German FN breeding values – Dressage
Christopher Hector analyses the latest set of breeding values from the German Equestrian Federation…
The breeding values are now published, and as usual provide their share of controversy. There are now three different sets of FN breeding values for both dressage and jumping. The first looks at the sires of young horse competitors, the second looks at the sires of horses in open competition and the third ‘highest level achieved’ (HEK).
Sandro Hit
This year saw Sandro Hit crowned number one on the World Breeding Federation for Sporthorses (WBFSH) annual ranking of dressage sires for the first time, yet the black stallion is conspicuously absent from the breeding values of the German Federation…? Sandro Hit is ranked 365th on the FN breeding values for young horses but is entirely absent from the open competition rankings and slots into 61st spot on the HEK values with a value of 156 (99%) with some quite reasonable company: Weltmeyer, Hofrat, Donnerball, Totilas and Zonik, although you might be forgiven for not recognizing the seventh member of the cohort, Jazz Rubin (Jazzman / Rubinstein).
Bonds
Let’s start by looking at the young horse breeding values. Topping the list is Bonds, an eight year old Hanoverian stallion, who competes at Novice level. Bonds is by Benicio who seemingly only appeared at one international show, Hagen in April 2015, where he was first in an Inter I and second in a Prix St Georges, ridden by the prodigiously talented Jessica Lynn Thomas. Bonds was initially trained by Anna Sophie Fiebelkorn, who also showed his sire, Benicio with great success, then after a stint with Helgstrand, he was sent in 2017 to Beatrice Buchwald… but I can find no record of her competing the stallion.
Bonds is out of Rioja, by Sir Donnerhall I out of a Rubinstein mare. His first place value of 166 has been achieved on the basis of 21 of his progeny in competition, which results in a low reliability score of 83%.
Don Juan de Hus
The second highest value has been achieved by the Jazz son, Don Juan de Hus (out of a Krack C mare). The chestnut stallion died way too soon when he was only nine years old, but he has sired some very impressive young horses. His value of 165 is somewhat more reliable since it is based on 95 progeny and achieves a reliability of 93%.
Don Martillo
One of Don Juan’s starry sons was Don Martillo, who won a World five year old Championship in 2017, he went on to be the high-scorer in the 2017 Stallion Sport Test in Verden, another ride for Anna Sophie Fiebelkorn, but since then has been subject to an acrimonious dispute between his owners, with accusations that the stallion suffers from Shivers. Seemingly he has not competed since his triumph at the Worlds. His third place value of 165 is even shakier, based as it is on six progeny, hence a 75% reliability.
Escolar
It is a huge relief to get to the fourth ranked Escolar, here at last we have a stallion who has competed with distinction at a Grand Prix level, and whose value is based on the performances of 273 progeny. His young horse value is 161, reliability 97%.
Benicio
This top ten is getting a little incestuous since Bonds’ dad, Benicio comes in at number five, with 225 competitors, a reliability of 97% and a 161 breeding value.
Ninth to Zoom by Zack. The Danish bred stallion, is out of a Don Schufro / Brentano II mare, and competed in Verden in August 2021 with Helen Langehanenberg, in two PSG/Inter I classes, withdrawn in one, and 22nd with a score of 71.349 in the other. Zoom owes his 160 value (80%) to his 12 progeny competing. Rounding out the ten we have For Dance who is by For Romance I (Fürst Romancier / Sir Donnerhall I) out of Reverie, who is by the Rubinstein son, Rubiloh, out of an Ehrentusch mare. We are told the stallion competes at elementary level. Competing progeny, 33, value 159 (86%).
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Morricone
Just out of the Top Ten we have the recently crowned Oldenberger Stallion of the Year, Morricone I (Millennium / Rubin Royal / De Niro), his eleventh spot comes on the basis of 135 progeny for a value of 158 (94%).
Okay so right now the low numbers of competitors make some of the top ten look a little fragile, let’s look at the stallions with real numbers of progeny like more than 1000. In 18th we have Fürstenball (Fürst Heinrich / Donnerhall) with 1053 competitors, and a value of 154 (99%), then Sir Donnerhall I (Sandro Hit / Donnerhall) in 64th, 1449, 143, 99%. Weltmeyer (World Cup I / Absatz) languishes in 210th: 2060, 133. 99%; Donnerhall (Donnerwetter / Markus), 211th, 1116, 133, 99%; Don Frederico (Donnerhall / Consul) 340th, 1267, 128, 98%; Fidertanz (Fidermark / Ravallo) 1091, 127, 99% and Sandro Hit (Sandro Song / Ramino) 365th, 1545, 127, 99%.
