Morningside Stud

DEAR JOHAN
by Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 9 2009

The following is an open letter to Johan Knaap (Director of the KWPN), the chair of the WBFSH committee with responsibility for producing, in collaboration with the FEI, the rankings of competition horses, sires, and studbooks.


Dear Johan,

During the last eighteen months several of my columns for Horse International have called upon the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) to improve the methodologies used to create its rankings so the final product is useful to sport horse breeders. In these articles I offered specific suggestions on how to improve the rankings.

The WBFSH recently released the rankings for the 2009 competition year (see www.wbfsh.org). Unfortunately the suggestions I and other breeders offered you and the WBFSH have been ignored. Nothing has changed in the way the rankings are computed and we breeders are once again left with a ranking system that is of little value but are nevertheless the source of self-promotion among the studbooks that are ranked at the top.

Below I offer you a number of concerns and suggestions about the rankings...

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TRAKEHNER BREEDERS TOUR & STALLION APPROVAL
by Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 9 2009



During the week of 18 – 25 October I was fully immersed in the Trakehner breed – and I liked much of what I saw. In the first part of the week a group of us from the USA, Canada, Poland, Finland, and Ireland were led on our own long trek throughout western and eastern Germany by a true expert on the breed, my good friend Dr. Maren Engelhardt. We drove over twelve hundred kilometers and visited large and well-known stud farms, including a state stud, and several smaller farms whose horses were equally impressive. Although I have been a member of the Trakehner Verband for several years, have used a Trakehner mare in my breeding program, and there is Trakehner blood in several of my stallions' pedigrees, the Trakehners Breeders Tour was an excellent reintroduction to the breed and helped to sharpen my understanding of the breed and the direction of the studbook. (In the next issue of Horse International I will offer an assessment of the breed and what the Verband and breeders need to do so the Trakehner remains a vital force in both sport and breeding.)

Following the tour our group attended the Trakehner Verband's stallion approval and auction, which was held in Neumuenster. A collection of 21 two-year-old colts were approved out of 63 invited to the show (several colts were withdrawn due to injury, etc.). For me the approval was a disappointment in that I simply did not see 21 stallions worthy of approval; I believe the number should have been closer to a dozen....

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FLASH IN THE PAN?
by Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 8 2009

Now that the results are in from the two most widely followed young horse championships – the World Breeding Federation Championships (WBFC) and the Bundeschampionate (BuCha) – it is a good time to step back and gain some perspective on these events. I offer these thoughts as someone who has had horses I own and/or bred compete in these championships a total of four times and been invited to compete a total of five times. Breeders who look to the World Breeding Federation Championships and the Bundeschampionate for insights into what stallions to use in their breeding programs need to ask if they are seeing dazzling stars of the future or flashes in the pan.


WBFC versus BuCha
These two championships require very different types of training and development of young horses. That is why we see lower participation in the WBFC by the best German-bred horses than we would expect given the number of foals born into the German studbooks each year.

The German system for producing young horses resonates well with what is required to excel in the BuCha – this is to be expected, of course! – but it resonates very poorly with what is required to excel in the WBFC. In BuCha showjumping, for example, the horse should be easy to ride, exhibit excellent technique over the fence, provide appropriate scope given the size of the fence, and show a balanced and big canter that can be lengthened and shortened between the fences (as appropriate for the age class). Speed and going against the clock is not an issue: in the 6-year-old Bundeschampionate at Warendorf, for example, horses are not asked to go against the clock until the very last round on the very last day of the show. We usually do not see flapping of arms and reins or hooting and hollering in the horse's ear at the BuCha!

In contrast, a young horse can only do well in showjumping at the WBFC at Lanaken if it is very good against the clock. Jumping technique, rideability, and a good canter are not absolutely required for success in the WBFC or in the competitions used by most studbooks for selecting horses to compete in the WBFC. If the horse can jump clear and fast it will achieve success in the WBFC but that does not necessarily mean it is a good horse. Often horses that do well at the WBFC seem to be those that have been pushed in their development and training.

The Germans use the BuCha as the selection process for the WBFC: in showjumping, for example, the BuCha Finalists are selected for the WBFC. But very few Warendorf finalists are usually seen at Lanaken. Why? The very best young German equine athletes have been trained in a way that is antithetical to the training that is required for success at the WBFC. So the Germans – and their BuCha Finalists – often are not seen at Lanaken in the latter part of September.

A Means to an End or An End in Itself
One of the difficulties with both the WBFC and the BuCha is that success in these young horse championships has become an end in itself to some owners and riders. This is particularly the case when it comes to stallions competing in dressage (and, to a lesser extent, showjumping). Stallion owners know that a victory in dressage at Verden (or in showjumping at Lanaken) can result in potentially hundreds of extra breedings to the stallion over the next few years. So an industry has developed whereby very talented and, in some cases, gifted dressage riders have put aside careers in upper-level sport to produce dressage prodigy for the WBFC and the BuCha.

Sometimes these champion and vice-champion horses are allowed to continue in sport but many times we see these young stallions retired to the breeding shed so as not to tarnish the memory of their achievement or because some of these horses do not possess the complex set of attributes required for success in upper level sport.

What's a Breeder to Do?
My best advice is not to be swept up in the hype that surrounds either the BuCha or the WBFC. Many young horses, and especially stallions, are being produced specifically to excel in these championships. And particularly in the case of the WBFC, the results we see may not be truly indicative of the horse's true potential for sport. My gut instincts tell me that the BuCha has better predictive value than the WBFC.

The top-placed stallions in these championships should be examined by breeders: the spotlight that falls on them can be useful to us if we take the time to critically examine their genetic endowments and critically assess their athletic abilities. But the success of these young stallions in these particular championships should not cloud our vision. We should not be blinded by the light or burned by the flash in the pan.

Earlier articles by Tom Reed can be found in back issues of Horse International or by visiting the blog at www.morningside-stud.com/News
tom@morningside-stud.com

BEWARE OF THE CLONE TRAPS
by Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 7 2009

Horse breeding is becoming more and more a victim of fads, and the latest fad is cloning. Everything from world-class sires to moderately successful international showjumping geldings is being cloned. Whether you are a studbook official or a hobby breeder or a professional breeder you are going to have to decide if this is a bandwagon you want on jump on.

You will not find me on the cloning bandwagon. I have problems with the idea of using clones in either sport or breeding. I see clone traps everywhere I look.

With respect to sport, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) at some time in the future must convene an expert panel to consider the eligibility of clones to compete under FEI rules. I question how it can be good for sport to have clones competing. Do we really want to see an Olympic Games or a World Championship or a European Championship where the entrants could include several clones of Quidam de Revel, a half dozen clones of Ratina Z, and a couple of clones of E.T.? The requirement for sport should be that each individual horse has unique DNA. Yes, most clones will never enter the competition arena because they have been manufactured to produce sperm or ova. This is not a trap set by the FEI but by the owners of clones themselves but to be fair to clone owners the FEI should take a stand on this issue before any of the clones reach the age where they can be started in sport.

With respect to breeding I have several concerns about using clones in a breeding program. On a fundamental and philosophical level we must decide if we are to breed horses or to Xerox horses, if we are to breed horses or to manufacture horses. These are two entirely different endeavors and neither breeders nor studbooks should confuse the two activities.

With cloning studbooks and breeders risk being caught in a time trap. Gem Twist xx, the Thoroughbred gelding that had an amazing career as an international showjumper and now has a clone that will soon stand at stud, was born in 1979 and was retired from sport in 1996. Yes, Gem Twist was a world-class showjumper (Individual Silver and Team Silver Medals in the 1998 Olympics, Individual and Team 4th place in the 1990 World Championship, etc.) but he retired in 1996 – 13 years ago! Certainly the sport has changed and we can only surmise if the Gem Twist clone, named Gemini, could be as successful in 2016 as Gem Twist was twenty-five years earlier. But we will never know because it is unlikely that Gemini will ever be started in sport. Gemini was not bred to be a showjumper; he was manufactured to produce sperm.

With cloning studbooks and breeders risk being caught in the gelding trap. Many people believe geldings that are international showjumpers were the victims of bad decisions at castration time: they should have been kept entire as stallions. This is nonsense. One only has to go on the Internet and look at the recent photos of the clone of the world-class showjumping gelding E.T. to see why the decision to castrate the original E.T. was the right decision. Unfortunately several studbooks have begun to approve as sires -- without inspection! -- clones of geldings that were top-class showjumpers. This is an unwise policy decision in my view and breeders considering the use of these "cloned geldings that are now stallions", especially if they have not been subjected to the same rigorous inspection regime as other stallions, are taking on an increased risk of failure.

With cloning studbooks and breeders risk being caught in the dam-line trap. Almost every single showjumping gelding (with the possible exception of Calvaro V) that has been cloned has at best a weak dam-line. If there is anything that we have learned about horse breeding it is that the dam-line is supreme. Yes, happy accidents do happen and sometimes a super showjumper comes from a weak – or, in fact, a useless – dam-line. But that is like winning the lottery and for both studbook officials and breeders gambling should not be part of a sound breeding strategy and program.

With cloning studbooks and breeders risk being caught in the dead-end trap. Success in breeding is based on careful selection and culling of stallions and mares with the goal of continuous improvement. How can better horses be bred if we are using genetics from ten, twenty or thirty years ago? Is cloning not an admission of failure?

Finally, with cloning studbooks and breeders risk being caught in the potential catastrophic failure trap. We know nothing about the long-term survivability, fertility, and soundness of clones and their progeny. What if the use of clones in sport horse breeding results in outcomes that are profoundly detrimental to the goals of studbooks and breeders? I am not predicting this outcome but the probability of a catastrophic failure is certainly greater than zero. Cloning may or may not be a high-risk activity but it is certainly not a no-risk activity.

From a benefit-cost perspective the likely financial winners from cloning will be the owners of clones that stand at stud and are marketed aggressively to breeders who are either ignorant of the risks or are willing to assume risk of anything from normal failure to catastrophic failure.

The guaranteed winners will be the careful, traditional breeders and studbooks that do not jump on bandwagons driven by commercial interests rather than sound principles of breeding. These studbooks and breeders will protect their genetic endowments from both catastrophic failure and the incremental failures produced by time traps, gelding traps, dam-line traps, and dead-end traps.

The almost certain losers will be the naïve breeders who want to be fashionable. They are likely to be found in the next decade or two as road kill with bandwagon tracks on their backs and empty pockets in their pants.

==
Earlier articles by Tom Reed can be found in back issues of Horse International magazine or by visiting the blog at www.morningside-stud.com/News

If you enjoy reading my articles I invite you to join the Warmblood Studbook of Ireland and receive a free subscription to HORSE INTERNATIONAL magazine.

You can download a WSI membership form from

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FOR WHOM THE BELL CURVE TOLLS
by Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 6 2009


The goal we have set for ourselves of breeding and producing world-class athletes is a tough one. If we are to achieve this goal on a systematic basis we must use world-class stallions and mares in our breeding program and make informed, creative, and bold choices about which particular genetic endowments to combine each year to produce a foal. That's the fun part: analyzing bloodlines, genotypes, phenotypes, and the actual production of mares and stallions to decide which stallions and mares are paired each year.

The not-so-fun part is deciding which mares (and stallions) to remove from our breeding program. Morningside Stud culls a minimum of 10% of our female herd each year (in practice we have been culling 10 - 15% each year). How do we decide which mares and fillies to cull?

In my last article (Brother Can You Spare a Sigma?) I discussed how the bell curve -- the so-called normal distribution -- is a useful tool for understanding how traits such as jumping ability are distributed across a population of horses. I encouraged breeders to critically analyze each mare in his or her herd and to judge where each one falls on the bell curve.

If you do not have a culling policy a useful place to start is to do is to draw a bell curve like the one shown as Figure 2 in last month's article (issue 5, page 37) and write the names of your mares in the appropriate segment in the bell curve. The key is to be brutally honest with yourself about your mares' genetic endowments and their actual production. Does the mare have world-class genetics? (If not, how can one expect to have a realistic chance of breeding a world-class athlete?) Even if your mare has world-class genetics, has the mare been producing progeny that are excelling in sport? (If not, why should her lack of success change in the future?) Has the mare's damline been producing progeny that are excelling in sport? (If not, are you expecting the stallions you use to be miracle workers?)

The next step is to rank order your foals from the best to the worst. Assess each foal using any set of criteria and metrics you like but for me the most important variable is always athleticism.

If a mare produces a foal that is in the bottom 10% (10th percentile) of its cohort in terms of athleticism, movement, type and conformation the mare should be put on a "watch list".

The following year if the mare produces another foal that is in the bottom 10% of its cohort the mare should be culled. If she produces a foal that is between the 11th and 25th percentile of its cohort the mare should maintained on the "watch list" for another year.

The next year if the produces another foal that is below the 25th percentile she should be culled.

If a suspect mare produces an extraordinary filly -- and far superior to its dam in terms of athleticism, movement, type, and conformation -- consider repeating the breeding. Later on you may decide to cull the mare and keep one or more of her daughters for your breeding program.

If your breeding program is small and you do not have a cohort of five or more foals each year then you can visit other breeders, shows, breed inspections, auctions, etc. to create a virtual cohort of foals for the sake of comparing your foal(s) to others foals.

Once you have in place a system to evaluate each year's foal crop you should develop a system to track and evaluate those foals as they enter sport. Remember that our goal is to produce world-class athletes, not world-class foals. Mare that produce very good foals that simply turn out to be average or below average athletes should also be culled from the breeding program.

What does one do with mares culled from a breeding program?

Some breeders put the mare to other uses (such as riding, embryo transfer recipient, etc.).

Other breeders sell the culled mares to other breeders. Morningside Stud never sells mares to other breeders if the mare has been producing incorrect foals. If the mare serially produces incorrect foals she is removed from the breeding population through euthanasia. We have had a couple of mares like this over the years. These mares produced foals with terrible leg conformation despite using a variety of stallions that normally produce good leg conformation. We believe it is our duty to ensure that these mares are not bred again and we consider it our absolute duty not to sell these mares to an unsuspecting client.

If the mare produces correct foals but they are simply not good enough for Morningside Stud's breeding and competition program we give the mare to a good friend whose breeding aspirations are not as high as ours.

As a stallion owner the biggest mistake I see many mare owners make is that they spend a lot of time and intellectual energy analyzing stallions but very little time and brain power analyzing their mares. Just as a stallion has to prove himself worthy of the breeding shed each mare should be evaluated on an annual basis based on what she is producing and their subsequent success in sport.

BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A SIGMA?
by Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 5 2009

I often hear people say (and write on the internet) that horse breeding is like playing the lottery. It is a gamble. This sentiment in some ways is correct and these individuals have identified a very important aspect of breeding: randomness. Even if one uses a proven and highly successful sire on a proven and highly successful dam there is no guarantee that the resulting foal will be exceptional. (In fact, from a statistical point of view, it is more likely that the foal will be less successful than his sire and dam.)

But those people with the lottery view of horse breeding misunderstand several important features of randomness and the breeding process. When one plays the lottery, every ticket has an equal chance of winning. However in horse breeding not every matching of a particular sire with a particular dam has an equal chance of producing a winner. The skill of the breeder in matching a particular sire to a particular dam is critically important. This is where the "art" of breeding comes into play. But equally important is that fact that breeding is a probabilistic process, not a deterministic one. Breeding is influenced heavily by the laws of probability and statistics.

For the sake of this essay let's assume that we are all breeders of showjumpers. My arguments hold for dressage, eventing, and other breeders as well but I will use showjumping breeding as the example.

The first thing to recognize is that jumping ability -- and more important for us breeders, the genes in stallions and mares that transmit jumping ability to their progeny – is distributed across the population of horses. Some stallions and mares have great genetic endowments of genes associated with jumping ability and some stallions and mares have very small genetic endowments of genes associated with jumping ability. Most stallions and mares have average endowments.

Like so many things in life, "jumping genes" (as we will call it for this essay) is randomly distributed within the population of horses according to what statisticians call the Normal Distribution. The normal distribution looks like a bell curve (see Figure 1), and bell curves graphically describe a multitude of characteristics in life such as size, intelligence, weight, and, for our purposes, jumping ability. In the middle of the bell curve in Figure 1, in the middle of the two red segments, is a vertical line showing the mean (that is, the average) horse's jumping ability. Most horses can be found under the bell curve in the red area, which is made up of two segments: one red segment to the right of the mean (average and a little above average) and one red segment to the left of the mean (average and a little below average).

If you look further at Figure 1 you will see two green segments. The green segment on the right shows horses with better jumping ability than the horses in the red segments while the green segment on the left shows horses with worse jumping ability than the horses in the red segments. Further we have the two blue segments, where we find exceptionally good jumping ability on the right side of the bell curve and exceptionally bad jumping ability on the left side.

Let's look now at Figure 2. This graph shows another normal distribution (bell curve) but this time there are percentages and greek letters. This will help us better understand the bell curve shown in Figure 1.

In statistics the Greek letter µ is used to denote the mean (or average) of the population. So in this case µ represents the spot in the distribution where the average jumper can be found. Half of the horses in the population jump better than this horse, and they are found to the right of µ; half of the horses jump worse than this horse, and they are found on the left of µ.

In Figure 2 we see another Greek letter, s, called Sigma, which represents the characteristic of the distribution called the standard deviation. So on the right side of the bell curve 1s means one standard deviation above the average, 2s means two standard deviations above the average, etc. Likewise on the left side of the bell curve -1s means one standard deviation below the average, -2s means two standard deviations below the average, etc.

In Figure 2 look at the dark blue area under the bell curve. You will see two dark blue segments with 34.1% written in each. What this means is that 34.1% of the population of horses have jumping ability that is one standard deviation (1s) better than average and 34.1% of the population of horses have jumping ability that is one standard deviation (-1s) worse than average. In the lighter blue segments you will see that 13.6% of the population of horses have jumping ability that is between one and two standard deviations better than average and 13.6% of the population of horses have jumping ability that is between one and two standard deviations worse than average.

Now comes the question for breeders: be totally honest with ourselves and decide where each of our mares is located in these bell curves? Are they all within the red segments in Figure 1, where we know from Figure 2 that 68.2% of mares can be found? Do we have any mares that in the green segment on the left side of the bell curve?

The next question is where do we want our breeding program to be on the bell curve? Let's look at Figure 3 and the accompanying Table 1. Figure 3 is a graphical representation of the bell curve that shows the percentage of the curve that appears to the left of wherever we are on the bell curve. I will give an example. Let's say we have determined that one of our mares is an average mare for transmitting jumping ability. In Figure 3 and Table 1 we have set the mean (that is, the average) at zero. So look in Figure 3 at the bottom axis and find zero (in the middle between –4 and 4). Now go up to the graph from zero and you'll see that 0.5 is the value on the left side axis. This means that the average mare (with a mean of zero) has 50% (0.5) of mares worse than her.

Going to Table 1, look for the entry under the x column for 1.0 -- this means one standard deviation above the mean. The value to the right of x=1 is .8414 -- which means that if our mare is one standard deviation better than the average mare for transmitting jumping ability she will be better than 84% of all mares for transmitting jumping ability. A mare that is two standard deviations (2s) better than average will be better than 97% of all mares!

So let's say that we have bred or purchased a band of mares that are all one to two standard deviations better than average. In this case we would own a world-class band of mares. The mean (average) jumping ability within our herd would be much higher than the average for the entire population of mares and the standard deviation would be lower, meaning that we have a very good band of mares and there is less disparity between our best and worst mares than there would be between the best and worst mares in the entire population of mares. So if we drew a graph of our mare herd it would not look like a normal distribution; it would not look like a bell curve. The mean would be higher and the standard deviation would be lower so the curve would be higher and much less spread out. Can we now rest on our laurels?

No. Another important truth we can learn from statistics is called the Central Limit Theorem. This principle states that no matter what the underlying distribution is for a population if we take repeated samples from that population the samples will tend to approximate the shape of a bell curve. So our band of exceptional mares will, over time, tend to produce progeny that will form their own bell curve. Yes, the average product of our breeding program will be better than the average product of all breeding programs taken together, but over time our mini-population of horses will be represented by their own bell curve!

As a breeder who reads Horse International magazine I assume your goal is to breed international competitors in an FEI discipline. In my next article for HI I will discuss how we as breeders can engage in continuous improvement so we can fight against the tendency toward the bell curve. Unlike in Lake Wobegone, "where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average", all of us cannot breed superior horses all the time. But we can engage in continuous improvement so that over time we are breeding better and better athletes. We can aspire to move one sigma to the right with dedication, attention to details, and grace bestowed by the breeding gods from above.

MOTHER & CHILD REUNION
by Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 4 2009

In 1994 a bay filly is born in the Netherlands, and is named Melisimo. Four years later her first foal is born, a colt named Robin Hood. And eleven years later mother and son are reunited far from home – at the World Cup Final in Last Vegas.

