{"id":7341,"date":"2012-03-22T04:29:17","date_gmt":"2012-03-21T17:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/?p=7341"},"modified":"2015-04-29T10:58:28","modified_gmt":"2015-04-29T00:58:28","slug":"dutch-stallions-delight-kwpn-stallion-show-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/2012\/03\/dutch-stallions-delight-kwpn-stallion-show-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Dutch Stallions Delight &#8211; KWPN Stallion Show 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/11.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7344 aligncenter\" title=\"1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/11.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/11-300x237.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7343 aligncenter\" title=\"2\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"357\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/2.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/2-300x238.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Story \u2013 Christopher Hector\u00a0&amp;\u00a0Photos \u2013 Roslyn Neave and Jacob Melissen<\/h3>\n<p>It seems that right now Holland is the Performance Horse breeders\u2019 magnet. After this year\u2019s decisive win in the WBFSH standings for both dressage and jumping, it seems even the Germans have jumped on the bandwagon. Last year\u2019s Hanoverian list of new licensed stallions included a swag of Dutch stallions, while in neighbouring Westfalia, the Dutch import, Vitalis is one of their most popular breeding sires. Even in conservative Holstein, they managed to squeeze a Numero Uno colt into the 22 they licensed last year. Looking at the young stallions on show at KWPN Stallion Show in s\u2019Hertogenbosch this year, the success of the Dutch is no surprise, there were superb colts in both the jumping and dressage divisions.<\/p>\n<p>But there was more than the quality of the Dutch horse to drag the world to Den Bosch, the KWPN authorities were to make a major new announcement on their strategy to combat Osteochondrosis (OC) \u2013 and luckily for those of us who do not speak Dutch, the new policy was to be outlined at the English Language College that has been held for the past three years as part of the stallion show. Even Gabriele Mohrmann-Pochammer, the editor of the leading German equestrian magazine, <em>St. Georg, <\/em>made the five hour drive to be on hand for the announcement, while the editor of France\u2019s <em>L\u2019Eperon, <\/em>Xavier Libbrecht ventured a perilous distance from the vineyards of France to swell the ranks in the press room.<\/p>\n<p>Opening the seminar, KWPN director, J.H. Knaap, made the point that \u2018talent is not enough, horses must be healthy.\u2019 From the 1980\u2019s OC had been identified as a problem with three determining factors: * genes * diet * exercise.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7346 aligncenter\" title=\"3\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/3.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/3-300x157.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The first speaker, Ilse van Gravenhof defined the condition medically, then made the point that damage from OC was estimated to cost 10 million euros a year in Holland alone \u2013 which sounds a lot but is probably less than the monthly profit margin in a decent Dutch sales barn, and when you questioned more closely it looked more like a guesstimate than a precise calculation. Ms van Gravenhof made the telling point that the genetic factor was by far the most important since the degree of reduction of OC incidence increased cumulatively with each generation of selective breeding while the environmental strategies \u2013 diet and exercise \u2013 were only effective for the individual directly involved at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Strategies for reduction were three-fold. The first, excluding stallions from breeding that showed OC health had been practiced in The Netherlands since 1987 for problems in the hock, and since 1994 for problems in the stifle, without eliminating the problem. Identifying gene structures in the DNA that cause OC was a theoretical possibility, but not practical now. The third strategy, offspring testing, offered the most effective and practical solution.<\/p>\n<p>To assess the stallion\u2019s OC health status required testing just 20 yearlings \u2013 the information from 200 yearlings was no more reliable than from 20.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7347 aligncenter\" title=\"4\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/4.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/4-300x216.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The seminar had been sponsored by the feed company, PAVO and the second speaker, Rob Kro, a PAVO employee was given time to spruik the benefits of PAVO\u2019s new magnesium and potassium-based supplement \u2013 although the graphs he showed were hardly convincing, and the <em>fix it with feed<\/em> line has been trotted out by numerous supplement manufacturers over the years with no apparent long term reduction of the OC problem.<\/p>\n<p>KWPN employee, Dan\u00efelle Arts is responsible for implementing the new strategy and she explained how future stallions will have an OC breeding value to go along with all the other breeding values, like jumping ability, dressage ability, conformation, etc. However Dan\u00efelle did point out that the new breeding value was only applied to stallions approved since 2007\u00a0 &#8211; which cuts out most of the stallions you <em>really <\/em>wanted to know about. Thumb frantically through their stallion guide to say, Vivaldi, or Ustinov, and you find instead of a value, the initials \u2018n.v.t.\u2019 (which means: <em>stallion is according to the selection regulations not part of the structural progeny testing system for osteochondrosis. A breeding value OC-health for this stallion will never be published.