I’m not sure I would be basing my breeding decision on that set of numbers…
Perhaps the values for the stallions as the sires of competition horses will be more revealing. For a start, the German breeding authorities are not going to be entirely happy that the top three stallions are all Dutch bred, indeed there are seven branded KWPN in the top 20!
Vivaldi
Number one spot goes to the Dutch based Vivaldi (Krack C / Jazz) with 73 competitors and a breeding value of 171 (83%), followed by his son, Vitalis (D-Day. Now Vitalis has had a somewhat chequered career. Bred in Holland, he was presented at the Westfalian licensing where he was reserve champion and went on to spend three years in the Westfalien Stud in Warendorf (during which time he was rejected by the KWPN licensing committee) before being sold to Danish / American dressage hopeful, Charlotte Jorst in 2012. In 2015, Vitalis returned to Germany, acquired by Paul Schockemöhle and Lone Boegh Henriksen. Not surprisingly, Vitalis has more competitors in Germany than his Dutch based sire, his value of 168 (91%) is based on the performances of 194 progeny.
Vitalis
Jazz comes in third with 138 competitors and a value of 168 (91%) followed by Escolar, 63, 167 (76%); Damon Hill, 189 (165 (92%); Don Schufro, 238, 162 (94%); Breitling W, 102, 162 (87%) – and just out of the ten in 11th, Fürstenball, 5000, 161 (96%). A few of those stallions have gone to the great breeding barn in the sky, but you still have a decent choice of proven sires…
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Now to the HEK values. This value was introduced in 2019, and for it, the horses are evaluated on the basis of a points table according to which performance level in competition they have reached. This is based on all horse show results in Germany as well as the results of international classes all over the world that are provided by the FEI. Young horse tests are not considered.
Almost half the top ten on the HEK list are no longer with us, so we’ll look to the top twenty, and even then eight of the twenty are deceased.
Jazz
What a phenomenon Jazz has proven to be, and he heads the German HEK standings on the basis of 143 progeny for a value of 238 (97%) which is a considerable margin over the 2nd ranked sire, Breitling W – although it might be noted that Breitling only once covered a decent book, just on 80 mares, when he stood at the Schockemöhle station one season, while Jazz was in huge demand, covering 304 mares in just the 2007 season.
Breitling
Breitling’s value is calculated on the basis of 107 competitors (44 went to S level) to create a value of 205 (88%).
Don Schufro
Third to another great, Don Schufro – 243, value 204 (95%).
At last we get to one that is alive and kicking, Painted Black who after a distinguished Grand Prix career, is proving a superior sire – at the 2021 KWPN stallion show, 100% success rate – four out of four colts by him were passed to go on to the performance test. Not many competing yet, 25 progeny for a 194 breeding value (73%).
Painted Black
I have remarked before that Donnerbube I’s high HEK ranking is a little mysterious, he has produced two less-than-memorable Grand Prix performers, one small tour and two medium / advanced out of his seven international competing progeny. But there he is again in fifth spot. 28 progeny, 193 (74%). Go figure…
Welt Hit II
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Welt Hit II was arguably the most successful of the Weltmeyer sons, he has a breeding value of 190 (93%) thanks to 175 competitors. Next, another successful Dutch sire, Johnson: 160 competitors, breeding value189 (92%), then another of the Welt Hits, this time, the first, Welt Hit 0 I, 46,189 (92%). Back to Holland, Krack C, 54, 188 (85%), then Gribaldi, 187, 186 (94%), Damon Hill, 196, 184 (93%), Vivaldi, 78, 182 (85%), Rubin Cortes, 66, 178 (83%) and then a tie for two of the all time greats: Donnerhall, 851, 175 (99%) and Ferro, 64, 175 (87%).
It’s interesting to examine the stallions with over 1000 competitors. So, in 22nd, Sir Donnerhall, 1030, 173 (99%), 42nd, De Niro, 1211, 164 (99%), 58th, Rubinstein, 1087, 157 (99%), =60th, Weltmeyer 1378, 156, 99%, =60th, Sandro Hit, 1049, 156 (99%), 78th, Florestan, 1489, 153 (99%) and 167th, Don Frederico, 1039, 140 (99%).
ends