The KWPN mare Melisimo was bred by D.J. Wijnands and S.H. van Heerde in the Netherlands. Her sire is the 1994 World Cup winner Libero H (Landgraf I x Ronald), a stallion that produced only 567 foals for the KWPN but had a very good strike rate for producing international showjumpers (see Horse International 2009 – 1 for my article on the WBFSH ranking of showjumping sires). Melismo's dam Hertogin was a 1.30 m. showjumper and as a broodmare received from the KWPN the predicates keur and prestatie. (Keur means that she was named a ster mare for her excellent conformation and movement and subsequently produced a good first foal; prestatie means that she produced at least three progeny that performed well in sport.) Hertogin was sired by Jasper (also known as Little One), who had an illustrious showjumping career with Hugo Simon that included winning the Hamburg Derby; her dam is Daisy (by the great sire Voltaire), a preferent prestatie mare (in the KWPN system, preferent means that she produced at last three daughters that become ster or keur mares).

Melisimo has not had a long career in sport because of her breeding activities but what she has done she has done well. With her USA rider Michelle Spadone in 2008 Melisimo was on the winning team in the 4-star Nations Cup of Buenos Aires (she had just one fence down over two rounds). In 2009 Melisimo placed 2nd in the 3-star Grand Prix at Wellington, 4th in the 3-star Grand Prix at Green Cove Springs, 6th in the CSI-A Grand Prix at Las Vegas, 8th at the 2-star Grand Prix at Tampa, and 9th in the 4-star Grand Prix at Wellington. At the World Cup Final Melisimo placed 32nd out of 44 competitors. I suspect the mare did not have enough experience to excel at this point in her development in a championship like the World Cup Final, which requires a showjumper to be in top form over several days and across a variety of types of classes.

As a filly Melisimo was sold by her breeders Wijnands and van Heerde to fellow Dutchman Bennie Wezenberg, who in 1997 bred the three-year-old to the very good stallion Animo (Alme x Amor), an international showjumper that competed in the 1992 Olympics with Norwegian rider Morten Aasen. Animo has produced many good international showjumpers for several studbooks including the KWPN.

The result of this breeding decision was Robin Hood, a bay gelding, ridden for Great Britain by the very talented rider Ben Maher. Over the last two years Robin Hood and Maher have produced excellent results that include being a member of the British team that was joint 2nd in the 4-star CSIO Nations Cup of Wellington (just one fence down), 4th in the 5-star Wellington Grand Prix, 7th in the 5-star Zurich Show 1.55 m. class, 1st in the 5-star Rotterdam Show 1.50 class, 2nd in the 5-star London – Olympia Grand Prix, and 3rd in the same show's 1.60 m. class. At the World Cup Final Robin Hood placed 7th and jumped very well.

Is this case of a mare and her son competing against one another in the World Cup Final a fluke or do their bloodlines suggest this is a somewhat predictable outcome? (When evaluating horses I always like to ask myself if their success in sport – or lack of success in sport – could have been predicted by the bloodlines or is it a freak occurrence?) Are there other notable horses in the damline of Melisimo and Robin Hood?

Recall Daisy, the preferent prestatie dam of Hertogin, the dam of Melisimo. Daisy has a full brother named Evoltaire (Voltaire x Narcos) that is an approved stallion in Italy and a full-sister name Charon that is a KWPN ster mare. Their dam is Utile (by Narcos).

Daisy also produced the ster mare Ischya (by Jasper), a full-sister of Hertogin, and the ster mare Jadalco (by Ladalco), a Z1 dressage competitor. Ischya is the dam of Lutina-H (by Wellington), a 1.20 m. showjumper. Lutina-H is the dam of Tiamo (by Lux Z), a 1.40 m. international showjumper.

Hertogin also produced Karina (by Wellington), a ster mare that has produced a number of progeny including the Swedish Warmblood Studbook approved stallion Ziezo (by Guidam). Another daughter Nikita (by Libero H), a keur mare and a full-sister to Melisimo, has produced a number of foals including Queen Nikita R&D Z (by Quite Easy), Champion Filly Foal at the Z-Festival 2003, and Volumia R&D (by Corland), an approved stallion in the Westfalen studbook in Germany. Other sisters of Melisimo include Olibero-D (also by Libero H), an international showjumping mare.

Melisimo was presented at the Belgian Warmblood Studbook-North America mare inspection in 2005 in the division of mares 7 years of age and older. With a score of 70 she was ranked 11th out of 37 mares. Melisimo's daughter Filigree (by Parco) was also presented and finished near the bottom, 27th out of 28 filly foals. Of course foal beauty pageants do not mean much when it comes to predicting success in sport.

Melisimo and Robin Hood being reunited at the World Cup Final was not a fluke: This is a good damline. We should expect to see more approved stallions and international showjumpers in future years from this damline if correct breeding choices are made. After all, in the final analysis, a good damline that has produced many athletes and correct breeding choices are the keys to success in breeding.

THE ACCIDENTAL EVENTING BREEDER?
By Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 3 2009

The WBFSH ranking of 2008 sires of international eventing horses raises a fundamental question about breeding for this discipline: Will international eventing horses of the future mostly be the product of conscious efforts by breeders or will they mostly be "happy accidents"?

Before we delve into this issue I first must acknowledge the brilliant breeders of eventing horses who have created successful programs designed specifically to produce top-class eventers. The most famous breeders in this category over the last decade or so include Patricia Nicholson of Ireland; Sam Barr of the UK; Mrs. Bud Hyem of Australia; the Polish Studs such as Nowielice, Janow Podlaski, and Ochaby; Victor Dockers of Belgium; and Friedrich Butts of Germany. These breeders knew how to produce successful international eventers.

Let's look at the rankings for 2008. The top 30 sires are ranked in the table along with three simple but I think important statistics gleaned from the FEI/WBFSH data: the number of horses in the Top 50 and Top 100 eventers in the world (a total of 1,009 competition horses appear in the database from which the sire rankings are derived), and each stallion's success as a damsire of horses in the ranking. Some of these statistics are not very impressive.

Eleven of the stallions in the top 30 have produced only one progeny in the current ranking of international eventers. I am beginning to wonder whether the WBFSH should amend its rules to reflect what used to be done when they produced rankings of breeders: the breeder had to have produced two or more horses in the rankings before the breeder himself or herself was ranked. In the case of a stallion like Brilliant Invader xx this is not an issue but there are other stallions on this list whose reputation is based on the success of one progeny. This is not good enough for me.

Breeders should also reflect on whether a sire passes the "duck test": if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it certainly must be a duck! Let's take the case of Cruising. Does it make sense that Cruising is the third best eventing sire in the world? I am a fan of Cruising and I own two of his daughters and several grand-daughters and great-grand-daughters. He has been one of Ireland's top sires for the last decade…showjumping sires, that is. But Cruising's progeny are usually not known for several attributes required in successful eventing horses.

I believe that Cruising's prominence on the WBFSH eventing sires list is more a statement about the crisis in Irish showjumping breeding than a statement of Cruising's value as an eventing sire. The uncreative destruction of genetic capital (with my apologies to Joseph Schumpeter) that has been going on in Ireland for the last two decades has left the country with an Irish Sport Horse mare base that is failing to produce international showjumpers like it once did but continues to produce international eventers. To me this makes absolute sense if one takes the view that many international eventers are "happy accidents": they don’t jump well enough to be international showjumpers; they don't move well enough to be international dressage horses; but they have the courage and extraordinary reflexes and heart required for success in the cross country.

Yes, the famous eventing breeders acknowledged above (some of whom have sadly passed on or are retired) did not create "happy accidents": they created breeding programs as rigorous, as disciplined, and as successful as the best showjumping breeding programs. But I predict that there will be fewer of these dedicated evening breeders in the future because of the changes in the format for top-level events that require a different type of eventer and the relative lack of financial reward compared to breeding showjumpers and dressage competitors.

In my articles for Horse International I have made a number of suggestions to the WBFSH on how to improve their rankings. I will add another suggestion to the list: why not include the name of the breeder in the list of competition horses that are used to produce the sire rankings? Would it not be great fun – and informative -- to look at the list of the top 100 eventing horses and see the names of the breeders? Are there any new Friedrich Butts out there in eventing breeding?


Rank / Name / Points / Progeny Ranked / In Top 50 / In Top 100 / Damsire of

1 / Cavalier Royale / 1,097 / 8 / 3 / 3 / 0
2 / Heraldik / 725 / 4 / 3 / 3 / 1
3 / Cruising / 559 / 5 / 1 / 1 / 2
4 / Master Imp / 556 / 8 / 0 / 1 / 0
5 / Highland King / 513 / 3 / 2 / 2 / 1
6 / Jumbo / 406 / 4 / 1 / 1 / 0
7 / Irish Enough / 400 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0
8 / Brilliant Invader / 359 / 3 / 1 / 1 / 1
9 / Rock King / 353 / 4 / 1 / 1 / 0
10 / Pallas Digion / 335 / 3 / 0 / 1 / 0
11 / Jensens Man / 327 / 1 / 1 / 1 0
12 / Stan the Man / 325 / 2 / 1 / 1 / 0
13 / Hand in Glove / 308 / 4 / 0 0 / 0
14 / Amerigo Vespucci / 301 / 2 / 1 / 1 / 0
15 / Miners Lamp / 280 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0
15 / Uri du Longbost / 280 /1 / 1 / 1 / 0
17 / Fleetwater Opposition / 268 / 2 / 1 / 1 / 0
18 / Condrieu / 251 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0
19 / Fines / 240 / 2 / 0 / 1 / 0
20 / Parkmore Night / 239 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0
21 / Koyuna Majestic Supreme / 236 / 2 / 0 / 1 / 0
22 / Puissance / 232 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 1
23 / Rustic Amber / 225 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0
24 / Pintado Desperado / 224 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0
25 / Eighty Eight Keys / 222 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0
26 / Faram / 222 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0
27 / Stanford / 221 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0
28 / Voltaire / 214 /* /* /* /*
29 / Veloce de Favi / 213 / 2 / 0 / 1 / 0
30 / Tarnik / 211 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0

*There are apparently several horses named Voltaire in the WBFSH rankings and it is impossible for me to differentiate among them with certainty.

Irish Minister of Agriculture Approves Warmblood Studbook of Ireland


Brendan Smith T.D., the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, yesterday approved the Warmblood Studbook of Ireland's application to operate, under EU and Irish legislation, the studbook for the Irish Warmblood horse. This historic action has ended the monopoly on sport horse breeding in Ireland previously exercised by the Irish Horse Board/Horse Sport Ireland.

The Warmblood Studbook of Ireland (WSI), a division of Irish Warmblood Studbook Ltd., was founded by Tom Reed and Dawn Kelly, owners of Morningside Stud, and Claire Wood, a horse breeder and trainer also from the Killaloe/Ogonnelloe area of County Clare.

WSI's mission is to help breeders produce international showjumpers that will compete in international Grand Prix, Nations Cup, World Cup, and Championship classes. The Studbook will conduct stallion and mare inspections and the focus is on breeding stock that has clear potential to produce international showjumpers. Each foal will be inspected and the results of those inspections will be fed back into the Studbook's ongoing stallion and mare evaluations. Strict limits have been put in place to restrict the percentage of Irish Draught blood in the stallions and mares approved by the WSI.

"We shall measure our success by how many foals we produce that later become international showjumpers, not by how many foals we register," said Dr. Thomas Reed, Managing Director and Breeding Director of the WSI. "By design we are committed to staying small and selective and to working with like-minded breeders with very good mares who are committed to our vision, goals and strategy for the Irish Warmblood. We also hope to build a community of breeders who generously share their knowledge and insights with each other."

The Studbook developed its rules and procedures based on Morningside Stud's own successful breeding program and the policies of the Holsteiner Verband and the KWPN. "We did not feel the need to reinvent the wheel, so we adopted many of the features of these two very successful studbooks" said Dr. Reed. "But at the same time we have definite views on what works well and what works here in Ireland. For example, we are adopting the Holsteiner's very important philosophy of concentrated genetics and the primacy of the damline while simultaneously adopting, and in fact expanding on, the KWPN's philosophy of ongoing evaluations of stallions before lifetime approval is granted. For our veterinary requirements we have been heavily influenced by the strict yet pragmatic philosophy of the KWPN and the University of Utrecht, a philosophy that resonates very well with the partners of Troytown Equine Hospital in Kildare, who comprise the Studbook's Veterinary Committee. Essentially what we have done is to make explicit for this new Studbook the formal and informal rules and rubrics we have been following at Morningside Stud for the last ten years as they apply to our own stallions, mares, and progeny."

The first foal to be registered by the Warmblood Studbook of Ireland was born on St. Patrick's day, the day before approval was granted: Aibhlinn Bella M2S (by Cornet Obolensky and out of Pandina Bella by Landino x Voltaire) bred by Morningside Stud. With her sire being an Olympic showjumper and her grand-dam Dorina Bella being a full-sister to an Olympic showjumper this Irish Warmblood filly has her career already mapped out.

More information about the Warmblood Studbook of Ireland is available at www.irish-warmblood.com

ALL THAT JAZZ
By Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 2 2009


If there is one certain fact to be found in the WBFSH ranking of dressage sires it is that Jazz (Cocktail x Ulster) is in tune with Dutch breeders and their mares. The best sire in 2008 not only has 14 progeny in the ranking of 516 international dressage horses but Jazz also has an amazing 6 progeny in the world's top 100 dressage athletes. We can contrast Jazz with the number two sire Donnerhall: with 13 ranked progeny he is only one behind Jazz but Donnerhall has only one progeny in the world's top 100.

Jazz is known for producing very sensitive progeny and, as in all breeding decisions, care must be taken to match the correct type of mare with him. With the undisputed success of his progeny in international sport and the value of his pedigree (no Donnerhall, Weltmeyer, Rubinstein, or Sandro Hit in his bloodlines) Jazz could serve a very important role as an outcross sire for other dressage breeding regions and studbooks.

Another interesting result in the table below is the Swedish Warmblood stallion Master (Ceylon x Iran). This bay stallion, which under Kyra Kyrklund had a successful career in sport before being retired to stud after an injury suffered while breeding, is ranked 7th by the WBFSH. Master was recently proclaimed Stallion of the Year by the Swedish Breeding Promotion Society (ASVHE) and rightly so with three out of four of his ranked progeny being in the world's top 100. Master's bloodlines may seem a bit exotic to breeders accustomed to German and Dutch names but like Jazz he could serve as a valuable outcross sire for many breeders.

Readers of this column will remember that I have chided and cajoled the WBFSH on several occasions to improve their ranking system. One suggestion I made is that a ranking of damsires should be made. I examined the top 30 dressage sires to see if they are also important damsires. Unlike in showjumping, where many top sires are also important damsires, among the top 30 dressage sires only Donnerhall, Rubinstein, Ferro, Warkant, Wanderer, Schwadroneur, and Espri are the damsire of a dressage athlete listed in the top 100: each of these stallions is the damsire of one athlete in the top 100. This result raises some interesting questions about the heritability of the three gaits, rideability, and trainability and to what extent an excellent education and a dose of luck versus genetics are critical in the breeding of upper-level dressage horses.

What are we to make of a top 30 dressage sire that has only a single progeny in the ranking of the world's top 100 dressage athletes? Fully 23 out of the top 30 dressage sires has either one or no progeny on the world's top 100.

And what are we to make of a top 30 dressage sire that has only one or two progeny in the ranking of the 516 international dressage competitors. Are these one-hit (or two-hit) wonders? Of course we would have a greater ability to assess this issue if the WBFSH went back to reporting longitudinal data such as rankings and progeny over a five-year or ten-year period.

Finally, we must return once again to the issue of the denominator: how many chances did each stallion have to produce an international dressage horse? Unfortunately the WBFSH does not present this critical variable and therefore erroneous assumptions and conclusions can be made about the rankings.



Rank / Stallion / Points / Ranked Progeny / In Top 100 / Average Points
1 / Jazz / 12,397 / 14 / 6 / 886
2 / Donnerhall / 10,294 / 13 / 1 / 792
3 / Weltmeyer / 8,827 / 8 / 2 / 1,103
4 / Rubinstein I / 5,146 / 8 / 1 / 643
5 / Ferro / 4,897 / 5 / 2 / 979
6 / Flemmingh / 4,660 / 7 / 0 / 666
7 / Master / 4,638 / 4 / 3 / 1,160
8 / Rohdiamant / 4,086 / 6 / 1 / 681
9 / Ehrentusch / 3,895 / 4 / 2 / 974
10 / Gribaldi / 3,746 / 2 / 1 / 1,873
11 / Lauries Crusador / 3,707 / 3 / 2 / 1,236
12 / Florestan I / 3,234 / 6 / 1 / 539
13 / Warkant / 3,202 / 5 / 1 / 640
14 / Contango / 3,172 / 3 / 1 / 1,057
15 / Wanderer / 2,835 / 3 / 1 / 945
16 / Jetset D / 2,835 / 2 / 2 / 1,418
17 / Schwadroneur / 2,805 / 5 / 0 / 561
18 / Quattro B / 2,792 / 1 / 1 / 2,792
19 / Goodwill / 2,469 / 3 / 0 / 823
20 / Welt Hit II / 2,336 / 2 / 1 / 1,168
21 / Donnerschlag 2,302 / 6 / 0 / 384
22 / Continue / 2,280 / 2 / 1 / 1,140
23 / Salieri / 2,234 / 1 / 1 / 2,234
24 / Gardez / 2,218 / 2 / 1 / 1,109
25 / Carpaccio / 2,214 / 2 / 1 / 1,107
26 / Wolkenstein II / 2,128 / 2 / 1 / 1,064
27 / Sao Paulo / 2,115 / 1 / 1 / 2,115
28 / Espri / 2,114 / 2 / 1 / 1,057
29 / Singular Joter / 2,014 / 2 / 1 / 1,007
30 / Herzruf / 1,919 / 2 / 1 / 960

2008 WBFSH RANKING OF SHOWJUMPER SIRES
By Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 1 2009


In my recent article, "Every Man A Rembrandt! Every Breeder a Melchior!" (Horse International No. 5 – 2008), I discussed the pros and cons of several popular breeding indices and rankings and offered some concrete advice to the WBFSH on how to improve their rankings of sires. With the silly season now upon us and with studbooks and the WBFSH publishing their rankings and indices, I thought it would be valuable to return to this topic using the WBFSH 2008 Jumping Sires as an example.

Here are some problems that must be addressed by the WBFSH if their rankings are to have increased value to breeders:

1. The Number of Foals Sired by each Stallion Must be Disclosed.
The ranking of sires would be much more valuable if we knew how many foals each stallion has sired. It would be even more helpful if we also knew how many progeny each stallion has sired that has reached the age of six years. (For our purposes, the youngest a horse can be to earn points for his or her sire in international showjumping that will be included in the ranking is six years old).

It is possible to get an indication of the wide variation in the number of progeny by looking at data published by the KWPN and Holsteiner studbooks. Consider the differences in the number of progeny sired by these stallions:

Rank / Stallion / Number of Foals / As of
4 / Concorde / 2,727 / 2006
6 / Caretino / 1,485 / 2007
7 / Burggraaf / 3,446 / 2006
8 / Libero H / 567 / 2006
9 / Indoctro / 2,815 / 2006
11 / Cassini / 1,544 / 2007
13 / Calido / 776 / 2007
25 / Hamlet / 799 / 2006
27 / Mr. Blue / 126 / 2006

Note: The Number of Foals is only the number registered by the stallion's "main" studbook, either the KWPN or Holsteiner studbook.

If we are to make a clear and accurate assessment of the genetic worth of stallions we must be able to take into account the number of chances each stallion has had to produce international showjumpers. Burggraaf, for example, produced approximately 27 times as many progeny for the KWPN as did Mr. Blue. Yes, both stallions also sired progeny for other studbooks, but the numbers are striking and clearly have implications for the rankings.


2. The Average Number of Points Earned by Each Progeny Must be Disclosed.
I performed some easy but time-consuming calculations on several of the top 30 stallions. Darco, ranked 1st as a sire, has 58 progeny in the list of international showjumpers upon which the sire ranking is based. Darco's 8,411 points divided by 58 progeny equals 145 points per progeny.

Now let's compare the average number of points earned by each of several of stallions' progeny to Darco's progeny:

Stallion / Points / International Jumpers / Average Number Points
Hamlet / 2,230 / 1 / 2,230
Mr. Blue / 2,138 / 11 / 194
Libero H / 3,782 / 20 / 189
Caretino / 4,178 / 27 / 155
Burggraaf / 3,721 / 25 / 149
Darco /8,411 / 58 / 145
Indoctro / 3,567 / 26 / 137
Cassini I / 3,282 / 27 / 122
Calido / 3,120 / 26 / 120

To the casual observer Hamlet, ranked 25th, looks like a super sire. But by digging into the data we see that Hamlet has sired only one progeny contained in the WBFSH rankings of international showjumpers: the world's number one showjumper Hickstead (out of a mare by Ekstein). We also see that progeny of Mr. Blue and Libero H earn, on average, considerably more points than the other stallions on the above list.

Along with the average (mean) number of points it would also be useful if the standard deviation were published. Stallions with high averages and low standard deviations means that they tend to produce a lot of high-performing progeny and relatively few low-performing progeny. The current ranking system rewards stallions that produce a lot of low-level international showjumpers.