<\/em>) Stallions licensed in 2006 are only nine years old now, so it is going to be many, many years before the top stallions in the KWPN book have a breeding value for genetic health and decades before the majority of foals are sired by stallions with a breeding health value. Although the OC-health breeding value may be great animal husbandry 30 years down the track, right now it is a brilliant marketing and PR move\u2026<\/p>\n<p>The next speaker was another KWPN operative, Hans van Tartwijk. Since mares in the KWPN have been given a PROK (or health) rating since 1989, the idea was to assess the OH health of your mare and then decide if you particularly needed to find a stallion with a very positive OC health breeding value. This raises another interesting question \u2013 will the breeders take much notice of the new breeding value for genetic health? Certainly in the past, the breeding values don\u2019t seem to have influenced the mare owners\u2019 choice of stallions. The current fashion for breeding to the latest licensing sensation, means that many of sires with the largest mare books, have no progeny in competition and therefore no breeding values \u2013 while at the same time, many of the older established stallions attract large numbers of mares, even though they do not have particularly brilliant breeding values.<\/p>\n<p>It should be noted that the breeding value does not represent any absolute measure of health, just the variation from the mean, which has the value 100. The higher ranked horses might just be the best of a very bad lot, and vice versa, still the results are interesting. In the dressage stallions, Bordeaux (United \/ Gribaldi) has the highest genetic health index: 113, while Amp\u00e8re has a value of 103. Four of the more popular young sires are all below average when it comes to OC health: Zizi Top (94), Apache (95), Zhivago (96) and Wynton (99). Arezzo VDL (Chin Chin \/ Heartbreaker) is the highest ranked of the jumping sires on 106, followed by Calvaro (103) Zirroco Blue (102) and Warrant (101). With a negative ranking we find Vigaro (99), Clinton (98), Zurich (95) and Singapore (92).<\/p>\n<p>Even an OC-sceptic like famed breeder and vet, Jan Greve (<em>it\u2019s not that he doesn\u2019t believe OC exists, just that he thinks other factors are more important<\/em>) is happy enough with the new breeding value: \u201cIt is a good idea for the normal horses \u2013 if you have a good horse, then a chip doesn\u2019t matter, you can still always sell them. It is a good start and while we will never eliminate OC completely, this should reduce it greatly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ludwig Christmann from the Hanoverian Verband has been a keen observer at the seminar, how does he think the new Dutch system will work?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7348 aligncenter\" title=\"5\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"266\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want to comment too much on the breeding strategy of the KWPN but there is also research being done on the subject in Germany, we are looking more to the genomic part \u2013 the genomic selection has already been introduced into cattle breeding and it is on the agenda for horse breeding as well. That is the way we are approaching it, we know that the DNA of the horses can be de-coded and this is the project for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>You don\u2019t think there will be any immediate pressure to follow the Dutch example?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing is immediately in the pipe-line, we have to complete the research that is underway first\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>One thing puzzles me, ten years ago everyone got very excited about OC but I had the impression that since then, people had learned to deal with it \u2013 with nutritional strategies, with exercise regimes, and operating to remove a chip is not such a big deal\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we heard at the seminar, there are three parts involved \u2013 the feeding and the exercise, and the genetic, and from my point of view, it does make sense to deal with the genetic part. In Hanover there were also some conclusions out of our research project and there are now stricter guidelines for our stallions. As a result we are not accepting stallions with OC in the stifle \u2013 we don\u2019t see stallions with OC in the hock or the pastern as such a problem. As Hans van Tartwijk said, there must be the possibility of some compensation, if you have a very good stallion then you must forgive the stallion if he has a little problem there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Do you find people \u2013 your customers \u2013 very worried about OC?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have to keep it under control for sure and there are cases where horses lose a lot of value and horses have to be put down because of OC, so it is a problem, you can\u2019t just say you can treat it with surgery and everything is fine, that is not the right approach, we must try to minimize it through breeding but also with the right upbringing and feeding for the foal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7349 aligncenter\" title=\"6\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/6.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/6-300x247.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Okay enough with the theory, let\u2019s get over to where the real action is, the licensing inspections.<\/p>\n<p>The jumping colts are simply amazing, one after another they jump with such fabulous style, and the guys who set up the jumps, and help shepherd them around the ring, are artists.<\/p>\n<p>Really one of the first to look great is Exeter (all 2012 Dutch stallions will have names beginning with the letter \u2018e\u2019) and he is an example of the recipe that has worked so well for the Dutch breeders in the past: Holstein stallion over Dutch mare. In this case, the Cassini I son, Berlin, but as breeders all over Europe have found, Berlin needs Thoroughbred on the mare side to work, and Exeter has \u2018blood\u2019 aplenty \u2013 his dam is by the Lux son, Lupicor (who has lots of Thoroughbred in his background) out of a three quarter Thoroughbred mare.