Dark Bay, born 2002, 1.69m     Breeder – Hermann Schult

                Hanoverian stallion of the year 2021

 Hannoveraner Stallion of the Year 2021: Fidertanz, family Schult and Gilbert Böckmann. Photo: HannoveranerVerband

On the last day of the Verden stallion licensing, the Stallion of the Year is named, and this year the award went to Fidertanz…

Fidertanz is the product of the breeding program of the Schult family and this was the second time in 2021 that the family has had reason to celebrate in Verden. In August, three sisters of Fidertanz won the Herwart von der Decken Prize for the best mare family. The dam’s name could not be more fitting: Reine Freude – Pure Joy.

Winning family of the St.Pr.St. Reine Freude by Ravallo/Frühlingstraum.
Photo: Hannoveraner Verband

Fidertanz was born on May 23. From the very beginning he impressed with his rideability. As winner of the licensing in Münster-Handorf, he was discovered by the Böckmann stallion station. At the age of three, Fidertanz was Vice Bundeschampion with Maike Lührig, went on to be number one at his performance test in Neustadt/Dosse, and then qualified for the Bundeschampionat of five-year-old dressage horses. With rider Antonio Teixeira do Vale, Fidertanz  reached Grand Prix level, although his international career was limited to three appearances in 2015, with his best result a 64.706 in the Special at Roosendaal.

Fidertanz in the three-year-old stallion  class at the Bundeschampionate

From 2005 to 2008 Fidertanz stood at Klosterhof Medingen before he moved to the Böckmann stallion station in Lastrup. Word of his qualities spread. In the year in which he became Stallion of the Year, the German Equestrian Federation reports exactly 1,000 successful offspring in competition.

Foundation – a starry son…

Ingrid Klimke and another star competitor, Franziskus

Foundation and Franziskus star in the dressage ring together with riders Matthias Alexander Rath and Ingrid Klimke. Their successes contributed significantly to Fidertanz’s outstanding seventh place in the current WBFSH-ranking of the best dressage horse sires worldwide.

Fairytale and Anna Lena Schaaf

That his offspring are quite versatile is proven not only by eventers, Finest Fellow who is competing up to CCIO4* with Elena Otto-Erley, but also by the chestnut mare Fairytale, who carried Germany’s Anna Lena Schaaf to the Vice European Championship title in Malmö.

The breeding value of the German Equestrian Federation of Fidertanz in dressage has reached the legendary mark of 150. 18 sons are licensed for Hannover, eleven are currently registered in the Stallion Book I. 101 foals and 72 riding horses sired by Fidertanz have found new owners at the Verden auctions. Besides Foundation and his two high-priced full brothers Crystal Friendship and Flavio Briatore, premium stallion Feuerspiel caused a sensation in 2009 with a knock down price of 330,000 Euros at the stallion sales.

Fidermark

Fidertanz is by Fidermark who is one of the key players in the dissemination of the F line blood of the Selle Français import, Furioso II – and this F line is one of the most important in dressage today. Taking a look at the top 20 dressage stallions in the 2021 Hanoverian Stallion book, we find seven descend from Furioso II, all of them via his grandson, Florestan (Fidelio / Rheingold), with two more sitting in 21st and 22nd. Fidermark is the sire of the 17th ranked For Complement, while one of the very hot competition and breeding stallions right now, Foundation, is by Fidertanz, and Fidertanz himself still occupies 22nd place on the Hanoverian rankings.

Mount St John Freestyle, also by Fidermark went on to Bronze at the WEG

Mount St John Freestyle double Bronze Medallist at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon with Charlotte Dujardin, is also by Fidermark.

Back in 2011 at the Bundeschampionate, I did an analysis of the competitors in the five-year-old dressage class using the judges’ scores for the individual movements to get an average. The results are a measure of the value of the F line.

The average score for trot of the 59 competitors was 8. The eight ‘F’ line horses, had an average trot score of 8.5; the nineteen ‘S’ line entrants an average of 8.15; the thirteen ‘D’ line horses, an average of 7.69, and the eight ‘R’ line horses an average of 7.6.

The average score for walk was 7.5. Once again the F line comes out on top with a walk average of 8. Next best, the descendants of Donnerhall, 7.73 followed by the Rubinstein line with 7.44, and I guess it is no surprise to find the Sandro Hit line rated last for walk with an average of 7.24.

