2018 USDF Breeders Championship Series Finals Dates and Locations

Foaling season is peaking, but it's not that long before some of these babies will be heading to their first competitions.

According to news released earlier in the year, The United States Dressage Federation ™ (USDF) is pleased to announce the dates and locations for the 2018 USDF Breeders Championship Series (USDFBCS) Finals competitions. They are as follows*:

• Northwest Series (August 26, 2018) at Donida Farm Equestrian Center, Auburn, WA
• West Coast Series (September 16, 2018) at the Pacific Equestrian Center, Wilton, CA
• Rocky Mountain Series (September 20, 2018) at the Colorado Horse Park, Parker, CO
• Midstates Series (September 22, 2018) at the Missouri State Fair Coliseum, Sedalia, MO
• Southern Series (September 15, 2018) at Haras Hacienda, Magnolia, TX
• North Central Series (July 8, 2018) at the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, KY
• East Coast Series (September 25-30, 2018) at the Devon Horse Show & Country Fairgrounds, Devon, PA
• New England Series (September 20-23, 2018) at HITS on the Hudson, Saugerties, NY

WarmbloodStallionsNA.com wishes all babies the best possible experience at their first show!

For more information on the USDF website, click here.

Pablito In Memoriam 1994–2018

Pablito (Pablo/Amsella/Arsenik)

May 25, 2018. It is with heavy heart that I announce the loss of my stallion, Pablito, who passed away this week at the age of 24.

When Pablito came to the US he was the only Pablo son in North America. Pablito was found for me by Dr. Ludwig Christmann, Hanoverian Verband Deputy Breeding Director at the time. Dr. Ludwig and I thought he might be a good choice to follow in Kalypso's footsteps with his pretty type and versatility. Pablito produced correct conformation and a lighter, more elegant type with heavier mares. Pablito became a producer of many successful horses, especially eventers. Because of his nice movement and type he was chosen for many heavier dressage mares as well. Pablito produced many "8" conformation scores and more premium foals than any of my other stallions.

The Hanoverian Verband’s past Vice President and stallion raiser, Hans Heinrich Bruening, bought a Pablito colt from his first crop. Pablito holds the record for producing the only mare, a premium mare called Passion, to receive scores of all 10s for jumping from all of the judges for her performance test with Oldenburg NA. He also produced the overall highest-scoring mare in the USA one year and many breed show winners and champions. One of the first fillies I produced with him was Elite Mare Ping Pong, out of my Kalypso mare, Knobody's Fool, who after becoming Elite Mare had a very notable career as an eventer, winning several international 3-star events with her owner/rider Julie Flatner. They were featured in several Chronicle of the Horse articles. Pierre, bred by Sandy Campbell, was eventing and listed for the Pan Am games with Ally Slusher, featured on the AHS Directory cover and a Warmbloods Today magazine cover. Other notable offspring include Bella Patriot, who won her first FEI event, and Peacemaker R, who was leading the nation in the preliminary division. Powell, bred by Ilona English, is winning national titles at the highest levels with Ryan Wood. Pharaoh R was multiple winner of the 5-year-old jumper classic at The Oaks and in 2006, highest ranked AHS horse in the young horse championships. 

Pablito himself was the IJF 2006 Young Jumpers leading AHS sire. More than 40 Pablito offspring have earned champion foal or mare titles at various inspections. Inspections champions include EM Ping Pong R and Elite Eligible Princess Pei Pei R, as well as EMC Pavillion R, who received 9/9 for jumping and was MPT Champion. Pablito was a very happy, talkative stallion, excited to come out but very gentle and respectful. He will be missed as a producer as he filled a needed gap. I will miss his smile, nicker, positive attitude, and being licked from top to bottom while waiting to collect him. Some frozen semen is available.

Edgar Schutte

Eurequine.com

To view Pablito's Stallion Profile, click here.

Foundation Sire: Caletto I

This is the eighth installment of Warmblood Stallions of North America’s Foundation Friday. Every other Friday we will be featuring a foundation sire - one who has been influential in the development of warmblood breeds. We pull from the incredible archive of The Horse Magazine, published by Chris Hector of Australia. Thank you, Chris, for permission to draw on your expertise! 

Foundation Sire: Caletto I
1975 - 1999
175 cm
Bay
Breeder: Klaus Martin Both, Herzhorn

According to the Stallion Book of the Holsteiner Warmblood Breed by Dr Dietrich Rossow, Caletto was a “tall, important sire with the smooth topline of a modern riding horse. Good face, rather heavy neck and a thick throat latch. Prominent withers, rather flat through the loin, sharply dropped croup in which the muscle doesn’t carry down well. Strong bone with mild crookedness in front and faults behind, somewhat base narrow. Good trot, absolutely marvelous canter. Extraordinary jumping ability with fantastic form over fences.”

