{"id":1908,"date":"2010-08-31T13:39:22","date_gmt":"2010-08-31T03:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.89.31.130\/~thehors5\/thm\/?p=1908"},"modified":"2021-04-21T10:35:35","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T00:35:35","slug":"de-niro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/2010\/08\/de-niro\/","title":{"rendered":"De Niro"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"De<\/a><\/p>\n

1993 – 2017 170 cm Black (- liver chestnut in English)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Breeder: Brigitte Pahl<\/strong><\/p>\n

Licensed for Hanover, Oldenburg, Westphalia, Rhineland, Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sweden, Denmark and France<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Donnerhall was the first of the great competition dressage stallions. Instead of staying at home in his breeding barn, coming out to cover mares (or more likely the phantom mare), Donnerhall hit the competition trail so successfully that he was a valued member of the all-conquering German dressage team, and in doing so started the fashion for breeding stallions who were also serious competitors \u2013 a fashion carried on by his son, De Niro.<\/p>\n

De Niro comes from the Akzent II mare, Alicante, who was herself a successful dressage competitor, and who produced De Niro\u2019s full brother, Dimension, a stallion with a good reputation in Westfalia. Akzent II was particularly noted as a sire of broodmares and as well as De Niro and Dimension, he is the dam sire of: Gralsh\u00fcter, Carismo, Welton, Trend, Pik Labonics, World Man G, Grannus As and Gracieux.<\/p>\n

The dam sire is the Thoroughbred, Wiesenbaum, with the great Ferdinand on the dam line \u2013 from this dam line comes Franke Sloothaak\u2019s international showjumper, Landdame.<\/p>\n

At the stallion licensing in 1995, De Niro demonstrated his jumping ability, and although in his performance test at Adelheidsdorf the following year, he went better in his riding score \u2013 145.41 and best of the year \u2013 he was also competitive in the jumping section with a score of 117.75 which put him into 11th. Overall De Niro finished 2nd with a score of 141.93.<\/p>\n

\"De<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Competing with Dolf-Dietram Keller<\/em><\/p>\n

By the year 2000, and at the age of only seven, he was already competing in Grand Prix dressage with Dolf-Dietram Keller \u2013 and the following year carried Mr Keller to the title, German Professional Champion. In 2002, De Niro won international Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special tests at Saumur and Berlin, and in 2003, he was the winner of the German Dressage Derby at Hamburg.<\/p>\n

Dolf-Dietram Keller has a special relationship with De Niro. \u201cHe was the horse that I rode the longest.\u201d He told Britta Z\u00fcngel for her story in The Hanoverian <\/em>((8\/2014)<\/p>\n

\u201cDe Niro was very trainable. He learned the one-tempi changes in only two days as a six-year old. He did them every day from then on. We tried Piaffe and Passage very early at home. De Niro accepted the aids very well. Because of his great talent, he never really encountered stress during his entire training.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ride was taken over by his owner\u2019s daughter, Theresa Wahler and the stallion gracefully introduced the youngster to Grand Prix level dressage.<\/p>\n

As a sire, De Niro has been a huge success.<\/p>\n

In 1997 he was awarded the 1-a main premium by the Oldenburg Association on the basis of his progeny.<\/p>\n

In 2000 his daughter, Die Weingard was the 1-b \u2018diamond ring\u2019 mare at the Oldenburg Elite Show at Rastede.<\/p>\n

In 2004 he was the sire of Dancier, the Hanoverian licensing champion at Verden, as well as two of the vice-champions. The following year, the Verden champion, Hotline was out of a De Niro mare \u2013 this young stallion was sold for the then record price of \u20ac800,000.<\/p>\n

\"Dancier<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Dancier – licensing champion in 2004 – out of a Lancier-Espri mare<\/em><\/p>\n

In 2006, De Niro was represented by 14 progeny at the Bundeschampionate, making him the most successful sire.<\/p>\n

