DWB Top of Europe 2013 - Dansk Varmblod

24 Dansk Varmblod20-year-old Oldenburg stallion BlueHors Don Schufro by Donnerhall/Pik Bube I was imported by Blue Horsdirector Esben Møller and presented tothe Danish Warmblood licensing committeeat the age of 5. As a sport athletehe has been the Danish dressage championas well as an Olympic team medallist.His impact on Danish dressagehorse breeding is immeasurable. Hisgreatest contribution to the breedinghas not been to create a stallion line ofhis own but rather to produce dressagehorses of the highest quality, known fortheir superb canter and high legs withgreat reach. Don Schufro has produceda number of outstanding daughters, andhas now established himself in Danishbreeding as an invaluable dam sire.22-year-old Michellino by Michelangelo/Ulft wasthe first KWPN stallion to have major influencein Danish breeding. He was imported by Per Vintersbølleas a 3-year-old. Michellino has producedlicensed stallions and highly decorated mares, butwhat really made him a big name is the endless listof very talented and often hot Grand Prix dressagehorses, and on top of that list is Olympic medallistMistral Højris.Imported as a youngster by John Byrialsen HolsteinerCome Back II by Cor de Bryère/Landgraf Istarted his career as a jumper. Birgitte Byrialsentook Come Back II to international Grand Prixdressage before he was successfully competedby Hubertus Schmidt. The best offspring of thenow 21-year-old stallion have placed him as thecurrently 11th best dressage horse producer inthe world.9-year-old Blue Hors Zack by Rousseau/Jazzis quite young to be mentioned along with suchimportant sires like Michellino, Come Back II andDon Schufro, but nevertheless he has at an earlyage made a distinct impact in Danish breeding. Heis a great example of visionary stallion purchaseas he has proved to be a very suitable match forthe typical long-lined mares with roomy gaits anda supple top line.VisionaryStallion KeepersThe success of a studbook is based on severalkey elements. Skilful breeders, strong mare linesand a functional selection system are threeimportant pillars in the foundation of a studbook.The fourth, and not least important, is visionary stallionkeepers.The build-up of a successful studbook takes severaldecades and through the years of building the foundationDanish stallion keepers have been able to selecthigh quality stallions in Germany to meet the demandfor development and to assist the mare owners in producinga strong breeding stock for the future.Influential Trakehner sires such as Donauwind, Ibikusand Schwadroneur have played an important role inestablishing a true-to-type sport horse in Denmark, ashave the Hanoverian Allegro, the Oldenburger Aleksanderand many others at their time.At an early stage traditions for a noble conformationand appealing basic gaits were established. Thisalso counted for jumpers, and the Danish stallion ownersbecame known to always pick the best lookingand best moving stallions in Holstein. Some had theskills to produce top jumping horse, like Lagano whohas been one of the best sport horse producers inDanish Warmblood’s history. Others, like Limelight,Loran and Leandro, had the conformation and powerto produce talented dressage horses when combinedwith the Danish mares.Nowadays chilled or frozen semen is available fromthe best stallions all over the world, and mare ownersdo not settle for the stallion collection of the neareststation. Nevertheless the stallion keepers still play animportant role in finding promising stallions suitablefor the market.Fortunately for the Danish breeders some of thefinancially strong stallion keepers in Denmark havebeen able to purchase top stallions like Quidam deRevel, Don Schufro and other sought-after sires. In recentyears some of the imported stallions have madeit into the top of the WBFSH Dressage Sire Rankingbased on their top performing Grand Prix offspring.On the current ranking for dressage Blue Hors DonSchufro ranks 7th and Michellino 8th whilst Come BackII takes 11th place. These three stallions are greatexamples of the importance of visionary stallion keepers,and all three of them have been receiving largenumber of mares right from the beginning of their careerwhich is essential for a stallion to become a livinglegend. 22-year-old Come Back II has 1758 registeredoffspring in the Danish database, 21-year-old Michellinohas 1137 registered offspring and 20-year-old BlueHors Don Schufro has 1325.