And the progeny? “Sires performance horses of his type with his strong points and faults. Very energetic individuals with great jumping ability.”

It was his first crop that produced the stallion, Cartusch, who stood in Westphalia and Oldenburg, as well as the dams of two successful international stallions, Aldatus (Junior European Champion under Christian Ahlmann) and Iberio (Derby winner with Soren von Rönne).

Posted to the Woehrden stallion station, Caletto I had almost completed his breeding duties for his third season, when he was kicked by a mare in the genitals, and despite the best of veterinary attention remained infertile for months afterwards. The Holsteiner Verband sold him to the showjumping rider Michael Rüping and he went on to earn DM101,693, as well as a team bronze at the 1983 European Championships. In 1985, Caletto I was the most successful German Nation’s Cup horse – it seemed his breeding days were over!

But then his little brother Caletto II was killed in an accident. The distraught Holstein breeding authorities contacted Michael Rüping and persuaded him to test Caletto I once again – after a break of five years the stallion was now producing fertile semen!

Caletto I resumed his successful breeding career in 1986 and in the 1991-2000 WBFSH standings was represented by 12 progeny who had taken him into 28th place – finishing 5th in the 1999/2000 standings.

Overall 758 of his progeny went on to compete. Successful offspring include: Cabrol Amicor, winner of the German Derby with Holger Wulschner, Cocetto with Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, and Roofs, who Jan Tops rode at the 2000 Games and the 2002 WEG in Jerez.

His best son has been Calvaro, who was out of a Capitol mare. He was not registered for Holstein because he came from a Hanoverian mare line, and therefore lacked the required five generations of registered dams in Holstein. Calvero was not only a successful sire, but a fine competitor; his wins included the Grand Prix at the CSIO Hickstead, and he competed at the Sydney Games with John Whitaker.

Caletto I appears in 65^th place on the 2006 Monneron rankings, but he is represented in the top 75 by his son, Cantus in 30^th.

To read the entire article, with pedigree and more offspring details, on the Horse Magazine website, click here. 

There are several stallion descendants of Caletto I in North America. Click on the following links to read about each of the ones on WarmbloodStallionsNA.com:

Calito

Clintord I

GK Calucci

Thoughts on WFFS

There has been a lot of talk on social media about Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome - everything from hysteria to reasonable and responsible education and discussion. It's a tremendously important topic for breeders, because it's breeders who can affect the future of this. It's not in the hands of vets, it's not up to drugs or therapies - it's up to breeders.

North American breeders are leading the way on this, and I'm proud.

We can do this. I understand the hysteria, because if you have a foal who is affected, it's a miserable thing, and that foal will die. But there is no need for hysteria, just a logical breeding plan based on knowledge. It's totally doable. That doesn't mean it's totally easy - but the logical plan is actually pretty simple and doable.

Goal 1: Eliminate all foal deaths due to WFFS immediately. That's easy - see step one.

Goal 2: Eliminate WFFS if possible, or reduce the incidence of the syndrome to almost none. See step two and following.

Both goals are totally possible to achieve.

Step one: never, ever breed a N/WFFS horse to a N/WFFS horse. Because you have a 1 in 4 chance of getting a foal who will die a pretty horrible death. For most breeders, if they care about their horses at all, that's a no-brainer. Goal 1 accomplished.

Step two: Decide if you want to eliminate N/WFFS the fast way or the slower way. Both ways will get you there. The choice is in the hands of each individual breeder. Neither way is bad. It would be great if WFFS could be eliminated in one generation, but there would be a big price to pay. So each breeder must weigh the pros and cons for their own individual breeding animals and make a decision for their own program.

The fast way is if no one ever breeds a N/WFFS horse, period. If you have a breeding animal that is N/WFFS, you take them out of your breeding program. If everyone did this, WFFS would be gone in a generation. That will never happen, for various reasons, and that's ok. And if any individual breeder wants to make this choice and ensure that no horse from their breeding program will carry WFFS into future generations, that's also ok.

The slower way is if no one ever breeds a N/WFFS horse to a N/WFFS horse. That is a realistic goal for every breeder to shoot for and accomplish. If you have a N/WFFS mare, and you only breed to a stallion who is N/N, you will never have a foal who dies of WFFS, and you will not be increasing the number of carriers in the horse population.

Both approaches require testing of all breeding stallions and breeding mares, because you can't know if you're breeding a N/WFFS horse to a N/WFFS horse unless both the mare and the stallion have a known status.