\"Bred<\/a><\/p>\n

Bred in Westfalia, out of an Ehrenmarsch mare, the De Niro son, Daily Pleasure was the 4 Year old Riding Horse Champion, in the mares and geldings class, at the 2005 Bundeschampionate\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Four years after his death, the 2021 Hanoverian Stallion Book records him as having produced 1372 (!) competitors, with winnings of \u20ac3,228,812, with 240 of his progeny competing at S level or above (including five at 5* S level), with 37 of his get with winnings of more that \u20ac10,000:\u00a0Desperados FRH won \u20ac559,355, D’Agostino – \u20ac312,452, Dablino – \u20ac226,749.<\/p>\n

On the 2021 German FN breeding values, he had a young horse value of 122, but starred on the highest level achieved ranking with 163.<\/p>\n

On the Hanoverian values, he scores a modest 102 for type but 119 for conformation. His Hanoverian dressage value is 110 (jumping, 74).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0The De Niro son, Desperados was a star in the young horse classes and went on to be a member of the German team with his young rider, Kristina Sprehe – sadly he died way too soon as he was a most promising sire…<\/em><\/p>\n

When I interviewed De Niro’s owner, Burkhard Wahler in 2007, he was rightly proud of his horse:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSome people might disagree, but in my opinion, there is no son of Donnerhall as successful as De Niro. He is only 14, the oldest progeny are ten, four are already placed in Grand Prix. Twenty-four are placed in Prix St Georges and Intermediaire. The offspring last year won almost \u20ac195,000, in just one year. When you start thinking that next year there will be more horses, at a higher level, that means they will probably win even more \u2013 and the stallion is still very young. My daughter Theresa competed last year with him in Grand Prix, and she will ride him again this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Wahler\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr Wahler liked the cross of Donnerhall on Akzent II:<\/p>\n

\u201cI love to buy the Donnerhall blood but I don\u2019t like the very popular Donnerhall \/ Pik Bube cross \u2013 very heavy big horses, and I didn\u2019t like that so much because I am from the other side, from the Trakehner side and I like more an elegant horse. I really liked De Niro, because he was out of a mare with Wiesenbaum \/ Akzent breeding. Akzent is through Absatz, Trakehner, Wiesenbaum is from Thoroughbred \u2013 so in my opinion, this was a very interesting bloodline.\u201d<\/p>\n

The story of how Burkhardt Wahler acquired De Niro is entertaining, and bears out Burkhardt\u2019s maxim that with every stallion comes a story\u2026<\/p>\n