3. The Strike Rate of Each Stallion Must be Disclosed.
By "strike rate" I mean the percentage of progeny that become international showjumpers. The statistics I present below should be viewed with caution as they do not include all the progeny produced by these stallions (many of these stallions produce progeny for multiple studbooks) and they also include only the progeny jumping internationally in the 2008 season. But by limiting the analysis to the strike rate within each stallion's home or main studbook we can get a glimpse of their worth as a sire.

Stallion / Int'l Jumpers (Main Book) / Progeny (Main Book) / Strike Rate
Mr. Blue / 7 / 126 / 5.56 %
Calido / 16 / 776 / 2.06 %
Caretino / 26 / 1,485 / 1.75 %
Cassini I / 25 / 1,544 / 1.62 %
Libero H / 7 / 567 / 1.23 %
Indoctro / 23 / 2,815 / 0.82 %
Burggraaf / 23 / 3,446 / 0.67 %
Hamlet / 1 / 799 / 0.13 %

As noted above, the strike rate only includes data for the 2008 season. In earlier years, when the WBFSH pubished the rankings of sport horses and sires in book form, they also included 10-year rankings. It is unfortunate that these statistics have been dropped by the WBFSH as they would more easily allow us to compute a valid strike rate for each stallion.

I understand that breeders await the WBFSH rankings each year and these rankings influence the stallion choices of many breeders. I caution all of us to think carefully about the data and statistics and not to chase after the leaders in the rankings. Breeders should also recognize that many of these stallions serve as excellent sires in some studbooks and have much less success on other studbooks because of the differences in the mares. Indoctro, for example, appears to be more successful with KWPN mares (average number of points per progeny equals 153) than with mares in other studbooks (average number of points per progeny equals 137). In the case of Mr. Blue the results are even more striking: 263 points per progeny for the KWPN studbook versus 194 points per progeny for other studbooks. But again, caution is advised because some of the differences in average points earned may be attributable to the ages of the progeny.

2008 HOLSTEINER STALLION APPROVAL & AUCTION
By Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 9 2008


During the last week of October the Holsteiner Verband's 2008 stallion inspection and auction of stallions and riding horses were held at the association's sales facility in Neumünster, Germany. The approval process started several months ago when 480 two-year-old stallion candidates were assessed in a variety of venues across the region. Ninety-nine candidates were invited to the final assessment in Neumünster and all but several appeared.

On Wednesday morning, the first day of the inspection, the stallions were assessed on hard ground in the open air. The approval commission stood at the top of a hard path lined by eager spectators on both sides, and the handlers walked and then trotted each stallion in hand. The purpose of this exercise is to assess the correctness and straightness of the walk and trot and to begin to form impressions of the athleticism and "type" of each horse, along with the intangible element "stallion presence".

On Wednesday afternoon the stallions' walk and trot were again assessed but this time in the indoor arena around a triangular course. The purpose of this exercise is to evaluate the suppleness and elasticity of the stallion and his gaits. Whereas on hard ground many youngsters are fearful of showing an expressive trot due to the risk of slipping or skidding on the surface, the indoor arena at Neumünster has a lovely bouncy surface that encouraged each stallion to show his best expressive movement while walking and trotting (and sometimes cantering!) alongside the handler.

The entire day on Thursday was spent loose-jumping the stallion candidates. Along with assessing their athleticism, scope, technique, reactions, and mind for the job, this exercise also provided the first opportunity to properly evaluate the canter.

On Friday morning the stallions were shown individually once again to the commission and then paraded in lots of ten. The approved stallions were named by the commission -- eventually 30 stallions were approved -- and those that were awarded a premium -- 6 stallions -- were highlighted.

Later on Friday afternoon, following the presentation of the mares and geldings that were to be offered the next day in the elite riding horse auction, the six premium stallions were again presented in hand to the commission. The champion, reserve champion, and second reserve champion were named. In the early evening the auction of approved stallions was held; nineteen of the thirty approved stallions were offered for sale.

The Champion stallion Cantoblanco descends from stamm 4965 and has a world-class motherline. Cantoblanco was sired by the young stallion Canto (Canturo x Limbus) and is out of the mare G-Casablanca (Carolus I x Calypso II); she is a full-sister of the international showjumping stallion Clinton I and the stallion Clinton II. A full-sister of G-Casablanca is the dam of the international jumping stallion Levisto. Also from this motherline come the international jumping mare Padua and her approved son and international jumper Zandor, along with Padua's siblings Sonora la Silla and Poor Boy. Cantoblanco's genetics are outstanding.

The dark brown Cantoblanco is a beautiful modern stallion that jumped very well and is very elastic and athletic in his movement. Cantoblanco was bred by Mr. Hartmann and presented for approval by his owner and rearer, the international showjumping rider Dirk Ahlmann. One-third shares in the champion were sold by Ahlmann after the approval to Hengstation Böckmann (in Oldenburg) and Klosterhof Medingen (in Hanover). According to Ahlmann, Cantoblanco has already been started under saddle and after just one week of riding is showing an "unbelievably good mind – he wants to work". Based on the motherline, which Ahlmann knows very well as he owns the dam G-Casablanca (and her brother Clinton I) plus several daughters that are also in breeding, he believes that Cantoblanco will finish growing at 169 or 170 cm (approximately 16.3 hands) and "he will give blood to a big mare". He is a very exciting prospect for sport and breeding.

The Reserve Champion Lantano was sired by Landos (Lord x Calypso I) and is out of the mare Cindy V (Caretino x Latino); he descends from stamm 8774, a minor motherline. However the good news is that his grand-mother Unora I produced the Holsteiner stallion Close-Up and the international 1.40 m. jumping mare No Way. This good-looking, modern stallion has a fantastic trot for which the crowd voiced its appreciation at every opportunity.

The Second Reserve Champion Carlo was sired by Carlos DZ (Cantus x Lavallo) and is out of the mare Gini II (Salient xx x Ahorn Z). He descends from stamm 2004, which has produced the stallions Acord's Champion, Ariadus, Ratibor, Livingstone, the full-brothers Caronimo and Contec, Cool Man K, and Carnando. In the immediate motherline the third dam Rebecca, herself an advanced dressage competitor, produced the approved stallion and international dressage horse Chromatico. Carlo is an elastic modern stallion that jumped very well. He should bring "blood" and expressive movement to his foals.

The Premium stallion Nektos descends from the important stamm 730b that produced the world-class stallions Caletto I and II (and Caletto II), scores of other stallion, and international showjumping, dressage, and eventing horses. Nektos was sired by Nekton (Nimmerdor x Coriano) and is out of the mare Orinka (Liatos x Fasolt). Orinka, has a half-brother Cinnamon that showjumped internationally. Nektos jumped with a lot of talent and is a modern type.

The Premium stallion Chin Champ was sired by the international showjumper Chin Chin (Constant x Farnese) and is out of the mare Ravenna II (Carvallo x Contender). Chin Champ descends from the important stamm 18b1, which produced notable sires such as Constant (the sire of Chin Chin), Farn (the sire of Nimmerdor), and the international jumping stallion Silvestre (who is creating his own dynasty at the Joter studfarm in Brazil with his son Singular Joter and his son Singulord Joter (the newly approved Singulaer, a son of Singulord Joter, is listed below). Chin Champ jumped in a very convincing manner.

The Premium stallion Cassito decends from stamm 104a and is royally bred with a world-class motherline. Cassito was sired by Cassiano (Cassini I x Calypso II) and is out of the mare Bravo (Reichsgraf x Rasputin). Cassito's mother Bravo is also the dam of the international jumper Caretana, the international jumper and approved stallion Caretano, and the approved stallions Contendro I and II. Bravo's full-sister Catania IV is dam of the international showjumpers Candiro and Cortland, and her daughter Pialottai is dam of the approved stallion Coppenroth. Bravo is also half-sister of the approved stallion Conteur. In other branches of stamm 104a we find the stallion Capitano, the recently deceased international jumping stallion Celano, the international showjumper and very good sire Corland, and the international jumpers Retina, Athlet 90, Athletico and Corlanda. Cassito jumped very well and he is a good-looking modern stallion.

Among the other approved stallions there is one that stands out with an exceptional motherline. Connor is by Casall (Caretino x Lavall I) and is out of the mare Korrada S (Cor de la Bryere x Capitol I), a full-sister to the international jumping star and progenitor Corrado I. Korrado S is also a full-sister of Fayence, the dam of the deceased international showjumping stallion Chellano, and Corrado II. They all descend from the small but outstanding stamm 6879. Connor showed exceptional jumping talent.

Several other approved stallions impressed me with their exceptional jumping ability: Classe, Contodo, Coco Jambo (both his sire and dam are by Contender so the apple did not fall far from the tree!), Cris, and For Ever Jump (who put on a fantastic display of scope and use of his back and hind legs over the jumps).





Table 1
APPROVED STALLIONS AND AUCTION PRICES
(if offered for sale)

Status:
NAME (Bloodlines): Price if Sold at Auction (Country of Purchaser).

Champion Stallion:
CANTOBLANCO (Canto - Carolus I - Calypso II - Royal Wash xx).
Reserve Champion:
LANTANO (Landos - Caretino - Latino – Farnese): €75,000 (Netherlands).
Second Reserve Champion:
CARLO (Carlos DZ - Salient xx - Ahorn Z HAN - Calypso II): €70,000 (Poland).
Premium:
NEKTOS (Nekton - Liatos - Fasolt – Lagos): €77,000 (Switzerland).
Premium:
CHIN CHAMP (Chin Chin - Carvallo - Contender – Latino).
Premium:
CASSITO (Cassiano - Reichsgraf - Rasputin - Tin Rod xx).
Approved:
ESQUIRE (Esteban xx - Leandro - Rio Negro – Fangball): €35,000 (Belgium).
CICKDOWN (Candillo - Limbus - Constant – Lagano): €52,000 (Germany).
CANON (Canto - Quinar - Corofino I – Lenz): €55,000 (Germany).
CANTOLINO (Canto - Acorado - Lord – Ronald).
CANTIANOS (Canturo - Fier de Lui Z A.N - Sorgenbrecher xx – Markgraf): €110,000 (United Arab Emirates).
CARIANO (Caretino - Carano - Cabinett I - Tin Rod xx).
CAROLINO (Caretino - Calido I - Calando I - Landgraf I): €46,000 (Germany).
CANDIRO (Caretino - Libertino I - Rin Rocco - Polarfürst TRA): €35,000 (Germany).
CASSITANO (Casado - Briscar - Carthago – Ladalco).
CONNOR (Casall - Cor de la Bryere - Capitol I - Maestose xx).
CI CI SENJOR (Cassini I - Contender - Lord - Landgraf I): €270,000 (Denmark).
CANNAVARO (Cassini I - Contender - Landgraf I - Cor de la Bryere): €180,000 (Denmark).
CANZERO (Cassini II - Caretino - Lilian – Lombrad): €140,000 (Germany).
CLASSE (Chin Chin - Acobat II - Alasca – Farnese).
CONTODO (Contender - Calido - Corleone – Lorenz): €70,000 (Germany).
CONTADOS (Contender - Mytens xx - Ahorn Z HAN - Calypso I): €50,000 (Germany).
COCO JAMBO (Contendro I - Contender - Lorenz - Cor de la Bryere): €195,000 (Netherlands).
CORIANOS ASS (Coriano - Landgraf I - Coriolan – Lido): €65,000 (Poland).
CRIS (Cristo - Cicero - Calypso I - Sable Skinflint xx): €170,000 (Denmark).
FOR EVER JUMP (For Pleasure HAN - Chambertin - Carneval – Convent).
QUISSINI (Quidam de Revel - Cassini I - Landgraf I - Calypso I): €110,000 (Germany).
QUASAR (Quidam de Revel - Corofino I - Landgraf I – Fabulus): €150,000. (Poland)
QUARZ (Quintero - Caretino - Coriander – Fernando).
SINGULAER (Singulord Joter AUS - Contender - Silvester – Mephisto).

Average price: €102,895

Table 2
AUCTION PRICES OF UNAPPROVED STALLIONS

NAME (Bloodlines): Price (Country).

LEROY (Lucio Silla xx - Cor de la Bryere - Ladalco – Farnese): €8,000 (Germany).
ALL IN (Acodetto - Lux Z Han - Capitol I - Capitol I): €17,000 (Germany).
ACOPITOL (Acodetto - Capitol I - Landmeister - Sherry Netherland xx): €77,000 (Finland).
ALANT (Acolino - Chambertin - Corofino I - Athlet Z Han): €33,000 (Czech Republic).
ALESSANDRO (Aljano - Laurenz - Romino - Ladykiller xx): €9,500 (Germany).
CENTON (C-Trenton Z - Caletto I - Raimond - Sable Skinflint xx): €9,500 (Germany).
CANETTI (Calato - Loutano - Capitano - Ladykiller xx): €12,000 (Italy).
CALMINO (Calido I - Romino - Lester - Anblick xx): €24,000 (Germany).
CAPTAN (Canto - Raimondo - Calypso II – Losander): €11,000 (Germany).
CANTISSIMO (Canto - Corland - Lordano – Mowgli): €9,000 (Netherlands).
CANTORI (Canto - Calippo - Lagos – Lord): €18,000 (Austria).
CARRASCO (Caretino - Capitol I - Thuswin xx – Gallwitz): €13,500 (Hungary).
CARLOW (Caretino - Contender - Fier de Lui Z A.N - Sorgenbrecher xx): €60,000 (Denmark).
CALYDON (Caretino - Painter´s Row xx - Capitol I - Landgraf I): €19,000 (Germany).
CASILIUS (Casall - Cambridge - Carthago - Latus II): €13,000 (Denmark).
CONDITION (Casiro I - Barnaul xx - Alcatraz – Credo): €15,000 (Germany).
CASSANO (Cassiano - Edelmann - Landgraf I – Aladin): €13,000 (Germany).
CASSILIO (Cassini I - Heraldik xx - Capitano – Farnese): €45,000 (Poland).
CASSINGER (Cassini I - Contender - Lancer I - Silbersee A.N): €62,000 (Slovakia).
CALEO (Cassini I - Caretino - Lord – Raimond): €68,000 (Germany).
CASSIONATO (Cassini I - Exorbitant xx - Ahorn Z HAN - Calypso II): €35,000 (Germany).
CARAMBOLE (Cassini I - Concerto II - Sir Shostakovich xx – Lincoln): €13,000 (Slovakia).
CHORUS LINE (Cassini II - Salient xx - Rasputin – Laertes): €25,000 (Germany).
CANTOR (Cassini II - Lacapo - Follywise xx – Goldschmied): €15,000 (Germany).
CATOUSH (Catoki - Landego - Roman - Sawara xx): €8,000 (Belgium).
CAPPO (Cesano II - Paramount - Caletto I - Marlon xx): €17,500 (USA).
CHIN CHINOH (Chin Chin - Lord - Landgraf I – Colt): €45,000 (Germany).
COMPANIERO (Con Air - Sir Shostakovich xx - Calypso I – Capitano): €30,000 (Slovakia).
CRONPRINZ (Con Air - Carvallo - Lagos - Monometer xx): €9,000 (Unknown).
CALMANDO (Contender - Noble Roi xx - Athlet Z HAN – Lord): €22,000 (Germany).
CASALANO (Contender - Capitol I - Sacramento Song xx - Tin Rod xx): withdrawn.
CUSTER (Contender - Anthonys Dream xx - Sable Skinflint xx – Logger): €15,000 (Hungary).
CONNECT ME (Contender - Le Grand I - Kosak – Cromwell): €35,000 (Brazil).
CHLODWIG (Coriano - Heraldik xx - Lavall I – Ladalco): €10,500 (Germany).
CURANO (Coriano - Lancer II - Coriander - Cor de la Bryere): €60,000 (France)
COLDPLAY (Cormint - Exorbitant xx - Caletto I - Capitol I): €18,000 (Slovakia).
CRESENT (Cristo - Heraldik xx - Landgraf I - Cor de la Bryere): €25,000 (Netherlands).
DELAURIER (Diament de Semilly - Counter - Acord II – Rasputin): €80,000 (Unknown).
EMPIRE (Ephebe for Ever - Contender - Merlin - Manometer xx: €35,000 (Ukraine).
LADRO (Lavall II - Lagos - Ramiro - Marlon xx): €30,000 (Germany).
LEVISTANO (Levisto - Caletto I - Calypso II - Marlon xx): €23,000 (Germany).
LUBINUS (Limotas - Linos - Grundyman xx – Roman): €27,000 (Germany).
LEGANO (Lorentin I - Coriander - Cor de la Bryere – Lincoln): €29,500 (Germany).
LOTTO CHAMP (Lucky Champ - Coriander - Rocco - Caletto II): €13,500 (Germany).
NERRADO (Nekton - Carvallo - Calypso II – Cantares): €17,000 (Poland).
QUINTANER (Quidam de Revel - Candillo - Aloube Z HAN - Calypso I): €21,000 (Mexico).
QUEMPAS (Quidam de Revel - Candillo - Alcatraz - Landgraf I): €30,000 (France).
QUIDO (Quinar - Landlord - Capitano - Ladykiller xx): €12,000 (Italy).
QUDO (Quintero - Coronado - Silbersee A.N – Fridericus): €21,000 (Belgium).
QURAGE (Quite Capitol - Latouro - Lord - Tumbled xx): withdrawn.

Average price: €26,219

INTERVIEW WITH DR. THOMAS NISSEN
By Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 9 2008.



After the stallion approval and auction Dr. Thomas Reed sat down for a conversation with Dr. Thomas Nissen, general manager and breeding manager of the Holsteiner Verband.


TR: What were your impressions of the stallions that were inspected and those that were invited to this approval?

TN: There were 99 stallions in the catalogue. We looked at them in the second part of August when we looked at about 480 young stallions. We went to about 15 places around Holstein. It was interesting for us that there was good variation in genetics, not so dominated by Cassini, Contender, and Caretino. And there were some very interesting offspring from the younger stallions like Canto and some others.

It was difficult to select the hundred out of the 480 because the quality goes higher and higher in recent years. It is not so difficult to find the 30 or 40 highest quality but then there were a lot of stallions in the next level, the good level. But we took 99 in the catalogue and 95 are here.

When we start on the first day on the hard ground we already developed good impressions because they all had power in the hind legs and were good movers for jumping horses. Sometimes we have a few specialists for dressage but the main point is jumping horses.

Everyone was waiting for the next day for the free-jumping of the horses. And that was the most important criterion for selection. We are looking for type. Type is a very important point for us along with correctness and movement. But jumping capacity is most important.

It was important that we have genetic variation and out of all the genetics there were very good sport horses, good jumpers. So afterwards it was not easy to get a group of approved stallions that was not too big because we only want to approve the best of them. And also it is important for the market that we have not too many for sale because we want good quality.

For us it is important that the type is not too heavy. Cassini and Contender are more the heavy type, and if you look at the catalogue we have 16 stallions out of half-blood mares with the thoroughbred influence. We have not so many sons of thoroughbreds, only two this year. One we approved – Esquire by Esteban xx. I hope next year it will grow a little bit so we can approve two or three half-blood stallions. It is difficult for the breeders to accept a half-blood stallion because they are always looking to the older progeny's jumping. But I think it is necessary. It is important for us and for me to support the thoroughbred influence because we need it. Our breed can only develop in a good and right way for the sport when the breeders take always a little thoroughbred influence in our population. It is necessary. The breeders are critical. They know that it is important but they say, "OK, but my neighbor can do it!"

TR: Recently I wrote an article for Horse International on the future of thoroughbreds in warmblood breeding. Did you happen to see that article?

TN: Yes, I saw that. I did.

TR: I argued that thoroughbreds are important but their special place is diminishing because, except in the very rare cases such as Heraldik, a phenomenal thoroughbred stallion…

TN: Yes, yes.

TR: and Mytens, who was also very good…

TN: Very good, yes.

TR: …most thoroughbreds today do not have the riding horse qualities we need, and it is getting harder and harder…

TN: Yes, it is hard to find the right stallion for our population.

TR: My argument was that we shouldn't be willing to make too many concessions and that maybe studbooks like the KWPN that are focusing very much on type along with the jump are showing that we can create modern-looking horses with quick reflexes but without bringing thoroughbred blood in all the time. But it is an empirical question; we have to see how it goes. But do you see any thoroughbreds on the horizon that you have real confidence in that they will be the next important contributor to warmblood breeding?

TN: We are looking for good thoroughbred stallions all the time. You know the problem; we know the problem. But with all the problems we have to keep trying. Nobody can say if you go to the racing yards or studs, "That is a thoroughbred stallion that will bring us what we need." We always say we will look for another Ladykiller or Cottage Son but it is so difficult. The times change and the breeds change and in the 1950s and '60s and later in the century we had another basis for the mare and the motherline. We had the older type from the farmers without thoroughbred influence. You know the genetics. It was the cross-breeding of the motherline without foreign blood influence with a thoroughbred that produced the effect, the genetic effect. We don’t have this effect today because the motherlines are already crossed with thoroughbreds so the offspring go in different ways. It is not so easy. We do not have today the potential for the success like we had in '60s and '70s. We have to bring thoroughbreds into our population and we will not find one stallion like Ladykiller because the chance in the breed today is so small for a thoroughbred stallion. Fifty years ago the breeder needed a TB and everyone would use that stallion. It was another situation and another basis.

