British Breeder - December 2024
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December 2024
FUTURITY
ROUND
UPS
Stallion
Nutrition
WBF Update
Farriery -
Instability
Studbook News
Stars of Paris 2024
Veterinary - Gradual
Weaning
December Issue
2 | British Breeder
December Issue
December 2024
Stallion
Nutrition
WBF Update
Farriery -
Instability
Studbook News
On the cover
Production
Designed and Produced by
Fellows Media
FUTURITY
ROUND
UPS
Stars of Paris 2024
Veterinary - Gradual
Weaning
Lancaster Bomber by Echo van het
Neerenbosch x Lancaster Angelique
Infi nity, an Elite scorer of 9.2, bred by
Futurity fi rst timer Rhyleigh Kendle.
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Welcome
from the editor
The new December issue is the
perfect end to the season reporting
on the final physical Futurity
events and the virtual Futurity
highlights. The virtual option
has been a great addition to the
Futurity offering, allowing breeders
to get their young horses evaluated
even if they are not able to travel to
a physical event.
A huge thank you must go out
to our Futurity photographer,
Tanja Davis, for all her
wonderful photographs that are
used throughout our Futurity
articles, and of course on our
cover photo. Photos can be
purchased from her website www.
tanjadavisphotography.pixieset.com
Contents
4-6 News
9 Highest British Bred
Awards
10-19 Studbook News
10-11 AHS
12-13 GB PRE
14-15 SPSS
27 ID
18-19 AES
20-32 Futurity
20-21 Beechwood
23 Bromyard
This edition also focuses on some of
the best of British Breds competing ,
including our stars at the Olympics
and Paralympics.
We look forward to kicking the
2025 season off by seeing many of
you at the Annual British Breeding
Stallion Event which will take
place at Addington Equestrian on
Saturday 8th February 2025.
Congratulations to all breeders on
a great 2024 and may we take this
opportunity to wish you a Very
Merry Christmas.
Happy Breeding
Your British Breeding Team
24 Easton College
26-27 Hothorpe
28-29 Northallerton
30-31 Northcote
31-32 Reaseheath
34-36 Virtual Futurity
38-40 Stallion Nutrition
44-46 Unstable Hooves
49-50 British Bred Stars
52-54 WBFSH General
Assembly 2024
56-58 Weaning Foals
British Breeder | 3
News
British Eventing News
Diary Dates
15th February 2025
NPS AGM & Ball
The Spa Hotel, Royal Tunbridge
Wells
26th April 2025
NPS Spring Festival
Three Counties Showground,
Worcestershire
17th May 2025
NPS Dressage Finals
Bury Farm EC, Buckinghamshire
19 - 20th July 2025
Arab Horse Society National
Championships
Addington Manor,
Buckinghamshire
25, 26 & 27th July 2025
GB PRE National
Championships
Hartpury
26th July 2025
IDHS(GB) Championship
series final
RIHS Hickstead
5th – 7th August 2025
NPS Summer Championships
Three Counties Showground,
Worcestershire
5 - 10th August 2025
World Breeding
Championships Dressage:
Verden
14th September 2025
Great British In Hand Show
plus Arena Eventing &
Performance Show
Vale View, Leicestershire
10 - 13th October 2025
WBFSH General Assembly
South Africa
It comes as no surprise that LORDSHIPS
GRAFFALO heads the lineup of British
Breds, He has surely shone the light
on British Breds competing in eventing
Internationally this season. We, at
British Breeding, are also thrilled as
he came through the Futurity system
and graduated showing the Futurity
really can highlight potential top
class horses through the early year’s
evaluations, especially identifying quality
conformation for longevity in sport.
This popular gelding known as ‘Walter’
ridden by the World ranked no.3, Ros
Canter, have together provided his owner
and breeder much enjoyment at the
highest level of sport this season.
Lordships Graffalo, SHBGB
registered bred by Lordships
Stud and owned by Archie
Saul, is by Grafenstolz out
of Cornish Queen who
was competed by Katie
Burton (nee Parker)
and bred by her
mother Bridget Parker
out of her top class
mare Cornish Queen
(Rock King ex Cornish
Faer) who was also
competed by Katie. Cornish
Queen and Katie together were
11th at Burghley in 1996 with multiple
top placings at Advanced and other
completions at Badminton & Burghley in
their career together.
Walter’s pedigree is a who’s who of
eventing over the years with top eventing
sires of Grafenstolz, Rock King, Just A
Monarch, Ben Faerie all in the pedigree
on dam and sire sides. He is also a
complete advocate for always breeding
from a proven damline with his dam also
producing Ros’s other former Burghley
ride, Pencos Crown Jewel & Lordships
Parc Royal, also ridden by Ros Canter to
3* Level being placed at the Osberton
Young Horse Championships before
changing home.
Walter also has a Chilli Morning sired
half brother, Pencos Arctic King who
is at stud so the bloodlines of the
phenomenal mare can continue not only
via him but also via a 2023 Full sister
born via Embryo Transfer called Pencos
Sovereign both bred by Pencos Sport
Horses; surely ones to watch for the
future BUT big brother Walter has given
them a lot to live upto!
Lordships Graffalo’s 2024 results in
reverse order include:-
1st Burghley Horse Trials CCI-L 5*,
Gold Medal British Team member Paris
Olympics, 4th Advanced Aston Le Walls,
16th Bramham International CCI-S 4*,
2nd Bicton Arena International CCI-S
4*, 3rd Osberton International AI, 12th
Thoresby International CCI-S 4*, 3rd
Oasby OI
Other British Bred’s Shining at 5* Level
included the exciting fi rst time winning
D DAY ridden by Caroline Harris at Pau
5*. D Day is registered with the Anglo
European Studbook, sired by Billy
Mexico (Cevin Z ex Bidorette) out of
Dillus (by Dilium xx ex Lismore) and
bred by Fiona Olivier. Caroline
and D Day went to Pau
in form having won the
CCI-S 4* at Lignieres
International,
3rd at Cornbury
International in the
OI. They made
their 5* debut
at Luhmuhlen
completing in 12th
place. Caroline has
brought D Day up
through the ranks from
staring as a 5yo. They are
sure to be a combination in form
for the 2025 top events.
Ros Canter Lordships
Graffalo. Photo - Peter Nixon
TREWORRA, registered SHBGB, ridden
by Katie Magee for Angela Hislop
and bred by top class event horse
breeders, Preci Spark Event Horses
is the by the successful eventing
sire, Jaguar Mail, out of Trewinnow
(by Tower of Magic). Treworra was
the next highest placed British Bred
at Pau fi nishing a very sound 13th in
well reported very wet conditions. An
excellent performance for a young
horse at only 10yrs who obviously
did not mind the soft going. Treworra
went to Pau off the back of a good 3rd
in the Advanced at Little Downham
International and a good season of
results at 4*S & L.
British Breds at the Land Rover
Burghley CCI-L 5* did not disappoint
with LORDSHIPS GRAFFALO winning
(as described above) followed soon
by the exciting young Anglo European
Studbook registered mare, ZARAGOZA
(6th) (Cevin Z ex (Saracen Hill)) bred by
Jane Young and ridden by Frenchman
4 | British Breeder
News
Gaspard Maksud. Then came Gemma
Stevens and the stallion, CHILLI
KNIGHT (Chilli Morning ex King’s Gem
(Rock King)), made their mark in history
by being one of only a few stallions to
compete at 5* level to take 9th place
at Burghley Horse Trials CCI-L 5*. They
were followed by a run of British breds
starting with the consistent performer,
TOPSPIN (10th) (Zento ex Capriati
(El Conquistador)) , home bred and
produced by the Casburn mother and
daughter duo, Caroline & Alice. They
were immediately followed by the
Thoroughbred, ARTIST (11th) (Guillotine
ex bred) by the Windsor Park Stud and
ridden by Monica Spencer then
Harry Meade’s ride, the British
Hanoverian registered SUPERSTITION
(12th) (Satisfaction I ex Calendula
(Cordalme Z) bred by Eva Meier were
12th and the ever reliable COLORADO
BLUE (14th) (Jaguar Mail x (Rock King))
and Austin O’Connor.
British Breds at
Young Horse Championships
The season ended for the young
horses with British Breds on top in
the 7yr Championships at Le Lion
taking a one-two for the British Breds;
Gemma Stevens rode the Chilli
Morning clone, CHILLI MORNING
IV, SHBGB registered, to victory
followed closely by Kitty King and
KANTANGO (AES registered by
Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve ex Eclaire
(Winningmood) taking 2nd. A second
British bred Chilli Morning clone,
CHILLI MORNING II ridden by Julia
Krajewski taking 6th place. Both
Chilli Morning Clones were bred by
Chris Stone, registered with SHBGB
and have the identical breeding to
the late clone donor Chilli Morning
(Phantomic xx ex Koralle).
Kantango came to Le Lion having
had an excellent 2nd place in the
British 7yr old championships at
Cornbury House International.
Despite a small mistake at Hartpury
International in the British Novice
Championships he has had an
enviable list of results this season.
Le Lion was a reverse of fortunes for
Chilli Morning IV who had previously
been 4th behind Kantango at the
Cornbury House British 7yr old
championships but equally has had
an excellent season notching up 9th
at the British Novice Championships
at Hartpury International after a 3rd
at Bicton International CCI-L 2*earlier.
Chilli Morning IV is a stallion so
his future breeding prospects of
continuing the legacy of his clone
donor is proving to have been an
excellent investment.
His full clone double, Chilli Morning II,
has been waving the British Bred fl ag
in Germany going to Le Lion after a good
win in the CCI3*-S at Westerstede. Also
still being entire giving more opportunity
for breeding from this bloodline in
Germany in the future.
There were less British Breds contesting
the 6yr olds, but taking 6th place was
FAERIE GOOD GOLLY ridden by Jonelle
Price. The SHBGB registered mare is by
Upsilon out of Jonelle’s brilliant mare,
Classic Moet. Faerie Good Golly has had
a consistent year at Novice level; only
once being out of the top 8. She carries
62.89% blood which gives her plenty of
potentially go to the top. There is
no doubt with the experience of
breeder/rider Jonelle on board she
has a good chance to get there.
Cornbury House International Young
Horse Championships provided a
plethora of good results for British Breds
in the top 10 of both the 6yr old and 7yr
old champs including;
For the 6yr olds:-
GUINDUNO (Guindam ex Cloudy Nite)
ridden by Bubby Upton was the highest
of the British Bred 6yr olds. Guinduno
fi nished on his dressage score in this
hotly contested class. Guinduno is
another young horse who has had a
good season with two wins at Novice.
5th was DASSETT FLIGHT PATH
(I’m Special de Muze ex Venus de
Bethune) bred by Morgan Kent and
ridden by Kitty King also went to Le Lion
3*L. Dassett Flight Path has also notched
up three wins this season at Novice and
one 6yo classes.
8th was NAKOTA (Filesco ex Ricochet)
ridden by Sarah Bullimore. They then
fi nished their season with a top 20 result
in the CCI-L 2* at Kronenberg after
a season of multiple placings and
a 4th at Nunney International in the
CCI-S 2*.
9th was AQUILA II (Balou Star ex
Gavotte) ridden by Amelia Walker.
And for the 7yr olds;
2nd KANTANGO & 4th CHILLI
MORNING IV as described
above followed up by 7th KINDA
CORVETTE (Diarado ex Cosette II
(Jaguar Mail)) ridden by Dani Evans
also 8th at Wellington 3*S & 10th at
BCN. This combination is another to
have had an excellent season with
2 wins and a good 2nd at Bicton
International 2*L among others. 9th
was BARRINGTON ALICE ( Cevin Z
ex Allercombe Mayday (Kuwait Beach
xx)) ridden by Izzy Taylor. This lovely
mare Is another good young British
bred that went to Le Lion to fi nish
15th. She has had a great season
with multiple placings including WINS
at Oasby Intermediate and in the
7yo class at Cirencester Park . 5th at
Burgham International CCI-3*S with
few time penalties XC all season
which is not surprising given her
having over 72% blood.
We are delighted to see such a
wonderful rise of British Bred horses
competing across all the levels with
some very exciting young horses
coming up through the ranks. We can
all look forward to an exciting 2025
season for British Breds.
British Breeder | 5
News
British Showjumping News
Annual British Showjumping
Awards Ball
The event took place on Tuesday, 8
October, to celebrate excellence and
acknowledge outstanding achievement
of those who are involved in our sport
from riders to grooms to volunteers.
The British Breeders’ annual award
recognises the British breeders who
have been the visionaries behind the
best British bred horse we have seen
this year, and this year that visionary
was Susie Gibson for Stevie G. Susie
has made showjumping her life’s work
having been a board member, an
accredited coach, riding professionally
as well as breeding several top level
horses. The 12-year-old gelding, Stevie
G, is by The Billy Stud’s Billy Mexico
and out of one of Susie’s mares, Be
Nimble Li.
Stevie G was the ride for this year’s
National Champion, Rebecca Marsh, as
they achieved their long term goal of
qualifying for the International Classes
at the Horse of the Year Show. Susie
credits The Billy Stud for their help to
breed such a successful and talented
horse, commenting how helpful they
were in successfully picking out a
stallion to match with her mares
Horses:
Millfi eld Hickson,
Westlife, Two To Tango,
Roll on Wave, Lucky
Boys Strike, Bermudez
BDA, Fruselli, Hello
William, Here’s Felix,
Brownheath Collateral,
Millfi eld Cor Blimey,
First Coryphee,
Arbitrage, Basingwerk
Image, Equine Rescue
Services Kandleford,
Active Spirit, Vermento,
Royale Tale, Juno Rose 23, Millfi eld
Colette, Mourinho II, One for Lucy,
Latico, Cloudy Star, Quickstep I, Houdini,
Magnum Force, Just Call Me Henry, Wild
Star HF, Billy Ruble, Candies B, Helms
Rossio, Billy Heinz, Double de Muze TL,
Dillinger NE and Crispina Z.