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/7.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7350 aligncenter\" title=\"7\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/7.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/7-300x268.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Increasingly though, the Dutch have stabilized their own breeding cocktail and the stallions with two or more products that have made it to this second round of the licensing, are mostly Dutch: Vigaro (Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve \/ Renville \/ Farn), Namelus (Concorde \/ Joost \/ Abgar xx), Numero Uno (Libero H \/ Lord Corlando \/ Ahorn Z), Zirocco Blue (Mr Blue \/ Voltaire \u2013 and a touch of Selle Fran\u00e7ais, Le Tot de Semilly)<\/p>\n<p>The \u2018outsiders\u2019 are Singapore (like his Eurocommerce stable mate, Berlin, Holsteiner: Acorado \/ Cantus \/ Cor de la Bry\u00e8re), Calvaro (another Holsteiner, Caletto \/ Capitol \/ Fantus) and the Belgian bred, Toulon (Heartbreaker \/ Jokinal de Bornival \/ Lurano).<\/p>\n<p>Two stallions have four representatives each: Diarado, that Holstein \/ Selle Fran\u00e7ais fusion \u2013 Diamant de Semilly \/ Corrado \/ Contender &#8211; and the winner of the 2004 KWPN licensing, Ustinov (Libero \/ Nimmerdor \/ Marco Polo).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/8.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7351 aligncenter\" title=\"8\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/8.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/8-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/8-298x300.jpg 298w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This is another distinctive feature of the Dutch licensing process, the Commission is very careful to look after the genetic balance of the Dutch horses. New genetics are being introduced all the time to give the breeders the widest choice of bloodlines, and at times you get the feeling that some of the colts that don\u2019t make it through to the third round are victim to the fact that their sires are already well enough represented in the KWPN ranks.<\/p>\n<p>I was lucky enough to again catch up with Paul Hendrix, famed as a breeder and dealer and an executive member of the KWPN. What did he think the second round viewing had told us about the state of jumping horse breeding in Holland?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7352 aligncenter\" title=\"9\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"266\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we had a better group than last year. It was more spread, there were not too many exceptional horses. We were very careful that there was no preparing on the free jumping because we think it is very important that the judges, and also the public, see the real horse and not a prepared horse \u2013 we saw one horse that was not natural, and it was sent out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9a.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7353 aligncenter\" title=\"9a\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9a.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9a.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9a-268x300.jpg 268w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a tight group but I think when we have finished the performance tests later in the year, we should have a group of 15 to 20 nice stallions which has the prospect to be jumpers at the higher level with good pedigrees, so they can also be breeding stallions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Once again we are seeing the influence of Libero \u2013 two years ago, you said to me that Ustinov was going to be the coming stallion, and you must be feeling that your prediction was spot on\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m glad you have such a good memory, I forgot I said it, although it was definitely on my mind \u2013 I have to be careful because I am also the part-owner of Ustinov. The influence of Libero is so important for Holland \u2013 Numero Uno, Warrant, Ustinov now coming up, we are so blessed with Libero. Actually the nice thing is that this is the arena where Libero took the World Cup title, we should call it the Libero Arena\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9b.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7354 aligncenter\" title=\"9b\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9b.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9b.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9b-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9b-300x297.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>How is Ustinov\u2019s competition career coming along?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had a set-back, he had to have an operation, but he is back in work, competing at 1.40m level, and we hope in April\/May he can do his first Grand Prix competition again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Are you seeing a pattern in his foals?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you ask me, what kind of mare Ustinov needs, then I would say a mare with some length because he is a little bit short coupled, and some blood on the dam side is always good because he goes back to Nimmerdor and Marco Polo, very old bloodlines \u2013 old but good lines.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Do you think it is time for Holland to look again to the French blood?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are looking, but so far we haven\u2019t found what we would like to find in France. I think we could still use some of the power over the back that the French have in their breeding. We are still looking, and that is the good part of the Dutch breeding, the breeders are so open minded, if there were good horses in South Africa, they would be buying there too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9c.