Monday, September 18, 2006

World Equestrian Games: Dressage Breeding Overview
By Charlene Strickland

Editor's note: When I worked in the racing business, my first introduction to the importance of bloodlines was at the yearling sales was hearing the comment of trainers looking at prospects. "I had his mother" or "I knew the sire" and then they would comment on attitude, talent, and trainability. After publishing a training guide for several years, I too became familiar with the language of bloodlines. Combined with taking thousands of photos for training reports, I even began to guess the sires of the two-year-olds in training by their look and way of going. In the sporthorse industry, the relevance of bloodlines is no less important, and when riders and trainers make themselves more aware of the performance records of some of the great horses of our time, they will become better educated in selecting the right temperament, talent for the upper levels, and personalities of certain bloodlines they find to be compatible. I asked Charlene Strickland, one of our contributors to our World Equestrian Games coverage to give us a breakdown on the the Dressage and Jumper horses who are among the greatest sporthorses of modern times.
Mary Phelps

At the World Equestrian Games, half the horses competing in dressage were of German breeding. And of the 99 entries, 23 were Hannoverians. Riders from 15 nations rode Hannoverians in the Grand Prix.

All riders on the German team rode Hannoverians: Wansuela Suerte (Warkant-Wachmann I) Elvis VA (Espri-Garibaldi II), Bonaparte (Bon Bonaparte-Consul), and Satchmo (Sao Paulo-Legat).

Of the top 15 horses qualifying for the Freestyle, seven were Hannoverians: Elvis VA, Bonaparte, Satchmo, Keltec Salinero, Sunrise, Vincent, and Lancet.

Weltmeyer, the extremely popular sire for Hannover, sired two entries in the Grand Prix: Vincent (damsire Absatz) and Callaho Wenckstern (damsire Western Star). Of the F-line, this son of World Cup I is also the sire of the horse Isabell Werth had planned to compete, Warum nicht (damsire Wenzel I). Warkant, another son of World Cup I, sired Wansuela Suerte and Wat a Feeling (damsire Werther).

The Oldenburg Donnerhall had two Hannoverian sons in the Grand Prix: Douglas Dorsey (damsire Salem) and Don Vittorio (damsire Pik Senior).

Brentano II (Bolero-Grande) sired the brother and sister Brentina and Hofgut Liederbach’s Barclay (damsire Lungau). The two notable sires Bolero and Grande also featured in the pedigrees of other dressage entries. Besides being grandsire of the Brentano II offspring, Bolero was also the sire of Bonaparte’s sire, Bon Bonaparte (damsire Wendekreis). Grande was damsire of Falada M, and also the damsire of Warkant, sire of Wansuela Suerte.

Lungau of the Der Löwe sire line was damsire of three horses: Keltec Salinero and the two Brentano II offspring. Lungau was a son of Lugano II, damsire Weingau.

Another sire of the Der Löwe line, Lanthan, sired Leonardo (damsire Wenzel II), and was damsire of Petit Prince 9. Also the Lanthan son Legat was damsire of Satchmo.

Of the same F-line as Weltmeyer, Wenzel I was sire of Lancet (samsire Shogun xx), and Wenzel II was damsire of Leonardo.

Three Thoroughbred sires had Hannoverian progeny in the Grand Prix. Forest xx was sire of Falada M (damsire Grande). Lauries Crusador xx sired Le Primeur (damsire Golfstrom II). His son Londonderry is a popular sire in the breed.

The popular sire Prince Thatch xx was represented by Petit Prince 9 (damsire Lanthan). He is also the sire of Piccolino.

Several jumper lines were represented in the dressage horses competing in Aachen. The sire of Elvis VA, Espri, is known as the sire of E.T. and other top jumpers. He is from the A-line, sired by Eiger I.

Satchmo is of the Sacramento Song xx line, his son Sandro was a champion jumper and the sire of Satchmo’s sire, Sao Paulo. Sandro’s damsire Gepard was by Gotthard, another renowned sire of Hannoverian jumpers.

Salieri (Salvano-Servus) of the Senator sire line has sired mainly jumpers. He is the sire of the winner of the Freestyle at WEG, Keltec Salinero (damsire Lungau).

Some sires are known equally for their dressage and jumper offspring. An example is Werther (Wendekreis-Marcio xx), who has sired champions in both disciplines. He was damsire of three horses: Sunrise (sired by Singular Joter), Cinderella (sired by Carbid), and Wat a Feeling.

Horsesdaily.com On the Scene at the World Equestrian Games Aachen 2006