Christopher Hector looks at the new generation of dressage stallions…
After being dominated for so long by a handful of breeding superstars, the world of dressage breeding is under-going a rapid transformation, with an exciting line-up of young stallions, rapidly making a name for themselves… Here’s ten that caught my attention:
Kjento Fusionist Despacito Toto Jr Bon Coeur Asgard’s Ibiza Hesselhoej Donkey Boy Morricone I Escamillo Dynamic Dream
Kjento (born 2015) Black, 170 cms
Kjento followed up his win in the 6yo World Young Dressage Horse Championship at Ermelo in 2021, with a another decisive win in 7yo class at Ermelo in 2022. Kjento is solidly Dutch bred with a pedigree that features all the names that have gone into the making of the modern Dutch dressage horse. They are all there – the first French stallion of note, L’Invasion, the most important early Holsteiners, Farn and Amor, the Furioso II son, Purioso, and the first dressage-oriented Trakehner, Doruto.
L’Invasion
Farn
Amor
Purioso
Kjento was bred by the Van Os family, well-known Dutch breeders, indeed in 2012 they were proclaimed KWPN Breeders of the Year. The black stallion descends from the Van Os foundation mare, Diana, who was by Doruto (1962 – 1988), the Trakehner imported to Holland in 1964. The only non-Dutch, modern influence, comes in 1992, when the Diana is bred to Rubinstein to produce Kjento’s great grand-dam, Koriana.
Doruto, the first dressage specialist
In spite of covering a very small books of mares, Doruto emerged as perhaps the first dressage sire specialist in the world, and he produced more than 20 progeny that competed at Intermediaire level and above. German team Gold Medallist at the 1986 World Dressage Championships, Jo Hinnemann’s Ideaal, was by Doruto. All the horses in the German team at those Championships – which was a huge embarrassment to the German breeding authorities – were sitting on Dutch-bred horses. Doruto also sired Jo Rutten’s Banjo, 9th at the 1972 Olympics, and Robby, ridden into 10th place at those same 1986 World Champs by Jo’s son Bert…
Obviously the Van Os family were in the vanguard breeding horses specifically for dressage when they bred Diana to the German dressage star, Rubinstein, to produce Koriana in 1992. Bred to the Small Tour dressage competitor, Juventus (by the Ulft son, Dublin – Juventus also carries a cross of Doruto on his mare line) Koriana produced Poriana, who bred to Jazz produced Kjento’s dam, Zoriana – all three mares competed at Medium level dressage.
Gert-Jan, Negro and Anne at home
Kjento is by the stallion that put the Anne and Gert-Jan Van Olst dressage stables on the map – Negro – out of the mare Zoriana, by Jazz. Once again we see the influence of the French Thoroughbred, Furioso in this case through his grand-son, Le Mexico (who was by Mexico, a full-brother to Furioso II whose blood continues to dominate sporthorse breeding in dressage and jumping.) Le Mexico is the sire of Ulft whose son, Ferro sired Negro.
It really is a tribute to the skill of the Dutch breeders, that despite using very old-fashioned blood, they are able to produce a horse as refined and modern looking as Kjento.
Thanks to the skilled marketing of Gert-Jan van Olst, Kjento has been given every chance to make his mark. He was the most used sire by KWPN dressage breeders in 2019, with 303 foals born in 2020.
Kjento, an honest, reliable, rider-focused stallion with an excellent temperament…
While we are still waiting to see Kjento’s progeny emerge, the KWPN Inspection report notes: “Kjento is an honest, reliable, rider-focused stallion with an excellent temperament. The stallion is very willing to work and is very easy to work with. The walk is active, clear-cut and has good scope with good use of the body. The trot is very powerful, has good scope with an extremely active hind leg that comes under well and carries very well. The canter is uphill, very powerful with very good self-carriage and scope. Kjento moves with good ‘takt’ and has very good leg action, self-carriage and balance; his great ability to collect attracts positive attention. As a dressage horse Kjento is very talented and gives his rider a good feeling.”
Asgard’s Ibiza (born 2013, Chestnut, 172 cm)
Vivaldi is one of the most influential stallions in modern sporthorse breeding – and his genes have spread largely through his son, Vitalis, who has been particularly popular in Germany, and has often covered German mares. However, Ibiza has a solidly Dutch pedigree. He is by the Dutch Grand Prix stallion, Desperado NOP who is by Vivaldi, out of a mare by another Grand Prix competitor, Havidoff. Ibiza is out of Bolympia W by Jazz out of a Contango mare, both of them Grand Prix competitors.
