Thursday, April 7, 2005

Breeding Stallions Highlife and Rockefeller Pass Away

We sadly report the recent passing of two well known and much loved stallions in America, Highlife Farm’s namesake Highlife, the Bavarian Stallion by Habicht x Dulder, who began it all for Highlife Farms, and Bent Jensen’s Rockefeller, the exceptional Danish young Danish Warmblood stallion. Rubinstein x Donnerhall. Licensed Oldenburg NA/IRS.

Both stallions listen in our Horsesdaily stallion section were getting ready for a busy breeding season. Highlife who was “20 years young had just been to the University of Gainesville for a complete physical, and passed with flying colors.” said a broken hearted Joan Sims, owner of Highlife Farms. He died in his paddock of an aneurism, where he was buried. Highlife had risen to the top 12 of the USET Dressage Selection list in 2000, before settling into his breeding duties at Highlife. The Sims, who own a granite and marble company in Virginia plan of erecting a monument in that very spot in his honor. Frozen semen is still available.

Rockefeller succumbed to a severe colic attack suffered when he was at the University where he had been sent the day before to begin collecting semen for the many bookings already on his schedule.

Just the week before, we had been to his barn in Wellington, for his confirmation photo session, and he was the perfect picture of health. His kind and gentle manner made it difficult to get him to pose in a “studly manner”, but that was just the quality about him which made him such a great selection as a sire. Jensen who won high point Fourth Level with “Rocky” at Dressage at Devon last September owns Rockefeller’s full brother who will be able to carry on the lineage.