Ponies:
Westpoint Foreign Affair, Galaxy V, Neil
Due to space constraints in this issue 55, Las Vegas VI and Bunbury Conquest.
we have provided a full
Susie Gibson, breeder of Stevie G (image Simon Coates Photography supplied by BS)
round up of news links
on our website www.
british-breeding.com/
news. This includes:
Team Gold on British breds at the
FEI Pony European Championships
At the FEI Pony European
Championships at Sentower Park
in Belgium, a head to head jump
off saw the team bring home Gold.
The team was made up of
Katie Bradburne with Westpoint
Foreign Affair, a British-bred
Fruselli x Fulton mare, Hollie
Gerken on the British-bred
daughter of Argento, Sophia
Rogers on Neil 55 (by Otangelo
out of Nations Cup mare
Paulien), and team anchor Cate
Kerr and Cindy (Gelha’s VDL
Emilion x Guidam).
After four nail biting rounds, all
nailed a clear. “The night before,
I told them they were all capable
of jumping clear, the course
would be harder and others
above them might have faults
– and we kept jumping clear
and put the pressure on. We
had great team spirit,” said Chef
d’Equipe Clare Whitaker.
Stevie G – British bred to a Turn!
BS National Championships saw
the two rings of Sytner Land Rover
Coventry Championship Arena 1 and
the Unibed Championship Arena 2
combine where Rebecca Marsh and
12-year-old Stevie G took the win in
the HOYS International Wild Card
Qualifi er Incorporating The British
Showjumping Business Partnership
International Stairway by just 0.19
seconds, narrowly beating the only
other double clear of the class, Max
Routledge on Janeiro.
Said a thrilled Rebecca ‘There
was only one clear which was Max
[Routledge] - I know Stevie is a really
quick horse, so I knew if I could
keep to my plan, keep the turns
tight, I could hopefully do it. He’s
by Billy Mexico…I’ve had him from
the beginning, we know each other
inside out and we just work well
together as a team.’
Rebecca Marsh with Stevie G and BS CEO Iain
Graham (image 1st Class Images supplied by BS)
6 | British Breeder
December Issue
British Breeder | 7
December
SPRINGFIELD
Issue
STUD
OLYMPIC BREEDERS
ANSIEI XX
16.1HH, 2007, TB, Sport Horse Breeding (GB) Life Graded
with Selle Francais and Horse Sport Ireland, WFFS CLEAR
He has over £188,000 in race winnings with his youngstock
competing at 4* level in eventing, Supreme Champions in
showing/breeding. Being a full TB he is suited to most types
of mares. He will be standing at West Kington Stud for 2025.
VENTERPRISE
16.1HH, 2015, British Warmblood by VOLTAIRE,
Licenced AES, WFFS CLEAR
He has jumped internationally in show jumping and his
oldest youngstock are showing great potential under saddle.
He is very much a Warm Blood type and is ideally suited to
most types of mares. A very talented young stallion.
SPRING’S SPIRIT
16.1HH, 2009, 75% TB, Sport Horse Breeding (GB),
Olympic Sire and Breeders Elite approved, WFFS CLEAR
He is the sire of Safira who competed in Paris 2024
Olympics and won a Bronze medal at the Pan American
Games 2023. He is very refined and his offspring are
showing huge talent.
SPRINGFIELD SYMPHONY
16.3HH, 2004, 75% TB, WFFS CLEAR,
Olympic Grand Sire
An Elite futurity champion with an overall assessment
of 9.25/ He is the sire of 2* eventers and Grand Sire of
an Olympian.
Visit our website for more information on www.springfieldstud.com
Contact: John 07717 432814 | john.chambers191@gmail.com
8 | British Breeder
Highest British Bred Awards | Feature
HIGHEST BRITISH
BRED AWARDS
Rossdales Vets kindly sponsor our British Breeding Highest British Bred
rosettes, below are some of the award recipients recently shared on our
social media. We will be continuing to expand these special awards in 2025.
Right: Hester (Heinrich Heine x Blue Anna) 10th place
at Blenheim 4*L - ridden by Laura Collett, bred and
owned by Lucy Nelson.
Below: Futurity graduate and 2024 Burghley CCI5*L
Winner Lordships Graffalo (Grafenstolz x Cornish Queen).
Ridden by Ros Canter, owned by Archie & Michele Saul
and bred by Pennie Wallace/Lordships Stud.
Above: Corimiro (by Amiro Z x Lilly Corinne), 10th place
in the CCI-S 4* 8/9YO at Blenheim Horse Trials, ridden
by Sarah Bullimore and bred by Brett Bullimore.
Right: The Chosen One (by Calibre Royal x The
Magic One). 2nd place in the 4yo class at the Dubarry
Burghley Young Event Horse Final. Bred by Jodie
Amos and owned/ridden by Mike Jackson.
British Breeder | 9
Studbook News | AHS
THE ARAB HORSE SOCIETY
The value of a good brood mare
Below: Anglo Arab mare Turkish Candle, centre celebrates her 30th birthday with four of her 10 progeny: left, Tiarella and Prosecco, and right, Incognito and Imbroglio.
Anne Brown, Chairman – AHS Premium Performance Scheme.
With foals weaned off, mare
owners will be looking for
suitable sires for next year
(unless the mare has already been
covered). For owners who have never
bred from their mares before, this is an
even more exciting project.
The most important element is choosing
a stallion who complements your
mare in conformation, movement and
temperament – and possibly size in the
case of a maiden. Always aim for athletic
progeny, sound in mind and limb, fi t for
their future intended use.
Most mares can breed, and in the right
conditions with the right facilities, many
should. But there are some mares who
are just exceptional, producing top
quality foals, to a variety of stallions, year
after year.
One such treasure is the 15.2hh Anglo
Arab mare, Turkish Candle, now 30,
bred and owned by the Biddesden
Stud in Wiltshire. Her sire was the Arab
Bajazeth, by Achim, Dr Houtappel’s
former Champion Stallion at the Arab
Horse Society Show. Turkish Candle
was out of the Thoroughbred mare
Donna Candelabra, by Don Carlos, a
son of Charlottesville, the leading middle
distance racehorse of his time.
Turkish Candle evented successfully
to 3*/ Intermediate level before retiring
to broodmare duties. She had an
exceptional temperament, proving to be
very trainable and brave. She gave birth
to ten foals, all inheriting her exceptional
temperament. Her blood has become an
important part of Biddesden Stud as well
as for other competition riders.
Her third foal (2005) was Imbroglio, a
little mare with a superb jump. She, like
her mother, competed at 3*/Intermediate
level and is also now an important
broodmare at Biddesden, with some
lovely progeny.
Incognito. full brother to Imbroglio (both
by Indoctro), was used as a stallion
before being gelded to develop a
successful eventing career at 4*/
Advanced level. His eldest daughter, Isis,
has already jumped double clear at 3*.
Turkish Candle’s son Prosecco (2015)
jumped clear around his fi rst 4* at just
9 years of age. Tiarella, her youngest
daughter, jumped double clear in the 6yo
(2*) at Cornbury last year.
Congratulations to the Hon Finn
Guinness for creating such a dynasty with
Turkish Candle.
Paul Simmons at Zayin Arabian Stud
believes in breeding the best to the
best. He is especially proud of Zaphelia
Sky Zayin, this year’s fi lly by his AHS
Premium stallion Zayin Zachilles from
Sakeena Sky Zayin.
Paul explains: “Zaphelia is the only pure
Arab born in in the UK the last 10 years
whose parents are both Arabian Flat race
winners and Endurance race winners,
and both are AHS Premium horses.
“Her dam Sakeena Sky Zayin won over
1 mile 2 furlongs at Huntingdon and won
fi ve endurance events including a 100 km
CER race ride.”
Zayin Zachilles won nine races including
the 7f Dubai Day Handicap and also won
two endurance events including the 80
km CER race ride at Piddletrent.
10 | British Breeder
AHS | Studbook News
Endurance rider Esther Groen found
such a mare in Nib Could Be Star, an
Anglo Arab bred in Belgium. She is by
the Dutch WAHO Trophy winning multidiscipline
stallion Sheikan Star and out of
a TB dam Europa (by Blakey Ridge).
Esther explains: “Whilst her name carries
some uncertainty, the very first time I
saw her as a foal, her class and potential
was clear, a stunning mover with great
conformation and presence.
I bought her as a broodmare, when
she was five. Her first born, and so far
only filly, became Dutch NRPS National
Champion foal in 2014 - and Nib herself
became National Champion mare. I
have seen her excellence passed on to
her foals.
“Her 2020 part-Arab colt Niqui Akhdhar
is by my homebred stallion (now gelded)
Aqui Akhdhar, with the stunning amber
champagne colour. And whilst fancy
colours are fun, the quality of the horse
has to come first, which Niqui proved
this year in the British Futurity gradings,
earning himself a very respectable Gold
Premium with 8.68 points. Niqui has sired
an impressive filly foal this year, so Nib is
now a grandmother!
Her double Gold 2021 Anglo Arab colt
Voltage Akhdhar by endurance Premium
Merit stallion Watt du Colombier, should
be a future endurance star. He combines
excellent endurance and performance
genes from both parents. As a foal, he
gained a Gold Premium (8.6) in the 2021
virtual Futurity Evaluations and this year
Gold once more with 8.45. This
year’s full brother, Farad Akhdhar, is
a very promising colt, with a bit more
bone and height than Voltage and
hopefully, an endurance career. Nib is
now 20 years old, and in great health so
we’ll see if she can give us another foal
as I do not own a filly to carry on
her lineage.
The Arab Horse Society
has identified some
of Britain’s leading
performance stallions
carrying Arab blood,
and awarded them
with Premium status.
Fortunately, using one of
these Premium stallions
rewards the mare owner
financially when the foal is
registered with the AHS –
a double bonus!
Some mares take to motherhood better
than others, of course, but when you find
a good one, you can depend on her to
produce healthy offspring to reward all
your time, hard work and expense.
The influence of AHS Premium stallions
extends to the other side of the world.
Frozen semen from versatile Marcus
Aurelius has been used on Ralvon Gift to
produce Arreton Safeer for Jessie and
Pom Preece in South Australia.
Gift is the last horse to have been bred
by Ron and Val Males of Ralvon Stud.
She lives at the South Australia home
of Jessie and Pom Preece of Arreton
Arabians who co-own her with Sue
Williams of Trincada Stud. Australian
and Performance readers will know
Arreton for their massively versatile
and very successful senior stallion
Mallegrove Mandala, and Trincada for
the incredible performance Arabian
Pony stallion Trincada Strike who has
many titles to his name.
Rowena Bertram, owner for Marcus
Aurelius feels honored to be asked to
supply his frozen semen to be used on
Ralvon Gift.
Arreton Safeer (Mort to his friends) is now
just three (born in Australia’s spring) and,
following an assessment by Cindy Reichs
is enjoying paddock life before starting
his stud career. ●
For details of the 28 current AHS
Premium stallions, visit:
ahs-premium.org.uk
Above: Ralvon Gift and new-born colt, Arreton
Safeer by Marcus Aurelius, 2021 in Australia. Photo
Jessie Preece.
British Breeder | 11
Studbook News | GB PRE
GB
PRE
British Breeding
Futurity Evaluation
Day, hosted
by GB PRE
Hartpury - 28th July 2024
By Kim Hayden – GB PRE Equine
Welfare Official.
Above: Laudel Diosa. ANCCE Champion Mare, Champion Mare Movement & Champion Mare
Functionality 2025. Owned by LM Westlake - Yeguada Lago. Below: Davinci CA. ANCCE
Champion Stallion. Owned by LM Westlake - Yeguada Lago. Bred by Transportes La Peña de
Bejar, SL. Photo credit: Danny Berta Photography.
GB PRE were delighted to welcome
back British Breeding for a Futurity
Evaluation Day during our National
Breed Show held at the wonderful venue
that is Hartpury University in Gloucester.
Thank you to our generous sponsors,
Twemlows Stud Farm and Meadowbrook
PRE Stud.
As a organisation that aims to promote all
types of competition within the Spanish
horse world, GB PRE are seeing more
and more Spanish horses bred for sport.
Hosting a British Breeding Evaluation
Day offers a great opportunity for some
of these horses to come forward and be
presented for evaluation.
We also hosted a record number of MCI
(Masters Du Cheval Iberique) qualifiers
Strawberryfileds Twilight. Owned and bred by Claire
Elliot. Photo credit: Tanja Davis Photography.
at GB PRE 2024. The MCI is a great
example of the iberian breeds in sports.
The MCI GB is for all PRE (Spanish) and
PSL (Portuguese) Iberian horses,
purebred and partbred
(Fusion) horses. Since
it started in the UK in
2015 it has become
unrivaled as one of
the top dressage
leagues in the UK
offering classes
from Young Horse
up to Grand Prix.
This year’s
3***ANCCE
Morphology
Competition saw
record show numbers
and an influx of new blood to
GB PRE 2024. With more entries
than ever before, there was definitely
some hot competition. Over 15 sections
inclusive of youngsters, mares, stallions
and geldings, split into both in hand
presentations and ridden tests where
age appropriate, really did see the cream
of the crop in PRE’s bred or based in
the UK over the 2 days of what seemed
at one point, like an endless stream of
quality horses presented for judging.
With the addition of new classes for
Friesians, Bitless combinations, and the
return of show favourites such as Home
Produced, Lusitano classes, PRE Fusion
and many more, championships were
due to be hotly contested with exciting
results ensuing.
