Breeding News jumping stallions rankings

Christopher Hector looks at the latest BN stallion rankings

These rankings are based on the performances of the stallions, not their progeny, and are compiled by Breeding News…

Uricas vd Kattevennen

It would appear twelve is the ideal age for a jumper, with four out of the top ten born in 2012, including the top ranked Uricas vd Kattevennen, a five-star competitor, and a star with Harrie Smolders. Their most recent big win was in November 2023 when they took home €333,333 for 3^rd (cute!) at the Longines Global champs in Prague.

Untouchable

Uricas is by Uriko, another international campaigner, although one who was more comfortable in 1.40m classes than at the cutting edge. Uriko is by Untouchable, who was a top campaigner for a group of riders. He was certainly bred to jump, in three generations, out of 14 horses, seven competed at 1.60m level. Untouchable is by Hors La Loi II by Papillon Rouge, out of a mare by the Almé son, Joyau d’or A.

Uricas is out of T-Cassina by the great Cassini I, out of Chicka’s Way, a 1.60 jumper by Caretino.

Highway M TN

The second ranked horse Highway M TN is also brilliantly bred, he is by Eldorado vd Zoeshoek out of Zelana V by Chellano Z out of a mare by the great Darco. (It is incredible, in the recent World Cup Grand Prix at Amsterdam, there were two horses competing by Darco, including Highway, eighteen years after his death!)

Highway is a 1.60 jumper with Willem Greve, his best result has been a 2^nd at Falsterbo in a 1.60m in July 2023. His sire, Eldorado vd Zoeshoek has been declared a BWP Ambassadeur for his performances, also with Willem Greve. He is the sire of 41 approved sons and 27 jumpers at 1.60 level.

Third ranked Valme de la Lande is what you might call a family horse, he jumped 1.65m with Michael Whitaker, then 1.60 with Michael’s son Jack. And he is still going, in January 2024 he was 23^rd in a 1.40 at Sharjah, but the year before, was third in a World Cup qualifier in Oslo.

Valme de la Lande is by Mylord Carthago who is by Carthago, and is one of the 46 listed foals out of Joris de Brabander’s foundation mare, Fragance de Chalus (Jalisco B / Fury de la Cense).  Mylord was a star with Penelope Leprevost, winning many 5* Grands Prix and team silver for France at the World Championships in Kentucky and the European Championships in Madrid.

But it is when we get to Valmy’s dam, Athena de la lande, that we take a trip back in jumping history. She was born in 1988, by Starter, the last top son of Rantzau xx.

It must be said that this list of jumping stallions does not feature many real frontliners. The top stallion Uricas is ranked 18^th on the WBFSH competitors standings, but while Stargold, fourth on the BN list is only 39^th on the WBFSH rankings, he is a genuine international superstar.

Stargold

Stargold is very much the product of the Sprehe stud farm, and while there was a degree of derision directed at the brothers who had made their fortune selling chicken nuggets, and now wanted to breed horses, they found wise counsel and 24 years later they are looking pretty good, while most of those old famous Oldenburger studs are just a fond memory.

Stargold was bred at Sprehe, and he is by their number one stallion, Stakkato Gold who is by Stakkato out of a mare by the great Werther. Stakkato Gold had a limited career with Jan Sprehe before being injured and sent to live in the breeding barn.

You can laugh all you like at we bloodline tragics who fossick through ancient history in search of nuggets of gold, but Stargold is living, breathing, proof that those historic breeders can still be a force today. Stargold’s breeding on the top line and the bottom line is ancient. His sire, Stakkato Gold goes back to one of the very old Hanoverian lines, Jens Meyer tells the story well, it starts with Alsterröschen born in 1961:

“The breeder of Alsterröschen was Franz Luth. He was not happy with the stallions at the local Dannenberg stallion station at the time, and that is why he bred to Agram – at that time they had big strong stallions at Dannenberg, heavy old-style horses, and he preferred Agram who was a lighter horse.” (Agram’s dam sire, Amateur I was a grand-son of the influential Shagja Arab, Amurath).

 Agram

“So Franz Luth said, I will breed Agram back to an Agram mare, and everybody said, you are stupid, and in the end, the world today must be happy that he has these bloodlines.” If you want this story in full go to: https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/09/who-were-the-greatest-showjumping-broodmares-of-all-time/ )

But Stargold’s mare line also stems from one of the great old breeders, Hans Hatje ,this time in Holstein, for the full story go to https://equnews.com/region/focus-on-stargold-the-stallion-who-lived-up-his-name
The article tells us: “Stargold’s pedigree takes us to Schleswig-Holstein, more specifically to the town of Haselau and Hetlingen. It was in Haselau that most of the stallions stood which formed the early generations of the motherline of Stargold. The line was formed by the breeder Hans Hatje from Hetlingen, and has produced top-quality horses for over 40 years.”