It is a great mistake if we wish that because today the breeder has to think about the market and the economics of the breed. And therefore it is necessary that they use stallions like Cassini, Caretino and Contender, or their sons, because the sport people, the riders, know these genetics and they like to bring these horses to sport and not thoroughbred offspring.

So I think it is necessary that the breeder use thoroughbreds but use them with very good thinking about which mare is right for the thoroughbred. You need for a thoroughbred stallion your best motherline, with a good background, a good stamm behind it, and good jumping ability. This is necessary. Because in other ways the risk is too big that the result goes this way and that way. The breeder should use a thoroughbred stallion on a mare with a good motherline and hope that they get a filly and then bring that filly to their breeding stock. That is the way. And if they have a half-bred mare they could use a stallion like Contender or a son and then we have the influence of the thoroughbred from the mother and from the father we have the top genetics of a sport horse. I think that is our way forward.

The Second Reserve Champion, the Carlos son out of a Salient xx mother: that was a way for us to get the thoroughbred into our population.

TR: Let's talk about the auction. What I found very disturbing was that if your father wasn't Contender, Cassini or Caretino nobody really wanted to know you. Some very good and promising stallions were sold for little money. And I see a danger that this is going to encourage the breeders even more to use Cassini, Caretino and Contender.

TN: Yes, that is our problem. The market and the sport riders and competition riders are attracted to these pedigrees. Like all people that want to buy a jumping horse from Holstein, they want to go back to their home and say, "I have a Cassini" or "I have a Contender". If they come back with an Esteban everybody will say "An Esteban son? Is he a Holsteiner? I never heard of this before. What is his pedigree?" For some buyers the image is a main point.

A horse from a younger stallion or a thoroughbred stallion could have better qualities but the buyer wants horses with the pedigree of Cassini, Contender, and Caretino. Therefore it is necessary for us to promote the younger stallions. But I think we are on the right track with stallions like Canto – he makes a very good jumper. He had three sons approved including the champion. Canto himself is a very nice horse and is good in sport. We also had here the young stallion Coco Jambo by Contendro I that sold for €195,000. And the Carlos son, Carlo: OK, I think stallions for €60,000, €70,000, €80,000 is also an amazing price. Not every one can sell for €100,000, €150,000 or €200,000!

So we try to find a way with our breeders and they know this. They say we need the young stallions and we have to use them. We will do it. And we also want to use with one or two mares Cassini or Contender. And if they have 5 mares they send one to this stallion, one to a thoroughbred, three to younger stallions. They say if I have one Cassini that is good for the market if I want to sell it. Then later they come and say, "Look, the Cassini is not the best! The best is from this younger stallion." And the buyer says, "OK, I will buy that one." So that is a tactic we use.

TR: What was the approval commission's thinking on the two For Pleasure sons? I liked both. The one that was selected, For Ever Jump, I liked the best.

TN: Yes, he was the better type, a good topline, nice head. The grey one was a little bit stiff and not as correct. But he also had a lot of scope.

TR: I wonder why the commission did not take the second For Pleasure instead of taking another Cassini. Take the second For Pleasure despite his difficulties – and every horse has difficulties – because we could get 50% different genes. But the commission didn't feel this way.

TN: OK, but we know the market here in Holstein. The buyers don't want to buy a For Pleasure son in Holstein. They go to another area for that – Oldenburg, but not Holstein. This influence should be only a little bit. We try such a stallion to develop a new line and not for the market: only to develop a new stallion line. It is very difficult. We try it with French stallions for years and years. You can see the Quidam de Revel line has become important. But it was with a lot of problems to integrate these stallions. It was not so easy. But I think we are on a good path with Quidam de Revel. We have a lot of his sons and grandsons. We have to find now the right stallion for our population.

TR: The other French stallions in the breeding experiment…

TN: Yes last year we had a fantastic champion, the Diamant de Semilly son Diarado.

TR: But Diamant himself as a producer?

TN: Yes, OK, OK. But you never know until you try it on the Holsteiner motherline. It could be a good combination. If we get that stallion and he brings us good offspring that is enough because we don’t want too much influence from foreign blood. The market is for Holsteiner pedigrees without too much mixture of all the others. For that they can go to Oldenburg where they do that, where they have everything. The people come here because they want the special Holstein genetics.

TR: A little bit of spice once in a while!

TN: Yes, yes.

TR: What is your view of the relationship between the Verband and breeders outside of Holstein? One perspective might say that the Verband really wants people to come and buy stallions, buy mares, and buy foals but is really not very interested in selling semen outside of Holstein. Essentially – and please don’t take this negatively – but speaking as an economist you want to create a monopoly, to maintain a monopoly. And that is a very different strategy compared to all the other German breeding associations. I wonder whether my characterization is correct and if that strategy is sustainable in the future?

TN: To understand the situation in Holstein one must know that we are a small breeding region and we developed a very special breeding program in Holstein to produce jumping horses, to look for our type of horse, to look for our special genetics. We think our main point is to do a good job for our breeders in Holstein. Because if we go outside all over the world we will lose the line, we'll lose the foundation, in Holstein for our breeders. That could be the greatest mistake we ever make because you need the good foundation in Holstein. You cannot produce the best Holsteiners in America: they must be produced here. Therefore we need all our attention focused to make good horses here in Holstein.

Now in the last two or three years we know that there are breeders outside of Holstein who are very interested in making good jumpers and to get the good genetics and the semen. We started this year to open it and we have a new worker in our association, Dr. Stephanie Walker, who is for the breeders outside of Holstein. This summer I went with her all over Germany and we judged foals and took mares into the studbook. That was an enormous step for us because my office in Kiel is not big: we were created for the breeders here in Holstein. But now we start to go outside of Germany this year to two or three places such as Belgium and Denmark. Next year we will go again. Our breeders know that it is necessary that we concentrate our attention on Holstein, not outside, because if we do that we will lose the foundation. If you become bigger and bigger and bigger you lose. We said the main point is for us to do a good job here in Holstein. The other is to go outside now step by step in Germany and to integrate the other German Holstein breeders. And we have begun to also integrate people from Denmark and Belgium and Switzerland; they are also in our delegate system. Two weeks ago I was in America for ten days where there is the American Holsteiner Horse Association and we conducted stallion approvals and marebook selections. So we have contacts. But we are not able to bring all things from Holstein to the outside world. People have to accept this. If people cannot accept this then we say you have to go another way and not with us. We have good unity in our association. If there are members who are not willing to do this with us then we say you have to go another way.

TR: Are there ways for breeders in other countries that have Holsteiner studbook mares and are using Holsteiner approved stallions to get their foals registered by the Verband and to become more involved in the association?

TN: If you want to breed original Holsteiners that get our papers and our brand it is necessary that the father is an approved stallion in our association, in our stallion book, and the mare must also be in our mare book. If you have such a mare and a stallion and you make a combination you can do it in Ireland, you can do it in Switzerland or Denmark, etc. Today we have no plan to go to Ireland but next year or in two or three years we could go there and register horses in our book that will get the Holsteiner brand and Holsteiner papers. But the stallion and the mare always must be a part of our book. That is necessary because if we start to integrate stallions that are not approved with Holstein then we will create problems. That will not happen. We have to help the breeder control a high level of quality. If they don't have it there will be no market for that horse.

A PRODUCER'S PERSPECTIVE
By Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 10 2008.

After the auction Tom Reed sat down with the retired international rider Bo Kristoffersen, who worked for many years for the Holsteiner Verband and is now business partners with Olympic Silver Medal winner Rolf-Göran Bengtsson. Among the horses Bo produced and competed for the Verband are the stallions Coriano, Corofino, Cassini I, and Caretino.

TR: Bo, you buy young horses, 3- and 4-year-olds, produce them for a few years, and then sell them. Tell breeders what you are looking for in these young horses.

BK: Quality horses, good looking, good movement. A horse without question marks. And of course he has the jump.

TR: How important are bloodlines?

BK: I look a lot at the bloodlines but at the end of the day it is the horse. If the horse is old enough to jump, and he jumps well, ok, will I buy it? A three-year-old or two-year-old stallion is more difficult. Then if you know the mares a little bit and this is a good line then maybe you buy the horse.

TR: If you saw a very good 3- or 4-year-old and he was very athletic and he jumped better then his bloodlines would have predicted…

BK: I wouldn't worry about that if I was really convinced about the horse. But if I was not 100% convinced about the horse, and he also had bad paper, then I probably would say no. But if I am convinced about the horse then I would do it. If I have to put a little too much, let's call it "fantasy", into a horse, and it has a bad pedigree, then I would not buy.

TR: We all would love a horse with no defects but that it not realistic. What kind of defects are you willing to accept? What about bone chips?

BK: Bone chips for me are not a problem as long as it just sits somewhere where we can take them away. I bought a young stallion recently that has two chips and we will take them out. It is a little operation that costs €1,000 and then the horse is back in the field again. Normally I take them out.

TR: To avoid problems later…

BK: Yes. And when you deal with private people who are not professionals it is often very complicated to convince Mr. Pedersen that this is not a problem. But now I can tell him when the horse is seven and for sale, "We took out two chips when he was two and a half."

Tr: How important is size when you buy youngsters?

BK: It is important. I try to buy horses so they end up 165 – 170 cm. I don't want them too big and I don’t want them too small. But look at Ninja la Silla: he is only 162 or 161 cm. But for a horse like this you can live with the size! But if you see a very little horse when it is 3 and he jumps fantastic you get a little nervous abut size. I prefer to buy them a little bit bigger. And also the junior riders that we sell a lot of horses to don't feel so safe on a horse that is so small. But they don't feel safe on a real big one either. So it is very important to have a nice size.

TR: What were your favorite stallions that were approved?

BK: For me the best jumper for sure was the Contendro x Contender. And there was the Cassini x Contender. There were five or six very very nice horses. I'd love to have all of them.

WHO WILL CARRY THE TORCH?
By Tom Reed
Forthcoming in the 2008/2009 edition of L’Annee Hippique.



In the days leading up to the 2008 Olympics two stallions died whose blood courses through the veins of the three individual medal winners. My stallion Ekstein (Zion x Joost) -- the dam-sire of Hickstead, winner of the Individual Gold Medal and Team Silver Medal -- passed away suddenly while walking to his paddock; Guidam (Quidam de Revel x Venutard) -- the sire of Ninja la Silla, winner of the Individual Silver Medal, and Authentic, winner of the Individual Bronze Medal and Team Gold Medal -- died as a result of injuries sustained while being transported. Do any stallions that competed in Hong Kong have the potential to produce Olympians of the future? Who will carry the Olympic breeding torch for Ekstein and Guidam?

Showjumping
Almost two dozen showjumping stallions competed in Hong Kong (see Table 1), among them the Gold Medal winner Hickstead. Sired by Hamlet (a son of Nimmerdor) and out of the mare Jomara (sired by Ekstein), and bred by B. van Schijndel, the KWPN-registered stallion Hickstead has a full-brother named Hickstead II that is a 2004 stallion approved by Studbook Zangersheide plus a half-brother named Nieco (by the sire Holland) that is an international eventing horse. Hickstead is approved by the NRPS studbook in the Netherlands and has not sired many foals as his sport career has always come first. But Eric Lamaze, Hickstead’s rider, has been quoted as saying that semen from the champion stallion will be available in 2009. Breeders often mistakenly jump on a bandwagon when a stallion wins an important competition but in this case Hickstead deserves serious consideration. He has proven himself for the last few years as one of the world‘s very best showjumpers but just as important Hickstead’s dam Jomara produced an international showjumper, an international eventer, and two approved stallions. Those genetics are potentially valuable for any breeding program.

Following Hickstead in the rankings there are a number of very good showjumping stallions but breeders are advised to perform due diligence before using them as breeding stallions. Many of these stallions, like Hickstead, have not been used much in breeding so we do not know what they will produce. Some are not approved for breeding by a studbook and, in fact, may have been rejected as youngsters because of health issues. At least one stallion is on the KWPN studbook’s Watch List because of serious deficiencies in the quality of his first crop of foals; this stallion’s breeding license is likely to be taken away once the KWPN can find ten progeny to re-inspect -- a task they have been unable to perform for the better part of a decade because the stallion has sired so few foals. Another stallion that is indeed a world-class showjumper is equally famous for the poor quality of his semen. Another stallion, to my eye, has consistently poor jumping technique despite his impressive bloodlines and a phenotype that belies his genotype.

A stallion that stands out for me along with Hickstead as one that has the potential to sire Olympians of the future is Cornet Obolensky (Clinton x Heartbreaker). (Disclosure: In 2008 I put two of my mares in foal to Cornet Obolensky.) Although this young stallion did not jump well in Hong Kong he is producing very promising youngsters that appear to have inherited his fantastic jumping manners. At the 2008 Bundeschampionate (German Young Horse Showjumping Championship) the Champion and Vice-Champion in the 5-year-old competition were both sired by Cornet Obolensky. In addition over a dozen sons from his first crop of foals have been approved as stallions by various studbooks in Europe. I avoided using Cornet Obolensky until 2008 because I wanted to assess his rideability by observing him in sport: both his sire Clinton and his damsire Heartbreaker are extremely talented showjumpers but they also are difficult to ride. Cornet Obolensky convinced me of his rideability while participating this year in World Cup, Nations Cup, and Grand Prix classes. The domination of the Bundeschampionate by Cornet Obolensky’s progeny suggests to me that he is not passing on to his sons and daughters whatever rideability problems there are within his own sire and damsire.

Breeders like me who believe in the supremacy of the damline should take a very close look at two half-brothers that competed in Hong Kong: Quintus (Pavaratti van de Helle x Garitchou x) and Tresor d’Opaline (Major de la Cour x Garitchou x). Both stallions share the world-class mare Opaline des Pins as their dam; she is also the dam of the 1996 Olympic Gold Medal winner Jus de Pomme. So Opaline des Pins is the mother of three Olympic showjumping stallions! These stallions come from a very valuable motherline and could become important sires.


Dressage
Of the six stallions that competed in dressage in Hong Kong (see Table 2) three stand out as potential producers of future Olympians.

Don Schufro (Donnerhall x Pik Bube I) is a non-controversial pick as he has been at or near the top of the German Federation’s dressage breeding value index for several years. Don Schufro descends from a damline that has produced many approved stallions and international dressage horses and this stallion‘s expressive gaits and rideability are noteworthy.

Briar (Magini x Krocket), the Swedish Warmblood stallion, has bloodlines that will not be familiar to many breeders but this amazingly durable stallion has genetics that could serve as a valuable outcross for breeders who need to diversify their gene pool. However with only 25 percent thoroughbred blood Briar likely needs mares that are light and elegant.

For me the most interesting dressage stallion in Hong Kong was Lancet (Wenzel I x Shogun xx). Approved by the KWPN and Hanoverian studbooks, Lancet is a modern stallion with great elasticity and expression. Under his previous rider I liked the stallion but I always felt that riding him would be like sitting on a powder keg; under Emma Hindle, who purchased Lancet in 2004, this stallion seems more relaxed and happy in himself. He could be a valuable sire for old-fashioned mares that need more “blood” in their athletic expression.


Eventing
Only one stallion competed in eventing in Hong Kong (see Table 3), the thoroughbred Kinzhal xx (Pink Wincher xx x Shar xx). The dearth of stallions competing in international eventing is probably due to the inherent risks in eventing plus the enhanced sense of self-preservation that many stallions seem to possess.


Will any of the stallions that competed in Hong Kong sire future Olympians? Time will tell. But we do know for sure our chances of success will be enhanced if we use in our breeding programs very athletic stallions with superior motherlines and very athletic mares with superior motherlines. This is a simple formula but a necessary one if we hope to leave our own fingerprints on the Olympic torch.



TABLE 1
2008 OLYMPIC SHOWJUMPING STALLIONS
(by individual final rank)

1st HICKSTEAD (KWPN, 1996, Hamlet x Ekstein)
8th OPIUM (WEST, 1996, Polydor x Bormio xx)
9th O'BRIEN (KWPN, 1996, Peter Pan x Goudsmid)
10th CUMANO (HOLS, 1993, Casssini I x Landgraf I)
10th QUINTUS (BWP, 1993, Pavaratti van de Helle x Garitchou x)
10th CASINO (HOLS, 1998, Cash x Lord)
29th RUSSELL (HOLS, 1995, Corofino I x Lincoln)
29th ZORRO (HANN, 1999, Rabino x Westmister)
33rd JAGUAR MAIL (SF, 1997, Hand in Glove xx x Laudanum xx)
40th DON PORFIRIO (KWPN, 1997, Indoctro x Ekstein)
42ND ORESTUS (KWPN, 1996, Indoctro x Ramiro)
44TH CORNET OBOLENSKY (BWP, 1999, Clinton x Heartbreaker)
47th URBAN (BWP, 1997, Darco x Reg Magna xx)
54th KALASKA DE SEMILLY (SF, 1998, Diamant de Semilly x Night and Day xx)
54th YAMATO (HSHBA, 1997, Corino x Hargita)
58th WIDO (BWP, 1999, Nabab de Reve x Heartbreaker)
63rd TRESOR D'OPALINE (BWP, 1996. Major de la Cour x Garitchou x)
63rd CHAMBACUNERO (KWPN, 1997, Quidam de Revel x Grannus)
67TH JUMPY DES FONTAINES (SF, 1997, Jus de Pomme x Ramiro)
72nd UN BLANC DE BLANCS (BWP, 1997, Sheyenne de Baugy x Quat'Sous)
72nd IONESCO DE BREKKA (SF, 1996 Dollar du Murier x Quat'Sous)
72nd CODAR (BWP, 1997, Clinton x Darco)
77th PEPPERMILL (KWPN, 1997, Burggraaf x Voltaire)

Source: FEI, IOC, WBFSH, The Show Jumping Archive



TABLE 2
2008 OLYMPIC DRESSAGE STALLIONS
(by individual final rank)

4th RAVEL (KWPN, 1998, Contango x Democraat)
6th BALAGUR (ORLOV, 1990, Raskat x Kolchan)
7th LANCET (HANN, 1993, Wenzel I x Shogun xx)
9th VINCENT (HANN, 1992 Weltmeyer x Absatz)
10th BRIAR (SWB, 1991, Magini x Krocket)
11th DON SCHUFRO (OLDB, 1993, Donnerhall x Pik Bube I)

Source: FEI, IOC, WBFSH



TABLE 3
2008 OLYMPIC EVENTING STALLIONS
(by individual final rank)

41st KINZHAL XX (TB, 1998, Pink Wincher xx x Shar xx)

Source: FEI, IOC, WBFSH

HOW'M I DOIN'? EVALUATING AND PRICING YOUR FOALS
By Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 8 2008.


Back in the 1980s when Ed Koch was Mayor of New York City his trademarked greeting when he met constituents was "How'm I Doin?" Each autumn we breeders need to ask ourselves the same question. Whether we produce one foal or dozens of foals each year we must develop three important skills: (1) evaluating the quality of each foal; (2) placing a rational value on each foal; (3) and accurately answering the question, "How'm I Doin?".

Evaluating Foals
Many breeders and riders tell me they have a hard time evaluating foals. For some people it is because they cannot set aside the strong emotional attachments they have to their foals. Others just seem to have a hard time extrapolating from what they see in front of them (i.e., a 3-month or 6-month foal) to what that foal will look like and move like when he is full-grown. Here are some suggestions:

(1) Every time you see your foal make a mental note of your impressions of his athleticism. Is he an active foal that loves to move and gallop around the field or is he loathe to expend energy? When he moves around the field is he elastic like rubber or is he stiff? When he canters does he use his hind legs to power his motion? When he moves is he light on his feet or does he seem to hit the ground hard at the trot and/or canter? Does he seem to move uphill in both the trot and canter or is he on the forehand? Does he walk like a shuffling Charlie Chaplin or does he swing like a catwalk model? Is he balanced when he moves and does he easily perform flying changes or does he have to struggle a bit to maintain his balance? When he trots and canters do his hind legs come beneath him or do they tend to trail him? Is there suspension in his movement or does he move close to the ground? When he trots does he have a quick hock or does his hind end seem to move in slow motion? Does he move straight when he trots or does he twist a leg? Is his leg conformation improving with age and will it be good enough for him to perform in sport? Does he capture your imagination -- do you have a hard time taking your eyes off of him? Overall does he move like an athlete or like a couch potato?

These daily impressions are important to record, at least mentally, because as a foal grows there will be times when his movement is not at its best because foals do not grow evenly or uniformly. So by forming an impression based on multiple observations over time you have a better chance of recognizing his true attributes.

