Monday, February 8, 2016

2016 KWPN Stallion Show: Last updated 3/6/16

As I mention every year at the start of my Stallion Show Report, the following observations are just that, observations.  We don't stand a stallion or broker frozen semen. I'm just trying to feed that insatiable need for more information we all crave when it comes to breeding KWPN horses.  My opinions are just as fallible as anyone else's.  As a matter of fact, I didn't do so well in the "pick the top three" competition among the KWPN-NA attendees. We had to make our final selections before the third round of the last group of horses, so we knew some of the selected stallions for the Championship Ring, but not all of them.  I picked the Champion and Reserve Champion, but my choice for third (Davino x Wynton) wasn't even aangewezen--he was tossed out in the final selection.  The jury's reason was that he doesn't have enough sport horses in the mareline.  Hmmm.  Neither does the Champion, Igor (Apache x Vivaldi)...but more about that later.

Overall, it was a fantastic year for dressage horses.  The horses described below are selected to go to testing.

The Apaches, in particular, were really strong.  They seem pretty hot, but, then, I clearly remember Apache as a coming three year old spending half of the presentation standing on his hind legs, screaming, with a constant erection.  None of his sons were as badly behaved as he was at this age.  It's also striking that the Apaches are getting better and better each year. My guess is that it's taken breeders a few years to take their best mares to him.  At any rate, whatever the reason, he's producing some really top horses now.

Apache x Houston x Purioso

Super mover.  Really nice riding type.  The Houston comes through quite strong in the conformation, especially of the hind end--quite round and a little short in the croup.

Apache x Rousseau x Farrington

This was one of my least favorite Apaches.  He was super hot and seemed difficult. I also thought he was stiffer in the use of his body than the other sons. He is from a famous mareline that has produced Grand Prix horses and approved stallions, so my guess is that's why he went through.  Still, would not have been my choice to select him.

Apache x Ferro x Calypso

This boy is out of the full sister of the approved stallion, Osmium. He has always been my favorite Ferro son, but he was never used that much, nor did he do much in sport.  His sister, the dam of this horse, the NMK Champion in 2005, however.  Super mare.  I loved this colt. Great sit.  Maybe a little chunkier than some of the other Apaches, but has upper level dressage horse written all over him. He was invited to the Championship Ring.

Apache x Flemmingh x Sultan

Does this pedigree sound at all familiar?  The dam, Roxanne, is the mother of Johnson.  This colt looks a lot like Johnson did as a young horse.  Super supple, smooth, but needs a little more power.

Apache x Vivaldi x Cabochon

I had heard that this was the top horse of the year before he came out.  He did not disappoint.  He may be one of the best young stallions I've ever seen in Den Bosch.  Big, long lined, powerful, perfect conformation, WOW mover.  His dam was NMK Champion in 2010.  She had really high-scoring IBOP and is a keur mare.  Behind that, however, are three studbook mares--no predicates--no sport results--one offspring of the Cabochon mare who has gone into sport.  I'm not arguing that he should have been accepted and named Champion.  I agree completely with the jury's decision.  My only quarrel is that the Davino x Wynton had a star/PROK dam, then three keur mares behind that.  Maybe the jury has information we in the audience were not privy to.  I don't know.  Igor (the Apache) is a highlight of generations of KWPN breeding.  He reproduces himself and his dam, that's good enough for me.

Blue Hors Zack x Fidertanz x Rubin-Royal

This horse looked better every time he came out.  At first, I thought he had the kind of flat-sided look Rousseau can produce and a bit of a heavy neck, though, overall, uphill.  In hand, he looked better.  In the third ring, he looked better still.  Hard to tell much about his mareline since it's not Dutch, but the blood distribution is important for us--plus, Zack has been producing some really good young horses.

Bon Bravour x Jazz x Variant

Michaela and I are huge Bon Bravour fans.  Our Bon Bravour mare was #6 at the NMK in 2014.  We love the brain, the movement, and the suppleness he produces, so we were excited to see this guy accepted.  He's out of an STV mareline.  Remember Junior STV, Uniform, etc?  Good, good mareline.  Moves through his whole body.  Really nice horse.  He could lift a little more in the wither and there are moments when he hits the ground a little harder than I would like, but I'm really pleased the jury accepted him.  Two German studbooks have recently approved a couple of Bon Bravour sons.  We need them in the KWPN.  My guess people will be paying a lot more attention to this colt in about six months when Anky has started competing Bon Bravour.  He's going to make a big splash.  That, combined with the fact she chemically gelded him, will make all Bon Bravour offspring hot commodities.

I didn't think the Bordeauxs were as impressive this year.  We've really liked them in the past, but the few boys presented this year, although two were accepted, and one to the Championship Ring, weren't as good as the ones over the last couple years.