Desperado NOP, sire of Asgard’s Ibiza
Ibiza completed his 14-Day Stallion Suitability test in Adelheidsdorf in the spring of 2016, and scored 8, the next year, in the German Stallion Sport Test in Münster, he scored 8.73, before he crossed the border into Holland to be trained by Emmelie Scholtens. She rode him to a 5th place in the 2017 Pavo Cup finals, but his bid for approval by the KWPN was abandoned when he bit his tongue during the test.
Ibiza then crossed the border into Germany in 2018, and was sent to Juliane Brunkhorst, who rode him into sixth at the 2018 World Young Horse Championship. He was then sent back to Emmelie Scholtens who trained him to small tour, but he was never shown.
Juliane Brunkhorst on Asgard’s Ibiza won the World Breeding Dressage Championships 5-y-o small final to earn a start in the big final. © 2018 Ilse Schwarz/dressage-news.com
Now he is based at Martin Determann’s stallion station in Germany, where he is ridden by Markus Gribbe who has now won four times at S level with the stallion, most recently in July 2022 with a score of 70.357.
It’s Me
In August 2022, Ibiza topped the 27th Elite foal auction at Vechta with a colt foal, It’s Me (Asgard’s Ibiza – De Niro – Florencio I), sold for €154,000!
Like so many others, Ibiza was discovered by that man with an eye for a horse. Eugène Reesink:
“We bought him in our neighbourhood, he was bred by a vet who owned the mare, she is by Jazz out of a Contango mare. The owner of Desperado (Vivaldi / Havidoff), Ard Valk, who is a good friend of mine, he called me and said, there should be a colt in your home town, would you have a look for me. I went to see the colt and bought him, and I said to Ard, you can have him 100% but I would love to have 50% with you. He said that’s okay. He never saw the foal, and when Ibiza was five months old. Desperado, his father, had to present foals for the KWPN and Ard Valk made a collection of foals, and he didn’t choose Ibiza, and I called him and said, you have to take this one because I can’t think there will be a better offspring of Desperado. Okay let him come – and Desperado won his class, and the winner of the best offspring of him was Ibiza.”
“We brought Ibiza to Germany, to the stallion show in Oldenburg, he was approved there, and that evening we sold him.”
He’s been a good stallion…
“Yes, at home I three offspring from him, three years old which I will present this autumn at the KWPN stallion show. Ibiza is a good breeding stallion, and good temperament. His progeny are good types, not too small not too tall. In my opinion, a horse should be 16.1, and not taller than 17.2.
Ibiza had three representatives entered for the World Champs, in Ermelo…
Another Ibiza hits the headlines, the Pigley family have purchased Danish champion Iron, by Ibiza out of a Hohenstein mare, and he is in training with Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour. Picture by Photographybyhall.
Dynamic Dream (born 2017, Dark brown, 172 cm)
Dynamic Dream is by the Dutch dressage team member, Dream Boy NOP. Once again we see the influence of Vivaldi, this time over a mare by Sir Donnerhall I (Sandro Hit / Donnerhall), but the next line, demonstrates once again that some jumping blood can be a plus in dressage breeding. His dam Safira is the half-sister of the internationally successful show jumping mare Lady Pezi (by Lord Pezi) and her breeding is Westfalen jumping through-and-through, Safira’s dam, Annabell is by the Accord II son, Arpeggio out of a Weinberg / Pilot mare.
Dream Boy
Dynamic Dream won his licensing in Westphalia in 2019 and was sold for a record price to Andreas Helgstrand (would you believe 1.9 million euros? Many didn’t…) at the Stallion Market in Münster-Handorf. Presented and owned at the licensing by Heinrich and Jan-Dirk Giesselmann, Dynamic Dream was stripped of the title and his licensed status when it turned out the stallion tested positive to Flunixin, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) and painkiller, which Giesselmann claimed to have used for a skin problem. In April 2020, Dynamic Dream was re-assessed by the Westfalian licensing committee and re-accepted (with a negative medication test). The Oldenburg society also approved him a few days later.
He was premium stallion at the Danish licensing and completed his 14-day test in Denmark with 9’s for trot and canter, 10’s for willingness to perform, temperament and character.