(2) At about three months of age and again at weaning bring the mare and foal to an arena with a good soft (but not deep) surface and assess the foal more formally. Ask someone to videotape the foal for you and later transfer the video to your computer so you can really see him move and even observe him in slow motion, if you find that useful. Consider the same criteria mentioned above in (1) and critically evaluate his conformation for less-than-optimal attributes that may hinder his ability to perform in sport and/or enjoy a long career in sport. After you have observed the foal in the arena trot the mare on hard level ground and observe the foal from the front and from behind. Does he move straight? Is he balanced? Videotaping this can also prove useful if you have a hard time deciding whether the foal is a straight mover.

If you have bred only a few foals and are not sure what to look for then visit a foal inspection and/or download videos of foals from the internet. However do not be deceived by slick presentation. When we videotape our foals at Morningside Stud we bring them in straight from the field: no grooming, no clipping, no braiding, no stabling, and no feeding them up first so they are explosive. Many people can evaluate foals using only two criteria: size and color. Don’t be one of those people.


Pricing Foals
When I price my foals I start in my mind with a price of euro 0.

Why euro 0?

Because the market does not care how much the broodmare cost. The market does not care how much the stallion (or his stud fee) cost. The market does not care how much it cost to feed and care for the mare during the pregnancy and nursing period. The market does not care how much it cost to care for the foal prior to weaning. The market does not care about vet bills, feed bills, farrier bills, dentist bills, advertizing bills, etc.

All these costs have no impact on how I price a foal because they have no impact on how I and sophisticated purchasers will determine the probability that this foal will become a super athlete, a super stallion, or a super breeding mare.

And since sophisticated purchasers will value the foal based on the potential he or she perceives in the foal as an athlete, stallion, or broodmare this is how I price each foal.

I assess potential in two ways.

The first way is the paperform: the foal's bloodlines and the breadth and depth of its genetic endowment. Since I require evidence of performance in sport in the motherline of all my mares and stallions (except in special circumstances when the right kind of TB blood is being infused) each foal's potential ON PAPER is high. The greater the breadth and depth of the foal's genetic endowment, the higher the potential price of the foal.

But the paperform is not the only issue.

Even more important is the actual foal before you: the realization or expression of the genetic potential possessed by the sire and dam. If based on its athleticism (the absolute first priority), type, and conformation I believe the foal has a very high probability of being an exceptional athlete (or it has a very high probability of becoming a sire or dam of exceptional athletes) then I price the foal high. If I believe the probability is low, I price the foal low. No formulas, no simple metrics, just critical judgments about potential.

In practice my decision-making process is a bit more complicated when pricing foals by our young stallions. If I am using one of my own young stallions for the first season I may sell his foals to very good homes that will produce the foals correctly for sport and/or breeding for less than what I think their real value is. I did this in 2005 with two foals by Ulysses M2S and in 2006 with two foals by Conspiracy M2S. So for these first-crop foals my compensation is the sales price + the value of the expert care, attention, and education the foals will get -- which hopefully will bear fruit a few years from now when these youngsters are old enough to compete and/or be used in breeding.

In practice in our dressage breeding program I also will price super colt foals low because I am not interested in owning a dressage sire. If I use an outside sire in my dressage breeding program I am hoping to produce a filly foal. If I get a colt I price him low to move him on. We did this is 2006: we had an extraordinary filly sired by our stallion Ulysses M2S and a super colt sired by a Trakehner stallion. Both foals were superior. But I advertised the filly at three times the price of the colt. Both foals sold at the advertized asking price (we don't negotiate on price) to an international dressage rider in Germany. The rider paid a fair price for the filly and got a bargain on the colt.

How'm I Doin'
One way I assess my skill as a breeder is whether the foal I bred could have been predicted by the genetics I've employed.

If the foal/horse on the ground is worse than what could have been predicted based on the genetics of the sire and dam then I have made a "destructive" breeding decision.

If the foal/horse on the ground is what could have been predicted based on the genetics of the sire and dam then I have made a "neutral" breeding decision.

If the foal/horse on the ground is better than what could have been predicted based on the genetics of the sire and dam then I have made a "positive" breeding decision and I have added value to the genetics.

I then try to figure out whether that added-value was a happy accident or indeed if I have discovered a potential nick. I do this by repeating the breeding and making new (and ongoing) assessments of the combination.

A SPECIAL ROLE NO MORE: TBs IN SPORT HORSE BREEDING
By Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 7 2008.


Throughout the world during the 20th century the thoroughbred (TB) stallion enjoyed a privileged status in sport horse breeding. In many breeding areas, especially in Europe, the special role for TB stallions was rooted in the need to lighten and to make more athletic traditional indigenous horses used in agriculture. So in Ireland, for example, TB stallions were bred to Irish Draught mares to produce useful hunters and many became very competitive showjumpers. Not just in Ireland but in all breeding areas throughout the world the TB stallion played a vital role in the development of the modern sport horse in all three Olympic disciplines. But will TB stallions continue to play a pivotal role in sport horse breeding in the 21st century? Or are the glory days over?

The best evidence that the glory days have passed is the Irish Horse Register. Here we have a studbook with over 100 approved TB sires (yes, over 100!) that has been increasingly uncompetitive over the two decades in producing international showjumpers. In 1998 37.9 percent of foals sired by approved stallions in Ireland were sired by TBs. (In 2006 the percentage had slipped to 27.10 percent). But there are no data to suggest that these half-bred foals born in 1998 have developed into exceptional showjumpers. In fact, the data show the opposite.

In the ranking of international showjumpers for the year ending 30 June 2008, there are 31 horses in the top 1,000 in the world with the breed code of ISH (Irish Sport Horse). None of the ISH horses in the world's top 580 showjumpers was sired by a TB; only two ISH horses in the world's top 735 were sired by a TB. Further, only 9 of the ISH horses in the world's top 1,000 showjumpers have a TB as the damsire, and only one of these is in the top 250 showjumpers in the world (Mo Chroi, ranked 249, is by Cruising and out of a mare sired by Mr. Lord xx).

This "natural experiment" in Ireland of the widespread use of TB stallions in showjumping breeding, combined with the poor breeding results in the few other countries that continue to use a lot of TB stallions and mares in sport horse breeding (for example USA, Australia, and New Zealand), and the much better results from studbooks that approve just a handful of TB stallions and use them very selectively (for example, KWPN, Holsteiner, Hanoverian, Belgium Warmblood, Danish Warmblood, etc.), suggest to me that for showjumping breeding the old formula has not worked for the last two decades and will not work in the future.

In fact, if not for the contributions of the Holsteiner stallion Cavalier Royale the Irish studbook would no longer be in the top 10 studbooks for producing international showjumpers (it is currently ranked 10th) and would not be the top eventing studbook. But the Irish studbook still clings to the old formula although it no longer works, and even has begun approving TB stallions based exclusively on their track performance – sight unseen, with no assessment of their riding horse qualities. Apparently some people still think the most important criterion – in fact, the only criterion – required for a sport horse sire is speed on a race track!

Let's step back from the data and explore why TB stallions have been used in the past and whether the reasons for using them still hold today. I like to think of TBs as potentially making contributions along three dimensions: genotype, phenotype, and athletic expression.

The first dimension, "genotype", is the genetic structure of the horse determined by the genes it inherited from both parents. In sport horse breeding TB stallions have played a useful role in the past by contributing genes that offered the potential to produce a lighter and more athletic horse; in other words, a horse better suited for a saddle rather than a plough! In addition TBs have been useful by serving as an out-cross to reduce the degree of inbreeding and to introduce greater genetic diversity in a population of horses, resulting in "hybrid vigor".

But today almost all TB stallions and broodmares do not contribute genes that will produce a better athlete for today's Olympic discipline (with the partial exception of eventing, which is seeing a shift away from TBs in sport toward horses whose pedigrees look more like modern day showjumping pedigrees with a bit more TB blood up close). Except for those very rare gifts from the fertility gods – such as Lauries Crusader xx in dressage breeding and Heraldik xx in showjumping and eventing breeding – most of the TB sires used in the last decade have tended to damage if not destroy the jump and canter. To me this is not surprising because TBs are not bred to jump or move in the way that sport horse breeders and riders want their horses to jump and move. And even the National Hunt TBs, which do race and jump, do not make the shape over a fence (the bascule) that is required for upper level showjumping and, to a lesser extent, eventing. And they are bred to gallop and not to walk, trot and canter.

Further, with the widespread use of shipped chilled semen and frozen semen the genetic diversity that TBs can contribute is not as important today as in years past. In my own breeding program I have genes from Germany, Netherlands, France, Denmark, Belgium, Ireland, and Russia. I have no need to use a TB to introduce greater genetic diversity into my herd and I doubt that many other breeders do either.

The second dimension, "phenotype", is the observable physical manifestation of the expressed genes in the horse. It is the flesh and bones that we can see and touch; it is the physical expression of the genes inherited by the horse from his sire and dam. TB stallions have been used over the years to change the phenotype of the sport horse: to make a more athletic horse with a lighter, more rectangular skeleton with longer legs.

But today there is less of a need for the TB stallion in sport horse breeding with respect to phenotype. The first reason is that many breeders belonging to some of the major studbooks (especially the KWPN) have been putting a greater emphasis during the last few decades on producing a more elegant and rectangular sport horse. They are producing a "type" of horse that looks like a half-bred "blood horse" but only has about 40 – 60% TB genes, and these TB genes are often found several generations back in the pedigree. By placing a strong emphasis not only on specialized athletic ability and conformation but also on "type" the KWPN and some other studbooks are producing modern and elegant horses without having to rely on TB stallions that can damage the jumping ability and movement in their progeny. These sport horses look like classic long-lined TBs and half-breds but move and jump like what they are: modern warmbloods.

The second reason is that there has been a strong divergence in the last few decades between the phenotype of the successful racehorse and the phenotype of the successful sport horse. For example racehorses are bred to run fast over short or long distances; they are not bred to carry themselves in a way that much of their weight can be transferred to the hind legs. The structure of the body of the racehorse is not ideal for the job that is done by sport horses competing in the Olympic disciplines. Why would we expect them to reliably produce progeny that have the body structure required for our sports?

Lastly, by "athletic expression" I mean how sensitive and reactive is the horse? Does he have a quick or slow hock? Does he move with energy or lethargy? At the end of a three-day show is his petrol tank empty or does he still have energy and power to offer the rider? Does he have quick reflexes to help both himself and his rider get out of trouble or does everything seem to move in slow motion?

TB stallions were very important several generations ago to improve the athletic expression of sport horses, whether they were Irish Draughts, other indigenous breeds, or old-fashioned warmbloods. But in recent years breeders have focused a great deal of attention on improving the athletic abilities of sport horses through careful selection of breeding stock – both sires and dams – and culling. Particularly in those breeding populations mentioned above that have developed very focused and specialized breeding programs a cost - benefit analysis of using TB stallions is bound to result in the verdict of using TBs rarely and very selectively.

The role of TBs is diminishing and will decline even further in future years because the potential contribution they can make along the three dimensions of genotype, phenotype and athletic expression is quickly eroding. In my own breeding program, which is aimed at breeding international horses for all three Olympic disciplines, I have employed TB blood but very selectively. For example, I own a mare sired by Mytens xx, who was one of the better TB sires in Dutch breeding (her dam is the international jumping mare Dante by Voltaire). I own another mare whose breeding is Cruising x Ozymandias xx x Nordlyss xx; Ozymandias and Nordlys are long deceased but they both produced many excellent showjumpers in Ireland (and Nordlys xx is the sire of Cruising's dam, Mullacrew, who herself was an excellent showjumper). I own a mare that is a daughter of Herka xx, the full-sister of the very important sire Heraldik xx; my mare has two brothers that are approved stallions in Germany. My stallions are infused with top TB blood from Ladykiller xx, Lucky Boy xx, and Erdball xx. I bred mares to Heraldik xx and used young stallions with Lauries Crusader xx and Heraldik xx as the sire or dam-sire. And in my liquid nitrogen tank, waiting to be used, is semen from the very interesting young Holsteiner stallion Mighty Magic (by Mytens xx and out of a mare sired by Heraldik xx and descending from a classic Holsteiner motherline). But in the land of over 100 approved TB sires there is not a single one that I have used in my breeding program.

In future years TBs will still be used in sport horse breeding but they will not enjoy a privileged status. Instead, they will be assessed as sires and broodmares in the same way that any sire or broodmare is assessed: athleticism, jumping technique, movement, rideability, conformation, trainability. The TB stallion will always be considered but his special role in sport horse breeding no longer exists.

CELEBRATING 125 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
By Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 6 2008.


This year the Holsteiner Verband celebrates its 125th anniversary. From a small breeding region in the north of Germany the Holsteiner Verband and its loyal breeders/members have produced countless international showjumpers, world-class stallions, and valuable broodmares that have been exported to all corners of the world. And every single powerhouse European studbook -– without exception -- employs Holsteiner genetics to enhance their own showjumping breeding program.

What can we as breeders and studbook officials learn from the Holsteiner Verband and its members?


A Learning Community
The Holsteiner Verband's foal registration policy and marketing practices facilitate learning among the members. Each year breeders bring their mares and foals to a nearby venue (perhaps a neighbor's dairy farm or a local studfarm) where the foals are examined and branded. Breeders form and update impressions about the quality of foals produced by new and established stallions and share these impressions with fellow breeders. Judgments begin to be made or amended. Is this newly approved stallion a potentially valuable sire or are his foals "normal"? Does the stallion bring "blood" and quality to the old-fashioned mares or does he produce foals with less quality then one would expect from his own genetics and phenotype? What type of mare seems to best suit the stallion? Are we seeing once again too many poorly-conformed hind legs from this stallion?

Breeders can visit these branding venues throughout the breeding region and quickly and economically learn answers to these questions. The same type of learning takes place during stallion approvals, mare shows and performance tests, and auctions for foals, stallions, and riding horses. I believe these practices foster a "learning community" within the Holsteiner breeding region and is a major source of their competitive advantage.


The Primacy of the Motherline
Many years ago the Holsteiner Verband began assigning numbers to each damline in its breeding population. These numbers, called the "Stamm", tells us what motherline, or mare family, each horse comes from. The breeders know which Stamms tend to produce a lot of top athletes and stallions and which ones are less important, taking into account the size of the Stamm. (Some Stamms are quite large with many branches while others are small.) This matriarchial system, with its emphasis on the production of top-level showjumpers and approved stallions by the FEMALES in the pedigree, is the single greatest factor, I believe, in the success of the Holsteiner horse in international sport.

Many people think that, for example, a Capitol I x Landgraf I horse is very well breed. But the Holsteiner breeder knows that it is the quality of the motherline, the Stamm, that determines how well-bred this horse is. Two broodmares that are sired by Capitol I out of a mare sired by Landgraf I could be as different as night and day in their genetic potential: one could be very valuable and the other of little value for breeding. The Stamm helps determine which mare is the valuable one.


Singular Pursuit
Horses with the Holsteiner brand can be found competing in international eventing and dressage and in other pursuits such as driving, but make no mistake about it: the sole purpose of the Holsteiner Verband and the vast majority of its members is to breed and produce horses that can compete in international showjumping at the very highest level. They leave to the other studbooks the goal of producing good riding horses and multi-purpose horses. This singular pursuit brings a clarity of vision to every decision made by the Verband and to most of its breeders.


Concentrated Genetics with Periodic Outcross
The Holsteiner gene pool is very concentrated; these days it is difficult to find a Holsteiner that does not carry the blood of Cor de la Bryere, Capitol I, or Landgraf I. This concentration of performance genes, in combination with other factors discussed in this essay, has helped to produce outstanding showjumpers. Because such a limited gene pool can create over time unwelcome qualities relating to health, durability, and fertility the Verband periodically introduces outcross blood. In the past outcrossing was typically achieved by introducing thoroughbred and Anglo-Arab or Shagya Arab sires into the breeding population but in recent times the Verband is experimenting once again with Selle Français blood (with decidedly mixed results). What characterizes the Holsteiner Verband's outcross policies, however, is its strictness. Unlike some other top studbooks, which permit new blood to enter the gene pool via both mares and approved outcross stallions and through the use of other books within the studbook (for example, the KWPN's valuable Register A), the Holsteiner Verband keeps a tight lid of the type and quality of outcross blood.


Limited Use of Modern TB Blood
Related to the outcross discussion is the use of thoroughbred blood. Unlike some studbooks such as the Irish, which approves scores of unproven and untried and, to be frank, destructive (for showjumping breeding) thoroughbreds, the Holsteiner Verband approves very few thoroughbred sires. The ones they do approve have to have compelling attributes that, on a benefit-cost analysis, appear to have the potential to bring desired attributes without destroying the jump and the canter. Like some other studbooks such as the KWPN, the Holsteiner Verband is extremely selective on what thoroughbred sires it approves and this is one reason why the Verband and its member consistently produce top showjumpers. (The next issue of Horse International will feature two controversial articles on the use of thoroughbreds in sport horse breeding.)


As breeders we have a lot to learn from the Holsteiner Verband and its members. But also studbooks have a lot to learn. By benchmarking our policies, practices and decisions against the Holsteiner's I believe we can advance the breeding of top-level showjumpers throughout the world.

EVERY MAN A REMBRANDT! EVERY BREEDER A MELCHIOR!
By Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 5 2008.


Do you remember those Paint by Number kits that promised to make "Every man a Rembrandt!"? The kits contained a board with numbered spaces, some brushes, and scores of numbered dollops of paint. All you had to do to become a modern-day Rembrandt was to match each space with the corresponding dollop and to let your conformist juices flow. Just be sure to stay within the lines!

We are now seeing the same phenomenon with horse breeding. Spurred by a new wave of semen agents with little or no actual experience breeding competition horses, novice breeders are told they are "guaranteed to produce a showjumper" or a dressage horse or an eventer if they use this or that stallion with high breeding value index scores or a high ranking. (Of course the agent just happens to sell semen from that stallion.) You too can be a Leon Melchior or a Hermann Meyer or a Sam Barr but only if you order by midnight tonight! Credit cards accepted! A free Ginzo knife is included with every purchase!

Breeding indices and rankings can play a useful role in breeding but only if used correctly and their limitations are understood. In this essay I will briefly discuss some of the major indices and rankings, point out some key issues that breeders should remember when consulting them, and offer a few suggestions on how they could be improved.


Understanding Index Scores
Although each studbook uses slightly different methods when constructing their breeding index the general idea is the same. The progeny of stallions are assessed along the dimensions covered the index. Typical dimensions are front legs, hind legs, topline, walk, trot, canter, etc. The average Partial Index Score for each dimension for the population of stallions is set at 100 and usually scores above 100 indicate better than average and scores below 100 indicate worse than average. So a stallion with a topline score of 115 produces progeny that on average have better toplines then a stallion with a score of 90. (The KWPN index system is different and I'll discuss the differences below.)

Along with these Partial Index Scores for individual attributes the studbooks produce an overall Breeding Value Index, which is a summary measure of the genetic value of the stallion. As with the Partial Index Scores, with the Breeding Value Index the greater the score is above 100 the more genetic value the stallion has and the lower the score is below 100 the less genetic value he has.

How can these index scores be misinterpreted? First, be careful if you are tempted to think there are meaningful differences between two stallions whose index scores are similar. A stallion with an overall Breeding Value Index of 120 is probably no better than one whose index score is 117. However both are likely better than a stallion with an index score of 100.

Second, remember that Partial Index Scores for conformation suggest measurement with great precision but in reality our tools for measuring conformation features are rather imprecise and subject to human error and subjectivism. So again if one stallion has a Partial Index Score 97 for his progeny's hind legs and another stallion has an index score of 101 there is probably not much of a difference between the two stallions: both are average producers.

Third, these index scores assess the stallion's genetic worth in relation to a specific population of mares. So a stallion that has high Partial Index Scores or a high overall Breeding Value Index score in one studbook may have very different results in another studbook's index. I have seen this often especially with thoroughbred sires that service a variety of European studbooks.

Fourth, index scores cannot be compared across studbooks because the population of stallions, mares and progeny are probably not comparable. Let's assume that both the Holsteiner Verband and the Trakehner Verband produced index scores for jumping ability. Would we expect a Holsteiner stallion with a jumping index of 100 to be equivalent to a Trakehner stallion index with a jumping index of 100? Of course not. The average Holsteiner jumper is much better than the average Trakehner jumper.

Let's take a look at several examples of index scores.

KWPN Index
The KWPN has a marvelous index that can be a very valuable tool for breeders. Most indices produced by studbooks take a conformation feature of the progeny (let's say correctness of the font leg) and assigns scores above 100 for correct front legs and scores below 100 for incorrect front legs. However, the KWPN system establishes the correct front leg with a score of 100. A stallion with an index score of 90 produces, on average, progeny that are over at the knee while stallions with an index score of 110 produces, on average, progeny that are back at the knee. So when examining the KWPN Partial Index Scores one needs to have the definitions at hand since a higher score does not necessarily imply better conformation.

The KWPN index includes Partial Index Scores for many conformation features, all three gaits (assessed by three dimensions for each gait), and jumping ability (a total of eight dimensions of jumping ability). Simply stated, the KWPN is light-years ahead of any other studbook in its breeding indices. This is a strength of the index but it is also a potential stumbling block for some breeders.

