Story – Chris Hector
Photos – Roz Neave
One day I will write a book, and at the beginning of each chapter there will be a photo of just one mare – in each case a mare on which a whole breeding operation was based. It is the truth time after time that great studs have been based on a single individual, and so it is at the breeding farm of Gerd Sosath, in the heart of Germany’s finest horse country, not far from Bremen.
When we arrived for our visit, there she was, queen of the mare band, Fureida II (pic below), the dam of Landor S, surveying the changes that had taken place in the last ten years, as Gerd’s 100 hectare property transformed itself from a family farm with 200 cows and two horses to one of Oldenburg’s premier horse operations with 260 horses and no cows. At the stud they are very proud of their pasture and the fact that the mares and foals can enjoy the summer out in the sunshine, playing on the rich grass.

Fureida had a lot to do with the transformation since she gave birth first to Laertes, an advanced jumping horse with many wins with his breeder Gerd Sosath in the saddle, then to Landwerder, also a licensed stallion, exported to the United States where he goes by the name of Silver Lining. But it was with the third son, that Fureida hit the jackpot – Landor S, a six-year-old champion at the Bundeschampionate in 1997, and a Grand Prix star with Gerd Sosath and after that, with his son, Hendrik.
Fureida is royally bred being by Godehard, the most successful son of that pinnacle of Hanoverian jumping breeding, Gotthard and out of Fureida by the celebrated Furioso II (this of course is exactly the breeding of Voltaire, except he was by Furioso out of a Gotthard mare). After Landor S, her next foal was Lagoheidor, who won the Oldenburg stallion licensing in 1994, and the following year topped his performance test. In 2000, Fureida gave birth to her fourth licensed stallion son, Corioso by Corofino I.
Landor S’ sire was Landadel, a son of Landgraf out of a Farnese mare. Landadel carries a double cross of the great Ladykiller xx and his early demise was a huge blow to the Oldenburg book. He is – to my knowledge – the only stallion to have sired World Cup finalists in both dressage and showjumping, certainly in the same year. In 2001 the Landadel son, Leonardo da Vinci was ridden in the Dressage final by Gonnelien Rothenberger while Helena Weinbeg rode Silwa Little Gun in the Showjumping final. Certainly Landor S bears a very close resemblance to his celebrated sire.

Above : Famos and her Lycos (Landor S/Zeus) foal

The Stud Farm of Gerd Sosath stands ten to twelve stallions a year. They breed 25 foals of their own each year, and buy another 25 from breeders who have used their stallions. Out of this group, they prepare their young stallions for the licensing.
The stallion band is a clever mixture of Landor S sons, and outside blood. As our remarkably informed guide, Marc Hahne points out, that it is not possible to keep breeding to the same lines, so ‘swaps’ are arranged, which is why there is a young Sandro Hit stallion in the group getting ready for the licensing, while his breeder, Paul Schockemohle is getting a Landor S son ready in his barn.
One young Landor S son who has been attracting huge attention already is Ludwig van Bayern who is out of La Perla (by Landgraf out of a Pilot mare). Marc says he has already claimed the horse to show because he simply cannot jump in bad form, ‘right from the start, the first cavaletti, no matter how he goes to a jump he cannot do it wrong. That’s the bit you can’t train – they are careful or they are not, you can train the other stuff, but you can’t train them to be careful.’
Then there is the Dutch bred, Barrichello (by Burggraaf out of a Purioso/Nimmerdor mare) or the most striking looking Concetto, who is by Contender out of a straight Thoroughbred mare. Our favourite is Lordanos, he has the cutest head, and Marc explains he is the ultimate family horse, ‘at the same horse show, he is ridden by Gerd’s 15 year old daughter in the 1.25 metre class, his 13 year old son in the 1.20, and places in both – then he wins the Grand Prix with Gerd.’
As Gerd Sosath says, ‘riding and breeding go hand in hand.’

Above: Gerd Sosath and Lord G competing at the Bundeschampionate - he is by Landor S out of an Argentinus mare.

Looking somewhat over-whelmed by all the jumpers he shares space with is the dressage stallion, Donnerschwee – ‘we had lots of breeders who wanted a dressage stallion, and his progeny are very easy to ride.’
Along with the breeding stock, there are 40/50 riding horses, bought from the local breeders, and by Gerd’s stallions. This is the traditional way the big stallion owners support their mare owners, and it adds another dimension to the operation. Ninety percent of the horses are jumping horses – ‘because we can’t ride dressage’ jokes Marc – but it means that the team have more than a full day what with the competition circuit and the breeding routines.
According to Mark, his boss spends six hours on the telephone every day, two hours riding his horses, one hour running around and one hour on a motor bike, ‘he is an inspiration to everyone who works with him.’

Above: Gerd Sosath and Lord G competing at the Bundeschampionate - he is by Landor S out of an Argentinus mare.

At the end of the visit, Landor S is brought out for a photo session, and what a magnificent type he is. Marc is justifiably proud of him: "His progeny can jump but they also have good movement so he also breeds some dressage horses. They are all modern types with a long neck and a nice head. Landor horses have a will to win, and that is sometimes a little problem for a ‘normal’ rider – he makes horses for professionals. If you want a horse to ride once a week, don’t breed to Landor S."
And what does he cross best over?
"Heavy mares – Contender, Grannus, Zeus – work best with him. Those old big Holstein mares – all the Holsteiners can jump three metres with their big canter – Landor is smart and gives their foals that last kick."

Thanks to Oldenburg Verband publicity officer, Tanya Becker and Mareile Oellrich-Overesch former vice breeding director of the Oldenburg Verband and current breeding director of the Weser Ems Pony Studbook who arranged our tour through some of the leading studs of Oldenburg and who were always so patient with our endless questions.

This article first appeared in The Horse Magazine in January 2003