However in January 2021, Helgstrand dressage announced that Dynamic Dream might never return to sport and will be unable to fulfill his mandatory sport testings to retain his licensed status.
“He got an injury in the neck during the collection of semen last year (2020), which resulted that he could not participate in the Danish Warmblood 35-days test during the fall 2020 and therefore could not receive the final approval in the Danish Warmblood.”
The Danish Warmblood society decided to give Dynamic Dream a waiver for the testing and the dark bay sire can continue to stand at stud in 2021 and 2022.
“The Danish Warmblood has chosen to expand the breeding approval due to the stallion licensing and will evaluate the foals from the years 2021-2022 and see if the breeding approval shall be permanent,” Andreas Helgstrand explained. “It is really a shame when such a promising young stallion gets injured, especially now that he had so many mares the first breeding season.”
In his first season at stud, the Danish warmblood society registered that 32 mares (based in Denmark) were bred to Dynamic Dream. This number does not include mares from outside Denmark.
Der Hit (Dynamic Dream / Fürst Romancier / Sandro Hit)
But the stallion, has proven a superior sire of expensive foals. At the 22nd Oldenburg Elite Auction, Der Hit was sold for €80,000, at the138th Hanoverian Elite Auction, Dynamic in Black reached the knockdown price of €74,000 , at the Westphalian Summer Auction, customers paid €46,000 for Danseur d’Amour at the DSP Elite Auction. And at the 64th Foal Market in Riedlingen, Die Tänzerin led the price ranking, selling for €42,000.
Eugène Reesink has sent mares to Dynamic Dream: “I was lucky using Sir Donnerhall on the mare side with a lot of stallions, and we will have to see what the year will bring, but this year I was lucky buying foals of Dynamic Dream. I love this stallion. He is hurt at present and you don’t see him under saddle but I love his offspring, I really love that kind of horse, they are real pretty, they look like they have a lot of blood, refined, that’s what I mean with blood. Nice heads, real nice necks and from what I’ve seen, real good movers, uphill with a good hindleg. I’m a fan of Dynamic Dream.”
Dynamic Dream – “real pretty, they look like they have a lot of blood, refined, that’s what I mean with blood. Nice heads, real nice necks and from what I’ve seen, real good movers, uphill with a good hindleg. I’m a fan of Dynamic Dream.”
Fusionist (2016, Brown, 171 cm)
In a sign of the times Fusionist was the most popular stallion in Hanover in the 2021 season, with a total of 168 mares. The stallion is indeed an elegant fusion of Dutch and German bloodlines. In another sign of the times, he stands in a joint partnership between the State Stud Celle, and Ingo Pape’s well-known private stud.
Fusionist at home at Gestüt Pape
Fusionist, was the Top Scoring 4-y-o in the Stallion Sport Test in Verden. The bay scored 8.88 points in total after receiving 8.2 for walk, 9.5 for trot, 8.7 for canter, and 9 for rideability and general impression.
He is by Franklin by Ampère, who is by Rousseau Ferro/ Roemer. Ampère is out of Larivola by Flemmingh out of an Amor / Farn mare – Holsteiner sires who provided the foundation of Dutch dressage breeding. Franklin is out of Warkle M by Ferro, out of Sparkle M by Flemmingh out of a Pion mare.
Fusionist’s sire, Franklin, now based in Denmark
In 2015 Franklin moved to Denmark where he was a very popular breeding stallion with over 400 coverings in a season. In 2017 his foals sold for top auction prices. Franklin has been a very successful sire of young horses with seven representatives at the 2022 World Young Dressage Horse Championships in Ermelo.
Fusionist, a fusion of German and Dutch bloodlines…
Fusionist’s dam is an exceptional Westfalien mare, Evita, who is by the Ehrentusch son, Ehrentanz I, out of a Florestan mare. I am indebted to my friend and colleague, Thomas Hartwig who informs me that Evita was bred in 2001 by Markus Schulze Finkenbrink. She was placed in some young horse competitions at A and L level. The family Schulze Finkenbrink has bred three generations of this mare line. Edmund Schulze Finkenbrink, the father of Markus, bred Evita’s dam, Farina F (Florestan / Newcastle), and her grand-dam, Nora (Newcastle / Goldlack).
