2004 1.68m Grey
Breeder: Fabrice Paris
Alias: Quamikase des Forets
It was interesting that the Dutch breeder, Wiepke van der Lageweg went to France to find his son of the Dutch bred, Mr Blue – for it was in France that Mr Blue’s breeding career finally flourished. Interesting too, that, Zirocco’s dam, Lincorne des Forets, for all her wonderfully Gallic name, is in fact by a Hanoverian (by a Selle Français) who found his breeding niche in Holland – Voltaire, although the rest of the pedigree is French, Le Tot de Sémilly, Jalisco B, Furioso xx, Uriel, Ibrahim (twice) and Ultimate xx.
Zirocco Blue is definitely what the French breeding expert, Arnaud Evain calls a ‘bastard’ – the product of half a dozen stud books – as distinct from a purebred, and it was Arnaud who helped Wiepke find the horse:
“Wiepke was coming to me twice a year looking for foals, and we were at the place of Fabrice Paris at the Haras des Forets, and you know Wiepke, when he is somewhere he is always looking under the carpets to see if he can find something special. The two-year-olds were inside and they had never jumped before. He picked out Zirocco Blue… he wanted a Mr Blue, and we went into the big indoor stable, and he picked out that one. Fabrice managed to take him out of the group, and he was free jumped for the first time. Wiepke was clever enough to ask the price before the horse started to jump, and I think that is the first and only time in my life I have seen Wiepke say, yes, okay, with no discussion of the price. After three small jumps we said, okay, we have seen enough and he bought the horse.”
A young Zirocco Blue at home at VDL
“Of course Wiepke did not love the head, the Dutch like a pretty head, but Mr Blue is not known for breeding the prettiest head. I always say if you buy a wine that is a Sauvignon, you want it to taste like a Sauvignon, if you want to buy a Mr Blue, it has to look like a Mr Blue, or it does not carry the genes of Mr Blue.”
“The mother of Zirocco, Licorne des Forets, is by Voltaire out of a mare by Le Tot de Sémilly, she jumped Grand Prix with Audrey and Fabrice Paris. It is a mare line that has produced some very good sport horses, they are all related to May Flower, the foundation dam of Elevage des Forets, this is the grand mother of all the horses with the suffix, des Forets, that are winning all through Europe. She is by Uriel out of Danaide by Ibrahim.”
What sort of a mare would you send to Zirocco Blue?
“The sort of mares that Zirocco needs are pretty much the same as Mr Blue himself. He’s producing big strong bodies, a strong back, and it is good if the elegance and the looseness comes from the mother, because that is not his strong point. Zirocco, like Mr Blue, was not an early horse, he is building up, and he still builds every year – now at the age of ten he is entering his maturity.”
The KWPN Performance test report notes:
Zirocco Blue-VDL is an honest, reliable stallion with a good character. The stallion shows more than sufficient willingness to work and is sufficiently trainable. The walk is mediocre in scope and should be more tactful. The trot has mediocre scope and sufficient power. The canter has good scope and power. In motion, the stallion has little elasticity. The stallion jumps with good reflexes and good technique. Zirocco Blue-VDL appears cautious and shows a lot of power. Zirocco Blue-VDL has a lot of talent as a jumping horse and gives his rider a more than sufficient to good feeling.
The 2007 Breeding Recommendation advises: Zirocco Blue VDL can improve jumping horse breeding with power and reflexes, and should preferably be used with very rideable mares that have a good mouth.
Offspring report: A uniform collection of riding type foals with good development and a good rectangular-shaped conformation as well as presence. The trot is active and has good push. The foals transition easily to the canter, show good balance and move light-footed.
Zirocco Blue’s competition career received a huge boost when he won the Grand Prix of Copenhagen in 2013, his first ever Grand Prix, and at the age of nine. No wonder his rider, Jan Vrieling was impressed:
“This is absolutely incredible. First we were the only double clear in the Nations Cup and now we won the Grand Prix! I always believed in this horse and I always have said he would win Grand Prix’s but I didn’t expect him to win his first Grand Prix. I have done a jump off with him once, at the stallion show and this was his third outdoor show this year. I don’t know what to say!”
In 2014 they started the year well with a win in the Grand Prix at Melsomvik, and then came to the KWPN stallion show in February, where they won the big 1.50m class in front of a packed audience of fans and breeders.
Zirocco Blue competing at Aachen in 2015
On the 2014 KWPN Dutch breeding values, Zirocco Blue VDL is ranked in =1st place on the list of jumping stallions with more than 10 offspring competing and a reliability of 80 – 89%. His breeding value is 143 (87%); of the 223 offspring over the age of four, 45 (20.179%) have competed.
On the 2015/16 KWPN values, Zirocco Blue is in equal 9th place on the rankings for stallions with a reliability of 90%+. His breeding value is 144 (92%), and he has produced 637 progeny over four, for 152 competitors (23.861%).
On the 2016/17 KWPN breeding values, Zirocco Blue is in 7th place on list of stallions with a reliability index of over 90%, with a jumping value of 145. He has a conformation value of 108, a loose movement score of 98, freejumping – 111, and a slightly negative OCD score of 99. He has sired 835 horses over four years, with 232 (27.78%) competitors out of that group.
Zirocco Blue and Jan Vrieling started 2016 well, with a win in a three star GP at Melsomvik, and then a 12th in a star studded five star at s’Hertogenbosch.
The stallion was retired from competition in March 2017.
Victory in the New York Longines World Cup Qualifier for Dennis Ryan and Eddie Blue, by Zirocco Blue out of a Marlon mare. Photo FEI/Rebecca Berry
Another winner for Zirocco Blue – Henrik von Eckermann and Glamour Girl (Caletto I) take out the 1.50 class in Rome, September 2021