Bordeaux x Jazz x Ferro

This colt is out of a good mareline that produced the approved stallions Foundation (by United) and Redford (by Krack C).  He was the best of the three Bordeaux sons, but I wasn't crazy about the way he used his hind legs in the canter, especially on corners. They kind of hopped and stayed together, as opposed to stepping through.  Could be just a growth/development thing.  We expect an awfully lot from these horses, some of whom are months away from turning three.

Bordeaux x Sandro Hit x Rubinstein I

This horse is powerful and a nice enough type, but he's significantly sickle hocked and could be quicker with his hind leg.  I was surprised he was accepted.

The Charmeurs...first of all, let's talk about Charmeur himself.  What a horse! He is so freaking impressive athletically.  He is a mass of stunning power.  Of course, along with that mass, comes what appears to be a really difficult temperament.  He has all the talent in the world, but I'm not sure what it's going to take to make him a consistent competition horse.  Maybe he doesn't need to be one. Maybe he just needs to make babies.

His offspring are certainly impressive.  In type, they are heavy.  The have a lot of power, but could have more suspension in the trot.  Their canters are really good.  This may sound petty, but my biggest problem with the sons we saw in Den Bosch is that they are all screamers.  Holy crap. Screaming behind the stands, screaming in the ring...they are boys and they know they're boys.  Hyacintia, our Charmeur daughter, is not like this at all.  In her conformation, she needs more size and bone, and her temperament is a little sensitive, but she's really smart and workable.  She could use a little more suspension in her trot, however.

The committee only took two of the Charmeurs:

Charmeur x Balzflug x Cadmus xx

This is a super pretty colt who completely fits the description above.  He's out of super mareline, but there are other horses out of this mareline who are known to be difficult.

Charmeur x Gribaldi x Clavecimbel

Another big, long-lined horse with lots of power.  A super mover.  Also a major screamer. This is the mareline that produced the approved stallion and upper level dressage horse, Ziesto. This colt was invited to the Championship Ring.

Chippendale x Jazz x Vincent

This was my favorite Chippendale son of any selection.  Good mover, beautiful type.  In free movement, he elicited the following comment from a dressage rider who was sitting near me: "I don't like horses that fall down."  He did have a little trouble keeping his feet under him, but, in hand, he looked spectacular.  The mareline on this boy is not that spectacular, so we'll see how he does or if people breed to him.

Connaisseur x TCN Partout x Rosenkavalier

Since we have our first Connaisseur foal coming this spring, and I'm usually pretty crazy about any horse with Partout close up in the pedigree, I was excited to see this boy.  Of the horses in the earlier rounds, he was my favorite.  Super mover.  Really nice type.  He could have been a little freer in the should, have had a little more power, and have had a little nicer neck, but I liked him.  Unfortunately, once the Apaches came out, he wasn't in the same league.  Still, I think he's a nice horse and worth approving.  He's out of the same mareline as Rubels.

Cover Story x Jazz x Casanova

Did you now that Cover Story died?  I didn't until last weekend.  This colt looks a lot like him.  He has tons of power and is a good dressage type.  He's a little sickle hocked.  His mareline is a little mixed, but his great granddam has produced a number of sport horses.

I'm really pleased to see so many Cupido sons presented.  Cupido himself was one of my favorites in the C year.  It looks to me as if he's really producing well.  His sons have powerful movement, good dressage horse conformation, and especially powerful asses.

Cupido x Special D x Wellington

Liked this colt a bunch.  Super muscular butt.  Maybe a little heavy in his movement, but powerful. Has Ferro hindleg.  He was invited to the Championship Ring.

Three years ago when I attended the first full day of foal inspections all held at the KWPN center in Ermelo, Dark Pleasure's foals were the talk of the day.  He'd bred very few mares and only had eight foals--all of them were at Ermelo that day.  My take on them then was that they were super movers and really interesting, but I didn't like them quite as well as everyone else--they had giraffe necks, and some of them appeared to be horses in two parts.  Well, I feel the same way about them as adults.

Dark Pleasure x Blue Hors Zack x Flemmingh

OK.  Before I start, this horse was invited to the Championship Ring.  Fantastic hind leg.  But, for my money, he has a giraffe neck and a hind end and front end that don't go together.  Maybe once he's under saddle a rider can pull it all together, but I think he's a little weird looking.

A selection from Davino's first foal crop was also presented in Ermelo the year I was there for the foal inspections.  I loved his foals.  Gorgeous types, really rectangular, most lacking power, but super dressage conformation and appeal.  As adults his offspring are similar to this description.

For those of you not aware, Davino is half brother to UB-40--same dam. He's by Hotline, so on a Michelangelo dam, that's a lot of Trakehner blood.