Evita, the dam of Fusionist, is also the dam of the stallion, Fascino by Harmony’s Fiorano by Rousseau, out of a Rotspon mare. In all, Evita has ten registered FN foals.
Franklin was the 2013 KWPN Stallion Licensing champion (then named Fierce S) and the 2013 KWPN Stallion Performance test winner with 86,5 points.
I asked Ingo Pape, what is it that Fusionist gives his offspring?
“Very much strength in the topline, a very solid, strong topline, and very quick light footed hindlegs. Altogether a very correct and compact exterior.”
“I think the other thing that has made Fusionist so successful is his bloodline, there is no Sandro Hit blood, no Donnerhall blood, no Bolero blood, no Rubinstein blood, no Weltmeyer. From all the bloodlines we have in Hanover, he has only Florestan, so he fits for a lot of mares, plus the top top quality of his hindquarters, he has something we really need in the dressage world, so that is part of his success.”
Have you been able to see a pattern, which mares Fusionist is working best on?
“When we have mares that need to improve behind, especially with the Sandro Hit line, it works super well – they can really use these quicker hindlegs.”
Fusionist, gives strength in the topline…
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Escamillo (2015, Bay, 167 cm)
Escamillo was one of the stars at the World Young Horse championships in Ermelo. He was second in the first go round, behind the eventual champion, Kjento, then a few mistakes in the final saw him slip to third. The stallion was initially trained by Isabell Werth, but was transferred to Helen Langhanenberg’s yard, and taken out of breeding to concentrate on his sport career. At Ermelo, he was ridden (brilliantly) by Manuel Dominguez Bernal, as he is a ‘bit cheeky’ for Helen’s taste.
Escamillo at Ermelo
Just a few weeks later, Escamillo was once again in the news, when his 3-y-o gelding son, Embolo (out of a mare by the Dimaggio son, Detroit) sold for €590,000, and is headed for the Werndl family’s Aubenhausen stables…
Escamillo, is by Escolar, who along with his sire, Estobar, saved the Westfalen ‘E’ line from extinction. Escolar was a young horse star, and is now competing Grand Prix with Hubertus Schmidt. Escamillo is out of a mare by Rhodiamant, who is in turn out of a De Niro mare, with the wonderful jumping blood of the French Anglo Arab, Zeus on the bottom line.
Top price at the Hanoverian licensing – The black stallion by Escamillo/De Niro who was sold to the Netherlands for 700,000 Euros. Photo: Hannoveraner Verband
Escamillo was bred by first generation horse breeder, and vet, Carolin Langhorst.
Cassila
“Cassila, Escamillo’s mother, was pregnant when I bought her, that was the first foal, but I was not the breeder, then I had four foals from her, one daughter who is still in my breeding program.”
Why did you go to Escolar?
“I saw him at the Bundeschampionate, I don’t know, it was a gut feeling, I had the feeling that this was a very good stallion for Cassila, and it didn’t prove me wrong.”
Escolar winning at the Bundeschampionate as a 4-y-o
Your mare must have a very pretty Rhodiamant head, because without being rude to Escolar, he does not have the prettiest head…
“She has a very pretty face, and you can see Rhodiamant coming through in the foals.”
Do you breed many horses?
“We have four to five each year. Some years only one or two but the average is three to four foals. So far, I have bred about fifty foals.”
What is the motivation for breeding horses?
“I want to breed a horse that can show all of his power, either in jumping or dressage or eventing. One that wants to work with the rider, with rideability and scope.”
Was Escamillo always special?
“He was always special. I’m not from a horse background, I’m the first in my family to deal with horses in a professional way. So in the beginning every foal was like WOW! Look at this foal, this is a nice one, and this is even better, but with Escamillo it was the first time I was really sure, this is a really good foal.”
“I was disappointed when I tried to sell him, ‘he’s going to be too small, the mother’s too small,’ they said they don’t want to breed with Escolar. It was the beginning, now everyone is looking for the E line, but Escolar was the beginning of this wave. I think it was the second foal year for Escolar, the beginning for him as a breeding stallion, and no-one wanted to buy a foal by Escolar. So I was thinking, oh maybe I’ve been wrong, but I wasn’t wrong.”
Have you seen any foals by Escamillo?