I have found that some breeders tend to focus on one conformation attribute of the mare and try to "fix" it. So, for example the mare has a short neck and come hell or high water the breeder wants to ensure that the foal has a longer neck. So he searches for a stallion that tends to produce long necks. The problem is that the length of the neck is probably not an important determinant of athleticism or success in sport and by fixating on this one feature other critical attributes (such as athleticism) become less important.

How could the KWPN index be improved? I wish the Dutch index included an overall index score for rideability comprised of partial scores for submission, ease of the mouth, the extent to which the horse is responsive to the rider, etc. In practice many of these dimensions of rideability would be difficult to measure with reliability and validity but if anyone can do it I believe the KWPN can.


Holsteiner Verband Index
The Holsteiner Verband's breeding index is interesting for me because it includes along with the standard conformation and movement variables three features missing in some other indices: canter, loose-jumping ability, and rideability of the progeny. The Holsteiner breeders know what helps to make a good showjumper and they have included these three variables in their index.


Irish Horse Register Index
The Irish Horse Board (IHB) produces two indices and the most critical difference between them is that one is for stallions with progeny competing in showjumping and the other is for stallions without progeny in sport. Unfortunately the IHB publicizes the latter index.

Under this index a stallion that showjumps national Grand Prix (typically 1.35 - 1.45 m) and has no progeny competing at any level in sport -- such as the current incumbent of the top-rated position in the index – is regarded more highly than a stallion that has international Grand Prix progeny but who himself did not pursue a showjumping career in Ireland.

Every genetic index has strengths and weaknesses but the IHB's most widely disseminated index is problematic since it excludes progeny from the analysis. Another problem is that the conformation, temperament, and athleticism scores are based on the stallion's own inspection scores and the few mares that may have been inspected as part of the IHB's grant scheme. I believe there are substantial problems with the reliability and validity of these Partial Index Scores and they should be taken by breeders with several grains of salt.


WBFSH Rankings
The World Breeding Federation for Sport Horse (WBFSH) has been publishing rankings of showjumping, dressage, and eventing sires for about a decade. In the early years the rankings were published in book form and there was nothing that I liked better than to delve into the densely-formatted pages. But in recent years the rankings are published on a CD-rom and for me this technology makes the data, and the underlying trends and hidden surprises, less accessible.

In collaboration with the FEI, which supplies the data to the WBFSH, these rankings only consider results from upper-level international competition so the rankings are skewed toward established sires whose progeny are old enough to compete at those levels. So for all practical purposes the highly-ranked sires will be 15 years or older and, in fact, many of the sires at the very top of the ranking will be aged, dead or have age-related fertility problems.

The temptation for breeders is to look at the top 10 or 20 sires and to chase after their semen. This can be a mistake because the sire in question may be totally unsuitable for the mare. An example of this happened in Northern Ireland when the UK government funded breeding venture Irish Sport Horse Developments inseminated a large number of Irish mares with Burggraaf. A great sire in the Netherlands was used on a completely different and inappropriate mare base in Ireland and the results were, as I predicted at the time, a disappointment.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to understand what type(s) of mares – with respect to genotype, phenotype, and athletic expression – when matched with the stallions in question produced the international athletes whose success in sport led to their sire's top ranking. The mare contributes 50% of the foal's DNA. Those highly-ranked sires were produced by skilled breeders who were able to match the genetic potential in the sires with the genetic potential in their mares. They did not go to a CD-rom and pick out a Top 10 sire or worse, take advice from a semen agent who himself has never bred a competition horse.

How can the WBFSH rankings be made more valuable and useful to breeders? I have two suggestions that could be implemented very easily by the WBFSH and the FEI. First, a new ranking should be created that takes into account the number of progeny produced by the stallion. A sire that has had 2,000 foals has had many more chances to produce international athletes than a stallion with 500 foals. Ideally this new ranking would take the total points earned by each sire (the basis for the conventional ranking produced now) and divide it by the number of progeny that are over eight years of age. (I recommend eight years of age because that is the youngest that we would normally see a horse competing at the levels that are captured by the WBFSH/FEI data.)

The second suggestion is to create two rankings of dam-sires, the first of which is based on total points and the second based on total points divided by the number of grand-children eight years of age and older.

Conformation indices, breeding value indices and WBFSH rankings can play an important role in breeding, stallion selection, and mare selection. But we all must be discerning consumers of the data and the statistics.

On 22 April 2008 I received an email from Pamela Young, editor of Horse International, in which she invited me to become the magazine's columnist on breeding issues. Below is my first article, which will appear in the next issue.


IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL
By Tom Reed
Horse International Vol 4 2008 page 37-38.


Does the word "World" really belong in the title of the Rolex FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final? Or should we rename it the "EU-USA and a Little Bit of Here and There Cup Final"? Where do the horses come from? And the riders? And the spectators? And what can be done to attract even more participation by show jumping riders, owners, fans and sponsors from around the world?

Let's start with the horses. It comes as no surprise that virtually all of the horses that competed in the World Cup Final are the products of European breeding programs. The thirty-nine horses in the first class at Gotëborg represent eleven studbooks, ten of which are European warmblood/sport horse studbooks while the eleventh is the Japanese branch of the General Studbook for Thoroughbreds. According to my reckoning 97% of the horses are European-bred and they come from a core group of six breeding nations (Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, and Sweden). A very small world, indeed.

Four dynasties may be found in the horses that competed in the World Cup Final. Quidam de Revel and his son Guidam, Nimmerdor and his son Heartbreaker, and Voltaire and his son Concorde each had one progeny in the competition. The Holsteiner sire Capitol had two progeny while his son Indoctro was represented by one progeny. A lot of breeders will be surprised by many relatively unfamiliar names among the sires and dam-sires of the competitors. In some ways this genetic diversity can be a valuable lesson for those breeders who are prone to jump on bandwagons of Top 10 sires and "next big thing" young sires while ignoring valuable but unfashionable bloodlines that might much better suit their mares.

Along these lines, chilled and frozen semen artificial insemination (AI) has been around long enough that we should be seeing top international show jumpers sired by European-based sires and out of mares bred through AI in countries that are on the periphery of top-level show jumping breeding. But this is not the case. Unless my analysis is incorrect (which is possible because it is very difficult to obtain details about the breeders of competition horses) none of the World Cup Final competitors was born outside of the core EU breeding region. More troubling is that nations such as the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Switzerland, and Italy should be producing top-level international horses both from imported semen and from imported and home-bred warmblood stallions. But none of these nations show up as the source of World Cup Final horses.

All of the usual suspects are on the list of studbooks represented at Gotëborg but what is interesting to me is whether each studbook's representation, measured by the number of horses it had competing in the Final and its success in the competition, is commensurate with its size. The KWPN, with 10 horses, had the largest number of competitors but this studbook registers approximately 6,000 jumping-bred foals per year so its representation was balanced (three of the top 10 placings went to KWPN horses). On the other hand the Belgian Warmblood Studbook, with a much smaller breeding population, was over-represented with six horses. The Holsteiner studbook, which is in fact quite small, was also over-represented with five horses (actually six horses, since Richard Spooner switched horses after the first competition). Although the World Cup Champion Shutterfly is a Hanoverian, this large studbook had only three horses while the very large French studbook had only four representatives; both were under-represented. The small Swedish Warmblood and Westfalen studbooks were well-represented with three horses each while three of the top six placings went to Westfalen horses – a truly excellent achievement. Oldenburg had two and Zangersheide only one horse. Although the Irish studbook's sole representative did very well, coming in second place in the Final ranking, by virtue of its size one would have expected a half-dozen horses competing under the tri-color. And that fact that its sole representative, the stallion Flexible (an Irish Sport Horse stallion by the great Cruising), has no recorded damline is particularly troubling for this breeder. Sometimes it seems Not Recorded/Unknown is the most fertile sire in Ireland!

What about the riders, where did they come from? Ten riders represented the USA -- a fantastic showing by the US Equestrian Federation, the riders, and the owners. Germany and Sweden each had four riders; the Netherlands three; and Switzerland, Belgium, and Canada each was represented by two riders. Estonia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates each sent one rider.

So is the "World" Cup Final a global competition? Unfortunately not. While the FEI can do nothing to encourage better breeding throughout the world -- and should do nothing since it has no expertise in this area -- it should explore with experts changes in the World Cup Final format to encourage greater participation by riders, owners, spectators, and sponsors throughout the world. There were 15 World Cup leagues spread throughout the world but riders from only 8 leagues were present at the Final. And fully 32 of the 39 riders represented the Western European League countries (20 riders) and the three North American (USA and Canada) leagues. I guess the FEI has not yet figured out that Mexico is indeed part of North America.

How could technology be employed to make the World Cup Final more global? How can the FEI leverage and build on the great interest and excitement that everyone saw at the World Cup Final in Malaysia?

I have an idea that I'll toss out and I leave it to the event planning experts, show organizers, and course builders to determine if it has any merit. The World Cup Final could be held simultaneously in a number of venues around the world connected by satellite transmission. The number of venues would be agreed by the FEI and the national governing bodies. As a default each league would be eligible to host a venue but for financial and logistical reasons it would make more sense for leagues to collaborate. For example, the four leagues in the USA, Canada and Mexico may come together in one venue in North America. The Asian/Pacific countries may agree on one or two venues.

Each venue would create its own entertainment program, suitable for local tastes, to complement the live show jumping that would take place along with the satellite transmission of the simultaneous live show jumping in the other venues. The huge crowds that attend the Olympia Show in London each December and the Danish National Stallion Show in Herning each March prove that individuals and families who may not be keen equestrian enthusiasts will attend horse shows, have a great time, and become loyal customers if the sport is sandwiched into spectacles that delight the crowd.

Each venue would be required to build arenas and courses to the exact specification of the supervising course builder and supervising footing expert, and each venue would have a course builder, footing expert, and technical team to ensure compliance and uniformity.

With multiple venues the competition can take place simultaneously so the European riders, for example, could jump at the same time as the North American, South American, South African, Arab, Central Asian, Asian/Pacific, and Australian/New Zealand riders. Only during the jump-off against the clock would each rider take his or her turn in sequence and all eyes in the multiple arenas around the globe would be fixed on the big screens.

Technologically this idea should be feasible. From a viewpoint of fan and sponsor interest it would have the advantage of allowing people to see world-class show jumpers from throughout the world without leaving their home country or region. For riders and owners the expense and risk of transporting horses long distances would be greatly reduced.

Sure there would be technical and practical difficulties. Time differences are important. But the advantages that will accrue to the sport and its sponsors from a truly global competition far outweigh the logistical challenges. At this time the World Cup Final is not a true global competition but with creativity riders, owners, fans and sponsors from throughout the world could be joined together – in a bigger world made smaller through technology.

Click here to download Morningside Stud's 2008 Stallion Catalogue

Selecting Fillies and Mares for a World-Class Breeding Programme
Tom Reed

In the last few months I've had several conversations with two new breeders. One man, let's call him Fergal, is from Northern Ireland and the other, let's call him Liam, is from the Republic. Both Fergal and Liam aspire to build world-class breeding programmes to produce showjumpers that will compete at the highest international level. Unfortunately both men made wrong decisions as they began their breeding programmes and have wasted a lot of money. Let's see what mistakes they made and how we can learn from their mistakes.

Fergal purchased two mares last year and both were in foal. Unfortunately the mares were sired by rejected stallions so both mares carry the dreaded Blue Passport issued by the Irish Horse Board. No matter how many generations of foals are bred from these mares their descendants will not receive entrance into the Main Studbook and receive a Green Passport.

Why is this important? Unless one is talking about a gelding under saddle and showing good form, sophisticated Irish and foreign buyers do not want fillies and colts that are not entered into the Main Studbook because these horses have inferior genetics, inferior pedigrees, and cannot be used for breeding in the main studbooks of Ireland or other countries.

The sires of Fergal's two mares are unapproved stallions with no competition careers and no success in the breeding shed -- they have produced no athletes of note in showjumping, eventing, or dressage. Even more important, neither of Fergal's two mares has a damline that is the least bit distinguished: the damlines have produced no athletes.

Now let's turn to Liam, who purchased two filly foals earlier this year. Liam's fillies are both in the Main Studbook of the Irish Horse Board so they have Green Passports. But like Fergal's mares neither one of Liam's fillies has a damline that has produced any athletes. Liam's mistake was concentrating solely on the sires in the pedigree: he was seduced by the high-profile sires in the pedigrees and did not investigate whether the females in the pedigree were superior.

This way of thinking about bloodlines is so ingrained is us that we often refer to a horse as being a Cruising x Clover Hill, for instance (meaning that the horse was sired by Cruising and out of a mare that was sired by Clover Hill). But this is not the way to think about selecting breeding stock. Instead we need to thing like Holsteiner breeders (who give each damline a number, such as Stamm 104A) or Trakehner breeders (who name each horse's damline based on the foundation mare in the line, such as the "Schwarze Schwalbe" line). Even more familiar to Irish breeders is the use of the term "Black Type" in thoroughbred breeding to denote damlines that have produced winners of big stake races. What "Black Type" -- meaning international showjumpers -- has been created by your damlines?

What do I mean by damline? Let's use as an example the pedigree of one of Morningside Stud's stallions, Ulysses M2S, the 2006 5-year-old Indoor Showjumping Champion and now successfully jumping 6-year-old international classes with a Belgian young rider, his half-owner Rossella de Simone. Ulysses M2S is by Ekstein and out of the mare Gudrun. Let's examine Ulysses' pedigree and damline ( see: http://www.morningside-stud.com/Images/UlyssesKWPNregistration.jpg).

Gudrun received two important honours from the KWPN studbook: she was designated a Keur mare because she was one of the top 3-year-old fillies in the Netherlands, passed a performance test under saddle, and later produced a very good first foal. Gudrun also received the predicate Prestatie in recognition of having four progeny that have excelled in sport. At the
time of her early death Gudrun had already produced two Ster mares; if she had produced one more she also would have earned the predicate Preferent.

Besides the international showjumper Ulysses M2S, Gudrun also produced the approved stallion President (given as a wedding present to Olympic showjumping rider Princess Haya of Jordan, the President of the International Equestrian Federation) that was Champion stallion in Italy and Belgium and surely would have been an international showjumper if the Princess had not retired from competition. Gudrun also produced the mare Kretienne, the Champion Mare of the KWPN studbook and among her progeny is the approved stallion Taloubet du Rouet *Pleville*, who surely will begin jumping internationally in the next year or two. Gudrun also produced the mare Orashi, an international showjumper by Cruising that competes with a young rider under the sport name Cruisly.

Gudrun's dam Adriana also produced the Ster mare Deborah that was successful in both showjumping and dressage and is the second dam of the approved stallion Ringo G, the 2004 6-Year-Old Belgian Showjumping Champion. Deborah is also the second dam of the international showjumping mare Pepita G and the third dam of the Vice-Champion of the 2004 Italian Stallion Performance Test, Temptation van Herikhave. Adriana also produced Evident, a Keur Preferent Prestatie mare that was a successful dressage horse and is the dam of the Danish Warmblood approved stallion Mercurius, the International Grand Prix dressage mare Independent, and the Elite mare Konvident, who received the Sport-Showjumping and Sport-Dressage predicates from the KWPN. Fontaine 861, a stallion approved in Sweden and later exported to the USA, was another progeny of Adriana along with Justice, a winner in both showjumping and dressage.

The dam of Adriana is Sunia, a Keur Perferent mare who is the foundation of this extraordinary damline.

Look at the pedigree of one of your horses. Forget about the males in the pedigree -- focus only on the females in the bottom of the pedigree. Start with the dam of your horse. What notable horses did she produce? Did she produce any national-level competitors? International level? Any sons that became approved stallions? Any daughters that produced international competitors or approved stallions? Now go to the dam's dam (that is, the second dam or grand-dam of your horse). What notable horses did she produce? Did she produce any national-level competitors? International level? Any sons that became approved stallions? Any daughters that produced international competitors or approved stallions? Now go to the third dam (the great-grand-dam of your horse). What notable horses did she produce? Did she produce any national-level competitors? International level? Any sons that became approved stallions? Any daughters that produced international competitors or approved stallions? If like Fergal and Liam your mare's damline has not produced national or international competitors and/or approved stallions, then you are breeding from the wrong mare.

So what are the lessons that Fergal and Liam have learned?

1) The basis for breeding excellence is the mare, and the basis for the success of a particular mare is the consolidation of high performance genes in her damline. Yes, the males (that is, the sires) in the pedigree must be excellent. But even more so the females in the pedigree must be excellent.

2) Don't be distracted by high-profile sires in the pedigree. What have the females produced?

3) It is better to have one excellent mare than any number of average mares. If you don't have an excellent mare, sell your mare, save, and buy one – or buy a filly foal or yearling that in a short period of time will be your foundation mare.

(First published in Ireland's Horse & Pony, August 2007)

Next Big Thing

The worst kind of breeding is what I see so often: the breeder who uses the "Next Big Thing" (NBT) each year.

The NBT is usually the licensing champion of one of the major studbooks. This will be a horse that has not even had a person on his back yet (although he has been force-fed and maybe given steroids and hormones to look more mature than he really is) but the "marketing machine" crowns him as the NBT and people become hysterical about the horse. We are seeing this phenomenon in 2007 with a 4-year-old dressage stallion where, on one internet bulletin board, people were publicly fighting over who had rights to sell his semen in the USA. And his stud fee is probably going to be higher than Weltmeyer's!

I don't see how except by pure luck a breeder who hops on the bandwagon each year can produce a top athlete. He or she might as well buy a lottery ticket.

But many people are band-wagon breeders. The breathless enthusiasm by some breeders for some of these NBT stallions -- and each year there is always one or two, usually a champion that was "bought" for a ridiculous sum of money at an auction -- is amazing to me. That's not breeding, it is speculating like we saw for dot com stocks and tulip bulbs in Amsterdam.

Take any NBT stallion and we can make arguments for why he should be used -- in general. But successful breeding is about specifics, not generalities.

If someone wants to do a "fun breeding" and use NBT stallions each year who am I to complain? But it is the stallion owner who is sure to win and the hobby breeder most likely to lose.

How Do I Assess My Skill as a Breeder?

One way I assess my skill as a breeder is whether what I am producing on the ground could have been predicted by the genetics I've employed.

If the foal/horse on the ground is worse than what could have been predicted based on the genetics of the sire and dam then I have made a "destructive" breeding decision.

If the foal/horse on the ground is what could have been predicted based on the genetics of the sire and dam then I have made a "neutral" breeding decision.

If the foal/horse on the ground is better than what could have been predicted based on the genetics of the sire and dam then I have made a "positive" breeding decision and I have added value to the genetics.

I then try to figure out whether that added-value was a happy accident or indeed if I have discovered a potential nick. I do this by repeating the breeding and making new (and ongoing) assessments of the combination.

What is a "blood" horse?

For me there are three dimensions of "blood": genotype, phenotype, and athletic expression.

The necessary but not sufficient condition is that there MUST be a large percentage of thoroughbred blood in a relation in a forward position in the horse's pedigree. (A large percentage of Arab or Anglo Arab blood is also acceptable, and in my view sometimes more desireable than pure thoroughbred blood, if the Arab is of the sport horse type or the AA has a TB relation in a forward position in his or her pedigree.) A horse that has 50% TB blood by pedigree analysis, where the TB blood is dispersed far back in the pedigree, is not the same as a horse that is 50% TB by virtue of having a TB sire or dam (or a horse that is 50% TB by virtue of two of his grandparents being thoroughbred).

If a horse meets the necessary condition above, the next question I ask in determining if he or she is a "blood" horse is: Does the horse in his phenotype express the TB blood found in his pedigree? Consider this example: the old Irish formula for breeding showjumpers is to cross a TB sire with an Irish Draught mare to produce an Irish Sport Horse (ISH). Such a cross is at least 50% TB and meets the necessary condition because the TB blood is in a forward position in the pedigree (i.e., the sire). But in many cases the resulting ISH is not a "blood" horse because the horse's phenotype reflects more his ID ancestry than his TB ancestry. So genotype is important but phenotype is also very important: Are the TB genes clearly expressed in the flesh and bones of the animal we are examining?

If a horse meets the genotype and phenotype conditions, the next question I ask is: Does the horse express "blood" in his athleticism? I do not equate "heat" (a "hot" horse) with "blood", as I have seen hundreds of "hot" sport horses of all breeds that are not "blood" horses according to any conventional definition: they are just difficult horses to ride (and/or manage). What I expect in a "blood" horse's athletic expression is energy, stamina, toughness, courage, and quick reflexes.

In summary, for me a "blood" horse has three attributes:

He possesses a high percentage of TB/AA/Arab in the pedigree contributed by a parent (or grand-parents);

He looks like a horse with a high percentage of TB/AA/Arab blood;

He works like a horse with a high percentage of TB/AA/Arab blood.

For me, unless these three conditions are met, we have an ersatz "blood" horse. This is what we are seeing in many studbooks: highly elegant, refined horses with decreasing percentages of TB/AA/Arab blood in in the pedigree with each passing generation that do not express themselves athletically like a true "blood" horse does.