Stargold and Marcus Ehning took home another €14,200 with a win in the 1.50m at Jumping Amsterdam. Last year, they collected €620,000 at the Prague GCL, while earlier in the year they won the Grand Prix of Aachen with its prizemoney of €500,000.

Apparently while Sprehe has a tank full of Stargold semen, the stallion has not been used in breeding, he concentrates on the sport, while his dad, Stakkato Gold, does the covering…

The fifth ranked Amelusina R51 is very much a product of one of Holland’s early cutting-edge breeding operations, Stal Roelofs. Sadly, the year Amelusina was born 2013 also marked the end of the venture.  After forty years of successful breeding (much of it based on the two foundation stallions, Abgar xx and Joost), the founder Herman Roelofs closed his farm since neither of his children wanted to carry on with horses.

Amelusina R51

Amelusina R51 is by Dexter R by the Concorde son, Namelus R (Contender) out of B.Amelusina R 22 (Chin Chin / Mermus R). Ridden by Simon Delestre, Amelusina R 51 started 2024 with a 1.50 win in Doha, they seem to like the Middle East, in December 2023, they won the World Cup in Riyadh.

In sixth spot we have, Crack Balou, a stallion that is very much the product of one of the world’s great breeders, Paul Schockemöhle. He is by one of the PSI stars, Balou du Reventon, who is by the great Cornet Obolensky, out of Georgia, who is also the dam of Balou du Rouet. Georgia is by Continue, a PSI stalwart, out of a mare by one of the original stallions that set the Schockemöhle brothers on the road to breeding success, Domino, who was by Domspatz out of a mare by the Abglanz son, Archimedes.

Crack Balou is described as a 1.60 jumper with Emmanuele Gaudiano, though of late he has been paying for his oats with 1.40/1.50 placings in Doha. At his last 1.60 start, he was 17^th in Lyon in November 2023.

Seventh, and just to emphasise the Schockemöhle success story, is Naxcel V  who is by Balou du Rouet, out of a Landetto/Lys de Darmen mare. He is ridden by Austrian, Gerfried Puck. Another pair who had fun at Doha, taking home €50,000 for a 1.55 win.

Mumbai

Mumbai, in eighth, is by the great Diamant de Sémilly, out of a Nabab de Rêve / Chin Chin mare. One of Ludgar Beerbaum’s stallion roster, he has been a star with Christian Kukuk, placing fourth in the Euros of 2021 when they were held on home turf, Riesenbeck. The pair had a great show at St Tropez in June 2023, winning one 1.60 class and second in another.

Ninth, Lector vd Bisshop, essence of Belgian breeding, his sire Bamako de Muze combines the blood of Darco, the stallion that ‘made’ the BWP, with Fragance du Challus, the mare who created the breeding program of Joris de Brabander, arguably the most successful jumping breeder in the world.

Lector is out of Cordula de Lauby by For Pleasure out of a mare by Darco. The website hippomundo recently analysed the top jumping broodmares and amazingly the two top mares are both owned by Joris, and the number one mare was Cordula de Lauby. She has produced 13 offspring that have jumped 1.45m or higher, with her best performer, Global (by Nabab de Rêve), a 1.65 jumper with Christian Weier, but she has foaled three other 1.60 jumpers – Fantomas de Muze (Sandro Boy), Igor de Muze (Tinka’s Boy) and Lord de Muze (Nabab de Rêve) and now we can add Lector vd Bisshop, since he collected €41,750 jumping 1.60 at Barcelona Nations Cup in 2023, though he hasn’t competed 1.60 since then.

Rounding out our top ten, Chic Chic, is ridden by Ireland’s Darragh Kenny. He has been competing in the United States since September 2022, for four wins, all at 1.50 level. He is by Comme il Faut, and I love the story of how a pair of wily Ukranian businessmen negotiated with Ludger Beerbaum to buy his sire, Cornet Obolensky, but they had one more condition to seal the deal, in his first season he would be bred to the great Ratina Z, and Comme il Faut was the result. Chic Chic is by Contendro I (by Contender, why do we keep running into him?) out of a mare by Accord II.

ends