“I have a daughter and this is a special one because it is the first of all my breeding, the mother of this filly was bred by me out of a Destano mare that I bred, and the stallion was bred by me…
One of the three Escamillo Hanoverian colts pre-selected in October 2022
– out of a Vivaldi / Lauries Crusador mare
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Bon Coeur (2012/ Black) 169 cm)
(photo – Sara Hellner)
It is easy to see why Hanoverian breeding expert, Ludwig Christmann, hailed the arrival on the scene of Bon Coeur, since the black stallion combines classic Hanoverian bloodlines, he is also the product of the mare line of Dr Schulz Stellenfleth, a very successful, and very traditional Hanoverian breeder – the breeder indeed of 21 licensed Hanoverian stallions, including Garibaldi I & II, Brentano II and Wolkenstein II.
Dr Schulz Stellenfleth, breeder of 21 licensed Hanoverian stallions…
Bon Coeur is by Benetton Dream – and he was something of a dream, a Brentano II with long legs! Benetton Dream is by the Bolero son Brentano II who was out of a very old fashioned mare, Glocke by Grande out of the Ferdinand daughter, Ferbel, out of Marbell by the Thoroughbred Marcio out of Duellheldin the Duellant mare that founded the Stellenfleth stud.
Benetton Dream and Holga Finken at the Bundeschampionate
“We started in 1964 with Duellheldin,” Dr Schulz told me, “She had two daughters by the Thoroughbred, Marcio, and out of one of those mares, Marbel, we bred Garibaldi I in 1971 and Garibaldi II in 1974.”
Dr Stellenfleth belonged to an era of mare owners who loyally took their mares to the local stallion station, and trusted in the wisdom of the man in charge at Celle to send them good stallions, and he did.
“I was fortunate, I had a good start with Duellant, then Marcio xx. I was one breeder who used Grande, as much as possible. Many breeders didn’t like him, the foals were small, and although they had a good eye, they didn’t have the nicest head. I saw how good they were as riding horses and I bred nine Grande mares.”
“I have only used horses of my own genetic foundation, and horses I liked. It’s is not just a matter of thinking, it is very much a question of feeling. Once I tried to use an outside mare, but she didn’t go in foal.”
“I’m always trying to breed a better horse, I think I’ll try as long as I live. The result doesn’t have to be a champion, but what I think is a good horse.”
“I prefer to use stallions in my neighbourhood. If we use stallions further away we have to take the mare and foal, and that’s too far. You can use chilled semen, but you can’t get any on Sunday or Monday, then if you miss, you might have to wait two or three weeks before you can breed the mare.”
“In former times when you went to a mare show, all the mares were from the local stallions – Grande, Bolero, Wendekreis. Now they are from all over the Hanoverian region, and the breeders often don’t know the stallions – they look at the fine photos, then the ‘numbers’ (the breeding rankings) and notes.”
“In former times, there were no statistics. Breeders looked at the horses in question. How good do they look? Now there is a flood of numbers, part of that is good – but for the individual horse it is dangerous. When breeders only look at numbers and believe they have a real picture of the horse, it is very dangerous. The breeder must look for himself, and the breeder starts looking at the birth of the foal.”
“It’s written in Latin, in my pedigree book, ‘horses are my life’.”
A few days after we met Dr Schulz we saw him again, at the stallion licensing, he presented me with a piece of paper, a summary of his breeding credo:
My most important principle in breeding = For building the generations, I only use daughters of stallions, the children of which are successful in the sport.
Axel Windeler is another astute breeder, but of a different generation to Dr Schulz. Axel went to Holland and Don Juan de Hus, to breed his World Champion, Don Martillo. Like Dr Schulz, Axel’s breeding program is on the basis of a strong mare line. Benetton Dream, the sire of Bon Coeur, is out of a mare by the Hanoverian stallion, Rotspon, one of the best sons of Rubinstein, out of a Davignon I mare, Dornroeschen, who was in turn the daughter of one of Axel’s foundation mares.
“With Windrose, who was Weltmeyer / Sender, we made a new line. Windrose with Davignon, produced Dornroeschen, who bred with Rotspon produced Rotkappchen, who bred to Brentano produced Benetton Dream.”
“I liked Bolero, but I came too late for him, he died before I decided for him. I decided for Brentano because there was a magazine with the top ten breeding stallions. There was Donnerhall, Rubinstein, Weltmeyer and Brentano, so when I took my mare to Brentano, I had combined all five of the top – and the result was Benetton Dream. Many people smiled at me, but I wanted to have this combination of the Grand Prix blood. And it was a very special offer from the State Stud at Celle, €450, so it was easy to try.”
