Foundation Friday: Balou du Rouet

Here is the next 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!

1999–
171 cm
Bay
Breeder: Paul Schockemöhle

Paul Schockemöhle is a marketing genius, and his skills are abundantly in evidence in the case of his "hot" stallion, Balou du Rouet. The stallion perhaps has appeal to German breeders because they are mixing the strange and unknown—the Selle Français jumping star Baloubet—with the comfort of a mare that is solidly German….


Balou showed his jumping qualities in the 30 day test in 2002, where he achieved a 9.2 score for jumping. He qualified for the Bundeschampionate in 2004, and in 2005 he won several young jumping horse tests and was a Bundeschampionate finalist....


Despite this rather modest performance record, so far Balou has produced 40 (!) licensed sons, including Balzachi, Balloon, Baldeur, Balou’s Bellini, Balou’s Star, Bonaventura, Burberry, ….

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To read the entire article, with pedigree, details of Balou du Rouet's sons and daughters, on the Horse Magazine website, click here.

There are a couple of stallion descendants of Balou du Rouet in North America. Click on the following links to read about each of the ones on WarmbloodStallionsNA.com:

Amazing

Beau Balou

Iron Spring Farm Sponsors New High Score Awards at White Fences Show Series

Coatesville, PA---Iron Spring Farm is pleased to sponsor the new Young Horse/Developing Horse High Score Awards, as well as the Young Horse/Developing Horse Season-End High Score Awards, during the Welcome Back to White Fences dressage show series. Horses competing in the Materiale, Young Horse and Developing Horse classes are eligible for these awards.

"At Iron Spring Farm we want to recognize the up and coming young horses and developing horses with special awards," explained Quinnten Alston, sales manager at Iron Spring Farm. "The trainers, owners and breeders bringing these youngsters along are working very hard. The High Score Awards are a fun way to acknowledge the effort." The new accolades are in addition to the Training Level-Grand Prix awards.

The winter/spring White Fences dressage series includes the following shows:

            Welcome Back to White Fences I, Jan 31-Feb 2, 2020
            Welcome Back to White Fences II, Feb 21-23, 2020
            Welcome Back to White Fences III, March 13-15, 2020
            Welcome Back to White Fences IV, April 3-5, 2020

Iron Spring Farm is also a sponsor at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. For the latest updates, photos and videos, please visit the Iron Spring Farm Facebook page and www.ironspringfarm.com.

About Iron Spring Farm
A range of top Friesian and KWPN stallions are available to North American breeders as part of Iron Spring Farm's four-decade commitment to the ISF Advantage. By providing proven bloodlines, along with exceptional service, transparency and impeccable veterinary care, the ISF team helps breeders achieve their sport horse goals. Ongoing expert advice and tools are also available so breeders can develop and market their offspring to the highest level. Iron Spring also offers a select number of talented Friesian and Dutch Warmblood prospects and broodmares for sale. Visit www.ironspringfarm.com for more information.

Art work by Terri Miller

Article: Diet Might Improve Older Broodmare Fertility

A new article on TheHorse.com might be of interest to breeders with older broodmares that they'd like to get pregnant.

The article summarizes a presentation by Giovana D. Catandi, DVM at the American Association of Equine Practitioners convention in Denver just a few days ago. Dr. Catandi reported on research being done at Colorado State University that confirmed that "nutrition plays a key role in improving oocyte quality, which can be a boon to overcoming fertility problems in older mares."

A reference to this article was shared in a Facebook breeders group, and the comments included a good point: "Hoping it works, but either way, I sure feel better trying!"

For more details about the fertility boost your mare might experience from supplements of specific nutrients, click here.

YHS and USSHBA Offer Breeder Awards

Young Horse Show Series & United States Sport Horse Breeders Association Jointly Celebrate Tenth Year With New US Breeder Awards - $2000 in 2020

The United States Sport Horse Breeders Association is pleased to announce a partnership with the Spy Coast Farm Young Horse Show Series for the upcoming season in creating the 2020 USSHBA/YHS Breeder Recognition Awards. $2000 in cash payouts will be made to the breeders of the highest scoring US-bred entries over the course of the qualifier series held this year throughout the country.  Eligibility parameters and details about scoring will be available on the Young Horse Show and USSHBA websites; results and standings will be updated regularly throughout the year as YHS Qualifiers are held. Awards will be presented at the Saturday Night Lights dinner during the YHS Finals in Tryon, NC.    Both the Young Horse Show series and the USSHBA celebrate their tenth year in 2020. “The United States Sport Horse Breeders Association (USSHBA) was founded in 2010 to strengthen the presence and recognition of breeders throughout the US sport horse community,” said USSHBA’s President, Mary O’Connor, of Middleburg Virginia. “2020 is the tenth year for both the Young Horse Shows and the USSHBA—it’s the perfect opportunity to team up to recognize in a concrete way the success of US based breeding programs producing high quality young horses. We look forward to building excitement and momentum behind this award over the coming year!”  The USSHBA is approved as an IRS 501(c)3 non-profit group, and is designed to serve as an independent, united voice in matters of sport governance for breeders across registries and disciplines, to strengthen the bonds that connect breeders to each other and to owners, riders, and trainers, and to foster a sense of community in working together to achieve and recognize success of US bred horses in sport. For more information: USSHBA: Mary O’Connor, info@usshba.org YHS Series: Jean Yves Tola younghorseshowjy@gmail.com