Davino VOD x Vivaldi x Houston x Donnerhall

The description above fits this colt.  Lovely horse.  Needs more power. He's out of the same damline as Edward Gal's Undercover, so having the Donnerhall back there is certainly interesting, though his dam must have been inspected at home because she has the stb-ext designation, and his granddam is only ster.  The important mare is back in the fourth generation.

Davino VOD x Wynton x 00 Seven

This is the horse that I thought should have placed third in the Championship Ring, but the committee didn't even select him to go past the third ring, let alone the Championship Ring.  If I didn't think Carol would have killed me, I would have bid on him in the Select Sale.  Super horse. Best mover of all the Davinos, and with power. Although the committee said they didn't select him because there isn't enough sport in the mareline, I think it may have to do with the Wynton.  I love Wynton, but there was an absolutely fantastic Wynton on Saturday that should have been selected and wasn't.  All of the Wynton's presented were pretty fancy.  The one I liked the least was the one in the Gelders selection, and he was the only one accepted...go figure.  My only guess is that the Wyntons are a little heavy, sometimes a little short legged, and often have lots of knee and hock.  They look like upper level dressage prospects to me.  Time will tell.

Davino VOD x Jazz x Darwin

This colt is also gorgeous. He has beautiful articulation with the hind leg, but not enough power for my tastes.  He was the Davino selected for the Championship Ring.

I should go back and reread my report from that offspring in inspection day in Ermelo so I know I'm not contradicting myself, but, as I remember, I liked the Vivaldi sons' offspring better than Vivaldi's himself.  Desparado is the sire of the next group. They didn't mature as well as some of the other Vivaldi grandsons. Not that impressive.  The committee only took one of them.

Desperado x De Niro x Warkant

Yup.  De Niro x Warkant.  That probably has more to do with why this colt was accepted than the Desperado.  This colt is a nice enough type, good balance, a little fine boned, and lacks power.

Don Schufro x Ferro x Florestan I

Here we have the best Don Schufro I've seen out of a KWPN mare.  Granted, I haven't seen that many, maybe six, but, until now, I haven't been too impressed with how he's nicking with Dutch mares.  This colt is quite nice.  He's the kind of horse that's going to look a lot better under saddle.  Right now, he needs more power, lacks balance, and is a little weak in the loin connection.  I wouldn't breed to him until I see what he produces, but it's an interesting pedigree and an interesting horse.

Dreamboy looks fantastic.  Now that Hans Peter has the ride on him, this horse should be headed for the international stage.  Eye Catcher is still my favorite Vivaldi son, but you can't deny the talent and charisma of Dreamboy.  That being said, his offspring are inconsistent in type in my opinion--they seem significantly and noticeably influenced by their damlines. If they get their sire's talent for dressage and good temperament, then that's good enough!  Let them look like their damlines!

Dreamboy x Jazz x Goodtimes

This colt went on to be Reserve Champion of the show.  He's a gorgeous type, lots of presence. He looked better and better every time he came out.  I wouldn't be surprised if he turns into quite a heavy horse as he matures. In keeping with my comment above, the most interesting thing to me is how much the Goodtimes comes through in this horse.  The hindend, both in shape and power, is pure Goodtimes. He's also shorter coupled and has the Goodtimes face.

Dreamboy x Negro x Monaco

This is the only other Dreamboy that was accepted.  He's nice, but he didn't blow me a way.  You can really see the Negro in him, probably because he's double Ferro, or, again, because Dreamboy offspring seem to take after the dam in type.  The mareline is really interesting; the great grandmother produced the approved Chippendale son, Giovanni.

I loved the Everdales as foals. Every single one of them was a dressage horse, demonstrating adjustability and real sit even as foals.  The adults were not as impressive. The committee didn't accept any of them.*****My mistake!  Natalie DiBarardinis emailed me to say I screwed up on the Everdales; two were accepted.  Not sure how I missed that.  My system is to circle the ones selected, then check them off when they're aangewezen....ADHD must have been in full force:

Everdale x Johnson x Variant

Fantastic motherline.  The dam is just studbook, but behind that are three keur preferent prestatie mares in a row.  This horse was the most complete of the Everdales.  The Johnson in him is really obvious, especially in the hind leg usage.

Everdale x Don Romantic x Furst Heinrich

Interesting horse.  Good leg technique.  A bit giraffe-like.  There's almost no information on the German mareline, but there's three times Donnerhall in the dam's pedigree.

Eye Catcher x Lorentin I x Cor de la Bryere

The selection committee must have really wanted to give an Eye Catcher a chance.  This is a nice horse, but I don't think he's a breeding horse.  He's supple and balanced, good mover, but he's off type a bit.  The pedigree isn't especially interesting either.  Nonetheless, I'll be he makes a hell of a fancy dressage horse.

The next few horses are by foreign sires.  Although it's crucial we find new blood to cross with all the Ferro, Flemmingh, and, particularly, Jazz, I'm not sure we always look in the right places.  If you watch the video of the Champion of the KWPN dressage horses this year, then watch the champions of other studbooks, the differences are striking.