Bon Coeur is out of Sonnenschein by Sandro Hit, and she is out of Carla by the Calypso II son Carsimo.
Bon Coeur is popular in Holland – this son was at the 2021 Stallion Show
Writing in April 2020, Ludwig noted: ” As a producer, Bon Coeur is one of the biggest positive surprises of the last two years. Already in 2018, his first sons generated a lot of enthusiasm on the licensings. As three-year olds, they fulfilled all expectations under saddle. From this first vintage, his son Bon Courage became the vice national champion of 3-y-o stallions with rider Jessica Lynn Thomas. Many of his daughters received high grades in mare tests, which led to the high breeding value of the black stallion.”
Bon Coeur was bred by Birgit Tietjen from Taaken, Germany, and was stationed at Eckhard Wahler’s yard Gestüt W.M in Visselhövede, Germany.
He achieved strong scores at his sport test in 2017. He was he second highest scoring 5-y-o in the sport test in Verden with 8.90 points. The stallion scored 8.8 for trot, 9.0 for canter and walk, 8.8 for rideability and 9.0 for general impression.
Bon Coeur also became the reserve champion at the 2015 and 2016 Bundeschampionate for riding horses.
Bon Coeur was one of three stallions to receive the 2018 Weltmeyer Prize.
Bon Coeur was the sire of five horses at the 2022 World Young Horse Championships.
Perhaps with Bon Coeur we have a B line stallion who can swell the line. In his nine years at stud Bolero sired 47 licensed stallions, only three – Brentano II, Bismark and Beltain – made a mark, since then there have been more than a few B colts who have looked the real thing, but only Breitling, Belissimo, Benetton Dream and Benicio have had lasting influence. At the 2022 Hanoverian stallion pre-selection, the dominant stallion, with ten colts going forward, was Bon Courage (Bon Coeur / Vivaldi / Rohdiamant). Bon Courage was the premium colt at the 2019 licensing, and like his sire, stands at Gestüt W.M.
Bon Courage – photo Kiki Beelitz
Toto Jr. (2011, Black, 167 cm)
Toto Jr. was the first licensed son of Totilas and so far, has been the best. In early 2014 he won the stallion performance test in Ermelo with 86 points, was victorious in the PAVO Cup 2015–16 and won the Stallion Competition in classes L and M two years in succession. In 2021, he won two 3* Grand Prix with scores of 78 and 77, but with his rider, Edward Gal, taking a sabbatical, he has not competed in 2022.
Progeny of Toto Jr. have fetched high prices at a wide variety of foal auctions. In 2017, nine young stallions from his first year of foals entered the second round of KWPN stallion selection. That same year Toto Jr. sired the largest number of dressage foals in Holland, with 369 registered foals, whilst also bringing the most foals to auctions in both 2017 and 2018. With Taminiau and King Karim, Toto Jr. was the sire of two of the total of eight KWPN-licensed stallions in early 2018. It’s interesting, that while Toto Jr. has been a successful breeding stallion, his more celebrated sibling, Total US (by Totilas out of Sondra – Sir Donnerhall I / Don Schufro) has been an Olympic competitor with Edward Gal, but does not seem to have produced any foals of note.
Toto Jr. represents a fusion of the best of Dutch and German dressage breeding. His dam, Desperada, is a daughter of German dressage team star, Desperados FRH (De Niro / Rotspon). Both the dam and the grand-dam of Toto Jr. achieved outstanding results in the mare performance tests in Germany and were rated 10.0 for rideability by test riders.
Totilas, a sensation in the dressage arena
His sire, Totilas, was a sensation in the dressage arena, and is proving a fine sire. Totilas is by one of the dressage greats, the Trakehner, Gribaldi (Kostolany / Ibikus), out of a mare of Dutch jumping breeding, by Glendale, a 1.70m jumper, out of a mare by Akteur who jumped 1.60m.
Totilas was bred by Jan K. Schuil and Anna Schuil-Visser of Broeksterwoude in the Netherlands. They gave him his basic training.
Commenting on the young colts at that first licensing, KWPN dressage panel chairman Bert Rutten noted: “The stallions by Toto Jr. that we have referred today all combine a good, long-lined model with an uphill manner of movement.”
