1992 1.71 m Grey

Breeder: Reimer Witt

Cardento is another of that series of great horses that VDL stud found in Holstein, but his road to stallion glory was made somewhat more difficult when he was rejected by the KWPN licensing commission (in that he was in fine company, others, like Kannan, have suffered the same fate) and he was ‘banished’ to Sweden’s Flyinge Stud,

Arie Harmoen remembers was one of the commission that rejected Cardento:

“ I was in the licensing commission in 1969. Cardento came for the second round, he was big, not much expression, and when he was free jumping, we thought he was not clever enough, and so he goes out. He is not to go to the performance test…”

“Cardento when he was a young horse, when he was three years old, he was a big Holstein stallion, slow motion, but when he was trained and older, he was a very good performer at the highest level, and he had the chance in Sweden, because he got a lot of mares, and he did a pretty good job.”

And he did a pretty good job in Holland when he came back…

“We are happy that he came here.”

In Sweden, teamed with Peter Eriksson, Cardento won silver medals in the Swedish team at the European Championships in Arnhem in 2001, the World Equestrian Games in Jerez in 2002 and the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. The pair won many Grand Prix including Holte, Helsingborg and Gera. In his last season of competition, 2006, Cardento was third in the five star Grand Prix of Falsterbo.

Cardento’s dam sire, Lord has his own directory entry, and the sire of his grand dam, Sacramento Song is discussed in the entry for Sandro. The great grand dam sire, Marconi, is a little less well known. He was foaled in 1964, by the Thoroughbred, Manometer out of Sarotti by Nestroy. Marconi is described by Dietrich Rossow in The Stallion Book of the Holsteiner Warmblood Breed as “Beautiful elegant riding horse type” but he was not impressed with the progeny: “Rather inconsistent, sometimes Manometer types, sometimes Nestroy. Left a few performance horses behind. Eleven approved daughters.” He stood one season, 1967, and was disapproved the following year. He was raised by Cardento’s breeder, Reimer Witt.

Representing Cardento at the World Cup Final 2010 – Caramell KS and Svante Johansson 

As a stallion, Cardento dominated jumping breeding in Sweden, producing a number of stallion sons, and for four years in a row, the Swedish jumping champion for three year olds. In 2004, his daughter Classic Lady was champion of Sweden’s five year olds, and in 2006, World Champion of the Seven Year olds at Lanaken. In 2009, she carried Svante Johansson to victory in the CSI Grand Prix of Moorsele. Campella with Margie Engle Goldstein, was sixth in the five star Grand Prix of Wellington, while Cardento was represented by two finalists at the 2010 World Cup in Geneva: Caramell KS (Electro) and Svante Johansson (they finished 20^th) and Cadence (Irco Marco) and Michelle Spadone (23^rd).

In Sweden, Cardento was awarded ‘elite’ status, before being called home to serve at the VDL stud in Holland.

At the 2012 London Olympics, he was represented by Sweden’s Matrix (Maximus) and Lisen Friedricson, at the European Championships in Herning, 2013, Poland’s Radoslaw Zalewski rode Duke of Carneval (out of a Carneval mare) and Finland’s Satu Liukkonen rode Celestine (King of Diamonds).

In 2014, the winner of the KWPN jumping stallion performance test was Grand Slam VDL out of a Heartbreaker / Mr Blue mare.

Penelope Leprevost and Nice Stephanie, who is out of a Swedish mare by Ralme Z
– the pair won the five star GP of Bordeaux in 2016

Cardento is ranked 8th on the 2020 WBFSH stallion rankings. His best points earner has been Katanga v/h Dingeshof (Tornado FCS) who is ranked 91st in the world.

Competing at the WEG in Normandy, Alexander Zettermann and Cafino, and…

 Duke of Carneval ridden by Radoslaw Zalewski

Another star for Cardento – Check Picobello Z by Cardento out of an Orlando mare. Starring at Spruce Meadows with Eric Lamaze (Photo – Spruce Meadows Media Services)

Edwina Tops-Alexander and Caretina de Joter (Contender)

Winners of the London Grand Prix in August 2021 – Peder Fredricson and Catch Me Not S by Cardento out of a Ramiro’s Son / Almé mare

Cardento had eight horses on the list of preliminary entries for the Olympic Games in Rio.