The average canter score was 7.7. Once again, the ‘F’ line was on top with an average of 8. The ‘R’ horses averaged 7.81, followed by the ‘D’ line on 7.65, then the ‘S’ line with a 7.63 average.

Fidertanz shows the F line trot…

Fidertanz is out of Reine Freude who is by Ravallo who combines the blood of the Holsteiner powerhouse, Ramiro, with the refinement that the Trakehner brought to Lower Saxony after WW2 – Ablganz. She has more ‘jump’ on her mare line, her dam, Gala is by the Gotthard son, Goldstein, out of a mare by the half blood, Pik König, with more Trakehner on the bottom line through the Abglanz son, Abhang III.

Abglanz, the Trakehner brought refinement to Lower Saxony after WW2

And Reine Freude is the pride and joy of Herman Schult from Hünxe in Westfalia. In 2017, Herr Schult was awarded the Hans von Bemberg Prize for the best animal breeding performance of 2017 in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Herr Schult is one who – 35 years ago – turned from traditional agriculture to specialising in breeding and keeping horses. Since then he has bred 70 foals, – including seven Licensed Stallions, 13 State Premium mares and 46 sporthorses. His farm mixes breeding, rearing, boarding horses and keeping breeding horses for horse people who place their horses in the care of the rearing centre.

Hermann Schult has worked closely with the Heinrich Werth breeding farm from Rheinberg for 30 years. Today’s farm manager, Herman’s son Tobias and the world’s most successful dressage rider, Heinrich’s daughter, Isabell Werth, work closely together and have several successful stallions in joint ownership.

Isabell Werth and the Fidertanz son, QC Flamboyant

The Schult family has managed the farm for generations. Today, about 120 horses are kept on the farm. The farm manager is Tobias Schult, who took over the farm 15 years ago.

The Schult breeding and insemination station started with the home-bred Furioso II son Frederiko. A short time later, the stallion was followed by the Pilot son Paradiso. Both stallions descend from the same dam, the home-bred mare Romana by Romadour II.

The mare line of the Schult breeding station was established by the foundation mare Eris von Ehrenschild, born in 1962. Her daughter Heureka, born in 1969, followed. To this day, the entire breeding program is based on this mare. This important mare line was divided into the two mare lines with the main focus on the disciplines dressage and jumping.

The special State Premium mare Reine Freude, born 22 years ago, delivered a total of 20 foals until her retirement in 2016, with Fidertanz her most outstanding foal.

Jens Meyer’s F Line stallion, Falsterbo, in piaffe, with Jonny Hilberath

Jens Meyer stood one of the more successful F line stallions at his station, Falsterbo, who sired one of Dorothee Scheider’s current stars, Faustas, before he was sold to the United States. Jens is currently working with the Blue Hors Stud, and not only does he has a great eye for a horse, he is one person who is apt at reading which way the wind blows, I asked him what he thought of Fidertanz:

“Yeah it is a great story with Herman Schult the breeder, who had the champion family at the mare show, it is a very impressive story.”

 But what does Fidertanz give to the foal?

“Movement, and a good body. He breeds powerful horses.”

Is that a little bit because of the jump he has on the mare line, Ramiro, Gotthard…

“I guess so, he is not a refiner, but this stallion is nearly twenty years old and he has produced so many horses for the licensing and some good Grand Prix horses.”

Jens however thinks that the F line may be on its way out:

“Right now everything is F line, we have this in every decade, that we have one line that dominates then the line goes down, we saw that with the W line of Weltmeyer too…”

 So what is the next line going to be?

“I think we will be seeing more and more stallions with Dutch bloodlines. There’s a super stallion now in Oldenburg, he’s by Indian Rock (Apache / Vivaldi), it is a pity Indian Rock is positive but this young stallion is very good…”

What is his name?

“He has no name, he is two years old.”

Indian Rock

 I love Indian Rock, I would breed a mare to him, would you breed a mare to a WWFF positive horse?

 “I did already, but when you want to sell foals you have to be careful…”

Fidertanz and other “F” line stallions are available via frozen semen in Australia – Click the logo above…