![\"burggraaf\"](\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Burggraaf.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\n1983 – 2006, 173 cm bay\/brown<\/strong><\/p>\n Breeder – I. and J. Block, Hagen, Germany<\/strong><\/p>\n Landgraf has been richly represented in Holland by his son Burggraaf, who died in 2006 at the age of 23.<\/p>\n In his first season as a breeding stallion, Burggraaf covered only 40 mares, but from that year, two foals went on to become international showjumpers, one with the Austrian rider, Thomas Fr\u00fchmann, the other with Holland’s Roelof Bril.<\/p>\n Roelof Bril was also the rider who started Burggraaf in national and international competitions. The pair cleared the puissance wall at Indoor Brabant at a height of 2.10 metres!<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what Bril said about the stallion: “Burggraaf is a great horse to ride, and he knows what it is to work. The fine character he has in the sport, he passes on to his children, and that gives him the possibility to grow and become one of the important Dutch stallions.”<\/p>\n Burggraaf combines two of the most successful Holstein jumping lines: Landgraf and Cor de la Bry\u00e8re. On his maternal side he goes back to the famous Holstein lineage 7126, a family which has produced the approved stallions: Acord I & II, Acrobat I, II, III, Arico, Fra Diavolo, Chicago and Freeman.<\/p>\n Burggraaf\u2019s most successful jumping progeny have included Leslie Howard\u2019s S\u2019Blieft, Roelof Bril\u2019s Burggravin, Peter Wylde\u2019s Kuno, Piet Raymakers\u2019 Now or Never, and Thomas Fr\u00fchmann\u2019s Procobs Dumbo.<\/p>\n Licensed sons include: Graaf, Habsburg, Kroongraaf, Manhattan, Mermus R, Murano, Budweiser and Orion Fortuna.<\/p>\n Burggraaf seems to pass on his size, power and jumping ability and has produced a many many top class broodmares.<\/p>\n He is also the sire of several Grand Prix dressage horses, including Denis Calinin\u2019s Florijn and Leunus van Lieren\u2019s Louiseville.<\/p>\n But Burggraaf almost did not get the chance to become a stallion. While he was undertaking his KWPN stallion test at Ermelo, he was sent home in very controversial circumstances. A blood test showed that Landgraf could not be the father of Burggraaf!<\/p>\n The German breeder was contacted but was sure that no other stallion could have covered the mare \u2013 so the Holstein Verband was contacted and asked for a blood sample \u2013 whereupon it was revealed that the Holstein Verband had made an error in the recording of their leading sire’s blood type. Burggraaf WAS by Landgraf, and the young stallion was back into the 100-day test.<\/p>\n He was successful in that test and received 8.5 points for his jumping and 9 for his character (on a scale of 1 to 10).<\/p>\n However, like many of the greatest stallions, Burggraaf had difficulties with the Dutch Licensing Commission. After inspecting his first crop of foals, he was only awarded a reserve premium, but fortunately his progeny soon rehabilitated their sire.<\/p>\n Burggraaf stood for many years at the Nijhof Stud, according to Jeanette Nijhof: “Burggraaf stamped a lot of his babies with the nice Landgraf face. Most of them were good movers and jumpers. His best combination was with some Thoroughbred on the mother line, for instance, he crossed well with Furioso xx bloodlines, through the stallions, Voltaire and Le Mexico.”<\/p>\n In the 2006 Super League season, the majority of the British team horses were offspring of Burggraaf. He is the sire of Tim Gredley\u2019s Omelli and John Whitaker\u2019s Peppermill, and grand sire of Michael Whitaker\u2019s Portofino (Habsburg) and William Funnel\u2019s Mondriaan (Topas).<\/p>\n At the 2008 Olympic Games, he had two representatives: Canada\u2019s Ole (with Mac Cone) and John Whitaker\u2019s Peppermill who was controversially taken out of the competition at the very last minute.<\/p>\n
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