Toto Jr
Despacito (2015, Black, 172 cm)
Surely no survey of dressage breeding would be complete without reference to the great Donnerhall, and in Despacito we have a young stallion, with two crosses of the best son of Donnerhall, De Niro.
Despacito is by Don Nobless who is by the De Niro son, Dancier, who is out of a mare by the Lauries Crusador son, Lancier, out of a mare by the exquisite, Don Davidoff by the Donnerhall son, Don Gregory out of a Rubinstein mare. Don Davidoff was a superstar in young horse classes and was destined for a stellar career as a breeding stallion, just one problem, he wasn’t very good at getting mares in foal.
Don Davidoff and Ulf Möller, on their way to victory at the World Young Horse Championships in Verden in 2002
Despacito is out of Selina, by Sandro Hit, out of a De Niro mare, the D line is looking safe…
Despacito won the Hanoverian Championships in Verden with a score of 8.8 and went on to win a silver medal at the Bundeschampionate. He passed his 50 day test with a good final score of 8.56.
No wonder Ingo Pape who stands the stallion, is enthusiastic: “We have this stallion, Despacito who is coming with his first crop of 2 year olds in the Fall. His first colts will go to the Licensing, and I am very curious how they will go. We will put the bridle and the roller on, and start to ride them next year. I think he can be very influential. I really like what he is producing in the foals, he’s really stamping them, no matter how the mare looks. He’s really giving his type, his swing, and his way of movement. But that’s foals, it has to be proved with horses under saddle. That’s the main thing, we want to breed riding horses, not in-hand horses.”
Morricone I (2012, Black, 170 cm)
Morricone is by Millennium, a stallion that provokes vigorous debate whenever dressage breeders gather – a bit like that other black stallion, Sandro Hit, though Sandro Hit’s supporters would seem to have won the day…
Millennium and Simone Pearce
The black Trakehner stallion, Millennium announced he was a force in the world of dressage breeding when he dominated the 2014 Stallion Licensings in three different studbooks.
It started at the Trakehner Licensing where they licensed five sons of Millennium including their champion, Sir Sansibar. Then Oldenburg, where their licensing champion was Morricone I.
In Westfalia three Millennium colts approved, one of which made the premium ring.
Millennium had been the Reserve Champion of the 2010 Trakehner licensing. Then second in the dressage at his 30 day test and first of the dressage scores in a 70 day test in 2013. In 2012, he ‘won several young horse riding classes’ but it has taken some time for him to emerge in FEI ranks.
Ridden by Simone Pearce, Millenium competed twice at PSG/Inter I level in 2020, for two seconds in a one-star competition. Since then, with Simone transferring to Gestüt Bonhomme, home of Morricone I, Millennium has not appeared in competition…
Easy Game
Millennium did not enjoy the best of reputations. His sire, Easy Game, seemingly was not easy at all. Whenever he appeared in public, he was only led by the stallion master, Joop van Uytert, and then always on a lungeing rein, since the stallion not only had the tendency to stand on his hind legs, but also tried to kick his handler!
My Trakehner expert suggests that Millennium was ‘not too calm, but by far not as awful as his sire, just a little cheeky, a young stallion, and he was by far the most beautiful of all the stallions at the licensing.’
His verdict: ‘Time will tell if Millennium is the one to improve all breeding programs and if he will become a performer. From a breeding point of view I think you need an active mare that needs a bit of that sought after flamboyant front (face, neck, shoulder, front leg). And of course for all Warmblood breeds, it is interesting to have a stallion that has no Sandro Hit or Florestan or Donnerhall blood.’
Dr Maren Engelhardt, created www.trakehners-international.com and writes for a number of publications, including the website, eurodressage she takes a nuanced view.
“Speaking of Millenniun, clearly a horse that has a fan club, and a large base of breeders are using him every year. Over 30 approved sons across all registries, and the stallion is just nine years old. There’s always talk of his own fragile nerves and his non-compliance when it comes to being a riding horse. A more than meagre performance record is usually brought up immediately by his biggest critics, but to be fair, a stallion with that kind of ‘business’ from January through August really cannot do very well in competition, if he wants to or not.”
“I saw Millennium privately Friday evening when he was in the big indoor with several sons when the horses had a chance to see the hall before the frantic Gala Saturday night. He was well-behaved, focused on his rider, and did what any other horse in there did that night – a good job. And I really am not a fan of this particular stallion.”