Additionally this year, we
saw the introduction
of the ‘Supreme
Championships’
of the show,
comprising of an
Amateur In Hand,
Amateur Ridden,
and Supreme
Championship
(combination ridden
and inhand), giving
even more to play for.
Futurity entrant 2024
Amy Clithero presented her
PRE horse ALC Estrellita Rosada
(Pepper) and had this to say;
As a yearling she got stage fright and
got silver. I missed her 2yo year due to
work, then presented at 3yo again once
she was jumping to get more unbiased
feedback. It was very nice that they
deemed her jump as Elite! The vets
always like her so I think she was Elite
for future vet score. Her conformation is
“very harmonious (8.1)”.
They really like her walk (8.8), restricted
shoulder movement in trot (7.8) and she
12 | British Breeder
GB PRE | Studbook News
didn’t have any sparkle in the arena, so
her canter was on the forehand for 8.
Photo credit Tanja Davis Photography
Her jump “Made the distance well
with a clear and careful style” for a 9.
They weight different paces differently,
depending on their intended career.
I’m just chuffed that we got a Gold, so we
qualify for the Equine Bridge Programme
- it’s youngster specifi c training next year.
I’ve never been trained before, so having
specialist advice and training next year
when she’s under saddle will be amazing.
Claire Elliot also presented her top sports
pony yearling PRE fi lly Strawberryfi elds
Twilight who got a Silver award. She had
this to say;
We had entered the ANCCE yearling fi lly
class and showing classes but also saw
that the futurity gradings were running
alongside. We had done these previously
with the sport pony society a few years
back with another homebred and
acquired a champion mare. I fi gured I
would be a good experience for her and
although a tad vocal she ran up beautiful
and behaved great.
With choosing her sire I was looking for
a baroque traditional well boned and
short coupled stallion. As a bonus the sire
ALC Estrellita Rosa, Owned and bred by Amy Clithero. Photo credit Tanja Davis Photography
Embrujo JL has the most phenomenal
temperament and with his colour and
competition record. Also choosing some
old blood lines which complemented the
dam who also had very old breeding to
keep the true to type PRE. I would love to
eventually breed from her in her later years
as I love the temperament of the PRE.
We are delighted to be working again
with British Breeding to host the fi rst of
the 2025 Futurity Evaluation days at GB
PRE at Hartpury on Thursday 24th July.
We very much look forward to welcoming
everyone again. ●
GB PRE National Championships
25th,26th & 27th July 2025 - Hartpury
Sponsorship opportunities
available Contact Stephanie Hurstfi eld
Email: stephanie@gbpre.co.uk
tceh.co.uk
Reproduction Services
Gloucestershire / Worcestershire / Herefordshire
Our BEVA approved hospital has a team of
friendly experienced stud vets providing the
following services in our clinic and on your yard.
• Chilled/Frozen semen AI
• Embryo transfer
• Pre-breeding examinations/testing
• HBLB accredited CEM laboratory
• Fertility investigations for mares and stallions
• Paddock and stable livery
• Packages available
• Full hospital facilities including neonatal intensive care
Three Counties Equine Hospital, Stratford Bridge, Ripple,
Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 6HE
01684 592099 I info@tceh.co.uk
British Breeder | 13
Studbook News | SPSS
Sports Pony Studbook Society
2024 GRADING CHAMPIONS
Left: Ballynagilly Damien. Photo Lenzon Images
Below: My Beauty Photo: Kevin Sparrow.
Don Galliano x Russetwood Elation);
Tresorya Cream Cracker (WPCS D,
Tresorya Cornish Cream x Seiont
Guto Goch).
MAGNIFICENT MARES
We are very pleased to announce that 15
mares were graded by the SPSS in 2024
and that the quality of them was such that
6 of them gained a Head Studbook score
of 80% or more.
SUCCESSFUL STALLIONS
The SPSS team were thrilled that the
calibre of stallions forward before
our judges in 2024 meant that all 6
presented stallions were accepted as
SPSS Graded.
The 2024 Stallion Grading Champion is
Melissa Dunham’s Ballynagilly Damien
(Forest View Sparrow x Derrigragh
Robin). A 15 year old Connemara, bred in
Ireland by Paul Mac Aleer, he impressed
the grading judges, with comments
including “lovely attitude & rideability”,
“should be a positive addition for sports
pony breeding” and, for his loose
jumping, “very good attitude, confi dent,
knows the job and enjoys it” and he
achieved a score of 80%. Ballynagilly
Damien is an established dressage pony
who, ridden by his owner’s daughter,
placed 6th at the British Dressage
Winter Area Festival Championships
at Elementary in 2023 and, this year,
moved up to Medium level and were 5th
at the Onley Grounds Equestrian Centre
Summer Area Festival. He has also
qualifi ed for the BD Combined Training
Championships at both 80 and 90 cm
levels and competes at unaffi liated
eventing at 80cms.
2024 Stallion Grading Reserve Champion
and Best British-bred is Chantal Rowlands’
home-bred Klassic Baritone. An SPSS
passported 3 year old, he is by the
established German-bred SPSS graded
Deutsche Reitpony Hilkens Gold Card
out of the British-bred Trakehner Klassic
Duet (by Le Duc). As he is just a 3
year old, Klassic Baritone was
not required to be ridden
so was assessed for
his paces in-hand
and loose, with
the judges
particularly
liking his “good
length” of
walk with
“good use
of shoulder”
and his canter
which they
said was
“balanced” and
in “good rhythm”.
Overall, Baritone
gained a score
of 79.46%.
Also accepted as SPSS
licensed stallions in 2024 were:
Delaroche Dimaggio Gold (SPSS,
DeLaRoche Black Gold x Treliver
Decanter); Dinky Daredevil NF (NRPS,
Dating AT x Don Carino Du Bois);
Richvale Orion (WPCS Sec B, Locksley
Of particular note, our highest overall
scoring mare and hence SPSS 2024
Supreme Champion Mare, Barbara Fill
& Charlotte Thomas’s Danish-bred My
Beauty (DRP, FS Numero Uno x FS Mr.
Right) achieved the outstanding score
of 91.04%. This is the fi rst time in the 21
years that the SPSS has been grading
mares that any mare has scored over
90%. This amazing score was well
deserved as My Beauty, who is known
at home as Betty, truly lived up to her
name and across all of the categories
marked she only had one mark below
8.5! Barbara & Charlotte imported the
beautiful Betty from Denmark
in November 2023 and
Charlotte, a BD Youth
Trainer, has been
training and
competing Betty
herself this
year. Their
competition
highlights
include
being the BD
Champion 6
year old Pony
at Hartpury
in July then
placing 4th & 5th
at the Kelsall Hill
Equestrian Centre
BD Summer Regional
Championships in the
Prelim Gold and Novice Silver
sections a couple of weeks later. More
recently they have won BD Elementary
classes and we look forward to seeing
her achieve more outstanding results in
the future and, maybe, also have a foal
via embryo transfer.
14 | British Breeder
SPSS | Studbook News
The second highest scoring mare overall
and so our 2024 Reserve Supreme
Champion as well as the Regional
Champion (South) and Best British-bred
is Naomi Maxted-Massey’s homebred
MM Sweet Gucci (DRP, Woodlander Sir
Gorgeous x FS Champion de Luxe). A
3 year old buckskin, who is descended
from Naomi’s foundation pony mare,
Sweet Fancy (DRP, Scampi x unknown),
Gucci scored 83.54% and went into the
Head Studbook. As a 3 year old, Gucci
was also eligible for SPSS Youngstock
Evaluation and was awarded a Gold
Premium, finishing as the highest
scoring in her age group. Gucci is being
carefully prepared for the BD Young
Dressage Pony classes in 2025 and
Naomi hopes she will emulate her full
sister, SPSS passported MM Sweet Pea,
who was the BD 5 year old Young Pony
Champion this year.
The Reserve Regional Champion
(South) title went to Caron Scudamore’s
Absolutely Classic (BRP, Whiteleaze
Dominion x unknown). A 10 year old,
British-bred by Victoria Keen and on
loan to Isme Mason, this mare went
into the Preliminary Studbook due to
missing pedigree but did have a Head
Studbook score of 83.13%. Absolutely
Classic is expecting a foal by SPSS Elite
Bathleyhills Monet in 2025, so we look
forward to news of this foal next year.
The other mare presented by Isme,
her 5 year old Bohemian Tiger (GB)
(SHB(GB), SPSS Elite Glencarrig Dolphin
x Catherston Liberator), did almost as
well scoring just one and a half marks
less to go into the SPSS Head Studbook
as she has a full 3 generation pedigree.
Bohemian Tiger was presented with her
foal at foot, by Hilkens Gold Card, who
gained a Gold Premium, and she is back
in foal to him again for 2025, so another
one to watch out for next year!
Then Heidi O’Neil’s 12 year old Irish-bred
Emilia Sam (ISH, Tullyhyland Prince x
Red Sunset) scored 80.21% and as she
too has sufficient pedigree, she also
went into the Head Studbook and was
awarded the Reserve Regional Champion
(North) title. The final mare with a
Head Studbook score was Woodburys
Capella (WPCS PB, SPSS Elite Machno
Carwyn x Ringing Sovereign). A 16 year
old, homebred by her owner, Patricia
(“PJ”) Lillington she is an established
broodmare who was presented with
her foal at foot by PJ’s homebred, SPSS
graded stallion Woodburys Harlequin.
The other mares that successfully
graded into the SPSS Main Studbook
were: Blaenllain DB’s Emma’s
Sensation (WPCS PB, Blaenllain
Doodleba x Triple Sweet). Chamfron
Chipita (ApHC, Exbury Ghost x Perfect
Execution). DBM Good Golly Miss
Molly (SPSS, Good Luck x Synod
Ruskin). Halstone Tiger-Lily (Fell,
Drybarrows Controversy x Townend
Rolo). Stretcholt May Bee (BRP , Cusop
Dimension x Rosedale State Secret).
TheLonghouse Pink Poet (WPCS PB,
Tiny Bit Famous x Driffield Moonstone).
Thistledown Starry Night (WPCS B,
Thistledown Artic-air x Paddock Sahara).
Welford Beanie (SPSS, Bernwode
Benedict x Paisano Bucks Bandit). Hej
Sassy So Soon (PBAR, Hej Roobikks
Kuba x unknown) also achieved a
Main Studbook score but, as her dam’s
breeding is unknown, she lacks the
2 generations of recorded breeding
required for the Main Studbook so she
went into the Preliminary Studbook.
EXCITING YOUNGSTOCK
In 2024, as well as running our own
events, we again worked with the British
Breeding Futurity team to offer as wide
a geographic spread of locations for
youngstock evaluations as possible
plus the virtual option via a Futurity
assessment by videos. Overall, 20 SPSS
GOLD Premiums were awarded and 8
Premiums. We were once again very
pleased with the quality of youngstock
presented both directly and through the
Futurity and look forward to seeing these
youngsters out competing in the future.
We are delighted to announce that the
2024 SPSS Youngstock Champion title
goes to the SPSS passported 2 year old
TDR Mystical Love. Homebred by his
owner, Tammy Ruffles, who also took
home the Top 2 Year Old; Top Pony and
Top Colt rosettes, Mystical Love is by
SPSS graded WPCS Sec B Dypool Miami
Reef out of Tammy’s homebred SPSS
graded British Hanoverian, Wonderland
(by Wild Child). TDR Mystical Love, who
was SPSS Top Yearling in 2023, entered
the SPSS Youngstock Evaluations
through doing an in-person Futurity
evaluation where he built on the Gold
Premiums gained as a foal and yearling
to get a great ELITE Futurity score of
9.25 – one of the top Sports Pony scores
across all the Futurity evaluations.
The Reserve Champion title was
awarded to Charlotte Caple’s homebred
foal Rockwood Jazz, who was also the
Top Foal and Top Filly. Jazz gained a
Futurity EILTE score of 9.0 and is by
Charlotte’s own SPSS graded WPCS
Sec B Summer Solstice and out of
SPSS graded Silvervale Orlandra (by
Burfas Last Edition). Silvervale Orlandra
is also the dam of SPSS graded stallion
Rockwood Ace (by Dark Knight), who
was also bred by Charlotte.
Then, and all seen at SPSS events, Heidi
O’Neill’s homebred SPSS passported
foal Double O Galaxy (Surely Not x
Tullyhyland Prince) was Top Small Horse
and, as mentioned earlier, Naomi Maxted-
Massey’s homebred MM Sweet Gucci
was Top 3 Year Old. Finally, Pauline
Clark’s homebred WPCS Sec B yearling,
Colliyers Corn Dolly (Violetgrange
Gladiator x Meadowlands Mooncatcher)
was Top Yearling. ●
Below: TDR Mystical Love.
Photo: Tanja Davis Photography.
British Breeder | 15
December Issue
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16 | British Breeder
IDHS | Studbook News
IRISH DRAUGHT
HORSE SOCIETY (GB)
2024 has been a wonderful year
for this breed. It’s not just been
the huge success of the British
Horse Feeds showing sponsorship, or
the quality of the horses at our National
Championship Show, or even the
number of pure and part-bred horses
in the ribbons at HOYS. At last,
there appears to be the
realisation that the Irish
Draught breed is suitable
for all disciplines and is
suitable for riders of all
abilities. Not everyone
can manage a high
spirited warmblood
that’s been bred to
reach 5* level with a
professional rider. The
Irish Draught will cross with
a Thoroughbred to create a
safe and clever hunter, or with a
Connemara to make a reliable riding club
star. Even top showing teams are now
acknowledging ID blood in their horses’
pedigrees, rather than saying ‘breeding
unknown’. These are athletic, sound,
good moving horses with a forgiving
temperament. Not plods!
