, Anglo-Arab or Arab blood. Since we stand the Thoroughbred stud Nuntius xx (Dalakhani brother to Novellist) we also have some mares devoted to breeding racehorses but the Sporthorse breeding is growing year after year.”

George with the Secretariat son, Careless Secretary xx: “I acquired him for the sole purpose of producing mares for our breeding program…”

How big is the horse breeding industry in Bulgaria?

“Not very big but the Sport is growing and Bulgaria has a rich history in regards to the Equestrian Sport and horses in general. The main reason why we are breeding here in Bulgaria is, because our operation (250 Holsteins, 250 Aberdeen Angus on 550 ha) is here; and the farm is here because the opportunity that presented itself in 2003 and the strategic location to growing markets.”

How many mares do you have? And what are their bloodlines?

“At this moment we have about 25 active mares. In terms of bloodlines, anything not mainstream with proven records in jumping or eventing. The most important being Hand in Glove xx, Friedensfuerst (Trakehner), Careless Secretary xx and Sturmklang (Trakehner).”

Is it your intention to compete Sweetwaters Ziethen T to the highest level or will he now concentrate on stud duties?

“He will continue to be available worldwide through frozen Semen and stay in training with Sophie Leube to hopefully be competitive at the 4 Star Level next year. We are very lucky that his Semen is very good and his conception rate was at or very close to 80 % in the first three breeding seasons.”

The reserve champion in the seven year olds is Dgin du Pestel Mili ridden by Adjutant Donatien Schauly for the Ministry of Defence. Aha now we’ve got a real French horse in the frame! Well, not quite, the gelding is by Nartago – and he by the Holsteiner, Cathago from a Hurlevent mare. He is out of a mare by the Narcos II son, Verdi, out of a mare by the Thoroughbred, Pot d’Or. That’s 54.69%.

Third placed Diablo Menthe ridden by Nicolas Touzaint also bears the SF brand, but once again is a right old melange of modern breeding lines. His sire, Scareface de Mars is by Dollar de la Pierre (Quidam de Revel / Foudre de Guerre) and out of the famous Belgian mare, Qerly Chin (by the Holsteiner, Chin Chin out of a mare by the Selle Français, Pachet). Diable Menthe has more Belgian breeding on the dam side, he is out of Cori van de Helle, who combines Holstein, Westfalia and Selle Français – by the Holsteiner, Caesar van de Helle (Cantus / Landlord) out of a mare by the Westfalian, Pavarotti van de Helle (Pilot / Galoubet A). 36.27 blood.

Fourth to the British rider, Alexander Bragg riding the Irish Sport Horse, Ardeo Premier, but again, it’s the formula that re-invigorated Irish breeding – European over traditional Irish. The sire is Hold Up Premier (Narcos II / Quidam de Revel), and the dam sire, Cruising (by the Irish Draught, Seacrest out of the Irish showjumper, Mullacrew who is by Nordlys xx). 40.04%.

Camilla Lejeune and Dame Decoeur Tardonne were fifth, but don’t let the Gallic name fool you, she may be branded SF but she’s by the Danish Stallion Lando (Lancier / Raimondo) out of the Holsteiner mare, Soade Tardonne (Contender / Esteban xx). 44% blood.

Italian Filippo Gregoroni rode ‘Un-named’ into sixth. The gelding with an identity crisis is branded ISH, he’s by the Belgian import Ricardo Z who is by Rebel II Z, the full-brother to Ratina Z (Ramiro / Almé) out of a mare by the Selle Français, Furioso II out of a mare by the Holsteiner, Ahorn. He is out of Cavalier Classic who is by the half-blood son of Cavalier Royale, High Roller, and out of Morgan Gold, by the German Palomino, Morgengold I, out of an Irish mare. No wonder he is confused…

Belgian Steve van Winkel finished in seventh place on the Zangersheide branded gelding, Vainquer Z by Belgian star, Vigo d’Arsouilles (Nabab de Rêve / Fleuri du Manoir) out of the Thoroughbred mare, Bombay Binny  (First Trump xx / Be My Chief xx).That adds up to 76.17 blood.

Holland’s Merel Blom and the Holsteiner, Crossborder Radar Love take eighth. The gelding is by that much touted fusion, Diarado (Diamant de Sémilly / Corrado I) out of a Holsteiner mare by Claudio’s Son (Claudio / Contender).

Ninth to perhaps the most unlikely candidate for eventing honours, Spring Thyme de la Rose. Not only is she a mere 28.71 blood but the rest is dressage, dressage, dressage. Spring Thyme is by Sir Donnerhall I (Sandro Hit / Donnerhall) and out of a mare by the Pik Bube son, Pik Junior. Still she is ridden by the British bred, French domiciled maestro, Thomas Carlile…

And rounding out our top ten is the Selle Français mare, Don’t Worry de Lameth. She is out of Salome (Sandro Hit / Contender) who competed small tour dressage in France with Marine Faust, by she is by one of the early stars at Le Lion, Yarlands Summer Song, by the eventing Trakehner, Fleetwater Opposition out of a Welton Gameful mare…

Yarlands Summer Song (photo Peter Llewellyn)

It’s a nice way to end since Yarlands Summer Song was one of the early stars to shine at Lion d’Angers. Back in 1992 he was the 12th best young horse was with Marie-Christine Duroy then  the pair went on to success at Olympic and WEG level. At stud he was an important sire of eventers, appearing ten times in the WBFSH eventing top ten.