Fun Facts about Thoroughbred Stallion Sea Lion

An interview with owner and rider Pam Fisher

⭆ As a youngster, Sea Lion raced and won.

⭆ As a young horse, Sea Lion was a quick learner. He made the transition from race horse to eventer smoothly. Pam Fisher says, “After he arrived at my barn, I started him over fences using gymnastics. He was amazing and learned so quickly. He would get furious if ever he touched a rail and was incredibly brave throughout his training.”

⭆ Special bonding experience: “After flying from California to New York to compete at Jersey Fresh and Rolex Kentucky the following year, we drove home alone in my rig, just the two of us: Sea Lion and I traveling cross country. We stopped at fairgrounds for the night and would go for walks. He slept in the trailer with me. He was an angel. We took five days to cross the country.”

Sea Lion and Pam at the Rolex 4-star event.

⭆ Most memorable ride: Pam and Sea Lion have won championships at Advanced level eventing, but her most memorable ride was at Rebecca Farm the year after a near disaster. “We misread a fence - thinking the ditch and wall was a road crossing at the last second.” It was a very scary experience for both, and one that would normally haunt a horse for the rest of his life. “I remember asking Bruce Davidson, my former coach, if that ever happened to him, and if so what did he do to retrain his horse to overcome it. Bruce said that in his career it had happened three times - and never did any of the horses jump that type of fence again. They all refused. Sea Lion went back the next year and jumped the same fence. That is my most memorable ride.”

⭆ Favorite treat: carrots.

⭆ Owner and rider Pam Fisher describes Sea Lion as her “Beautiful, intelligent ‘soul mate.’”

Felix Feliseas, 2019 colt by Sea Lion.
Photo: Lorraine Treacy

⭆ Sea Lion has offspring in five countries: across the United States, and in Canada, Germany, Spain, and Australia. Semen is owned by brokers in several countries, so there may be more unreported to Sea Lion's owner.

⭆ Sea Lion foals have been registered in many studbooks, including Hanoverian, Trakehner, Oldenburg, Quarter Horse, Paint Horse, KWPN, and Irish Draught.

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Sea Lion will be available for breeding in 2020.

For stud fees and more information about Sea Lion, please click here.

To contact owner Pam Fisher, please click here.

Earlier articles about Sea Lion and his offspring:

Sea Lion: Offspring Report 2019

Offspring of Sea Lion Begin to Span the Globe

World Breeding News for Sport Horses January Edition Posted

World Breeding News for Sport Horses has just posted their January 2020 issue, with articles on the Holsteiner, the breeding of Fischerchipmunk, year-end auction high prices, and the show-jumping Horse of the Year Igor.

Of special interest to North American breeders is a lovely tribute to Carthago Sun I (Carthago x Schampus xx/Landgraf I), who passed away in late 2019. He was born in 1996, and stood with Joe and Edda Selinger at J.E.S. Breeding Farm in Alberta.

Links:

WBNSH article about Carthago Sun I online

World Breeding News for Sport Horses

January issue of WBNSH

Subscribe to WBNSH

WarmbloodStallionsNA.com memorial for Carthago Sun I

Foundation Friday: Argentinus

Here is the next 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!

1980–2007
17 hands
Bay
Breeder: Jacob Buether

Argentinus is the most influential son of the Hanoverian stallion Argentan I. Argentinus’ dam is by Duden II, who was highly esteemed as a producer of top quality performance horses and wonderful broodmares.

By 1996, Argentinus was the youngest millionaire among Germany’s top sires and he remained a top sire right up until his death in 2007. A successful advanced level jumper himself, Argentinus produced both jumping and dressage competitors and stallions. His progeny include over 20 approved stallions...

In the survey of the world’s top 75 jumping sires that appears in Monneron 2007-2008, Argentinus is ranked 16th in the world, with 15 among CSI winners. Argentinus was the Hanoverian Stallion of the Year 2005, and the 2015 Stallion Yearbook takes an extra page to detail his career....

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To read the entire article, with pedigree, details of Argentinus' sons and daughters, on the Horse Magazine website, click here.

There are a few of stallion descendants of Argentinus in North America. Click on the following links to read about each of the ones on WarmbloodStallionsNA.com:

Apiro

Beau Balou

Fairbanks