Finally, mares and stallions that meet the three criteria should be considered a "blood" horse for breeding purposes only if they pass on to their progeny in a pronounced fashion the "blood" phenotype and way of working.

Recently someone asked if stallion performance tests really matter. I believe they matter early in a stallion's career but over time their importance declines to irrelevance.

This is how I think about it. Five categories, 15 stars to allocate among the 5 criteria:

Stallions 5 years of age and under:
Importance of his damline: *****
Importance of his sireline: *****
Importance of his 70/100 day test: **
Importance of his results in open competition: ***
Importance of results of his progeny in open competition: -
(If no performance test was done and the stallion was approved on the basis of his performance in open competition -- the preferred method, in my opinion -- then the criterion "Importance of his results in open competition" is given a weight of *****.)

Stallions 6 - 9
Importance of his damline: *****
Importance of his sireline: ***
Importance of his 70/100 day test: -
Importance of his results in open competition: ****
Importance of results of his progeny in open competition: ***


Stallions 10 - 14
Importance of his damline: ****
Importance of his sireline: ***
Importance of his 70/100 day test: -
Importance of his results in open competition: ***
Importance of results of his progeny in open competition: *****

Stallions 15 and over
Importance of his damline: ***
Importance of his sireline: **
Importance of his 70/100 day test: -
Importance of his results in open competition: -
Importance of results of his progeny in open competition: **********

In November 2006 Morningside Stud purchased the Selle Francais stallion Desir du Chateau (Quidam de Revel x Cor de Chasse). Did we adhere to our own criteria when selecting this stallion?

Let's put Desir du Chateau to the test:


1. Do not use a stallion whose damline has not produced excellent competition horses.

The dam of Desir du Chateau, Javotte D, has produced 7 international showjumpers (Amande du Chateau, Carole du Chateau, Esther du Chateau, Etoile du Chateau, Horace du Chateau, Kartoom du Chateau, and Manuela du Chateau); she is also the dam of 2 approved stallions (Ulak du Chateau and Desir du Chateau). Daughters of Javotte D have produced, to date, an additional 6 international showjumpers.

The dam of Javotte D, Ballerine III, is the dam of 2 international showjumpers (Grand Coeur A and Nelson de Beine); her daughters have produced 14 international showjumpers and 3 approved stallions.

The dam of Ballerine III, Manuela, is the dam of 4 international showjumpers (Admiral, Graceful, Lumpur, and Moon Kiss); her daughters have produced 28 international showjumpers.

In total Desir du Chateau's dam, his second dam, his third dam, and their daughters have produced 28 international showjumpers.


2. Do not use a stallion that does not have at least one half-brother or half-sister that has competed internationally.

Desir du Chateau has 7 siblings that jumped internationally.


3. Do not use a stallion 15 years or older unless he has (or had) several progeny competing internationally.

Desir du Chateau was born in 1991, so he is 15 years old. He has 4 progeny from his first crop of foals that are competing internationally in 2006 as 7-year-olds and 1 from his second crop that is competing internationally in 2006 as a 6-year-old.


4. Do not use a stallion between 8 and 14 unless he is (or has) competed internationally with success.

Desir du Chateau is 15 so this criterion is not relevant. From age 15 it matters not what the stallion himself did in sport; what matters is what his progeny have done in sport.


5. Do not use a stallion 7 or under unless he is competing well at the national level at a level appropriate for his age (in showjumping, 1.10 - 1.20 m. as a 5-year-old, 1.20 - 1.30 m. as a 6-year-old, 1.30 - 1.40 m. as a 7-year-old).

Desir du Chateau is 15 so this criterion is not relevant.

Desir du Chateau did qualify for the French 4-Year-Old Showjumping Championship but an accident involving a gate at his rider's yard resulted in three knee operations over a span of three years that forced his retirement from sport and delayed his stud career until he was 7.


6. If a stallion is 7 or older do not use him unless he is approved by a full member of the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH).

Desir du Chateau is approved by the Selle Francais Studbook of France and the Belgian Warmblood Studbook; both studbooks are full members of the WBFSH.


7. Do not use a stallion that is marketed on the basis of its color or the exotic colors of its progeny.

We do not buy Desir du Chateau on the basis of his lovely coat color!


Conclusion: Desir du Chateau meets all the criteria!

Going Nowhere Fast?
by Tom Reed

Exactly five years ago I wrote an article for one of Ireland's equestrian publications about the state of breeding in our country. I highlighted problems and offered specific steps that breeders and the Irish Horse Board (IHB) should pursue to reverse Ireland's downward spiral in sport and breeding. At the time I wrote:

"The pop singer Billy Joel has an album entitled, "Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player". I feel a bit like that troubadour as a write this article about how the Irish studbook compares to our competitors. The news is not good. In fact, it is dismal. But I believe we stand at a crossroads, and if we make the right choices in the next few years we can return to the top of the showjumping rankings. It's going to take clear analysis, skillful implementation, and much courage and sacrifice from all of us. But we can get to the top again."

Let's review each of my proposals and see how much progress has been made.


Five Point Action Plan for Breeders

Only breed to top quality mares.
Ireland has lost ground on this measure. More and more "Blue Book" mares -- mares that descend from rejected but sound S1 and Supp 1 stallions and rejected but unsound S2 and Supp 2 stallions – have entered the breeding population and are producing even more Blue Book foals. This trend is a disaster for the Irish studbook because inferior mares produce inferior athletes and inferior breeding stock.

Only breed to top quality stallions.
Ireland has lost ground on this measure. In 2000 78.6% of foals were sired by Approved stallions; in 2004 the figure had fallen to 68.9%. Meanwhile there has been a 75% increase in the percentage of foals sired by S2/Supp 2 stallions, from 5.2% of foals registered in 2000 to 9.1% in 2004. There is no serious horse breeding country anywhere in the world that has nearly 1 out of 10 foals sired by unapproved stallions that have failed a basic veterinary examination, such as Ireland's S2/Supp 2 stallions.

Consider forming a partnership with like-minded breeders to upgrade your mares.
I see no evidence that mare owners are collaborating with other mare owners and/or stallion owners to acquire and retain top-class mares and fillies for their breeding programmes.

Become active in the Irish Horse Board.
In the last few years there seems to have been an increase in the number of elections that have been contested (although nobody put their name forward for election in the Clare/Galway region last month and the IHB had to go back to the membership and plead for nominees) and the IHB has done a much better job inviting breeders to stallion inspections. However the IHB is still neither sufficiently transparent in its policies and practices nor sufficiently responsive to its members.

Buy and study the "International Breeding Guide".
Many breeders, IHB officials, and especially stallion inspectors remain unfamiliar with both foreign bloodlines and how the policies and procedures of competing studbooks (such as those in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Denmark) differ so dramatically from what the IHB does here in Ireland.


Ten Point Action Plan for the Irish Horse Board

Benchmark our studbook's policies, procedures, and programmes against the top 5 showjumping studbooks.
I see little evidence that the IHB is benchmarking its studbook and/or management policies and procedures against the world's top studbooks. There has been some progress (for example, the IHB now requires x-rays of stallion candidates), but we are not competing against a fixed target. The Dutch and other progressive studbooks are adopting policies and procedures on issues that the Irish studbook does not even recognize as being important.

Cull mares that are not suitable for breeding.
I see no evidence of increased culling of unsuitable mares and the IHB has instituted no policy, procedure, or incentive programme to encourage the culling of below-average broodmares. And the explosion in the number of Blue Book fillies being produced each year – many of which will be tomorrow's brood mares – means that the proportion of unsuitable mares in the gene-pool will increase dramatically over the next ten years.

Grade mares.
The IHB has not instituted a mare grading scheme.

Establish a quality mare purchase incentive scheme.
The IHB has created no new incentives for breeders to purchase and/or retain high quality mares and fillies.

Reform the stallion approval process.
Except for the institution of mandatory x-rays for stallion candidates and a long-overdue clarification of the criteria to pass the wind test, the stallion approval process remains amateurish and vacillates between cronyism and incompetence. Whereas our competing studbooks each have a small group of experts (for example, 4 - 6) who serve fixed terms on the stallion inspection committee, here in Ireland we use ad hoc inspectors – some of whom have little if any knowledge, expertise, or experience to bring to the job.

Reform the stallion purchase incentive scheme.
This scheme has not been reformed and continues to provide the financial incentive for stallion owners to "purchase" mediocre foreign and thoroughbred stallions.

Launch an annual Irish Stallion Show that will bring in foreign buyers from throughout the world.
No annual showcase for IHB-approved stallions has been launched and we continue to lag behind the Germans, Dutch, Danes, French, etc.

The Horse Board should collaborate more with the UCD Veterinary School.
There has been some improvement on this measure as several years ago the IHB finally made public the criteria necessary for a stallion to pass the wind test. However the system for evaluating x-rays is still extremely problematic because the decision is left in the hands of one individual rather than to a committee of veterinary experts knowledgeable about what x-ray changes are meaningful (or not) for breeding and sport purposes.

Institute term limits to bring new blood into the Board of Directors of the Irish Horse Board.
No term limits have been introduced and in a very undemocratic manner the Government is still permitted to appoint members to the Board and to effectively determine who holds the position of Director-General and Chairman.

The Department of Agriculture and the Board of Directors of the Irish Horse Board should conduct an independent review of the top management of the Irish Horse Board to assess its performance in running the Irish Studbook.
I am not aware of such a review having been done although I do note that the individuals who were Director-General and Chairman of the Board of the IHB at the time I wrote the article subsequently left their positions.

So where do we stand? Ireland is losing ground, and losing it fast.

Were it not for the contributions of Cavalier Royale the Irish studbook would not be in the world's top-fifteen list of showjumping studbooks (and as of today's date the Irish studbook is ranked 11th). And with the changes in international eventing that will lead to a reduction in the importance of thoroughbreds, I expect that three years from now Ireland will no longer be the undisputed leaders of eventing studbooks. Traditionalists who wish to ignore the contributions of world-class warmblood stallions to Irish breeding should note that the world's #1-ranked sire of international eventers is the Holsteiner Cavalier Royale!

Is Ireland going nowhere fast? No. Unfortunately Ireland is heading backwards as a breeding nation and change is needed now by breeders and the IHB.

Morningside Stud will continue to pursue its independent path of buying and breeding world-class stallions and mares to produce world-class athletes for the three Olympic disciplines. We've never followed the party line and we will not start now.

How Do We Sell Horse on the Internet?
by Tom Reed

About 75% of the horses Morningside Stud sells are purchased by clients who have contacted us over the internet, and about 75% of those internet clients buy horses from us on the basis of emailed photos and video clips -- meaning that they do not come to Ireland to inspect horses before purchase. We have sold many horses this way to clients as near to Ireland as the UK and as far away as the Netherlands, USA and South America.

Selling horses over the internet places a special responsibility on us because we never know in advance if a client will come to Ireland or make the purchase decision from home. We have never had a client be disappointed when his or her purchase arrived at its new home. We believe this is because of several values that guide us:

-- We offer only our best horses for sale on the internet. The internet is our shop window and we want the world to be impressed by what we are producing through our breeding program.

-- We only offer for sale on the internet horses in which we have 100% confidence that a new owner will be absolutely delighted when his or her horse arrives at its new home. We assume that prospective purchasers will not be travelling to Ireland to inspect horses, so we only offer on the internet horses that our clients need NOT see before they buy.

-- We list the price of each horse offered for sale on the internet. We do this to assure clients that they are being offered a fair deal irrespective of which country they come from: there is no mark-up for international clients.

These values have guided our internet marketing and sales activities from the beginning, and they have allowed us to build an excellent global reputation. We will keep the trust of our clients by holding to these values in the future.

How Do We Price Foals?
by Tom Reed

I start in my mind with a price of euro 0.

Why euro 0?

Because the market does not care how much the broodmare cost. The market does not care how much the stallion (or his stud fee) cost. The market does not care how much it cost to feed and care for the mare during the pregnancy and nursing period. The market does not care how much it cost to care for the foal prior to weaning. The market does not care about vet bills, feed bills, farrier bills, dentist bills, advertizing bills, etc.

All these costs have no impact on how I price a foal because they have no impact on how sophisticated purchasers will determine the probability that this foal will become a super athlete, a super stallion, or a super breeding mare.

And since sophisticated purchasers will value the foal based on the potential he or she perceives in the foal as an athlete, stallion, or broodmare this is how I price each foal.

I assess potential in two ways.

The first way is the paperform: the foal's bloodlines and the breadth and depth of its genetic endowment. Since I require evidence of performance in sport in the motherline of all my mares and stallions (except in special circumstances when the right kind of TB blood is being infused) each foal's potential ON PAPER is high. The greater the breadth and depth of the foal's genetic endowment, the higher the potential price of the foal.

But the paperform is not the only issue.

Even more important is the actual foal before you: the realization or expression of the genetic potential possessed by the sire and dam. If based on its athleticism (the absolute first priority), type, and conformation I believe the foal has a very high probability of being an exceptional athlete (or it has a very high probability of becoming a sire or dam of exceptional athletes) then I price the foal high.

If I believe the probability is low, I price the foal low. (And re-read my blog essay on culling.)

No formulas, no simple metrics, just critical judgments about potential.

In practice my decision-making process is a bit more complicated when pricing foals by our young stallions. If I am using one of my own young stallions for the first season I may sell his foals to very good homes that will produce the foals correctly for sport and/or breeding for less than what I think their real value is. I did this in 2005 with two foals by Ulysses M2S and this year with two foals by Conspiracy M2S. So for these first-crop foals my compensation is the sales price + the value of the expert care, attention, and education the foals will get -- which hopefully will bear fruit a few years from now when these youngsters are old enough to compete and/or be used in breeding.

In practice in our dressage breeding program I also will price super colt foals low because I am not interested in owning a dressage sire. If I use an outside sire in my dressage breeding program I am hoping to produce a filly foal. If I get a colt I price him low to move him on. We did this is 2006: we had a super dressage filly sired by our stallion Ulysses M2S and a super colt sired by a Trakehner stallion. Both foals were superior. But I advertised the filly at 3 times the price of the colt. Both foals sold at the advertized asking price (we don't negotiate on price) to an international dressage rider based in Germany. The rider paid a fair price for the filly and got a real bargain on the colt.

The Importance of Culling Mares
by Tom Reed

Morningside Stud's mission is to breed and produce world-class competition horses for the three Olympic disciplines of showjumping, eventing, and dressage by crossing world-class warmblood sires with mares that possess world-class performance bloodlines and outstanding athleticism. Morningside Stud's Mission Statement

The goal we have set for ourselves of breeding and producing world-class athletes is a tough one. If we are to achieve this goal on a systematic basis we must use world-class stallions and mares in our breeding program and make informed, creative, and bold choices about which particular genetic endowments to combine each year to produce a foal. That's the fun part: analyzing bloodlines, genotypes, phenotypes, and the actual production of mares and stallions to decide which stallions and mares are paired each year.

The not-so-fun part is deciding which mares (and stallions) to remove from our breeding program.

Each year we cull a minimum of 10% of our female herd (in practice we have been culling 10 - 15% each year). How do we decide which mares and fillies to cull?

If a mare produces a foal that is in the bottom 10% (10th percentile) of its cohort in terms of athleticism, type, movement, and conformation the mare is put on a "watch list".

The following year if she produces a foal that is in the bottom 10% of its cohort the mare is culled. If she produces a foal that is between the 11th and 25th percentile of its cohort the mare is maintained on the "watch list" for another year.

The next year if the produces another foal that is below the 25th percentile she is culled.

If the foal she subsequently produces is an extraordinary filly -- and apparently superior to its dam in terms of athleticism, type, movement, and conformation -- we cull the mare from the breeding program and keep the filly foal.

What do we do with our culled mares?

If the mare produces correct foals but they are simply not good enough for Morningside Stud's breeding and competition program we give the mare to a good friend whose breeding aspirations are not as high as ours.

If the mare produces incorrect foals she is removed from the breeding population through euthanasia.

We never sell culled mares to other breeders.

Should I Breed My Mare on the Foal Heat?
by Tom Reed

The Necessary But Not Sufficient Condition:
Has it been at least 10 days after foaling and the mare has not yet ovulated?
If yes, continue to Question 1;
if no, skip the foal heat and set the mare up for insemination during her next cycle.

1) Did the mare have an "easy" foaling (for example, no rips or tears, and the placenta was passed easily and timely).
If yes, score a 1;
if no, score a 0.

2) Is the mare free of discharge while fully in season during the foal heat?
If yes, score a 1;
if no, score a 0.

3) Is the mare fairly "young" (chronologically and/or in the number of pregnancies)?
If yes, score a 1;
if no, score a zero.

4) Does the mare have no history of urine pooling, putting up fluid in reaction to semen, or developing infections in the uterus either pre- or post-insemination.
If yes, score a 1;
if no, score a zero.

5) Is the mare coming into season "late" (8+ days after foaling) or "early" (7 or fewer days after foaling?
If late, score a 1;
if early, score a 0.


If the mare meets the The Necessary But Not Sufficient Condition and scores a total of 5 or 4 on the subsequent questions, we definitely try to put her in foal in the foal heat.

If the mare scores a total of 3, we handle, scan, and possibly swab her as if we were
going to inseminate her but only do so if she is looking super inside. If she is not right we skip the foal heat.

If the mare scores a total of 2 or 1 we let her recuperate and try to put her in foal during her next cycle. But we handle, scan, and swab her as if she were going to be inseminated on the foal heat.

In all cases -- whether we inseminate or not -- we give the mare oxytocin injections as soon as she comes into season. We give .5 ml (1/2 of one ml) every 6 hours until she ovulates. Then we give 1 ml every 6 hours during the 48 hours after ovulation.

Choosing Mares for a Breeding Program
by Tom Reed

(An earlier version of this essay was originally published by http://www.muensterland-pferde.de/conceptofbreeding.htm in 2005)

The basis for breeding excellence is the mare, and the basis for the success of a particular mare is the consolidation of high performance genes in her damline. It is better to have one excellent mare than any number of average mares. If you don't have an excellent mare, sell your mare, save, and buy one – or buy a filly foal or yearling that in a short period of time will be your foundation mare. Make sure your mare has "quality" and some "blood" (Anglo-Arab, Shagya Arab, or thoroughbred but the right kind of thoroughbred blood) not too far back in the pedigree.

It is not the job of the stallion to "fix" conformation problems your mare has and I would not let this drive your breeding decisions. Most conformation traits are determined by a multitude of genes and cannot be manipulated easily (such as I'll breed my long-back mare to a short-back stallion to get a medium-back foal -- it does not work like this). If your mare is so conformationally-challenged that she needs to be "fixed", get yourself a better mare.

Everything else equal, I prefer a mare with correct conformation. But I will also take risks on a mare that has a conformation issue if it has a superior motherline. Why?

First, conformation traits are often determined by multiple genes. Even if the conformation issue the mare has is due to genetics, there is no guarantee that she will reproduce it in her progeny.

Second, a conformation issue may be the result of a developmental process and not directly a result of genetics. Developmental processes can be related to genetics, but they can also be related to feeding practices, management practices, etc.

The bottom line is:

IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT THE MARE LOOKS LIKE...
WHAT MATTERS IS WHAT SHE PRODUCES AS A BROODMARE.

Here is a question that is useful for mare owners, and I often ask it of my clients:

Identify several qualities possessed by your mare that must be passed on by the mare to her foals or you will be very disappointed.

If you have a hard time identifying qualities or attributes -- or if you can only revert to that old-time favorite "temperament" -- then ask yourself if this mare should be in your breeding program. What qualities does this mare possess that make her a compelling prospect as a broodmare?

For my breeding program the most important characteristic is athleticism, which can be expressed in a number of ways (and the way the athleticism is best expressed will determine which Olympic discipline the horse is pointed to in his or her sport career). The goal of sport horse breeding is to produce athletes. If one starts out with an unathletic broodmare, the chances of her producing a top-class athlete are very small.

Another thing I ask breeders to do is to go through their mare's extended predigree -- let's say three generations -- and tell me about each and every mare in the damline. Start with the dam of your broodmare. Did she produce any international competitors? Any national competitors? Any approved stallions? Next consider the second dam? Did she produce any international competitors? Any national competitors? Any approved stallions? Finally consider the third dam and ask the same questions.

If you cannot tell a compelling "story" about the mares in your broodmare's damline then you are probably breeding from the wrong mare.

Selecting a Stallion for Your Mare
by Tom Reed

(An earlier version of this essay was originally published by http://www.muensterland-pferde.de/conceptofbreeding.htm in 2005)

Assuming you have a very good mare with a very good damline, how do you choose a stallion that will give you the best chance of breeding an international athlete?

Rather than answering that question, here's how to avoid the 99% of stallions that you do NOT want to use:


1. Do not use a stallion whose damline has not produced excellent competition horses.
Excellence is not determined by predicates (premium broodmare in Ireland, ster mare in the Netherlands, state premium mare in Germany, etc.) or high scores in foal or mare inspections or success in showing classes. Excellence is determined by the goal that is driving the breeding program: producing horses that have excelled in sport in one or more of the three Olympic disciplines. An additional indicator of excellence is that the stallion's damline has produced other approved stallions. If the stallion you are considering does not descend from an excellent damline, do not use him in your breeding program.