Wahler\u2019s Klosterhof Medingen stud is in the middle of Hanoverian breeding country, but had always stood Trakehner stallions. He found the Hanoverian breeders would only visit his farm – once:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought, okay we have so many Hanoverian breeders but they don\u2019t come back \u2013 because they used our stallions to breed F1 \u2013 half Trakehner, half Hanoverian, then they go back to a Hanoverian stallion and not to a Trakehner again. We had to buy a Hanoverian stallion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the first time I\u2019d been to the Stallion Licensing in Verden, and in the catalogue, I had three stallions marked \u2013 and one of those three was De Niro.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that time, Celle could choose ten stallions for a certain price and it was not possible for private breeders to buy those stallions. When I looked at the stallions, there was only one I wanted to buy, that was De Niro. Then I asked Mr Jahncke, the President of the Hanoverian Association, do you think the state stud will take him? Yes. Probably he goes to Celle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always the same weekend with two stallion licensings \u2013 Verden has the Hanoverians, Neum\u00fcnster has the Trakehners. So I left Verden and went to Neum\u00fcnster. I called the next day after the freejumping \u2013 is he going to Celle? No. They thought Dr Bade didn\u2019t take him because he is by Donnerhall, and Donnerhall was a private stallion, and he didn\u2019t want to make private stallions popular. In this time they took Weltmeyer, Weltmeyer, Weltmeyer\u2026. Every year twelve Weltmeyer stallions. So then I called my partner, T\u00f6nne B\u00f6ckmann from the B\u00f6ckmann stallion station, and I said, I am here in Neum\u00fcnster, you go and buy that stallion…\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was in the days when they didn\u2019t have a proper auction for the licensed stallions, just the people who are interested used go into some rooms of the Verband office and bid amongst themselves for the stallions. Paul Schockem\u00f6hle was on the phone to the Hanoverian breeding director, Dr Wilkens who was doing the deal. The price went up to 150, 170, 180 Deutschmarks – so 80\/90,000 euros – and Schockem\u00f6hle asked, who\u2019s bidding against me? Oh it doesn\u2019t matter\u2026 No, who is it? B\u00f6ckmann. I want to talk to him\u2026 Okay, Paul said, I stop now, you buy him and we can talk later. But what he didn\u2019t know was that B\u00f6ckmann already had a partner!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThen on Monday the telephone was ringing, Schockem\u00f6hle\u2019s manager was ringing B\u00f6ckmann wanting to know how they were going to make the arrangements for the stallion. There\u2019s one problem, B\u00f6ckmann said, I have already a partner, and you have to talk to him. Two days later Paul calls me and says, listen I stopped bidding. And I said, yes Paul that was very nice, we have been friends for a long time\u2026 but now I have him and I am not interested in having a third owner in him. You should think about it, Paul said. At the end, I had no more arguments, and I didn\u2019t know what to say, so I said, I really can\u2019t decide – I have to ask my wife!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPaul said, are you crazy? B\u00f6ckmann says \u2018I can\u2019t decide, you have to ask Wahler\u2019. Wahler says \u2018I can\u2019t decide I have to call my wife!\u2019 At the end B\u00f6ckmann and I had De Niro ourselves. We got very lucky\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Mr Wahler, De Niro crosses over a wide variety of mare lines:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have bred a lot with Weltmeyer mares, in Oldenburg with many Rubinstein mares. Okay with the Donnerhall blood, once in a while they could be a little heavy, Donnerhall himself produced some heavy horses, that can happen \u2013 that\u2019s why we try all the time to make sure we don\u2019t get too heavy mares for De Niro. He makes very good dressage horses, especially with a good hindleg.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently De Niro is the sire of 60 licensed stallion sons around the world.<\/p>\n

On the 2015 FN rankings, De Niro has a dressage score of 134, as against a jumping score of 67. That puts him into 59th place on the FN rankings behind a score of horses that will disappear without trace (or a decent foal) in the next couple of years.\u00a0On the 2015 Hanoverian calculations he has a dressage index of 116 and a jumping index of 74, which is not good enough\u00a0make the Hanoverian topliste. What a joke these breeding values are!<\/p>\n

De Niro was number 1 on the 2013\u00a0\u00a0WBFSH dressage stallions rankings,but\u00a0on the 2014 standings he dropped to 2nd place, with 25 horses adding to his total points. In 2015 he was back where he belongs, number one with 29 representatives. The first five are all genuine international stars: Desperados, Delgado, d’Agostino, Glock’s Voice and Dablino.<\/p>\n

On the 2016 WBFSH standings he is once again in first place. I asked Hanoverian breeding expert, Ludwig Christmann what made De Niro such an exceptional sire:<\/p>\n

“I think you should probably talk to the riders and trainers, I think it is the minds that they like. When I talk to Mr Sprehe about Desperados and he says the horse is always fit, even if it is 35 degrees like in Rio, he always does his job. They have the talent for collection and the higher movements, but it is the mind that makes them so special.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Most points for Spencer Wilton and Supa Nova<\/em><\/p>\n

On the 2017 WBFSH standings, De Niro was once again the number one dressage stallion, with 27 representatives winning points for him. Four horses accumulated more that 2000 points in the year: Supa Nova II (Weltmeyer), Glock’s Voice (Rohdiamant), D’Agostino (Shogun xx) and Dablino FRH (Wanderbursch).<\/p>\n

De Niro is hanging in there on the 2020 WBFSH dressage stallion rankings, down from 4th to 10th.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n