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7355 aligncenter\" title=\"9c\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9c.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9c.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9c-300x295.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>And Holstein is still a rich vein to mine \u2013 the Berlin horse, was one of the nicest\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have very good connections with Holstein, and Holstein will stay important for the rest of our lives. I always say we are blood connected with Holstein. We have a lot of Holstein blood, we have to be picky with what we take, we should not over-do it, but there is a lifeline between Holstein and The Netherlands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No doubt, the eventual licensing champion, Elion was the beneficiary of the policy of promoting the new. Of course, he was a super jumper, but you suspect that kick-starting the career of his sire, Applaus, who won the stallion licensing himself just two years ago, had something to do with the choice. Applaus is young enough to have a Genetic health breeding value \u2013 in this case a (just) positive ranking of 101.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9d.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7356 aligncenter\" title=\"9d\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9d.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9d.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9d-300x208.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Elion has a nicely balanced pedigree. Applaus is by the Voltaire son, Unistar out of a grand-daughter of the French great, Grand Veneur. His dam, Nicole, produced the Grand Prix jumper, Stetter (by Manhattan) and she is by the Nimmerdor son, Goodtimes, who is out of a Caletto I mare.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Applaus-BY-JMLR.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7381 aligncenter\" title=\"Applaus BY JMLR\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Applaus-BY-JMLR.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"669\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Applaus-BY-JMLR.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Applaus-BY-JMLR-201x300.jpg 201w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9f.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7359 aligncenter\" title=\"9f\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9f.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9f.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9f-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9f-300x298.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Two other colts made it through to the judging of the Championship: Envoy, by Numero Uno out of a mare by the Thoroughbred, Pharon (again, maintain the genetic diversity of the pool) and Etuloun, by Toulon out of a Calvados \/ Le Mexico \/ Lucky Boy xx mare.<\/p>\n<p>I was at the KWPN stallion show in 2010, and two years later, I think the dressage horses are an even better bunch, although the tendency for the quarters to trail out behind still shows up at times.<\/p>\n<p>The Amp\u00e8res are a lovely line of horses. Amp\u00e8re himself is solidly Dutch bred, by Rousseau, a son of Ferro, out of a Flemmingh \/ Amor mare \u2013 and it is that large Holstein presence on the stallion\u2019s dam side that seems to benefit from a refining mare. One of the really stand out colts was out of a mare by the Florestan son, Fidermark. Four of the Amp\u00e8res made it through to the 3<sup>rd<\/sup> round. (The initial selections before the stallion show constitute the first round, then at the actual show, there are two rounds and out of the third round, the successful colts are invited to go on to the performance test. The third round also provides the candidates for the Championship Ring.)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9g.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7360 aligncenter\" title=\"9g\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9g.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9g.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9g-300x288.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9h.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7361 aligncenter\" title=\"9h\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9h.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"852\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9h.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9h-158x300.jpg 158w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9i.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7362 aligncenter\" title=\"9i\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9i.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9i.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9i-300x289.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>There are ten sons of Vivaldi who make it to the second viewing \u2013 the largest group by any stallion &#8211; with six of them going on to the third inspection. Vivaldi combines the blood that has made the Dutch dressage horse so successful: Krack C, Jazz and Ulft (sire of Ferro).<\/p>\n<p>There are also six sons of Wynton who made it to the stallion show, with four of them going through to the third round. Wynton is a neat Dutch\/German cross, being by Jazz, out of a mare by the Danish dressage star, Matador, out of a daughter of Rubinstein.<\/p>\n<p>The final round is going to be exciting\u2026 which is more than can be said for the Saturday night program this year. Endless boring presentations and speeches, the final straw is an announcement of an unscheduled 45 minute break and we high-tail it back to our hotel, not even the chance to see British star, Charlotte Dujardin is enough to keep us in our seats. There are cars banked up all over Holland as one the coldest snaps on record rolls over Europe, we certainly don\u2019t want to be stuck in the freezing car park at one in the morning.