2. Do not use a stallion that does not have at least one half-brother or half-sister that has competed internationally.
A damline that has produced excellent competition horses is important but make sure that at least some of those high performance genes have been expressed in horses very closely related to the stallion you are considering, namely the stallion's half-brothers and half-sisters (with half-siblings being defined as horses that have the same dam).


3. Do not use a stallion 15 years or older unless he has (or had) several progeny competing internationally.
Of course an exception to this rule is a stallion that has been used exclusively or primarily in sport rather than breeding: he simply will not have enough older progeny on the ground to make this a fair test.


4. Do not use a stallion between 8 and 14 unless he is (or has) competed internationally with success.
If a stallion has not proven his own athleticism, rideability, and soundness in international sport than there is no reason to risk using him in your breeding program.


5. Do not use a stallion 7 or under unless he is competing well at the national level at a level appropriate for his age (in showjumping, 1.10 - 1.20 m. as a 5-year-old, 1.20 - 1.30 m. as a 6-year-old, 1.30 - 1.40 m. as a 7-year-old).
In this day and age when stallions are expected to prove themselves in open competition, questions must be asked about stallions that are retired from sport when they are 4- or 5-years-old.


6. If a stallion is 7 or older do not use him unless he is approved by a full member of the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH).
If a stallion is 6 or under only use him if he is approved or licensed by a WBFSH-member studbook. These studbooks are the ones with serious inspection regimes and these are the stallions that have proven their genetic value, athleticism, and soundness on a basic level. To use a rejected stallion -- that is, an S2 stallion that has failed the veterinary exam – is a serious mistake in judgment. Likewise, if an S1 stallion has not achieved full approval by the end of his 6th year then there is no reason to select him over an approved stallion.


7. Do not use a stallion that is marketed on the basis of its color or the exotic colors of its progeny.


I believe if you follow these rules then you will come up with a relatively small universe of stallion candidates. Then you need to analyze your mare's bloodlines, conformation, and type and look for proven "nicks". This is where art meets science.

Finally, the rules I suggest can guide you in the initial years of your breeding program. As you become successful you will need to violate some of these rules to achieve other goals (for instance, to introduce more "blood" into your breeding program). But that's down the road.

Marketing Irish-Bred Showjumpers
by Tom Reed

(Originally published in Ireland's Horse & Pony in March 2006.)

Each year the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) calculates a ranking of international showjumpers. To understand the central problem Ireland faces marketing showjumpers to foreign buyers we must understand the rankings, how their are computed, and their implications.

For the year ending 30-09-2005 (the most recent annual ranking) the Irish Horse Register (IHR) earned 2726.35 points and is ranked as the 8th best studbook. The studbook ranking is based on the results of the IHR's six most successful horses. Of the six best Irish-bred horses, three were sired by Cavalier Royale, a German Holsteiner.

Let's conduct an experiment. Let's see what would happen to the rankings if foreign stallions had never sired Irish horses. We need to remove from the ranking McGuinness (the best Irish-bred showjumper), Royal Charmer (3rd best), and Two Mills Showtime (6th best) – all sired by Cavalier Royale -- and replace them with the next three Irish Sport Horses (ISH) sired by an Irish sire: Ado Annie (9th best), Church Road (10th best) and Eezy (12th best). The IHR would now have 2012.25 points and be ranked 11th in the world. So without Cavalier and Animo (the other foreign sire) the IHR would have fallen from 8th to 11th place.

Among the top 300 international showjumpers in the world how many are ISH stallions approved in Ireland or in any other studbook in the world? Not a single one. How many are foreign-bred stallions approved and standing at stud in Ireland? Only one – the Holsteiner stallion Condios, who competed with Dermott Lennon in 2005.

These facts clearly reveal that the central problem Ireland faces in marketing showjumpers to the international market is that we simply will not produce enough international-quality showjumpers if we do not incorporate the very best foreign bloodlines into our breeding programme. And since there is not a single approved Irish-owned stallion in the top 300 international showjumpers other than the German-born Condios, I believe that ten years from now we will have even fewer ISH jumping internationally and the IHR will be even lower in the rankings.

So what are we to do to build a better market for Irish-breds? Here are some suggestions:

1. Support the RDS' "Irish-Bred" Initiative.
The RDS has budgeted euro 200,000 for its campaign to support the breeding and marketing of Irish-bred horses. The RDS has wisely chosen a definition for "Irish-bred" that will permit us to make real progress in the next decade. According to Pat Hanley, Deputy Executive Director of the RDS, "The definition of Irish bred adopted by the RDS is 'an animal foaled in Ireland with appropriate documentation to
verify this fact.'" The RDS does not care what kind of passport a horse has – IHB, Dutch, Anglo European, French, etc. What it does require for the national showjumping championships is that the horse was born in Ireland and its passport proves it was born in Ireland. So breeders are free to register their foals in whatever studbook makes the most sense to them.

2. Amend the Stallion Classification System.
On the continent there is a big market for young stallions and progeny of young stallions. Stallions are inspected at the age of 2 and 3 and the best are "licensed" and must complete performance requirements under saddle to be approved.

The IHB's system of granting all sound young stallions S-1 status (and some "S-1 Performance" status with a grant) and requiring them to be completely re-inspected when they have achieved the minimum of 30 showjumping points means that our best young stallions cannot compete on a level playing field with the continental stallions: they are not "licensed", they cannot compete against other licensed or approved 4- or 5-year-old stallions in stallions shows, and their progeny receive the dreaded blue passport.

The IHB should amend the system so that young stallions are "licensed" rather than given "S-1 Performance" status. And these licensed stallions should be automatically approved once they have met a clearly defined performance standard such as a top three placing in the 4-year-old class at the Dublin Horse Show or successfully completing a 70-day stallion performance test. If this were done then young licensed stallions -- and their progeny -- could be marketed to foreign buyers and breeders would be more likely to use these young stallions in their breeding programs.

3. Require Performance from Approved Stallions.
Approved stallions should be required to compete as 5-, 6-, and 7-year-olds to maintain their approval. Breeders and buyers of Irish-bred horses should be able to evaluate the athleticism, soundness, and rideability of young stallions on an ongoing basis until progeny of these stallions can be seen in sport.

4. Inspect Progeny of Approved Stallions.
All newly approved stallions should have their progeny inspected. Twenty foals, randomly selected by the IHB, should be evaluated and those foals should be re-evaluated when they are 3-, 7-, and 11 years of age. If foals are not excellent, or if the progeny are not well-developed when they are 3, or if some progeny are not jumping with a modicum of success when they are 7, or if at least some of the stallion's 11-year-old progeny are not jumping internationally or at high national level then the stallion should lose his approval.

5. Only Provide Pedigrees in Green Passports.
A few years ago about 25% of foals in Ireland were sired by S1 and S2 stallions. In the 2004 foal book published by the IHB the figure is close to 33%. We are the only breeding country anywhere in the world that has a substantial number and percentage of foals born each year to rejected stallions.

This trend is likely to continue because of the proper and sound policy of the IHR that all foals out of blue-passport-mares will themselves get a blue passport, even if the foal is sired by an approved stallion. Since about half of all foals are fillies, about 17% of foals registered in 2004 are fillies with blue passports. Many
of these fillies will be used for breeding in the future and they can only produce foals with blue passports. And since serious foreign breeders will not buy blue passport fillies but instead will buy green passport mares or Irish-bred mares with passports from other studbooks, the proportion of blue passport mares in the IHR will
likely increase over time and the international market for Irish-bred fillies will shrink.

Under EU and Irish law all horses are required to have passports; however passport issuing authorities may not be required to include pedigrees or bloodlines in passports. Therefore I recommend that the IHR exclude all pedigree and bloodline information from newly issued blue passports. The foal will have a unique identification number, a marking chart, and a microchip but the sire and dam and extended breeding will not be noted in the passport. This policy would provide a very strong incentive for breeders to stop using stallions that are not good enough to be approved.

Challenges and Choices for the Irish Breeding Industry
by Tom Reed

(Originally published in Ireland's Horse Review in the summer of 2001.)

The pop singer Billy Joel has an album entitled, "Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player." I feel a bit like that troubadour as a write this article about how the Irish studbook compares to our competitors. The news is not good. In fact, it is dismal. But I believe we stand at a crossroads, and if we make the right choices in the next few years we can return to the top of the showjumping rankings. It's going to take clear analysis, skillful implementation, and much courage and sacrifice from all of us. But we can get to the top again.

In this article I'm first going to present the bad news. The picture I'm going to paint for you is not a pretty one. But we need to know where we stand before we can get to where we want to go.

Next, I am going to give a few thoughts on how we got into the situation we're in.

Finally, I am going to offer a 5-Point Action Plan for Breeders and a 10-Point Action Plan for the Horse Board for getting the Irish studbook back to the top of the showjumping rankings.

I know I don't have all the answers. But maybe this article will help us to find some answers that most of us can agree on.

First, the bad news. In the advertisements I recently ran, I stated that "Ireland has been losing competitiveness against the Dutch, the Germans, and the French for the last decade, and in the last 12 months the Irish Studbook has dropped like a stone from 5th place to 10th place." I understated the problem in those ads. The situation has become even worse in the couple of weeks since I wrote those words.
Our studbook is in a free-fall.

Below are eight tables that contain very important information about how the Irish studbook performs as a producer of international showjumpers. Four of the tables (Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4) rank studbooks by the number of points earned by showjumpers in international competitions. This is the measure used by the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses to rank studbooks. The other four tables (Tables 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A) rank studbooks by the number of horses in each category.

Using recent data (the year ending 28/02/2001), Table 1 takes the 100 top showjumpers in the world, organises them according to the studbook they were born into, and then ranks the studbooks according to how many points these horses earned in international competitions. The KWPN (the Royal Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands) is ranked
first; the Holsteiner Studbook (German) is ranked second; the Selle Français Studbook (French) is ranked third, the Hannovarian Studbook (German) is ranked fourth, and the Oldenburg Studbook (German) is ranked fifth. The Irish Studbook has dropped all the way to 14th place.

Table 1A presents the studbooks ranked by the number of international jumping horses in the top 100 horses in the world. The top five studbooks remain in the same order as in Table 1. The KWPN, the top-ranked studbook, has 21 horses in the top 100. The Irish Studbook has only one horse (Abbervail Dream, by Chair Lift, ridden by Di Lampard for the UK) in the top 100 showjumpers in the world. We share the bottom of the list with four other studbooks that have only one horse in the world's top 100.

Table 2 ranks the studbooks according to the points earned by the top 200 showjumpers in the world. The KWPN retains its top ranking, and the Irish Studbook moves up to 9th place.

If we look at Table 2A, which ranks the studbooks by the number of the top 200 showjumpers that were born into each studbook, Ireland moves up to 7th place with 12 horses in the world's top 200 showjumpers.

Table 3 ranks the studbooks according to the points earned by the top 300 showjumpers in the world. Once again the KWPN is the top studbook, and the Irish Studbook drops to 8th place.

In Table 3A, which ranks the studbooks by the number of the top 300 showjumpers that were born into each studbook, Ireland moves up a level to 6th place with 18 horses out of the world's best 300 showjumpers.

Finally, Table 4 presents data on the world's top 400 showjumpers. The KWPN retains its domination over other studbooks, and the Irish Studbook moves up a level to 7th place.

Table 4A shows that the KWPN has 87 horses in the world's top 400 showjumpers, while Ireland has 25. Ireland remains at 6th place.

So what can we learn from these tables and other analyses I have done? These are the conclusions that I have drawn:

1.) Ireland has lost its competitiveness in producing top-class showjumpers.
Only one out of the world's top 100 showjumpers is Irish-bred (1% of the total), only 12 out of the world's top 200 showjumpers are Irish-bred (6% of the total), only 18 out of the world's top 300 showjumpers are Irish-bred (6%), and only 25 out of the world's top 400 showjumpers are Irish bred (6.25%). Given our country's distinguished history of breeding top-class showjumpers, these results are very distressing.

2.) We not only have lost competitiveness in producing a sufficient number of horses in the top 100 and top 200, but the quality of the horses that we do produce in those groupings is not very high.
For example, the one horse we have in the top 100, Abbervail Dream, is ranked 88th. If this great gelding were to suffer an injury, he could quickly drop out of the top 100 and leave Ireland ranked last in the world. In the top 200 rankings, consider the Swedish Warmblood Studbook (SWB), which is emerging as a very strong competitor to the Irish Studbook. The SWB is ranked one below the Irish Studbook in Table 2, in 10th place. But if we divide the number of points Ireland and Sweden have, respectively, in Table 2 by the number of horses they have in Table 2A, we will see that the average Irish horse has only 334 points (4,012 / 12 = 334) while the average Swedish horse has 575 points (2,875 / 5 = 575). In other words, the average Swedish horse has 72% more points than the average Irish horse in the top 200. This leads me to conclude that, on average, the Swedish horses in the top 200 are of higher quality than the Irish horses.

3.) Another way to look at these data is that the KWPN has about twice as many foals born each year into its studbook as the Irish studbook (approximately 12,000 for the KWPN versus 5,500 or so for the Irish studbook).
If we take into account that the KWPN produces about twice as many foals as does the Irish Studbook, then we would expect the KWPN to achieve about twice as many points as the Irish Studbook earns in the top 100 and top 200, and about twice as many horses as the Irish Studbook has in the top 100 or top 200. So let's double the number of points earned by our Irish horses in the top 100 and top 200 (Tables 1 and 2), and double the number of Irish horses in the top 100 and top 200 (Tables 1A and 2A), to get estimates of where we would stand if we produced as many foals as the KWPN does. Even after making these adjustments, the KWPN still has about 16 times as many points as the Irish Studbook has and about 10 times as many horses as the Irish Studbook has in the top 100. In the top 200, after making these adjustments the KWPN has almost three times as many points and almost double the number of horses as the Irish studbook has. Thus the KWPN has many more excellent horses than we do in the top 100 and top 200, and the average quality of these horses is also much higher. Clearly we are in trouble.

4.) Among living sires standing in Ireland and Northern Ireland, only Candy's Boy (Castletown Stud), Cruising (Hartwell Stud), Ekstein (Morningside Stud), Glidawn Diamond (Cahirwisheen Stud), Laughton's Flight (Eric Atkinson's stud), Master Imp and Slyguff Joker (Slyguff Stud), Touchdown (James Kernan and Knockrath Stud), and Western Promise (Robert Scott's stud) have progeny jumping in the top 400.
(The progeny of Ekstein, the KWPN-approved stallion I purchased this year, represent the KWPN studbook, not the Irish studbook.) This small number of stallions standing in Ireland that are siring top international jumpers is a serious problem that must be addressed.

How did a great horse breeding nation like Ireland get into this position? How did we go so quickly from the top of the rankings as a showjumping studbook to a third or fourth tier power? What do we, Irish Sport Horse breeders, and the Irish Horse Board need to do to make the slow climb back up the rankings?

Space constraints will not allow me to discuss in detail how we got ourselves into this situation. Briefly stated, the Dutch, the Germans, the French, the Belgians, the Danes, and the Swedes have been pursuing a rigorous and scientific approach to breeding top-level competition horses. These studbooks have clear mandates from their members to produce studbook rules, policies, procedures, and events that will yield world-class horses. They do this by rigorous stallion selection, careful mare grading, scientific research to support advances in sport horse breeding, and marketing strategies to attract foreign buyers to purchase these top quality horses. Our studbook is at least 20 years behind the times along all these dimensions.

What are we, Irish Sport Horse breeders, to do to help turn this situation around? Below is a Five Point Action Plan that each of us should think about as we make choices each breeding season.

1. Only breed to top quality mares.
Ireland has too many breeders using poor quality mares, and this is reflected in the low prices at the auctions and our free-fall in studbook rankings. Trade up to better quality mares and do not breed to mares with conformation problems and anything less than good temperament, very good movement, excellent jumping ability.

2. Only breed to top quality stallions.
If you are considering a mature stallion (15 years of age or older) he must have: (a) world-class bloodlines; (b) at least three offspring jumping internationally; (c) at least three sons approved as sires in leading studbooks; (d) a record of producing approved broodmares; and (e) clean x-rays with no history of bone chips. If the mature stallion does not meet these tests, then do not use him. If you are considering a young stallion (under 15 years of age) he should have: (a) world-class bloodlines; (b) a solid competition record that is improving with each year (avoid the very young stallion that no longer competes); (c) excellent movement and paces; and (d) clean x-rays with no history of bone chips. If you are using a warmblood stallion of any age, only use one that has been approved by at least one studbook on the continent. This is your only guarantee that the horse is a top warmblood stallion and is free of OCD disease, bone chips, and other problems. Approval by the Irish Horse Board is not good enough: The Irish Horse Board's stallion selection policies are at least a decade behind our competitors' policies.

3. Consider forming a partnership with like-minded breeders to upgrade your mares.
One of the keys to successful breeding in Holland is that the top stud farms form partnerships with breeders. The stud and the breeder own an equal share of a very high quality mare, and the stud uses its network to market the foal each year.

4. Become active in the Irish Horse Board.
This Irish Horse Board is a cooperative society that has a democratic structure in place. Unfortunately, positions on the Board of Directors of the Horse Board often go uncontested, leaving power in the hands of the same individuals year after year. Consider running for a position on the Horse Board if you have the time and energy to make a difference.

5. Buy and study the "International Breeding Guide".
This "bible" for breeders is published each year by the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses. It will allow you to begin much of the research that needs to be done when picking a sire.


I offer below a Ten Point Action Plan for the Horse Board to return the Irish Studbook to the top of the showjumping studbook rankings.

1. Benchmark our studbook's policies, procedures, and programmes against the top 5 showjumping studbooks.
We do not need to reinvent the wheel. Let's do what businesses do all over the world and benchmark ourselves against the world's best.

2. Cull mares that are not suitable for breeding.
The Horse Board should petition the government for a one-year culling programme to
begin immediately. To be eligible for the programme, mares would have to be under 17 years of age, have produced at least one foal in the last three years, and have one or more serious conformation faults that render the mare unsuitable for breeding. The mares would be examined by a panel of independent vets and independent experts (such as professional riders with no ties to the mare owner). The owners of the mares selected for this voluntary programme would receive a £1,000 culling payment and be allowed to keep whatever money is paid for the mare by the knacker.

3. Grade mares.
Following the policies used by the KWPN, filly foals should only be entered into the main portion of the Irish Studbook after they have passed a basic inspection for type, conformation, and movement. Older mares should be graded as Star and Premium mares.

4. Establish a quality mare purchase incentive scheme.
The Horse Board should petition the government for a programme to encourage breeders to bring into the country world-class broodmares from leading continental studbooks. Many of these mares will have Irish blood in them through foundation sires exported to the continent such as Ladykiller, Furioso, and Water Serpent.

5. Reform the stallion approval process.
We should benchmark our stallion approval process against the best in the world: the KWPN. The stallion inspection committee should be selected by a vote of the membership. Only world-class stallions should be approved.

6. Reform the stallion purchase incentive scheme.
If warmblood stallions are to be brought into Ireland under this scheme, it should
be required that they have been approved for at least one year by a warmblood studbook on the continent. We cannot reach the top of the studbook rankings by bringing in warmblood stallions that are not good enough to be approved on the continent.

7. Launch an annual Irish Stallion Show that will bring in foreign buyers from throughout the world.
Our studbook competitors have annual stallion shows that feature stallion approval, auctions, and showjumping competitions. Breeders and buyers from all over the world go to witness and buy. We have to stop holding secret stallion inspections (the Irish Horse Board calls these "private inspections") and invite the world to see and buy the best that we can breed and produce.

8. The Horse Board should collaborate more with the UCD Veterinary School.
I propose a three-year project to upgrade the skills of vets in scanning and artificial insemination, using both chilled and frozen semen. We also need to upgrade the skills of vets in reading x-rays to detect hereditary diseases such as OCD, even after the bone chips have been removed.

9. Institute term limits to bring new blood into the Board of Directors of the Irish Horse Board.
Two terms should be long enough for anyone to serve.

10. The Department of Agriculture and the Board of Directors of the Irish Horse Board should conduct an independent review of the top
management of the Irish Horse Board to assess its performance in running the Irish Studbook.
The staff of the Irish Horse Board do an excellent job implementing the policies of the Board of Directors and the Director General of the Irish Horse Board. However, the studbook is in a free-fall in the international rankings and Irish-bred horses no longer play a role in breeding programmes on the continent. I recommend an evaluation of the Irish Studbook's performance under the current Director General should be launched immediately by the Board of Directors and the Department.

There is a saying in the States that "The show's not over 'til the fat lady sings." (Opera fans will know what I mean.) The fat lady is warming up her vocal chords, but she's not on stage yet. We can turn around our Irish Sport Horse breeding industry if we have the courage to make changes. What we don't have is another five years of time to waste.