British Horse Feeds have been
so generous with their three year
sponsorship of ridden classes for both
pure and part-bred Irish Draughts. The
fi nal, at the Agria RIHS, saw the Hickstead
ring showcase 31 purebred and 26 partbred
entries for the two championship
classes. It was a superb spectacle, with
a good crowd up early to watch the
British bred Goosey Gander take the
champion’s sash. The fi rst qualifi ers for
the 2025 fi nal have already taken place,
with our Show Team busy securing host
shows for the start of next season. All the
information you need about registration,
over-stamping and qualifying shows, can
be found on our website: idhsgb.org.uk
Our National Championship Show was
held over two days at Onley Grounds
in September. There was a revised
schedule, offering a wide range of
classes, from in-hand and ridden
championships to four levels of dressage
tests. The weather was kind and the
quality of horses didn’t disappoint. There
was a contingent of our Irish friends over
for the show and they were particularly
impressed with the lineup for the £2000
Ridden Challenge fi nal, headed by
Birdies Bellamont Diamond. As this
series is open to both purebreds and
horses with 25% proven ID blood, the
fi nalists included quality hunters, riding
horses and several smart cobs. There
are qualifying classes at affi liated shows
around the UK and we urge owners to
check their horse’s passport. Do
you own a part bred Irish Sport
Horse with that special 25%?
As a Society, we are
looking to promote the
versatility of the breed.
The Irish Draught is
more than a show
horse; they feature
every week in Horse
and Hound, either sailing
over fences out hunting,
or winning dressage and
eventing competitions for the
amateur rider as well as the professional.
Somehow, we need to make people
aware of what they’re sitting on! Like
every breed Society, we must look to
the future and encourage the young,
who are out there enjoying their horses,
to become involved with ensuring the
breed continues to thrive. Maintaining the
purebred foundation stock is vital.
The Society is running a winter online
dressage series of three competitions,
beginning in December, working with
Dressage Anywhere. Tests are videoed
and submitted for judging by British
Dressage judges. There are rosettes and
prizes and feedback from the judges.
The good news is that there’s less stress
riding a test in your usual surroundings,
plaiting isn’t required and tests can be
called. All the necessary information is on
the website.
Please do check out the list of Irish
Draught and Irish Draught Sport Horse/
part bred stallions listed on our website. If
you want an injection of bone, substance
and good temperament, there are many
thoroughly vetted and inspected stallions
there to choose from. There’s a range of
stamp, height and colour – Irish Draughts
are not always grey! ●
Top left: Birdies Belmont Diamond, £2,000 Ridden
Challenge winner Owner Ruth Bird, Rider Darren
Crowe 2024 IDHSGB National Championship Show.
Top right: Mylough Melody, Supreme Breeding
Champion Owner Caroline Saynor 2024 IDHSGB
National Championship Show. Middle: Goosey
Gander, British Horse Feeds champion, owner Ingrid
Shervington-Jones, Rider Katie Jerram-Hunnable
Credit Equinational Photography. Below: Lineup of
purebred Irish Draughts, British Horse Feeds fi nal RIHS
Credit Equitational Photography.
British Breeder | 17
Studbook News | AES
AES AUTUMN
STALLION GRADINGS
Our autumn stallion gradings are
a key part of our annual events
calendar and never disappoint,
with a very wide range of exciting young
stallions coming forward. Our thanks go
to Breen Equestrian who hosted another
fabulous grading in Hickstead and to
Louis Cunningham and Dave Quick who
organised our event in Cheshire. A big
thank you also to Stallion AI Services who
prepared very generous goody bags
and voucher packages. All newly graded
stallions are also encouraged
to enter the Competition
Stallions Guide with special
discounts available for
new AES stallions.
Our Cheshire grading
day was again shared
with our friends from
the SPSS. Working
together has been highly
enjoyable and is enabling
us to offer more grading
opportunities to breeders
and stallion owners from both
studbooks. Louie Cunningham and Dave
Quick offer an excellent service to owners
whereby they take colts in for preparation
and presentation on the day. This
means all horses have a good grading
experience as they are well prepared
and confident. At the same time it makes
for an inspiring and enjoyable day for all
spectators. What stood out were some
Below Left: Arkola. Above Inset: Monkey Business. Above Right: Chacornwall JHH Z.
exceptional pedigrees making for highly
interesting and valuable additions to our
stallion portfolio.
Lisa Hales presented 2 homebred colts
by her own stallions. Arkola is a son of
the great Arko III out of an Orlando mare.
He demonstrated excellent jumping
ability and technique paired with good
strong conformation and good gaits. His
mother Ohlala was a very successful
international 1.60m horse. She is also a
half sister of another international
1.60m jumper in Westbrook, and
the 1.45m mare Caramia. A
very interesting horse with
wonderful temperament
and outstanding
provenance. SFS Ashley
jumped with perfect
scope, technique
and attitude. He is the
spitting image of his sire
SFS Aristio. His mother
Chaquire de Messitert is half
sister to several internationally
successful jumpers including the
1.50m horse Amalia van de Zeilhoek and
the 1.45m jumper Ellickson L’Amant van
de Zeilhoek.
The experienced team at Ashdale
Sport Horses presented Ashdale
Christian Dior combining the influence
of Christian 25 and the great Big Star.
A horse with a large frame and enormous
scope he impressed with great jumping
ability and attitude. His mother Ashdale
Allstar is an internationally successful
jumper at 1.60m, as was her mother
Ashdale Luxara who is also a full sister to
the outstanding 1.55m stallion
Ashdale Legend.
A young stallion showing a lot of future
potential is Chacco Noir HK (Chacco
Blue x Pacino) who was bred and
presented by Morgan Kent. While his
sire requires no further introduction, his
mother Chino Noir jumped internationally
at 1.45m. This charming stallion showed
plenty of scope.
One of the highlights of the grading day
was another son of the great Chacco
Blue, Charcornwall JHH Z. His mother
Muna van den Bisschop by Cornet
Obolensky jumped internationally at
1.60m with Jackson Rees Stephenson,
making for a dream pedigree. This
lovely young stallion has outstanding
conformation with harmonious athletic
lines, very good gaits and truly
outstanding jumping ability.
Bred by Louie Cunningham is a very
interesting stallion, LJC Dragon Blue-D
(Diablue PS x Landgold). This young
horse did not only show lovely scope and
ability in the jumping lane, but has three
exceptional expressive gaits that would
be of great interest even to dressage
breeders. He is a very powerful stallion
with a very well developed topline,
excellent connections and a beautiful
frame. His mother is a half sister of the
1.60m stallion Candidatus, thus bringing
excellent jumping provenance.
Bred by Linda Lind on the Monkwood
Estate were two exceptional colts
from a very exciting daughter of For
Pleasure who jumped internationally
at 1.30m and who is the full sister to
18 | British Breeder
AES | Studbook News
Below Inset: Kengele. Above Right: Heavy Metal Z. Below: BE Bunny. Above: Primero’s Ultimate Dream.
Scott Brash’s legendary Hello Forever
and the 1.50m jumping stallion Vaillant.
Monkey Business by Comme Il Faut is a
more compact type who convinced with
harmonious conformation and a very
good attitude, paired with three good,
balanced gaits. Lion King by Taloubet Z
showed exceptional jumping ability with
a very good athletic frame and naturally
expressive gaits.
Among the dressage stallions
presented this year, it was a
particular pleasure to catch
up with some very special
Futurity graduates.
Kengele (Kjento x
Polytraum) was bred by
Judy Harvey. He is a
compact type stallion with
very strong conformation
and powerful gaits. He
showed very nice balance
in the trot and very good
articulation of the limbs in canter. His
mother Palimera jumped at 1.30m, bringing
great athleticism and impulsion, making
a great combination with the proven
dressage lines of Kengele.
We then ventured south to join Shane
Breen and his great team who presented
an exciting new range of stallions for the
season ahead:
Dom Twist (Dominator 2000 Z x
Gemini CL XX) was the one of the
youngest stallions we saw, which did not
prevent him from making a very good
impression. Bred by A Vere Nicoll he
presented himself with a very correct
and harmonious pedigree and beautiful
uphill lines. He showed a very good
brain down the jumping lane with natural
balance and great rhythm. His pedigree
is very interesting. While his sire requires
little introduction, his dam sire is a
clone of the legendary Gem Twist. The
motherline goes back to the exceptional
Thoroughbred mare Southern Queen XX
who produced countless international
eventers and showjumpers. This will
make him of interest to a wide range of
breeders looking for something a little
different and for a dose of thoroughbred
blood with proven performance.
From the own breeding of Breen
Equestrian comes BE Bunny, a son of the
great AES Elite stallion Colmar. His mother
Zarnita did not only jump internationally at
1.60m herself, she has also been a
prolifi c producer of performance,
including her oldest son
from 2015, the 1.55m
horse Golden Hawk.
She is a half sister of
two international 1.60m
jumpers in Captain
and Dreamer. With
provenance like that it
is not surprising that this
young stallion blew us away
with his enormous scope over
the jumps. He combines this with
outstanding conformation, beautiful
type and three expressive and balanced
gaits with natural poise and cadence.
Heavy Metal Z also known as Heavy
Metal V/D xxllnt Farm Z was bred by
De Boeck-Schoeters and is by the
Heartbreaker son Hardrock Z. His
mother also produced the 1.40m stallion
Limited Edition. She is full sister to the
160m stallion Cassini Bay. From the
grandmother also comes the 1.65m
horse Coronado. Heavy Metal showed
exceptional scope and perfect jumping
technique, combined with outstanding
athleticism and ability. He is certainly a
stallion to watch out for in future.
Vince JS (Comme Il Faut x Diamant de
Semilly) was bred by Johan Schutters.
He showed great scope and particularly
powerful, balanced and expressive
movement. While his sire and dam sire
require no further introduction, the
damline of this horse is very interesting,
going back to the incredible Quilina
van ‘t Plutoniahof. This is the mother
of legends like the stallion Arezzo van
de Wolfsakker, Townhead Imagine de
Muze (1.65m), Celine van de Wolfsakker
(1.55m) and Nagano de la Pomme (1.55m),
to mention only a few. Another highly
valuable and interesting opportunity for
breeders in this country.
We fi nish our introduction of newly
licensed stallions on a high, with the
Futurity graduate and Futurity Elite
Auction purchase Primero’s Ultimate
Dream (Dream Boy x Don Primero) -
bred by Andrea Nigam. Owned by Luis
Vilhena now, this outstanding young
horse is showing all the promise already
exhibited as a foal, when he gained
the highly desirable Elite accolade. He
is a very tall and elegant horse with
a very athletic frame and three world
beating gaits. A particular highlight was
his incredible canter which is already
showing exceptional levels of elevation,
adjustability and balance. He combines
all this with wonderful beautiful type.
We would like to congratulate all the
breeders and owners of our new stallions
and our gratitude goes to everyone who
helped in organising the days and in
producing and presenting these exciting
horses to such a high standard.
List of New Registered Stallions:
BOS Make Me Smile (Chacoon Blue
x Cockney Rebel XX) - bred by Hazel
Livesey
Qualista’s Original Debut (Chat Botte
du Rouisseau Z x Easy Boy) - bred by
Jennifer Sims
Whisper T (Whisper in the Wind x
Olympic Lux) - bred by Molly Potts. ●
British Breeder | 19
Futurity | Beechwood
FUTURITY REPORT
2024
BEECHWOOD
After the venue has proved very popular
in the past, we were delighted to be able
to return to Beechwood for another great
Futurity day. Our veterinarian evaluator
was Zara Wise who was supported by
Emma Short from Baileys Horse Feeds
and our linear scorers Esther Manders
from the Netherlands and Anna Jerbo.
The indoor evaluators were Katy Holder-
Vale and Robbert Ehrens from the
Netherlands. There were some fantastic
results on the day, showing that this
area continues to be a hotbed of British
breeding quality.
The top scorer of the day was a
wonderful dressage fi lly, Kellythorpes
Virali by Vitalis who achieved and
astonishing Elite score of 9.275. This
lovely foal is out of a Johnson x Ferro
mare, combining some of the best lines
dressage breeding has to offer. The
mother Bon Bon P already had a very
nice foal at the Futurity at this venue
in 2022, and it is lovely to see her
breeding building on that success. Huge
congratulations from the
British Breeding team! Mystical Love
We also saw some
very high quality
2yo entries. The
highest scoring
2yo across all
disciplines was TDR
Mystical Love with
an Elite score of 9.125,
bred by longstanding
Futurity supporter Tammy Ruffl es.
We caught up with her afterwards:
“TDR Mystical Love has already been
to the Futurity as a foal. We had a lovely
experience and came away having
learned a lot. This year was the same,
with great advice and information.
He is an absolute yard favourite and
so well behaved, you would never
know he was entire. I am so very proud
of him and will hopefully present him for
stallion grading.”
He is by Dypool Miami Reef out of
Wonderland who is by Woodlander
Wild Child, another Futurity legend and
TOP
SCORER
still our record
holder for the
highest ever
Futurity score.
The top eventing
2yo score
was achieved
by Makin At
Her Majesty’s Pleasure, bred by
Annie Makin and presented by Claire
Harrington. By the Futurity sire Future
Guilty Pleasure out of a Lauriston mare,
this exciting young horse achieved
an Elite of 9.1. He was sold as a foal
through the AES Elite Auction, and
we are delighted that he continues to
live up to
the great
potential
he showed at
that time.
Makin At Her Majesty’s Pleasure
Denlyn The Divine
The top pony
foal, with a
lovely Elite
score of
9.025, was
Denlyn The
Divine by Totamhill Reuben out of
Joyton Little Angel. This charming fi lly
was bred at Denlyn stud and won the
judges over with great conformation and
very nice gaits.
Emily Nicol’s Phantom Adamo, another
son of Future Guilty Pleasure, was
the highest scoring 3yo, very
narrowly missing an Elite score
with an overall mark of 8.915.