What I'm seeing among many breeders is a consensus to endorse the slow way. If an individual breeder chooses to take the fast way, yay, but the slow way is responsible because it prevents foal deaths from WFFS. If breeders always factor in WFFS status in making new breeding decisions, it will be effective in the long run in reducing the incidence of this syndrome in the whole population.

WFFS for mare owners. If you own a N/WFFS mare, your decision about whether to breed her should be based several factors, including how your decision will affect the future of WFFS. There's no need to immediately pull her from your breeding program - if you breed to a stallion who is N/N, you are not doing anything wrong. However, if you're on the fence about her anyway - you may decide to use her N/WFFS status to tip the balance and take her out of your program. Certainly if she has great value to you as a broodmare, and produces foals who are above the norm and raise the level of quality among our horses, it makes sense to go on breeding her - responsibly. To me that includes not only choosing a sire who is N/N but also testing any female offspring and any male offspring who are not gelded - and making the test results a permanent part of that horse's documentation for any future owners. Whether you make your broodmares' status public is your decision, but doing so will be incredibly valuable in getting accurate numbers to work from in tracking WFFS.

WFFS for stallion owners. WFFS is hardest on stallion owners. The bottom line is that if you have a N/WFFS stallion, you may very well lose breedings because of it. You may decide to remove him from breeding entirely, which will be a wrenching decision for most stallion owners. If you keep him at stud, you must be transparent about his status even though some mare owners will avoid your stallion. Some mare owners will have to, because they have a N/WFFS mare, and some others will even if they don't. But stallion owners have no choice but to take the hit. There is no ethically defensible reason to keep your stallion's status a secret, because mare owners have a right to know. It's the only way they can make responsible breeding decisions that guarantee that no foal will be born with the fatal defect.

North American breeders are in the forefront of education and setting policy about WFFS. That is because one farm - Hilltop Farm, LLC in Maryland - chose to make the most ethical decision, and to make it hugely public. They've set the bar high, and other North American breeders jumped in to advocate for education and open discussion. This is the kind of response that makes me proud and happy to be an advocate of North American breeders.

Individual breeders must now make their own decisions about testing and breeding each mare or stallion. I hope all breeders test all their breeding stock. If an animal is found to be N/WFFS, the next decision is what do do about breeding that animal. I've created a flow chart to help breeders decide what to do in that situation.

Click here to view the flow chart.

WFFS Flow Chart for Breeders

Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome is a a hot and emotional topic today, and one that is very important to breeders. Breeders are the ones that will affect the future of WFFS. Each individual breeder must make a decision that will affect the next generation of horses. I have created a flow chart to guide breeders through the decision-making process.

If the graphic is not super clear, click on it to display a bigger version. Share to social media using the little icons below.

For my editorial on WFFS, with more details, click here.

Vanellope Danced to the Top at May Verden Auction

Verden. A filly upstaged the riding horses at the Verden Auction in May: Vanellope was sold at Euro 62,000 whereas the 36 riding horses achieved an average auction sales price of Euro 15,361.

Vanellope achieved the highest price at the Verden Auction in May. photo: Tammo Ernst

The Vitalis/Don Romantic-daughter Vanellope (breeder and exhibitor: Gerda Stein, Westerende) was considered favourite for the highest price. The eagerly moving chestnut mare became a star at the photo and video shooting. Each bid was celebrated during the thrilling auction until auctioneer Bernd Hickert finally accepted the bid of Euro 62,000 of a Lower Saxonian raiser. The foals were sold at averagely Euro 6,975.

The collection of riding horses featured a variety of horses for the different demands. Monsieur Lazhar by Metall/Weltruhm (breeder and exhibitor: Hedy Lynen, Unna) became top-priced dressage horse. The excellently to ride bay horse was sold at Euro 30,000 to France. Sailor Moon by Stolzenberg/Graf Grannus (breeder and exhibitor: Heinrich Beutner, Meinersen) turned out to be the best-priced jumper. A well-known Canadian show jumping rider invested Euro 27,000 in the bay horse out of the dam line of the Celle state stud stallion Perigueux.

Hanoverian horses are popular all over the world. 20 of the 36 horses will leave Germany. Eight of them will travel to the US, each three to Spain and Belgium. “The Verden May Auction collection was small, but convinced with its variety,” auction manager Jörg-Wilhelm Wegener said and was happy about the huge international interest.

For more information, click on: www.hannoveraner.com

Bandelero JSF Offspring Photos

Today we have photos of offspring by Bandelero JSF to share! 