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9j.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7363 aligncenter\" title=\"9j\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9j.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9j.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9j-300x283.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It is a bit the same the next day. Okay it was always going to be tough to match up to the fabulous tribute to Gribaldi in 2011, complete with Hans Peter Minderhoud lighting a fire under Painted Black and Edward Gal and Totilas at their sublime best, but the tribute to the great breeder, Huub van Helvoirt, is as flat as yesterday\u2019s pancake. Poor quality stills and very average videos, stretched out of proportion sideways on the big screen, are not a good look, and not very good horses with not very good riders wandering aimlessly around the arena, just don\u2019t make it \u2013 and when the great stallion, Jazz entered the arena, he looked as if he had stopped off at one of those famous Amsterdam coffee shops on the way!<\/p>\n<p>They really needed a little help from the cool jazz group (get it?) we found when we got back to our hotel\u2026 And why not a <em>pas de deux<\/em> from Edward and Hans Peter riding the Jazz duo of Sister de Jeu and Apache? It would seem no Dutch show is complete without the dynamic duo in operation. Somewhere this year the show organizers lost their mojo\u2026<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9k.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7364 aligncenter\" title=\"9k\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9k.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"883\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Seven colts are approved to go on to do their performance test: Excalibur (Amp\u00e8re \/ De Niro \/ Lord Sinclair), another Excalibur (F\u00fcrst Romancier \/ Krack C \/ Zichem), Elcapone (UB 40 \/ OO Seven \/ Saluut), Emerson (Wynton \/ Flemmingh \/ Amor), Escobedo (Vivaldi \/ Havidoff \/ Roemer), Expo (Wynton \/ Belisar \/ Variant) and the eventual champion, Etoine (Vivaldi \/ Balzflug \/ Amor).<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The four-year-old Jack Sparrow (Johnson \/ Wolkentanz \/ Don Primero) who is being billed as Edward Gal\u2019s new star, is licensed as a four-year-old to go on and do the short performance test, while it is something of an embarrassment for Westfalia when the KWPN knocked back Vitalis at the licensing, damning the stallion with the faintest of faint praise \u2018Vitalis is a nice dressage horse, which does not excel enough with his pedigree and strength of the hind leg\u2019 which leaves him licensed in Germany, unlicensed in his native Holland.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9l.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7365 aligncenter\" title=\"9l\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9l.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"608\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9l.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9l-222x300.jpg 222w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Dutch equestrian journalist and breeding expert, Dirk Willem den Rosie is always worth listening to on occasions like this. He is generally happy with the selection:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a broad variety of genes. People here in Holland are afraid that we have too much Krack and Jazz, I have never worried about that, and I think this show has proven that it is not a problem \u2013 there is plenty of opportunity to get the best genes and make them available in Holland. For instance, Amp\u00e8re, we thought we had lost him <em>(the stallion was sold to an American and stands at Jan Brink&#8217;s stables in Sweden where he was bred to 141 mares in 2011 making him the most popular stallion in that country) <\/em>but we haven\u2019t because we\u2019ve seen a couple of his best sons here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>They really were a type\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbsolutely. It shows that Holland has the ability to draw the best lines and the best genes to its population. Although we lost our Amp\u00e8re, now we have a couple of sons to equal him \u2013 maybe they are even better than him. I especially liked the combination with Fidermark, that was incredible. He should have been Champion but he was not selected for the Champions ring. The other one that should have been in the Champions ring was the Jazz \/ Rhodium, but I do not know if he will be trainable because the combination of Jazz and Rhodium is very on the edge, but if the switch goes the right way, he could be a World Champion; a very, very good horse. So although I don\u2019t agree with all the decisions of the Commission, in general I think we have what it takes to cook the cake we need for the Grand Prix \u2013 we have all the ingredients here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9m.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7366 aligncenter\" title=\"9m\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9m.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"101\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9m.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9m-300x67.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Which group of colts stood out for you?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmp\u00e8re.