The Olympic Games were once more a triumph for Chacco-Blue. Paul Schockemöhle’s stallion (now sadly deceased) is the sire of five competitors – and those five have together won €4,885,272 in prizemoney going into the Games!

Okay, the stallion had the great advantage of access to Schockemöhle’s large mare band, and Paul’s legendary ability to make the right choice for the right mare, but only three were bred by him at Lewitz, Chanyon (out of a mare by the Grannus’ son, Grand Canyon), Chacna (Narew xx / Domino / Gepard) and Chalou (Baloubet de Rouet / Domino / Grenadier). Once again we see the influence of two of Schockemöhle’s foundation stallions, Domino (Domspatz out of a mare by the Abglanz son, Archimedes) and Gepard (Gotthard / Florentiner II).

The horse that has won the most, and who went on to claim individual gold, is Ben Maher’s Explosion W out of a mare by Baloubet de Rouet, out of a Dutch mare who carries the blood of Dutch jumping pioneers, Amor and Joost.

Explosion W was bred by the WBFSH jumping breeder of the Year AND the KWPN Breeder of the Year for 2019, Willy Wijnen. It is one of those great breeding stories of a stud that starts with just one great mare, in this case, Barina. From her, Willy bred both dressage and jumping horses, although none of the dressage horses has been half as successful as Explosion W.

Barina was by Sultan, a heady mix of the bloodlines that made the modern Dutch jumper. He was by Mariner, for some obscure reason, known in France as Fi Fi, by Juriste and 50% blood, out of Olgarina who carried the blood of Amor and L’Invasion and just 1.57% blood – but what a handsome, modern type he is:

Sultan (photo Jacob Melissen)

Willy was introduced to the world of the horse as a youngster: “When I was young, I remember my grandfather, who was in the military, he started spending more time around horses, but not show jumping or dressage horses, these were work horses. I don’t have a specific memory, but I remember when horses became part of my life, and that was thanks to my grandfather, when I was around eight years old. For as long as I can remember, horses have been my life.”

And that great mare, Barina? She showed she was something special when she was third in the National Championship as a four-year-old, and Willy went in search of a suitable stallion:

“I was looking to breed Barina, as she was a magnificent mare. I invested a lot of money and time into the best stallions, I would travel around Holland, Germany and France, going to all these stallion shows. I was looking for a horse that would be a really good combination with Barina.”

“The first question I would ask, is whether the stallion would fit well with the bloodline of Barina, as well as what the history of the stallion’s mother line looked like. The stallion is obviously very important, but I believe that the mother line is even more important.”

“Of Barina’s 17 progeny, nine of them are top horses, competing at national and international top level dressage and show jumping, and nine of them have gone on to be very good mares for breeding. She also produced five approved stallions.”

“The best piece of advice I’ve been given, and that I could give too, is when you start with breeding, start with a good bloodline that is willing to work, and is in good health including good x-rays. The bloodline should have a lot of sporting history and quality in it, as having this will allow a breeder to lay the groundwork for their whole operation. The mother line is the most important aspect, I think it’s worth around 60 or 70 per cent of the focus, with the other 30 to 40 per cent going to the stallion.”

The interview first appeared, in Dutch on https://jumpernews.com – thank you jumper news and google translate…

The stallions with the next largest group are Casall (Caretino / Lavall I) and Kashmir van Schuttershof (Nabab de Rêve / Tenor Manciais) with three each.

H & M Indianna by Kashmir van Schuttershof

Another for team Sweden, another by Kashmir, the Silver medallist, All in

Cooper van Heffinck (Caretino / Landlord) with two is something of an outsider in the ranks of established superstars, and he is perhaps proof that a good sire does not need to have had a wonderful competition career – indeed the best placing I can find for Cooper is €613 for coming 11th in a 1.45 class at Wiener Neustadt. Cooper van Heffinck stands at Béligneux le Haras in France.

Hello Jefferson

He is represented at Tokyo by Igor van de Wittemoer (Orlando) ridden by Egypt’s Nayel Nassar, and his rather more famous half brother, Hello Jefferson (Irco Mena) and Scott Brash. Cooper has been on something of a roll recently, at the Madrid Global Champions, those two were joined by a third, Kristas DV (Kashmir van Schuttershof). Others with two are Diamant de Sémilly, Cardento and Darco, still a force fifteen years after his demise.

Mumbai by Diamant de Sémilly – the French sire is still producing winners…