Emily was on the AES Young
Breeders Team representing
her country at the International
Young Breeders World
Championships in Denmark
earlier this year and combines
her competition career with
breeding exceptional quality
eventers. Emily also bred the
highest scoring eventing foal
of the day in Adamo Cintra by Future
Gravitas out of Britannia’s Jubilee.
Congratulations!
The highest
scoring yearling
of the day was
the dressage
bred
Briarwood
Legend, bred
by Laura
Britannia’s Jubilee
Humphries
and
presented by Sarah Prentice. By
the lovely British based stallion
Lestingdale VS out of an Elite mare
by the British legend Pascal, he is
British bred through and through
and presented himself very well on the
day with a great score of 8.825.
Adamo Cintra
KELLYTHORPES VIRALI
ALL PHOTOS TAKEN AT THE FUTURITY VENUES ARE KINDLY SUPPLIED BY TANJA DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHY
20 | British Breeder
Briarwood Legend
Phantom Adamo
The highest
scoring dressage
3yo with a very
convincing score
of 8.75 was
Isabella Bruce’s
own bred
Icetini, a lovely
daughter of Iron
out of a mare
Icetini
by the British
Hanoverian
stallion Dusautoir. This beautiful young
mare showed lovely type and movement.
The top jumping foal at Beechwood
was Cundlegreen Julius, a son of the
highly successful Futurity stallion Chrysler
Key. His highly experienced breeder
Vanessa Francis tells us more about this
lovely colt:
“It’s always a pleasure to present
a homebred for the Futurity, starting
back in 2006, when I attended my fi rst
with Cundlegreen Julius’s dam, who
achieved Elite as a 2 yr old. This foal is
a third generation from the stud, having
had his dam’s sire and dam from very
young horses.
I always enjoy attending
Beechwood as a venue, as it’s so
well laid out.
winning Working Hunter, and
a Head Studbook mare. The
whole bloodline have been
multitalented, and all with
a great jump, so I thought
Chrysler Key SR would help
keep the “jump” in the family.
I am looking forward to
seeing how he develops.
I consider “Jimmy” to be the
most correct that the mare
has produced, and this was backed
up by very high marks from the vet,
so I am really excited about his future,
especially as his sire is
showing huge potential as
a young horse.”
Peijing SSH
The highest scoring
4yo was Peijing SSH
bred for dressage
by Rosalyn Serex of
Solaris Sport Horses.
He was presented by
Nicola Swain and is by
the great Governor out of
an Amoureux mare.
a daughter of the lovely British based
stallion Firecracker. Fürst Fairytale is bred
and owned by Katy Libreri. She is out of
a mare by Fürst Romancier and has been
assessed by the Futurity every year since
she was a foal, receiving consistently
Gold scores.
The Philosopher’s Puzzle of Francesca
The top scoring pony yearling
was The Philosopher’s Puzzle of
Francesca by Popenhoe Picture
Perfect, bred by Sharon Haste.
The top jumping 2yo was a son of
Multicolor GF, Multimillion, who was bred
by Kelly Morgan. ●
Multimillion
C Julius is the last foal to be bred
from his dam, Cundlegreen Birthday
Girl, who evented to Intermediate
level, as well as being a County
Buckled Bandit
Cundlegreen Julius
Top eventing
Yearling was Ashtree’s
Buckled Bandit who
was bred by Ryan
Long and presented
by Joy Ottley. He is by
Halona Askari out of
an Irish mare by the
thoroughbred stallion
Foodsteps in the
Sand XX.
The highest scoring
Dressage 2yo was
Fürst Fairytale
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Show Horse Champion, Winner Eventing, Dressage, SJ & WH
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Youngstock in Australia & Ireland, Sire of Supreme Champion
“Ladies Man”
Catherston Oakley
16.2hh Bay SHB-GB Premium Graded
WFFS Free
Stud Fee £600
Advanced Eventer – 2nd Farley Intermediate
Sire of Futurity Golds – Over 44% TB blood
Amaranto D Centurion
15.3hh Grey PRE 2015
ANNCE & AES Graded
Stud Fee £600
2023 BD Assoc PRE Med & Adv Med, MCI
Flamenca & MCI Level 2 European Champions
Wonderful temperament, 3 incredible paces,
huge power & balance.
Catherston Tuxedo
16.2hh Bay SHB-GB Premium Graded
WFFS Free
Stud Fee £960
Highest score ever at BB Futurity & SHB-GB
Stallion Grading Winner of Nexgen 5yo, 2nd
Hartpury 5yo Intnl
All of these Dual Purpose Stallions should produce stock for competing in all disciplines.
Frozen semen available from Dutch Gold, Catherston Dazzler, Catherston Goldstorm, Catherston Springsteen.
22 | British Breeder
Please contact Anne Dicker or Jennie Loriston-Clarke, Catherston Stud, Croft Farm,
Over Wallop, Stockbridge, Hampshire SO20 8HX Tel: 01264 782716 or
e-mail enquiries@catherstonstud.com or at www.catherstonstud.com
Bromyard | Futurity
BROMYARD
TOP
SCORER
Futurity at
Bromyard
received
a warm
welcome
from
proprietor,
dressage
rider Kirsty
Imm. A
lovely quiet
venue with
wonderful
facilities
and a very
helpful team.
The day
was helped
by the
welcome addition of vet Hannah Briggs
from Severn Edge Equine Vets, who
was very good at helpfully explaining
her observations on limb conformation
and foot balance to our participants.
Evaluators were Katy Holder Vale and
Robbert Ehrens. Thanks as always
to Futurity’s All Time Series Sponsor
Baileys Horse Feeds and photographer
Tanja Davis.
VOLTAGE AKHDHAR
(Watt du Colombier x Sheikan Star)
Voltage Akhdhar secured Gold premium
together with both highest score for a
3yo and highest score for endurance.
Presented by owner breeder Esther
Groen he is registered with the Arab
Horse Society. His scores were
consistent across the board, including
the vet, with highlights being the trot
with good length of stride, impulsion
and balance. Said Esther “he did the
virtual Futurity as a foal (Gold premium
with 8.6 points) and I felt it was good for
him to have his fi rst offi cial outing, so
we took him to Bromyard. I knew this
would be a small venue which I hoped
would not be too daunting for him. He
was very impressed by everything but
adjusted well and I was very proud of
him. Unfortunately, he didn’t show himself
too much in canter, the indoor was a
little too strange for him but I was very
pleased with the Gold premium with
VOLTAGE AKHDHAR
CROWN ARAGON
8.45 points. Volt will follow in his parents’
footsteps in a few years, and hopefully
he will do as well as his 160km sire”
CROWN ARAGON
(Crown’s Ace of Pearl x High Roller)
This eyecatching buckskin colt
attained highest scoring foal and
highest scoring eventer. Out of
an Irish TB mare, he presents a
promising event horse prospect.
Bred and owned by Sam Smith
he secured a solid vet score
and an overall Elite with positive
observations for his elastic trot
and powerful carrying canter.
Highest marks were saved for his
strong rectangular frame and fl uid
rhythmical walk. Said Sam “I am
a hobby breeder with just one
broodmare, Autumn Roller. Crown Aragon
is the sixth foal I have bred out of her and
is by Crown’s Ace of Pearl. All the other
offspring, each by different stallions, have
obtained First Premium/Gold or Elite, and
have gone on to event successfully. I
selected Crown’s Ace of Pearl because
of his type, jumping ability and I loved
his temperament and his reputation for
passing this onto his progeny. The fact
that he is a double dilute and guaranteed
to produce a buckskin or palomino
from a bay mare was an added bonus.
I was delighted with his performance
at Bromyard. I hadn’t really seen him
trot much at home,
his favourite
movement is
canter to halt
with a few
pirouettes
thrown in! It
was lovely
to receive
such
positive
comments
and marks from ROCKWOOD JAZZ
the evaluators
about his paces, type
and motivation”.
ROCKWOOD JAZZ
(Summer Solstice x Burfas Last Addition)
This lively fi lly foal was highest scoring
sports pony and was presented by
owner breeder Charlotte Caple. Securing
the highest vet marks of the day, Jazz
impressed the evaluators with her
symmetrical muscled frame and her
harmonious neck/shoulder connection.
Her supple and elastic trot and canter
marks earned the second Elite of the day.
Said Charlotte “As small breeders we
were delighted to have been awarded
an Elite for Rockwood Jazz. She really
is a testament to the hard work we all
know it takes. Being heavily pregnant
myself at the time, my sisters and mum
did a fantastic job at the Futurity and
can’t thank them enough. Jazz carries so
many characteristics from her parents,
both of who we own and is everything
you could wish for when breeding. She
will be lightly shown over the next couple
of years and then schooled as a child’s
IMPERIUM YAKIRI
pony for the future. There’s no doubt
you will see her in the top line ups in
years to come!”
IMPERIUM YAKIRI
(Van de Vivaldi x Animo)
This Gold premium showjumping
fi lly foal was the highest score of the
discipline on the day for owner breeder
Ryan Harrison out of mare Billy Spirit.
A very symmetrical, balanced and light
foal, the evaluators commented on her
rectangular body shape, good head/
neck connection and powerful croup. Her
rhythmical energetic walk were mirrored
by her balanced canter for a very high
Gold premium.
GWS PARTY KNIGHT
(The After Party x Mullentine
Cavalier)
This bay colt took home the
highest scoring yearling accolade
with a Gold premium for owner
breeder Gemma Greenway. With
Primitive Proposal and Cavalier
Royale in the pedigree, this colt
has the pedigree for a future eventer.
Improving on his foal score from
Catherston last year, this colt secured
high marks for frame and canter, which
was balanced with a free shoulder and
good impulsion, not often seen to this
good extent in a yearling. ●
GWS PARTY KNIGHT
PHOTO CREDITS: TANJA DAVIS
British Breeder | 23
Futurity | Easton College
EASTON
COLLEGE
We were delighted to return to Easton
College this year, after we had some
fantastic Futurity entries there last year,
and we were certainly not disappointed!
The vet team was led by Diana Verhulst
supported by Liz Bulbrook
from Baileys and our
linear scorer team of
Esther Manders from the
Netherlands and Anna
Jerbo. The indoor team was
led by Katy Holder-Vale and
Robbert Ehrens.
The highest score of the
day went to a foal bred by
Futurity fi rst timer Rhyleigh
Kendle. Lancaster Bomber achieved
an outstanding Elite score of 9.2 and is
by Echo van het Neerenbosch out of
Lancaster Angelique Infi nity. Rhyleigh tells
us more:
“Being our fi rst homebred, all of the team
were very helpful at the event, pointing
us in the right direction and the day ran
smoothly. The mare I have had since
a 3yo. She was a very exciting young
horse but unfortunately suffered a fi eld
injury so we put her in foal. Being a
hot headed mare we wanted to use a
stallion that would compliment that, so we
chose ‘Echo van het Neerenbosch’ who
is owned by the Saywell family. We are
very excited to watch ‘Benny’ grow and
produce him with hope he’s going to be a
horse you hear a lot of in the future!”
Hot on Rhyleigh’s heels was another
lovely foal, this one bred for dressage by
Zoe Kirkpatrick at the Heartbreaker Stud.
Hearthbreaker
Florida
received a
lovely Elite
score of 9.05.
We caught
up with the
breeder:
Hearthbreaker Florida
Heritage Primrose
“We had a great day and took full
advantage of a British Futurity being held
at a venue 5 minutes up the road from us.
Florida is by our own stallion Lestingdale
VS (Glamourdale x Sorento) out of Belle
Amie (Florencio x Krack C). Florida is coowned
with international young rider Ruby
Hughes so she has a very exciting future
ahead of her.”
The highest scoring yearling across all
disciplines was Heritage Achilles, bred
and produced at the Heritage Coast Stud
TOP
SCORER
Lancaster Bomber
who had a day of great
results at Easton, having
also presented Heritage
Primrose (high scoring
pony on the day) and
Jubilee Mail, owned by
Mrs Cilla Wood, who was
the high scoring 2yo eventer
and handled
by the young
Jubilee Mail
breeder Ada
Marson. We
spoke to her
mother Janey:
“Heritage
Achilles is by
the Double
Highest
scoring
Eventer futurity graduate Heritage
Arrakis who went showjumping and is
now standing at stud, out of a mare who
evented with multiple riders at Novice
level until retiring to stud. Sadly her
passport had been lost, but she was an
excellent competition mare with strong
conformation, so were keen to try the
cross. The mare has a heavier structure
but is a powerful jumper. We used
Heritage Arrakis to add refi nement.
He has done exactly that and we are
thrilled with Heritage Achilles aka Archie.
He will continue to be produced on the
stud for eventing.”
The top scoring 2yo was another lovely
success for Tammy Ruffles with the
dressage bred TDR Divine Love by
Donier out of a Sir Calypso mare who
also produced a very high scoring fi lly
by Ferdeaux who was presented at the
same venue last year.
The top scoring pony foal was Janice
Sexton’s Silverfi eld Dance Monkey by
Honeyput Spunk Monkey. This lovely
pony was Janice’s fi rst entry at the
Futurity, which is a lovely achievement:
“Silverfi eld Dance Monkey aka Dennis
was bred by myself and Alicia Sexton.
He is out of our Oldenburg mare Lady
Nels by Don Primero and by our own
Welsh part bred
sports pony
stallion Honeypot
Spunky Monkey
who has progeny
successfully
competing in
all disciplines.
We had a nice afternoon at Easton,
everything ran smoothly with
no delays. Dennis is a confi dent
foal and a bit of a show off! As
commented by the judges. Our
intention is to keep him and
produce for the young dressage
pony competitions.”