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>The Vivaldi\u2019s were pretty nice too\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, but I think we didn\u2019t see the best Vivaldi in the final selection, the Vivaldi \u2013 Ferro \u2013 Inspekteur, from the dam line of Goliath. We\u2019ve lost him because he was a little bit more awkward, more ugly, we keep looking for more and more refined horses, but for top sport, which is what I am looking for &#8211; and I don\u2019t care about the rest &#8211; I don\u2019t mind if the horse is a bit more plump or awkward or normal, as long as it does what it takes for the Grand Prix. Vivaldi in my opinion is not the type of horse that will bring Dutch breeding to Grand Prix. Vivaldi is okay if you combine him with a very electric mare \u2013 say the best of Ferro \u2013 then maybe we can do something with him. Vivaldi is a great sire but we don\u2019t really need him for Grand Prix because his canter is not good enough and his hind legs are slow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9n.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7367 aligncenter\" title=\"9n\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"381\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9n.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9n-300x254.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>The Wyntons were disappointing when they walked?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn general dressage horses don\u2019t disappoint me in walk because I don\u2019t care as much about the walk as I should do. I know it is one of the three basic gaits but it is the basic gait we don\u2019t need so much for Grand Prix. And it is the basic gait that is poorly judged at shows \u2013 the first thing that gets lost is the walk. If a two-and-a-half-year-old horse comes into an arena like this, he is supposed to walk badly. I can\u2019t say I don\u2019t care about the walk but it is the thing that I look at the least. I look at a horse to see if it has the ingredients to be a Grand Prix horse, or the sire of Grand Prix horses, and I can do that on the basis of conformation and the way he moves in trot and canter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>The F\u00fcrst Romanciers?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe saw the best and the worst \u2013 one was okay, the other shouldn\u2019t be here \u2013 and he was bred by best friends of mine \u2013 but a horse that moves his hind legs like that should not be here. Wynton was very good, dressage-type horses, very good hind leg, good interior. Amp\u00e8re and Wynton were the pick of the sires.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is noticeable that the crew on the microphone find their English when they think it is important \u2013 like for the auction that rounds out the show. The Dutch have a very curious system at their auction, some of the horses are sold with a \u2018bonus\u2019 \u2013 in other words, when the horse passes his performance test, the buyer has to pay the seller more money. Thus the champion of the dressage horses, Etoine, who is the first lot, sells for a mere 58,000 euros, with another 50K to pay when he passes his performance test. It would be interesting to see the reaction if you said, \u2018just load him on the plane, no one cares about performance tests in Australia\u2019 \u2013 then you would have a <em>very <\/em>cheap horse.<\/p>\n<p>The Jazz \/ Rhodium that caught Dirk Willem\u2019s eye, rocketed up to sell for 150,000 euros, and the evening was in full swing. In the end the high selling dressage stallion was the Jazz \/ Rhodium, while the most expensive jumper stallion was the champion, Elion at euro 90,000 and he too comes with a bonus to pay, 45 k after he passes his performance test.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9o.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7368 aligncenter\" title=\"9o\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9o.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9o.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9o-300x258.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9p.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7369 aligncenter\" title=\"9p\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9p.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9p.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9p-300x220.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/table1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7370 aligncenter\" title=\"table1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/table1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"259\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/table1.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/table1-300x172.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/table1a.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7371 aligncenter\" title=\"table1a\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/table1a.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/table1a.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/table1a-300x122.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/table2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7372 aligncenter\" title=\"table2\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/table2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/table2.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/table2-300x291.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9q.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7373 aligncenter\" title=\"9q\" src=\"http:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9q.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"353\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9q.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/9q-300x235.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chris Hector and Roz Neave report from the 2012 KWPN Stallion Show in Holland. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[715],"tags":[600,369,599,85],"class_list":["post-7341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-big-issues","tag-dutch-breeding","tag-kwpn","tag-kwpn-stallion-show","tag-warmblood-breeding"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7341"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20959,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7341\/revisions\/20959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}