Furst Wilhelm x Don Frederico x Wolkenstein II

The most interesting thing about this horse is motherline.  It produced the German superstar dressage horse,Desperados, and Don Diego Ymas.  The horse himself isn't that interesting.  His hocks are out behind him, he's not carrying, he's completely horizontal in conformation and movement.  We'll see.

Furstenball x Lord Sinclair x Montmarte

Another outcross for us.  Good canter, nice front, could be a little more rectangular.  Not a stand out in any way.

Furstenball x Sandro Hit x Silvano N

Again, an outcross.  This Furstenball son is out of a better mareline; his dam is full sister to the approved stallion Santano.  Again, the horse himself is not a stand out.  Way too much Sandro Hit in type and movement for my tastes--really lacks power.

Hofrat x Zhivago x Ferro

This boy was clearly the best of the Hofrats.  Of course, the mareline is one of Holland's best.  It's produced multiple approved stallions, top mares, and Grand Prix horses.

Hofrat x Del Piero x Madison

OK.  Not special.  Would not have accepted him.

Johnson has certainly proven himself as both a sport horse and sire.  He produces a distinct type; they're smooth conformationally and really look like riding horses--good depth of body--the hind legs tend to be well placed but slow.

Johnson x Farrington x Flemmingh

Johnson type.  Good mover.  I think this is a horse that's going to look better under saddle.

Johnson x Tuschinski x Scandic

Good mover.  A little stiff laterally.  Really free in the front, especially interesting in that his shoulder is fairly straight.

Johnson x Kennedy x Farrington

This was my favorite Johnson.  Best mover of his sons and best type.  Beautiful horse.

The KWPN continues to look for Negro blood.

Negro x Jazz x Ulft

I missed this horse.  Someone came over to the table and needed to talk to me.

Negro x Lord Leatherdale x El Corona

I saw this one!  Really nice dressage horse.  He may be my favorite of all the Van Olst young stallions I've seen come through the Stallion Show.  Super balance.  Great type.  I was surprised he wasn't invited to the Championship Ring.

This next horse is a Nijhof horse, so we'll have access via frozen semen next year.  When the Nijhofs hit with a dressage stallion, they really hit.  Think about Johnson, Florencio, Cocktail, and a number of others.  I think this horse is going to be really good for them.

Sir Donnerhall x Krack C x Rohdiamant

This horse is out of the famous German mareline that produced Bordeaux, Gunter Seidel's U II, and a number of Grand Prix dressage horses.  It's one of Germany's best marelines.  The dam of this horse is only studbook and PROK.  The great granddam is studbook and preferent.  Close up, this is a lovely, lovely horse.  He looks quite young and immature.  He's super supple and free in the movement, but has no balance in the hind end right now.  In hand, he looked fantastic.  I'm definitely interested in breeding to him next year if makes it through the testing.

United x Welt Hit II x Ulft

This guy looks a lot like his half brother, Bordeaux.  He's a little lateral, nicer trot than canter.  Even though Welt Hit II makes some beautiful horses and has some upper level competitors, he's also known for producing really difficult temperaments.

Finally!  We have a Voice son accepted.  I'm a HUGE Voice fan, but the Stallion Committee has had difficulty finding a Voice son they could accept.  Congratulations to my friend, Emmy de Jeu, who bred this colt.

Voice x Florencio x Rubinstein I

He looks a lot like Voice.  Could use a little more power from behind, but beautiful front.  It's a good German mareline.

Winningmood x Oscar x Adonius (Apollonios xx x Maykel--NRPS stallion) x Cabochon

Recognize the names in this pedigree?  Who has to be the owner of this horse?  Yup, GW van Norel and family.  This is the best Van Norel horse I've seen in years.  Big, strong, powerful.  SUPER mover.  This is another horse I thought should have been selected for the Championship Ring over some of the horses that were selected.  This is a fantastic horse.

There were five Wyntons presented, four really good ones, all out of really good marelines, including a full brother to Dark President--and the brother is better. The Wynton x Ramiro x Pion, a Wynton x Krack C x Sultan (out of an outrageously good mareline), a Wynton x Flemmingh x Nimmerdor, a Wynton x Citango x Gribadi (out of Tuschinski's mareline), and a Wynton x Flemmingh x Wolfgang (super hind leg and a real stallion type).  Four of the five were fantastic horses, all good and/or fantastic movers, really good riding types, powerful, muscular--I just don't get why none of them was accepted.  When I look at Wynton sons, I see future Grand Prix horses.  From what I could gather, the Stallion Committee thinks they don't lift enough in the wither and don't move through their bodies enough.  Hmmm.  Not my observation.

****That's it for the young stallions.  I'll continue with some notes about the newly approved and older stallions when I get a minute.