Christopher Hector looks at the breeding of the horses in the Special at Aachen…
Photos – Rebecca Ashton and Roslyn Neave
WFFS = dressage ability? Well it might look that way when you consider the 36 horses who made it to one of the world’s prestige classes, the 2023 Aachen Grand Prix Special.
Don Frederico
In the line up we find four horses by stallions who are WFFS positive. The four horses by WFFS positive sires in the Special were Habibi DVB by Don Schufro, FRH Davinia la Douce by Don Frederico, Jovian by Apache and Imhotep by Everdale
Jovian
Apache
Indeed there in the Special lineup, was the very stallion that started the WFFS hysteria, Everdale (Lord Leatherdale / Negro).
Imhotep
Everdale was the first European based stallion whose owner Gert-Jan Olst, confirmed that he tested positive for WFFS after a WFFS foal was born in Mary Nutall’s American breeding barn in March 2018.
Everdale
This result bears out research conducted by United Information Systems Animal Husbandry in Verden, a leading information service provider for animal husbandry and breeding, which showed that stallions who are WFFS positive, are distinguished by their good rideability and movement.
Donnerhall – Toffi image
In the interests of sanity, I need to point out that no-one is actually suggesting that having the WFFS positive gene improves performance, rather, because some of the more influential dressage stallions – think Donnerhall – were WFFS carriers, then there is a high probability that good dressage horses, from those lines, will carry the gene.
In the light of the very few affected foals that have been born, there are those who say that this is because the WFFS foals are aborted before they are born. Science indicates that the difference in abortion rates between a carrier stallion and a non-carrier stallion is just 3%.
This echoes what Werner Schade, the then-head of the Hanoverian Verband told me, he said they had gone back and looked at the rate of abortions for their positive stallions, and found that there was no great difference…
The scientists from United Information Systems combed through 13 years of breeding data (2008 to 2020) from ten German stud book offices and recorded 400,000 matings. It was noticed that stallions that carry the mutated gene reproduce less well. Their foaling rate was three percent lower compared to WFFS-free stallions. On the other hand, they showed good dressage performances: the scientists were able to determine a genetic superiority of WFFS carriers in terms of trot and rideability.
This performance advantage could explain why the mutation has stabilised at high levels in the Warmblood population. Since 2019 active breeding stallions must be tested for the WFFS mutation. Scientists and breeders recommend also testing mares for WFFS in order to manage the defect and reduce it in breeding in the long term. Which does not necessarily mean excluding all carrier animals from breeding. Given that if you test your mare you can totally avoid any chance of having a WFFS affected foal, there is really no problem at all.
Vamos Amigo
The other noticeable feature of the Special was the continuing influence of the new V line. Charlotte Dujardin’s second placed Imhotep, is out of a Vivaldi mare, Sarah Tubman’s handsome stallion, First Apple is by Vivaldi out of a Partout mare, while Annabella Pigley’s Vamos Amigo is by Vitalis out of a Hotline mare.
There were those, and I was one, who thought Totilas was a result rather than a cause, and doubted he would prove successful as a sire. Wrong, there were two by Totilas on the start sheet: Gotilas du Feuillard (out of a Ferro mare), and Te Quiero (Loutano), while the importance of Totilas’s sire, Gribaldi, was further underlined since the great Trakehner stallion is the sire of Easy Game, sire of the winning mare, Dalera, and he is the sire of Greek Air (Florestan).
Dalera
WBFSH number one, Johnson, was also well represented by two, Hartsuijker (Scandic) and Jolene (Continue). Meanwhile Bordeaux by United out of a Gribaldi mare, continues to quietly add lustre to his reputation, with Bluetooth (Riccione) and Rose of Bavaria (Florestan)
Bluetooth