The highest
scoring
3yo at Easton was
another offspring
of local legend
Lestingdale in
Rivonnedale
Homely who
was bred by
Martin Higgins. ●
Heritage Achilles
Dance Monkey
Rivonnedale Homely
PHOTO CREDITS: TANJA DAVIS
24 | British Breeder
Divine Love
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FERNANDO H
A pedigree full of impressive jumping stallions
Nando is a yard favourite, and is a complete gentleman. He has a very
trainable attitude, with three correct, loose uphill paces and has a positive
attitude to his work. With huge amounts of talent and ability he is showing
to be a very special horse for the future. He is currently competing
successfully at Foxhunter level.
With his bravery over solid fences and paces he could also be used on
eventing mares along with jumping mares. His first foals are due in 2025.
07539 790341 • laurenbetteridge3@gmail.com
Height: 165cm
Year of birth: 2019
Colour: Bay
Studbook: AES
Stud Fee: £500
Stud Terms: up to two
attempts with one mare
Semen available: frozen
Hickstead White
CSF Lady Anya
Hickstead
Queentina
Flipper D’elle
CSF Tripple C
Hamlet
Jomara
Coupe De Coeur
St. Pr. St. Quadriga
Double Espoir
Pavlova Des Malais
Cruising
Cavalier Krystle
British Breeder | 25
TOP
SCORER
venue and it was a good choice to stay
overnight after a 5 hour travel so that
mum and foal were well rested for the
next day.
Lianne Verity, breeder of Total Fidelity’s
dam, gave us a masterclass in how to
show them off beautifully. Everyone at
the Futurity was so warm and helpful
that we were soon put at ease and really
enjoyed the day. We were absolutely
bowled over by the amazing Elite
score of 9.325.
TOTAL FIDELITY
HOTHORPE
Hothorpe is a great facility and offers a
perfect set up for Futurity evaluations.
Its central location has made it very
popular with our breeders. Our veterinary
evaluator was Federica Cantatore
working alongside Liz Bulbrook and Lucy
Baskeyfi eld from Baileys Horse Feeds.
Our linear scorers were Anna Jerbo and
Esther Manders from the Netherlands. The
indoor evaluators were Katy Holder-Vale
and Robbert Ehrens. The popularity of the
venue means that year after year we see
a great range of exceptional quality entries
here, and this year was no exception.
The overall top scorer on the day was Total
Fidelity by the legendary Futurity producer
Timolin out of a mare by the British bred
stallion Myspires Fider Hit. This wonderful
eventing foal achieved an astonishing
Futurity Elite score of 9.325. We spoke to
her breeder, Stephanie Clancy:
Receiving this endorsement has
confi rmed our decision to put Dede
back in foal to Timolin this year. We
have absolutely loved the whole
experience of breeding this year and
seeing them happily grazing in
the fi eld fi lls me with joy. It is
a lot of work and not to be
undertaken lightly but
I wouldn’t have missed
the experience
for anything.
Can I say a huge
thank you for the
support from all of
your team. We
look forward to taking
part in Futurity again
next year with Dede’s next
foal all being well.”
Hothorpe was a great day for foals,
and the second highest scoring entry
of the day was the lovely dressage fi lly
Woodcroft Karissimo with an Elite score
of 9.275. Karissimo’s owners Ginny
Cook and Bernadette O’Sullivan from
Woodcroft Stud had embarked on a
joint venture to breed from their mare
Woodcroft Bali:
WOODCROFT KARISSIMO
MYSPIRES MULTI
We enjoyed Hothorpe very much with
everyone so welcoming and creating
a calm atmosphere. And it was also
very convenient for us to grade
the mare with AES at the
same time. The Hothorpe
experience has spurred
us on to purchase two
fi llies by Extreme US
and Dynamic Dream
both out of Secret
Dams, who each
have colts accepted
for the Westfalian and
Oldenburg licensing
this year. We plan to
be at the Young Horse
championships in 4
years time.”
The highest scoring jumping foal was
another Elite, this time for AES Young
Breeder Amelia Hope Waterhouse who
was the highest scoring British senior at
this year’s International Young Breeders
World Championships. Hope House
Mimosa is by Utamaro d’Ecaussines Z
and achieved a great Elite score of 9.05.
Amelia tells us more about her:
PHOTO CREDITS: TANJA DAVIS
“Having originally bought my mare Dede
as a potential dressage horse for my
daughter and I to produce, our plans had
to be put on hold whilst I had two hip
replacement operations. From day one
Total Fidelity stood out as a bit special.
We were very nervous about going to
our fi rst Futurity. Hothorpe is an amazing
“We chose Kjento for his compatibility
with Bali’s breeding (she is by Belissimo
M) as well as to produce a commercial
horse. Bali has successfully produced a
colt foal Bentley Bon Coeur now ridden
by Lilly Payne. Kjento was 6YO World
Champion Dressage in 2021 ridden by
Lottie Fry.
“I’m thrilled with the result this gorgeous
fi lly achieved at Hothorpe. She was only
6 weeks old at the time so it was a big
ask but she took it all in her stride. Hope
House Mimosa is out of our lovely KWPN
mare Mjirina M, who was also awarded
Elite at this year’s AES mare gradings with
a 9.37 overall.
SILVERSON RUBINESQUE TEALEQUEST DETERMINATOR CRIMSON CLOVER
Hothorpe | Futurity
BANDANYAS
SHERBET WENDY
Of course it is every breeder’s dream to
have such a correct broodmare to start
with but I was still very careful when
selecting the stallion. I selected Utamaro
D’Ecaussines Z for his strong top line and
incredible athleticism, he is very quick off
the ground and light on his feet without
compromising on power. He’s has proven
to be a great choice and
I will be defi nitely
looking to use him with
this mare again.”
The top scoring pony
foal was bred by
Futurity success story
Lianne Verity. Myspires
Sirius Defi nition is by
Syriac out of Lianne’s
own bred Myspires
High Defi nition who
was herself a Futurity
Graduat, gaining a Gold Premium at
Catherston Stud. Myspires Sirius Defi nition
achieved an excellent score of 8.95.
Lianne recorded further successes on
the day with Myspires Totillahs Vita,
an Elite scoring fi lly by British based
stallion Totillah by whom she had also
bred the highest scoring foal of the
2023 Futurity series.
The hightest scoring dressage 3yo
was Sherbet Quinn the Mighty bred
by Sasha Whitaker by Quantensprung
out of Moulin Rouge. Moulin Rouge
was originally bred and owned by
Woodlander Stud and produced the
stallion Summertime Blues. From the
same mare Sasha also presented
Sherbet Wendy who was highest scoring
dressage 2yo on the day.
The top scoring
Yearling was
Crimson Clover bred
by Sophie Sperling
by Baron out of
Lucky Charm. They
achieved an excellent
result for a yearling
with a convincing
Gold of 8.7.
SHERBET QUINN
The highest scoring dressage yearling
was Silversons Rubinesque bred by
Clair Lilliman by her own PRE stallion
Maryss Vaquero out of Rubinesque. We
are seeing some lovely crosses from
PRE horses with warmblood mares. The
breed has much to offer to dressage
riders looking for good movement and
temperament, and it has been a pleasure
to welcome so many great PRE horses to
the Futurity.
The highest scoring eventing 2yo was bred
by Georgie Grace. Kerfuffle is by Futurity
stalwart Future Gravitas out of Hullabaloo.
The top eventing yearling was Gen Tull
King by Hydrogen XX out of Tullygay. He
was bred by Monica Russell. ●
She furthermore presented the
highest scoring eventing 3yo in
Myspires Multi Star, by British based
stallion Multicouture.
The top 3yo of the day across all
disciplines was Tealequest Determinator,
bred for Showjumping by Sharon Teale.
He is by D’Aganix 2000 Z out of her own
bred Tealequest Black Diamond. His very
high Gold score of 8.88 and excellent
presentation also meant that the AES
evaluators were able to award him
licensed stallion status on the day.
Clockwise from
top left: FUTURE
TBC(ELITE).
MYSPIRES
TOTILLAHS VITA.
MYSPIRES SIRIUS
DEFINITION.
TEALEQUEST
COURAGE. FUTURE
TBC(GOLD).
GEN TULL KING.
KERFUFFLE.
Sharon achieved further lovely success
with another colt from the same mare with
Tealequest Courage, a son of Colorit, who
was the top scoring 2yo at Hothorpe.
British Breeder | 27
Futurity | Northallerton
NORTHALLERTON
Our last physical venue of the 2024
British Breeding Baileys Horse Feeds
Futurity Season was Northallerton
EC, which proved itself popular again
with a great range of very high quality
entries. The veterinary evaluator was
Euan Laidlaw supported by Liz Bulbrook
from Baileys Horse Feeds. The linear
scorer was Sasha Whitaker and the
indoor evaluators were Lesley Smith and
Debbie Edmundson.
BELSTRUTHER ALMENTO
COMFORTING FANFARE
The highest scoring entry was Hope
House Dark and Stormy, bred by
senior AES Young Breeder Amelia
Hope Waterhouse:
“At Hope House Stud I put a lot of
emphasis on striving for near perfect
conformation and correct movement,
producing well rounded equine athletes
with everything needed for top sport.
I really believe linear scoring and the
awareness of the conformational and
genetic traits being combined from the
chosen stallion and dam is vital to
the future of British Breeding from a
quality standpoint.
It is important to breed horses with
correct conformation and movement to
give them the best chance at having long
and healthy careers. Additionally, from
a riders point of view, how refreshing
to be sat on horses where you aren’t
constantly working against weaknesses
in their conformation for that extra
mark in dressage or better balance
when jumping!
Hope House Dark and Stormy is an
incredible example of this. I’m very lucky
to have competed his dam, Milton Mojito.
She showed huge amounts of talent
as a young horse and was a serious
athlete with natural elasticity and power
combined with beautiful movement.
She consistently produces stunning foals
with equally lovely temperaments. She
is a real asset to the Hope House
breeding program.
I also place a big emphasis on good
handling and ground work from the start
which I think helps them really
show their true potential at
the gradings. He has a
super confi dent and
trainable character
which I think will
really work in
his favour as he
gets older.”
and I give them plenty of time to grow
before they are brought into work. I then
love seeing them develop under the
tutorship of Sam Jimmison at SJ
Elite Equine.
Lilling Hall Early Bird is out of my home
bred mare Dawn Chorus. She is a
rather long leggy mare from Belissimo x
Destano lines and although she was bred
for Dressage and has indeed gained
many points in the Dresssge arena she
simply loves eventing. As a fi rst Mum she
has been amazing. We chose the stallion
Erdinger to add a more compact element
to the line.
To be honest I can’t say that I was looking
forward to the Futurity event as I am a bit
protective of my youngsters… but… hey
ho we were entered and going!
Both mare and foal were
plaited up by Ava in the
fi eld! Lianne, who has
attended dozens of
Futurity events and
whom I had never met
before also arrived
offering help and
Another highlight
moral support… what it
of the day was a
is to have friends both
fantastic result for
old and new.
Futurity newcomers
CORNHILL MELCHIOR
Olwyn Coope and Ava
The venue was lovely, it
Fowler, another AES Young
felt calm and quiet, just perfect
Breeder. Their dressage fi lly Lilling
for a foal’s fi rst outing. The feedback
Hall Early Bird gained a fabulous Elite from the vet was very positive and
of 9.25. Olwyn
describes her
experience:
HOPE HOUSE DARK AND STORMY
TOP
SCORER
“I am perfectly
happy at home
near York
breeding my
Hanoverian
mares trying
to improve
my stock Year
on year. I like
them to enjoy
their youth
LILLING HALL EARELY BIRD
28 | British Breeder
HOPE HOUSE MIMOSA
FIREFLY
HOPE HOUSE MIMOSA
constructive as well as informative for
future guidance as the foal developed.
The welcome from the judges was warm,
relaxing and reassuring. How lovely they
all were with their welcoming smiles and
encouraging congratulations.
Never having been to a Futurity I truly
had no idea on scoring and I was
completely blown away to learn not only
was she awarded Elite foal status but was
also the highest marked Dressage foal at
the event… well done Dawn Chorus for
producing such a star.
I learned so much from Futurity feedback.
I now feel far more confi dent in the
selection of stallions to put on my mares.
I want to improve my breeding year on
year and certainly feel the knowledge I
gained will help me achieve this. Sincere
thanks must go to everyone concerned
in producing such a lovely event, it is
credit to each and every one.
A fi nal word …..if you are looking on from
the side lines wondering whether or
not you should enter your youngsters…
please do... try it… dip your toe in the
water and I am sure you will fi nd that you
not only increase your knowledge on
assessment and breeding but will also
thoroughly enjoy the experience.”
In third place on the day came Team
Hayler’s wonderful dressage foal Firefl y
by Faustinus who achieved another
excellent Elite of 9.2.
The top scoring
eventing foal on the
day was bred Julia
Hodkin of Future
Sport Horses, one
of the Futurity’s
most successful
and experienced
breeders. Future
Illicit Pleasure is by
Future Guilty Pleasure
who has already produced
some of the best eventing
HOPE HOUSE MIMOSA
highest scoring 3yo
of the day in her
showjumping stallion
Myspires Emilgo Pro.
He is by Comilfo Plus Z
out of Equina B, a mare
by Cum Laude Z and had
gained a futurity Elite as
a foal. He is the full brother to
foals of recent years. They gained an
excellent Elite score of 9.175.
Emilgo Duo whom we met at Hothorpe
this year.
The top scoring 4yo on the day was
the showjumping stallion Zaphire who
also passed his AES Stallion Grading
assessment. We had already met this
lovely son of the British based stallion Zip
Phin the year before when he impressed
in his loose jumping assessment. This
year he was presented under saddle
and showed his lovely temperament and
work ethic. He gained a very high Gold
score of 8.78.