Bandelero JSF is a young, up-and-coming Belgian Warmblood stallion owned by Kimmy Risser of Hickory Manor. Born in 2012, he is by Banderas out of a mare by Columbus (by Calypso II, our Foundation Friday stallion for May 4). Bandelero was bred in North America by Jump Start Farm. He's approved BWP/NAD, OLD/ISR, NAS, OHBS/GOV, RPSI, and Westfalen.

Brava HM 

 

First up, Brava, a 2018 model. Brava HM was bred by Hickory Manor/Kimmy Risser. She's a filly out of a Rapport/Franat mare.

Burlesque HM 

Photo by SAS Photography

Our next 2018 foal is Burlesque HM, a filly out of a Cassini I/Landlord mare, also bred by Hickory Manor/Kimmy Risser.

Beloved HM

Next up: the 2017 filly Beloved HM. Out of a Rapport/Franat mare, Beloved HM is a full sister to Brava, and was bred by Hickory Manor/Kimmy Risser. Beloved HM just scored a 7.87 at a Young Horse Show and qualified for finals. She was top-scoring filly at her inspection and first premium BWP.

To learn more about Bandelero JSF, please click to visit his Stallion Profile page, where you'll find all his info, photos, pedigree, video, and more. Interested in breeding to him? You can contact his owner, Kimmy Risser, directly through the Contact form on his Stallion Profile page. 

Foundation Sire: Calypso II

This is the seventh installment of Warmblood Stallions of North America’s Foundation Friday. Every other Friday we will be featuring a foundation sire - one who has been influential in the development of warmblood breeds. We pull from the incredible archive of The Horse Magazine, published by Chris Hector of Australia. Thank you, Chris, for permission to draw on your expertise! 

Foundation Sire: Calypso II

1974 – 1995

1.71 m 

Brown

Breeder: Otto Ernst Lill

Calypso II has been one of the most important sires in both Holstein and Hannover, where he bred international competitors and influential breeding stallions. It was Calypso II who introduced the Cor de la Bryère blood to Hanover, ushering in a new era of Hanoverian jumping breeding.

He was stationed in Holstein until 1986, and then he was leased by the State Stud Celle from 1987 to 1989. From 1990 until his death from colic in 1995, he stood at the Amselhof Walle, the private stud owned by Joachim Kemmer, father of dressage rider Heike.

Calypso II progeny tend to show not only great jumping form, but also a wonderful rideability. He produced a number of international performers including Calyno, Chin Chin, Cheyenne, Crazy Cocktail, Montemorelos la Silla, Caras J, Dobel’s Cara Mia, Asien, Cartier S, Capella 3, Champ of Class and Zarina de San Patrignano. 

His last appearance in the Hanoverian stallion book was in 2006, where he is credited with 891 competition horses with winnings of €1,606,332 comprising 185 dressage horses, 20 at S level, and 620 jumpers with 135 competing at S level. Sixteen of his progeny earned more than €15,000, with the most successful Chin Chin with €60,302 followed by Capella with €43,497. Calypso II produced a number of licensed sons for Holstein: Contender, Classiker and Champ of Class. Classiker stood for only three seasons, producing three stallion sons: Colani, Charon and Claas J.

Calypso II’s first Hanoverian foal crop produced three more stallions: Chasseur I, a successful sire of showjumpers, his slightly less successful brother, Chasseur II, and Crazy Cocktail, who was initially not approved for Hanover and only gained approval after his own competition successes, at a time when his progeny were already enjoying success at an international level. To safeguard the bloodline, three more sons - Cardano, Carismo (stallion performance test winner) and Compliment - were acquired by Amselhof Walle.

Calypso II’s great gift to the breeding world was the stallion, Contender.

To read the entire article, with pedigree and more offspring details, on the Horse Magazine website, click here. 

There are several stallion descendants of Calypso II in North America. Click on the following links to read about each of the ones on WarmbloodStallionsNA.com:

Bandelero JSF

Clintord

Contefino

Contifax

Dakota VDL

Hampton

Leapfrog WT

Liocalyon

Relevantus

Riverman

"The Traditional Irish Sport Horse Could Be Non-Existent Within a Decade"

The future of the traditional Irish Sport Horse (ISH) is under threat from foreign bloodlines, writes Siobhán English on the website Independent.ie.

The traditional Irish Sport Horse faces extinction, a former US Olympian jumper and leading breeder has warned.

In recent years we have seen that more and more Irish breeders are opting to use warmblood stallions to improve their show jumpers, but records show that the eventing fraternity is now also following suit.

As a result, overseas buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to source traditional Irish-breds with 100% Irish Draught/ thoroughbred bloodlines.

In a long letter on the demise of the Irish Sport Horse, after an unsuccessful shopping trip to Ireland last year, former US Olympic rider and well-known event horse producer Phyllis Dawson ...

To read the full article, click here.