Summer Song was also one of the earliest products of breeding programs directly aimed at producing eventers. Fleetwater Opposition (Muschamp Danube / Oplot) won individual and team gold at the European Junior Three Day event at the age of six, and went on to compete in dressage up to Grand Prix level.

The Thoroughbred Welton Gameful (Prince’s Game xx / Philae xx) was a foundation sire in Sam Barr’s pioneering eventer breeding program. His son Welton Louis (out of an RID mare by Your Fancy xx) was the sire of Welton Romance (Wilton House xx), fourth in the young horse class at Lion d’Angers in 1992 with Ginny Leng, he went on to win a European Championship with Lucy Thompson.

The Mondial du Lion has been the crucible in which the emerging ‘breed’ of eventers was forged. It is also one of the most enjoyable equestrian events in the universe. Alas, living under a stage four lock down, and forbidden to travel more than five kilometres from my home in Melbourne because of the COVID outbreak, my ‘coverage’ is virtual this year. Here’s hoping that when the 2021 Championships roll round, I’ll be there in person to enjoy this great event.

A little history…

The Young Horse Eventing Classes at Lion d’Angers, started in 1987 when the organisers introduced a special ranking for young horses from 6 to 8 years old – le Criterium mondial des jeunes chevaux, running an event within an event, in the CCI class which had been established the year before.

In 1990, Brittany Ferries picked up the naming rights and it was the Trophée mondial des jeunes chevaux Brittany Ferries, and the next year, the entire event became known as the Mondial du Lion, still with young and old horses competing in the same class with two sets of placings.

In 1997, the entries were limited to horses aged 6 to 8 years old competing in the first World Championships for Young Eventing Horse Championships. The next year, the age group was reduced to 6 and 7, but still competing over the same course. It was not until 2000 that the ages were split into six and seven year old championships. The 6 year olds run over a CCI* track with the 7 year olds tackling a CIC**.

Ginny and Master Craftsman

It’s a pity that the young horses were not being honored the first year Lion d’Angers was held, since the 4th place getter in 1986, was only 6 years old and went on to be a European champion with Ginny Leng – Master Craftsman. The gelding was by the Thoroughbred, Master Spiritus – a regular source of stars in the young horse division.

Right from the start a staggering number of great eventers have announced their arrival on the world stage at Le Lion. There’s Jumbo (Skippy / Seven Bells xx) an advanced eventer with Andrew Nicholson, but in truth a better sire than competitor, he was the best placed young competitor in 1991. In 92 we find Welton Romance (Welton Louis / Wilton House xx) in fourth spot with Ginny Leng, he went on to win a European Championship with Lucy Thompson, the horse in 12th, Twist Le Beige (Djahll aa) also took gold at the Europeans with Jean-Lou Bigot, while the 12th best young horse was Yarlands Summer Song (Fleetwater Opposition / Welton Gameful), a star with Marie-Christine Duroy and another important sire.

In 94, there’s the winner of the young horse title, King Solomon III (by Old Lucky xx), and down in 15th place, best of the crop, Kentucky winner, Welton Envoy – certainly purpose bred for eventing, by Welton Gameful (3/4 Thoroughbred, ¼ Irish) out of a mare by Ben Fairie – a Thoroughbred sire of eventers including World Champion, Priceless and European Champion, Nightcap.

Linda Algotsson and Stand by Me

In the 90s, the British star,  Sheer H20 (Stan the Man xx / Carnival Knight xx) and the Swedish top-liner, Stand by Me. Stand by Me was by Stanford, out of Princess Fair xx, who is the dam of La Fair, ridden by Linda Algotsson at the 2012 Games, and La Fair is the dam of Wega, who so nearly carried Linda’s sister Sara to a gold medal at Greenwich! All of them bred by their mother. Margareta.

Ingrid and Sleep Late

In 1998 the event (and the young horse class) was won by another superstar, Ingrid Klimke’s grey Thoroughbred, Sleep Late (by Kuwait Beach xx), with Owen Moore and Lord Killinghurst (by Sulaafah out of a Hanoverian / Thoroughbred mare) in 3rd – the number 3 was to haunt the horse – ridden by Andrew Nicholson, he was 3rd at Burghley, three years in a row. Okay we haven’t even got out of the 90s but I think we’ve proved the point – if you want the full history, go to https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2013/10/world-young-eventing-horse-championships-2013/