Beltsruther Equestrian presented the
highest scoring Showjumping foal in
Belstruther Armento, a son of the great
British stallion Argento out of a Harley
VDL mare. They were also Futurity
newcomers, achieving a lovely Gold
score of 8.48.
Highly experienced and successful
Futurity breeder Lianne Verity had the
The top 2yo entry was Comforting
Fanfaere, bred for eventing by Victoria
Goodard. She is by Caunton Manor
Stud’s stallion Comfort out of Mistic
Fanfaere by Primitive Faerie Tale.
The top dressage 2yo was bred by Team
Hayler. HJH Famous is another offspring
of Faustinus, quite different in type from
the foal they presented. F J Walera is a
heavier more oldfashioned mare who
brought a lot of bone and strength,
making this youngster a great prospect
for an ambitious amateur rider.
Futurity stalwart Cornhill Stud presented
the top scoring Yearlings in Cornhill
Melchior by their own stallion Gambler
out of Iverdensie by Davino, presented
for dressage, and Cornhill Batlhazar out
of Rano Pano XX by Proud Citizen XX
who was presented for eventing. ●
PHOTO CREDITS: TANJA DAVIS
CORNHILL BALTHAZAR
FUTURE ILLICIT
British Breeder | 29
Futurity | Northcote
NORTHCOTE
Northcote Stud has become a popular
Futurity destination, being a well known
and well supported venue in the area.
The team consisted of the Sarah Mosley
and Baileys Nutritionist Lorna Edgar. The
linear scorer was Sasha Whitaker and the
indoor evaluators were Lesley Smith and
Debbie Edmundson.
and a great score of 9.275. It was
great to get some advice to utilise
moving forward with our breeding
plans. We will defi nitely take any
future foals.”
AREDIS
UNIQUE
It is always a pleasure to see Futurity fi rst
timers do so well!
The top entry of the day was Boyces
Aurora, bred by Futurity Newcomer
Jessica Turner who tells us more:
“We are hobby breeders and this is the
fi rst season we have had the Stalypso
mare. We chose the stallion Duplexx
(Diarado x Heraldik) for his fabulous
versatility, elegance and blood, in hope
that we would produce a horse with
potential in a variety of disciplines. We
were absolutely delighted with our foal.
Northcote is only ten minutes up the road
from us, so we thought it would be a great
opportunity to get some feedback and
hopefully validate our thoughts. We were
not disappointed. The futurity
was really well run and a
safe, relaxed environment.
We got excellent feedback
CLANMILL
PEN-BLYWDD
HAPUS
TOP
SCORER
BOYCES AURORA
Being a very popular showjumping venue
with a strong record in young horse
competitions, it is of little surprise that
many of the top scoring participants of the
day were showjumpers.
The top scoring pony foal of the day,
HSS Tell Me Straight, was also bred
with jumping in mind and is by
one of the most successful
Futurity progenitors,
Rotherwood Signature.
He gained a very
good Elite score
of 9.15. Breeder
Sharon Whiteway
is pleased with
the result:
“Ronnie is the latest
of our foals by a 128
pony stallion in out of
a grade A showjumping
horse Cocos Moon River.
We are trying to bring horse
blood lines, in this case Kannan/Darco,
to pony showjumping.
After trying to fi nd ponies for clients we
discovered a lack of ponies being bred
in the UK specifi cally for show jumping.
Hopefully Ronnie will make 148 in height
and should be a good age for my
granddaughter when he is old enough
to be ridden. Meanwhile he has been
shown successfully by End House Stud as
a part bred Welsh.”
It was a highly successful day for Sharon
who also had the highest scoring horse
jumping foal in HSS Escobar by Narcos II
out of Diralda P by Clinton who gained a
very high Gold of 8.95. This mare also had
an Elite foal at last year’s Futurity.
Rotherwood Signature had another Elite
offspring on the day in Imperial High
Velocity, bred by Adam Birch.
HSS ESCOBAR
HSS TELL ME STRAIGHT
always impressed with her athleticism
as she grew up. Her sister out of the
same dam, Hayavanta, was also the top
performing show jumping 3 yr old at last
year’s Futurity.
Rachelle TS is still a little
immature as a 3 yr old so
will be left to mature
and probably only
started under saddle
late next year to
be produced as
a 5yr old. Her
sister will start her
jumping career
early next year
under Ben Raistrick
at Northcote Stud, who
also prepared Rachelle
for the gradings. We had
planned to bring another fi lly
out the same dam by Highway TN to
Northcote, however, we lost a mare the
day before, so had to withdraw her. She
will now be presented as a 3 yr old.”
We are very sad to hear about Walter’s
loss, and wish him all the best. We look
forward to meeting another great 3yo
from this mare at next year’s Futurity.
The highest scoring 2yo with a gold
premium score was Kings Ransom by
LePrince Des Bois. He is bred by Ruth
Williams and owned by Olivia Whitlam. His
JAMESFIELD
DREAM QUARZ
PHOTO CREDITS: TANJA DAVIS
The highest scoring 3yo on the day
was Rachelle TS with an excellent 8.95.
She was bred by experienced Futurity
Breeder Walter Scott who tells us:
“It was no surprise that Rachelle TS
achieved such a high grade as I was
mother is by Croft Another Love. It was
the fi rst Futurity entry for this breeder, and
what a great start!
Kings Ransom ended up on equal scores
with Jamesfi eld Dream Quartz who
became the top scoring Yearling. He was
bred by Felicity Aldridge Newman and is
owned by Julie Coupland who tells us
“Jamesfi eld Dream Quartz is by Dream
On out of Elita by Quaterback, a very
good proven dressage lineage. His
temperament is fantastic, I’m hoping to
IMPERIAL HIGH VELOCITY
keep him entire and get him graded with
the AES.
KINGS RANSOM
Gingerbread Man by Magic Morris, bred
and owned by LM Bradley. ●
WAITHSIDE
GINGERBREAD MAN
The Futurity gives breeders and owners
the opportunity to receive feedback from
the panel relative to the chosen discipline
the horse is likely to be competitive in, in
the future, representing British Breeding.”
The highest scoring pony 3yo was
Clanmill Pen-blwydd Hapus, a mare
by Paddock Romance bred by Sarah
Hunter-Rodwell. Her owner is Adele
White. The top 4yo was Steve Pullan’s
Aredis Unique ET by Untouchable and the
leading Jumping Yearling was Waithside
RACHELLE TS
REASEHEATH
TOP
SCORER
Debbie Edmundson with Sasha
Whitaker. The team were very
impressed with the quality of
entries, and it was lovely to see a
nice variety of bloodlines.
The highest scoring entry on
the day and recipient of a
Futurity Elite score of 9 was
the eventing foal Radley Wood
Zendaya. This lovely athletic
fi lly foal showed big, balanced
movement and a great lookat-me
attitude. She is by the
legendary stallion Zirocco Blue
VDL out of a mare by Tyson.
The breeder is Alison Walsh:
potential as well as conformation
and condition.
Seeing the level and quality of
youngsters being bred in the UK, we
were absolutely thrilled to be awarded
Elite, and the Top Scoring Futurity Entry at
the show.
Our fi rst criteria is always temperament
and Radley Wood Zendaya has this in
spades. She is our second foal by our
super event bred mare by Olympic SJ
Tyson. We liked the foals that Zirocco
Blue was producing, he is a prolifi c
producer of top quality SJ, incredibly
athletic and with a great brain.
We commenced our Northern Leg of the
British Breeding Baileys Horse Feeds
Futurity at Reaseheath College outside
Nantwich. This is a great venue for a
Futurity because it is both spacious and
quiet with a light and airy indoor school and
plenty of room outside for parking and vet
assessments. Our evaluators were Hannah
Briggs for the vet assessment, supported
by Lorna Edgar from Baileys Horse Feeds
and Tia Lewis who noted the linear scores.
In the indoor we had Lesley Smith and
“We think it’s really important
to support British Breeding
and have invested a lot over
the past few years
in the best mare
RADLEYWOOD ZENDAYA
lines to combine
with top quality
stallions. We selectively
breed a couple of foals
each year and this was the
second Futurity we have
entered.
It’s such a brilliant opportunity
and gives the foals (and
mares) a good experience
and to get an independent
evaluation of our youngsters,
considering their future
OLISTARS LOUELLA
Our next goal is to breed an elite Dressage
foal and have some really exciting
British Breeder | 31
Futurity | Reaseheath
ROYDMOOR
planned foals and youngstock that we’ll be
presenting next year at the Futurity.”
It was a great day for fi llies, with the top
scoring pony foal accolade going to
Maestegeirian Mousti’s Girl with a great
result of 8.9. She is by Westpoint Quick
Blast out of the Futurity stalwart Mousti
van Overis Z who has been a highly
reliable producer of athletic, talented
performance ponies. We caught up with
her breeder, Kiera Billington:
“Maestegeirian Mousti’s Girl is a special fi lly.
She comes from our special mare Mousti
Van Overis Z who is by Machno Carwyn
and from an exceptional damline. She has
also produced the exciting 148cm stallion
Pitchwood’s Ceasers Palace. This is her
fi rst fi lly, and we are over the moon with
her. She is everything and more we could
have hoped for and has been retained
here for a competitive future and hope to
be a broodmare later. It was a fabulous day
at Reaseheath, very informative. It is very
rewarding to get such fantastic marks and
comments from the vets and judges.”
Hot on their heels was another high
achieving girl in Olistars Louella by Luidam
who scored a great 8.8. She is a typical
Luidam daughter with powerful
hindquarters and built for strength and
athleticism. Her breeder Oliver Gibney
has produced excellent offspring from
Luidam in the past, including a top
selling AES Elite Auction foal in 2017.
Erica Dawson was the breeder of
the highest scoring dressage foal,
Escandalo GW by Escanto PS out
of a Lord Leopold mare, achieving
a lovely result of 8.55. This is all
the more impressive as this is
Erica’s fi rst time at the Futurity, and
what a great start it has been:
“Our first Futurity was a fantastic experience
and everyone was very welcoming. It’s a
great opportunity to have multiple
expert eyes on the young
stock and the feedback
is extremely insightful.
Needless to say, we
were thrilled to have
the highest scoring
dressage entry of
the day with
Escandalo GW!
His Dam is by Lord
Leopold and her
Damsire is the olympic
stallion Quando Quando.
She consistently produces
superb quality, tall foals with
fabulous temperament, conformation
and movement. All 4 of her foals have
graded gold, with the previous 3 graded
in Germany where they remain. Her 5th
foal by Furstenlook, due in May next year
is eagerly awaited! We’re so excited to
see what the future holds for Escandalo
GW - he was bred with top level sport in
mind and we can’t wait to see him mature
and progress up the levels.”
MAESTEGEIRIAN
MOUSTI’S GIRL
CARISTIO
Yearlings can be a diffi cult age, so a lot
of credit goes to Jade Williams who
brought us Roydmoor Royalty,
a lovely eventing fi lly by the
great Futurity producer
Future Gravitas. With
a convincing gold
score of 8.175 they
achieved a lovely
result.
The top scoring
3yo on the day was
Caristio, a daughter
of SFS Aristio and
presented by Dee
Taylor. She was still a
little green to jumping but
showed a lovely temperament
and willing attitude. We look forward to
seeing how she develops in future.
The highest scoring pony 3yo was
Ghabar Prince of Wales by Hulst Mando
and bred by Damien Harris. He was
presented by his owner Jennifer Evanns.
Like many Hulst Mando offspring
he is very attractive and he showed
exceptional jumping ability. ●
PHOTO CREDITS: TANJA DAVIS
ESCANDALO GW
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32 | British Breeder
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British Breeder | 33
Futurity | Virtual
Vitella
VIRTUAL
TOP
SCORER
FUTURITY 2024
Vitella
“Since I applied virtually, I missed the
in-person experience, but I thoroughly
enjoyed the afternoon spent bringing my
mare and foal in for the video session.
Unlike the on-site events, there was
an anticipatory wait for the remote
evaluation and the fi nal results—but it
was all worth it, as my fi lly, Vitella, was
awarded an Elite classifi cation, just
as I had hoped. I truly believe she’s a
remarkable fi lly.
Vitella’s dam, Fenella, has achieved
notable success, winning 17 BD dressage
classes, earning top placement as a
four-year-old in the 2021 Futurity, and
being named the top 6 to 9-year-old
mare at the BHHS National Show this
year. Fenella is by Flammengold, out
of a Buddenbrock mare. Flammengold
was the highest-scoring dressage sire
in the 2020 Futurity. I specifi cally chose
Vitalis as her sire for his renowned
temperament, wellstructured
limbs,
and fl uid movement,
believing he would be
an excellent match for
Fenella. I am thrilled
with the outcome of
this pairing in our Elite
fi lly, Vitella.”
Jesatran Firebolt
So his stable name
is Basil, named after
a friend who died
suddenly this year.
Fiona ‘Basil’ Broom.
Mother of Jesatran
Firebolt
He’s my second generation breeding. My
original plan was to breed what I couldn’t
afford to buy. I had a good solid mare
(his grand-dam) who gave me his dam.
He has good dressage lines including
Weltmeyer and Londonderry on his dam
side. His dam is by Wolkenderry and
was awarded Higher fi rst at Futurity as
a 3yo with an amazing jump but sadly
injury stopped her career before it really
began. She did just two events, both
double clear, fi nishing third in her second
event. I’ve attached a picture of her
(Kevin Sparrow photo) at Futurity in 2016.
Basil is her fi rst foal.
He’s by Future Gravitas who I chose as
he complemented the dam
very well.
The plan is to keep Basil and
produce him here. We’ll be low level
eventing with some BS and BD too
and hopefully he’ll continue where his
mothers career sadly was cut short.
