2004 166cm Brown

Breeder: Jens Ritters, Krumstedt

On the Dutch jumping stallion breeding values for 2021, Carambole is in 8th place with a score of 135. He was found by Jan Greve, whose son Willem rides the stallion. Jan has discovered many many stallions, and there is usually a pretty good story that goes with them. Carambole is no exception:

“A friend, Gerardus Post who is a stallion owner in the north at the Ritta Hoeve, called me up and said, ‘I’ve seen in the 30 day test a nice horse by Coriano, we should go and look.’ We went on the Sunday morning and I didn’t like the horse… end of story. Do you have another one? Yeah I might have, it is with Burkhard Wahler, at his station to freeze semen. We called, yeah, you can come. It was a little bit of a round tour but okay still in northern Germany.”

“We went, and the horse stood there, normal good shape. Can I see him ridden? ‘There is no-one here,’ says Burkhard, ‘so I have to do it, but I haven’t been jumping for the last eight years, but I do it for you.’ So he put the saddle on, dressage saddle, made the stirrups a bit shorter, and jumped a cross pole, trotted up and the horse jumped fantastic. He jumped the cross pole in the same way he now jumps 1.60m. Then we made a vertical, maybe the biggest one was three feet, and a little square oxer, and always with style, and always quick. Okay that’s enough. Then we bought two thirds of him in the car on the way home. That’s how we found Carambole.”

As a breeding stallion, what do you think he brings to his progeny?

“He gives a very good brain, very quick, the reflexes on him are quick from the ground, which I think is the important thing for a good showjumper. He jumps very quickly from the ground, you can hardly see how he comes up. When you go in the jump off, you never have to think of the first pole, if the rider has to think of the first pole, he’s lost already. They like to jump, they are rideable, like himself.”

At the 2015 KWPN stallion licensing – by Carambole out of a Stakkato mare

Are there any particular mares he works best with?

“I think he should have a little bit of blood in the mother line, otherwise sometimes the Contender comes back and you get a bit of an old fashioned type, but even if you have an old fashioned type by him, they are quick in the body, modern in the mind, they are not slow thinkers. Intelligent – that’s important, to be athletic and intelligent, that’s what it is all about.”

Willem Greve rode Carambole throughout his career, starting in Young Horse classes in 2010. In 2013, the pair was part of the winning Nations Cup team at Copenhagen, and represented Holland at the European Championships. Carambole celebrated the 2015 season in great style, winning back-to-back Grand Prix in Drachten and Amsterdam… The pair had a solid start to 2016, with two placings a Braunschweig, 2nd in the Grand Prix and 3rd in the 1.50, before going on to place third in the five-star Grand Prix at s’Hertogenbosch in an absolutely top class field. In March 2016, Carambole was 3rd in the Rolex Grand Prix in Rotterdam.

In September of 2020, Carambole was 4th in the five star Grand Prix at Valkenswaard.
He started 2021 well at the ill-fated competition in Vejer de la Frontera, with a 4th place in a 1.50 before the outbreak of equine herpes shut down the competition. All told, Carambole has won €503,646 so far. Hello Senator, who has won €441,184, a further nine have jumped 1.60, three at 1.55, and five at 1.50.

Hello Senator – Credit: .Stefano Grasso/GCL

As a 7-year-old Hello Senator won bronze at the World Championships in Lanaken and later he became a world star with, among others, a victory in the Grand Prix of St. Tropez, second place in the Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva and third place in the World Cup of Stuttgart. Other Grand Prix jumping offspring of Carambole include Elien (Katharina Offel), Frasier (Dennis van den Brink), Elina (Charles Luyckx), Frederiks (Christoph Könemann), Formidable (Willem Greve), La Caramba (Rodrigo Pessoa) and Flambeau (Harry Marshall).

A clear round at the 2021 Longines Natiions Cup for Carombole and Willem Greve –
and team gold for Holland (FEI- Lukasz Kowalski)

Carambole’s Holsteiner legacy by Adriana van Tilburg

The name Ritters plays a very important rôle in the Holsteiner breeding. The Olympic Gold medal jumping horse at Barcelona in 1992 was Classic Touch (by Caletto II out of Sevada by Landgraf I) ridden by Ludger Beerbaum and bred by Hans Werner Ritters. Another Olympic Gold winner, Hong Kong 2008, for this breeder is Marius (by Condrieu xx out of Echse by Laurin) who won with German eventer, Hinrich Romeike.

Hans Werner Ritters…

The Ritters family has bred around 15 approved stallions including two Holsteiner champions at the Holsteiner approvals: Cassilano (by Cassini I out of Notre Dame by Lavaletto) and Caracho (by Cassilano out of Stella IV by Quick Star).

Jens Ritters and his wife Catrin took over the farm in 2000 from Jens’ father, Hans Werner Ritters. Jens is the breeder of the rising star, the Holsteiner stallion Carambole (by Cassini I out of Normandie VI by Concerto II).

How long have you been breeding with the mother line of Carambole?

“My father started with the great grandmother, Dulcinea (by Lincoln out of Ucca by Cantares, Stamm 1094), he bought her as a foal. He used the Thoroughbred Sir Shostakovich xx for her, two full sisters came out of this combination. They both were hot. States premium mare Havanna XV would become the grandmother of Carambole and her full sister Shirly was an international jumping horse.”

Sir Shostakovich xx

I asked Shirly’s rider, Alois Pollmann Schweckhorst to tell me something about the mare: “Shirly was the best Holsteiner half blood mare of her time!! I was German professional champion with her in 2004.”

Back to Jens Ritters: What are characteristics from this Stamm?

“They have a lot of willingness to perform and can be hot. The mother of Carambole, Normandie VI, is by Concerto II and he is also known for producing hot horses. A full brother to Normandie VI (by Concerto II), Cannelloni, jumped 1.45m classes in Sweden with Filippa Granting. We thought if we use Cassini I we can ease the temperament a bit and that worked out very well.”

Do you still have horses from this Stamm?

“Yes, we have a three-year-old half sister to Carambole by Uriko. We sold a Baloubet du Rouet mare out of Normandie VI but at this moment I am riding a Legolas mare out of that Baloubet du Rouet mare. (At one point I could hear the mare getting excited about something and I asked if Jens was all right and he re-assured me – ‘I am not riding anymore but walking through the stable.’) Normandie VI is expecting soon a Quarz foal. She wasn’t in foal last year so we could start early.”

Why was Carambole not approved at the Holsteiner approvals?

“At home Carambole jumped very good, but at the approvals in Neumünster they had a banner above the oxer and on the  Wednesday (all stallions are free jumped on the Wednesday before everything starts to get them used to the environment) he jumped like he was scared to hurt his head. He was jumping really awkward. The same happened on the Friday again, so he wasn’t approved. Tjeerd Rijkens bought him and I think he sent him to the stallion test in Redefin and that looked very promising. So he presented Carambole again at the approvals (it’s possible to get a stallion approved in either January or April) but again they didn’t accept Carambole. Only after his first sport success was he accepted, so that was the third time he was presented.”

What sort of mares does he work well with?

“I think he needs mares with a strong topline and not too long. I cannot think of other criteria for mares to be covered by Carambole, he has an excellent character. Maybe you should not expect that Carambole will add a good trot, but for his job he doesn’t need a perfect trot. I am really happy that my choice for Cassini I for Normandie VI has worked out so well. His full brother Carambole RS jumped at 1.40m level with Zuzana Zelinkova.”