Back to that 2014 licensing champion, Morricone the very attractive black colt, by Millennium out of a Rubin Royal / De Niro / Rubinstein mare. There was a huge furore when he was sold for €755,000 to Rebecca Gutmann of Gestüt Bonhomme, since the rival bidders, Lone Boegh Henricksen and Paul Schockemöhle accused the auctioneer of ignoring their higher bid…
Competing at Frankfurt, Morricone and Lena Waldmann
Still it proved a wise investment for Ms Gutmann and in 2021 Morricone was crowned Oldenburg Stallion of the Year at the annual Oldenburg stallion licensing in Vechta.
When Morricone was licensed in 2014 he was named Champion Stallion. In 2015 Morricone was the dressage winner of his 30-day test in Adelheidsdorf with a final score of 9.33. He produced three licensed sons in his debut year, including a premium stallion in Vechta.
Rubinstein
Morricone is out of Hartima who has two crosses of Rubinstein, she is by Rubin-Royal out of a De Niro / Rubinstein I mare. Once again, we find Rubinstein who had a well deserved reputation for producing foals with a good temperament, many believe that the reason Morricone has a calmer brain than his sire (and throws good temperament), is the blood of Rubinstein on his dam line.
In 2021, Morricone, ridden then by Lena Waldmann, won a Grand Prix at Redefin with a 74.5%, that year he won at Inter I, and placed second three times at Intermediaire II, all with scores over 70%.
He was also the sire of two licensing winners, Macchiato (Just Perfect) in Westphalia, and Montgomery (Foundation) at the DSP licensing. Another son was Oldenburg vice-champion, Moreno (San Amour).
Mister Universe
Morricone’s son, the 4-y-o gelding, Mister Universe (San Amour) was the most expensive horse at the Oldenburg Special Edition Auction, selling for €340,00, while another son, Movie Star was the top-selling horse at the Oldenburg Elite Auction, selling for €250,000.
Not surprisingly, he was crowned Oldenburger VTV Stallion of the Year 2021.
At home at Bonhomme, Morricone and Simone Pearce
Hesselhoej Donkey Boy (2012, Brown, 170 cm)
In this age of the universal sporthorse, where geography plays less-and-less of a rôle in warmblood breeding, it is refreshing to come across a Danish Warmblood stallion, with distinctly Danish breeding.
Hesselhoej Donkey Boy (it must be said he is very much more interesting than the Scandinavian boy-band he is named after) comes from a dam line of fine Danish blood, with five DWB elite mares in a row. Then we get to two mares branded Swedish Warmblood, one by the legendary Gaspari, one of the first stallions to come out of the breeding stable and into the competition arena – a decidedly modern innovation.
Amuratha
This important dam line originates from the Hanoverian mare, Amuratha born in 1926. She was by Amos, and like him, grey, thanks to his Shagya Arabian sire, Amurath. Exported to Sweden, she founded the Swedish dam line 36. Out of this dam line we find 11 approved stallions and several Olympic participants.
Michellino
Donkey Boy’s dam, Søbakkehus Kamilja, is a successful advanced level dressage horse. She is by the Grand Prix stallion, Milan, who is by Michellino, who combines the blood of the Trakehner, Michelangelo, and the great Dutch sire, Ferro. Kamilja is out of Khiwa by Kawango, by the great Trakehner sire, Ibikus.
Donkey Boy’s sire, ERA Dancing Hit, brings considerable German blood to the equation. He is by UNO Don Diego, who is by the Donnerhall son, Dressage Royal, out of a Hanoverian mare by Falkland. Dancing Hit’s dam, Sumatra Hit is by the ubiquitous Sandro Hit, out of a Mecklenburg mare by the Holsteiner, Caprilli.
Donkey Boy was a success right from the start, he was premium stallion in 2015, and the same year won his performance test. In 2020 the Danish Warmblood Society granted the 8-y-o stallion, Elite Status, one of the youngest to be so honoured.
Donkey Boy at the World Young Dressage Horse Championships
He won the Danish Young Horse championships as a 4, 5, 6 and 7 year old. He won bronze as a 5-y-o, and silver as a 7-y-o, at the World Young Dressage horse championships.
Donkey Boy was the sire of seven entrants at the most recent World Young Horse Championships.
Representing Donkey Boy at the World Championships, Hesselhoej Down Town…
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