Can’t wait to see how he matures. He’s a
real character with huge presence and I’m
just a little bit excited about him......
New Hatches Aberlouis
The virtual futurity gives the breeders
for non travelling mares a chance for
their foals to be seen and judged by a
professional body. The feedback is a
valuable tool for our breeding programme
as New Hatches Stud aims to breed
quality foals with good conformation.
Carefully selecting Stallions known for
their rideability, exceptional temperaments
and talent, the stud breeds quality
sport horses for both the amateur and
professional
owner/rider for
all disciplines.
The stud places
emphasis on
the importance
of researching
which stallion lines
complement the
broodmare lines to
produce trainable
horses with quality
movement and
conformation
Imogen Tm
Is a charming light footed tall fi lly, by Iron
out of our German bred Ehrendame by
Ehrenwort.
We spotted Iron as a three year old
in 2020 but waited to see how he
developed. We tried multiple times to get
Ehren in foal to Iron during 2021 but failed.
New Hatches Aberlouis
In 2022 we tried again with Iron and
failed which led us to believe it was not
to be, but were encouraged by
Twemlows to give it one last try which
resulted in a pregnancy.
We chose Iron as a refi ning stallion to
compliment our E Line mare and to give
a more uphill and elegant tendency, we
liked his breeding with Asgard Ibiza and
Desperado, his movement and rideability.
Iron looked to have a bright future in
dressage but was tragically lost at an
early age.
Imogen is the last fi lly out of Ehren who is
the mother of regional and national prize
winners, a German champion mare, a FEI
PSG dressage horse, grandmother of a
fi ve year old highly placed at the World
Young Dressage Horse Championship
and 3 British Virtual Futurity Gold
Premiums all by 3 different stallions.
As small breeders our aim is to breed
quality horses for the dressage discipline.
Maestegeirian Wildest Dreams
is a very exciting fi lly, being by the
legendary Grey Palace out of the
exceptional mare Shannonbay Extra, both
parents have extensive successful show
jumping careers. We are retaining Minnie
for hopefully a competitive future with
a young rider and a future broodmare.
We aim to breed sports ponies with a
competitive career in mind but most
importantly to have great temperaments
and ridability. We try and support futurity
Imogen TM
34 | British Breeder
in person and virtual
every year it is a great
opportunity to get insight
from professional outside
eyes on our youngstock
and our breeding.
Of course, we’re thrilled
with Incantation. She’s
extremely well connected
in terms of her lineage
for endurance. She’s also
very much a Vlacqling, as
we bred both parents,
Vlacq Hamra Tofi q
(Princeton Mariner x Vlacq
Calacirya) X Vlacq Golden
Trinket (Shah Shadow x
Huttons Ambo Chloe). Her dam has full
siblings that are Red Dragon winners and
FEI horses, among many more, all by our
late Premium sire Shah Shadow. He also
features on the sire side, through his dam,
twice, to truly nail down the qualities that
made his stock so consistent. It’s very
very old, tough, sane blood, including
Princeton Mariner, who has sired a golden
horseshoe conquerer and race ride
steeds. Incantation also captures the very
best of our chestnut pony mare line. Her
‘cousins’ topped GHS and RD this year
too. She knows her own mind, is hugely
pragmatic and independent. Her walk is
that if a big horse, she has a natural canter
and plenty of gears in each
pace. We’ve no doubt that she
will go far in the right hands
and she’s only gotten better
since evaluation.
Princess Athena SBM
“A lovely prospect for
endurance with smooth,
regular gaits, creating
effortless movement, a very
attractive young horse with
a very nice neck showing very
good potential”.
Maestegeirian Wildest
Dreams
We were very pleased to receive the
Futurity evaluators’ comment in awarding
Gold Premium to our homebred Princess
Athenah SBM. She is a 3 years old
purebred Arabian fi lly bred by us from
multi-champion parents. Her sire is
Pandorez O. Her dam is Princess Castra
SBM, the acclaimed 2023 ECAHO Gold
Senior Female Champion of GB. Her
grandparentage not only includes Lothar
el Nyhl ( Brazil) who has successful
offspring in the ridden world and is also
the sire of the top scoring 2020 Futurity
Endurance foal, Carlangelo SBM; it also
includes Matador (SU) and Drug (SU),
both winners of the Russian Derby among
other races, with Drug being crowned
both European Champion racehorse and
halter horse.
Incantation
Figranta
Princess Athenah SBM has
been shown only lightly,
achieving high placings in
class at the shows entered,
where judges have repeatedly
praised her conformation and
commented positively as to her
potential in the ridden sphere.
Our breeding policy has
been to show our youngsters
inhand until sufficiently mature
to be backed, so as to give
them exposure to different
environments.
Our aspirations for Princess
Athenah are that once backed
and brought into ridden work,
her achievements follow in the footsteps
of her grandparents in the ridden world.
What is most important for her and us, as
for all the horses which we have bred, is
that she is brought on at her own pace,
not rushed, and enjoys the life which
awaits her whether that be in endurance
or other ridden discipline.
Sarah and Peter Howard
SBM Arabians.12th November 2024.
We found the virtual futurity extremely
straightforward, having worked on studs
and attended numerous futuries and
auctions for several different studbooks
which I always enjoyed, but we found
doing it at home less stressful and easier
to fi t in. The online guides were
easy to follow and meant it
took us less than an hour
to get all the footage we
needed.
Figranta
Is the second we’ve
bred ourselves and we
are really pleased with
her. She is out of our super,
compact Governor mare and by
Furstenball. We still haven’t decided
whether to keep her or sell her. The plan
was always to sell her but she’s looking
so fantastic it is very tempting to keep her
for myself to eventually take over from my
small tour mare and advanced mare. She’s
also really cuddly and sweet which makes
the idea of selling her even harder! There’s
really not a nasty bone in her body and
defi nitely has her dad’s looks. Whether it’s
with me or someone else I’m very much
looking forward to
watching her grow
into the GP horse
I think she
could become.
Caledon
Caledon is a very
beautiful looking
horse like his
Caledon
dam Dusty who had a successful career in
eventing before carrying her stable mates
foal Calvados and then her own Caledon.
For confi rmation , strong genes,length of
leg and winning lines I chose Contendro I
as the stallion and now I have my fi rst gold
in the Virtual Futurity competition. Caledon
has lovely uphill movement that is very
suited to the dressage phase.
Without the Virtual Futurity category I
would not have been able to compete so
the these horses. For a small operation
at home with no full time staff I found it
impossible to train three early enough
to travel and present at a venue off site
which would have been overwhelming
after a quiet life at home on the farm.
While bringing them in from the fi eld for a
photo shoot and video does mean they
don’t always show that extra sparkle you
get at a show venue I am still pleased
with my results over the years and all the
feedback as a check and balance for
what we do. Thank you to British Breeding
for the opportunity as with no showing
experience I would not have considered
entering otherwise. “
Hermanus Z
Hermanus Z
2024 top 3 year old Showjumping and
previous silver premium awards in 2022
and 2023
He is also by top level eventer Carpa
du Buisson Z (Calvaro/ Lauriston) and
sire Hard Rock Z (Heartbreaker and
dam lines carts Blanche producing elite
showjumping offspring) Carpa du Buisson
Z is a terrifi c jumping horse and that
is matched very well with the dynamic
powerful Hard Rock Z. I’m very excited
about this youngsters prospects which he
demonstrated at 6 months old when he
decided to jump over his stable door! A
very masculine horse who can show great
presence when he is trying to impress
but the sweetest character. He could also
event I think but it is early days in
their training and he is just
beginning to be started.
Calvados
2024 4 year old Eventing
has been a Premium silver
yearling previously so I’m
thrilled to enter him for a
second time to come top
British Breeder | 35
Futurity | Virtual
of his category.
His dam is Carpa
du Buisson Z
(by former top
showjumping
lines Calvaro /
Caletto I and
dam Unique
de Buisson by
Lauriston ) She
had a successful
eventing career
up to Pau and
Badminton and
we used embryo
Calvados
transfer to my
other eventing
mare all done
entirely at home so the journey has
been a steep but thrilling learning curve
including many sleepless nights. His sire
is the lovely eventing stallion LePrince
des Bois who presents excellence
in modern warmblood breeding and
being the most successful offspring of
thoroughbred Yarlands Summer Song out
of Fleetwater Opposition and competed at
eight 5* events.
Kyon Finales Sire FS Numero Uno
Has successfully competed up to
Intermediarre I and won 2011 licencing
in Wickrath, NRW meeting in 2012 &
2013 and The Bundeschampionate in
2013 with a score of 9.50! He was also
champion in Berlin and federal premium
stallion. With Noir De Lux, FS Don’t
Worry, FS Dancing Diamond & FS Golden
Moonlight in his pedigree Finale is sure
to shine and his owner Mary Webb
hopes to stand Kyon Finale at Kyon
Stud alongside her youngstock livery
in the Cotswold borders of Oxfordshire
to continue the Donnerhall
of pony lines, which
Kyon Finale
gives type, elegance,
movement,
sportiness
and character
which every
breeder desires.
Kyon Finale is
bred by Mary’s
own SPSS
Head studbook
Gold Graded
mare Nijinkski Pretti
Posi who boasts GP
dressage, 1m60 SJs and
HOYS Champion Hacks in her pedigree
breeding for champions and versatility.
Posi has the sweetest nature and is
a superb broodmare which Finale
Defi nitely acquired with his soft, kind,
interested and eager personality. Kyon
Finale’s siblings to include Gold Graded
3yr old half sister by Le Chiffre may be
available to purchase soon.
British Breeding Futurity virtual evaluations
were judged by Katie Holder-Vale and
Lucy Simpson who stated Kyon Finale is ‘a
very attractive pony showing good use of
the hind leg’. Mary believes Finale has a
lot more to give as he has improved each
year. On the day of fi lming Finale was
rather distracted and didn’t perform well
being tight as the fi llies were cantering
around in the fi eld next to him, being a 3yr
old he is just learning what females are
and he hasn’t had socialisation before, so
it was very much a dump him in the deep
end day but he was such a good boy.
Rent T
Scottish breeder Tracey-Louise Muir was
delighted to hear that Rjento T had topped
the score sheet in the 3yo section of the
British Breeders Virtual Futurity 2024.
Rjento T
Rjento T is by the FEI World 6-year-old
dressage horse Champion Kjento out of
the KWPN ster mare Hrenda (v.Apache).
Rjento T is the maternal half brother to
the Elite Premium mare Orenda T (v.De
Niro Gold) who was the Overall top
scorer in the British Breeders Virtual
evaluations in 2022.
All fi ve of Hrenda’s offspring have
been awarded British Breeders
Futurity Gold Premiums
or higher, including the
2024 colt foal Totastic T
(v.Glock’s Toto Jr) and
his full sibling yearling
sister Torenda T, as well
as the 2yo Glimmourdale
T (v.Glamourdale) Good
evening. Thank you again
for my results.
As a new breeder and this year
being my fi rst foals on the ground I
am over the moon with what we have
achieved.
Meikle Valley Center Stage {Arthur}
Has so far exceeded all expectations. Out
of our own Welsh D mare, Carrysbrook
Cora and by the late stallion Standing
Ovation, bred by Mandy Sanderson at
Longacres Stud, who also bred his Grand
PENMAWDDWY PRIMA DREAM GIRL
sire Samara Fly, direct descendent of the
prolifi c Sambertino.
As new breeders we wanted to achieve
a very high standard of conformation,
athleticism, length of stride and
quality. Somehow we have been lucky
enough to achieve this in Arthur.
With a bright future ahead of him we
can only hope he will fl y the fl ag for
sports pony breeding.
We have been thrilled with our
experience to be part of the British
Fertuity gradings of 2024 it has been
a super experience and invaluable
feedback. Thank you again. We will be
seeing you in the future!
Penmawddwy prima dream girl
Known every day to us as April is a
2 year old warmblood fi lly, her sire is
multiculture and Dam is Dragoon.
April has been successful this year doing
inhand showing classes and I can’t wait
until next year when she can be backed.
I hope to compete in all disciplines with
April but Dressage will be my main thing
with her.
I’m very excited about our future
together, we had some really helpful and
lovely comments from the evaluator’s. ●
Meikle Valley Center Stage
36 | British Breeder
December Issue
PROPHECY B
RAMIRO B x BERTONI
INTERNATIONAL SHOWJUMPER BY RAMIRO B
Disciplines: Eventing, Show Jumping
Breed: Warmblood
Stud Book: Sports Horse GB
Height: 164cm
Colour: Bay
Health Status: WFFS Negative
Year of Birth: 2013
Stud Terms: LFG
Stud Fee: £600 + VAT
Owner/Agent: Suzanne Waller
Email: axholmestud@gmail.com
RAMIRO B
HALF MOON BOHEMIA
CALVANI
LILLY
BERTONI
DONATA
CARETINO
WENDY III
WENDEKREIS
BLANKA
BRENTANO II
LARISSA
DONNERHALL
WENJA
TO ADVERTISE HERE
Please contact Fellows Media
Chris Walker:
chris.walker@fellowsmedia.com
01242 259247
British Breeder | 37
Feature | Feeding
STALLION NUTRITION
Getting the basics right
Dr. Stephanie Wood, (Ph.D., PgDip., BSc (Hons), RNutr (Animal),
R. Anim. Tech) Head of Nutrition, Dodson & Horrell.
Above: Pasture is a valuable source of
nutrients in the stallion’s diet and provides
time and space for them to relax.
The ever-increasing amount of
information readily available
to us, combined with the
many feed and supplement
options on the market, can leave
us baffled about what we should
be feeding our horses. This is
no different for breeding stock
where supplementing specific
nutrients is often recommended.
Supplementation can provide
additional nutritional support, but it
should not compensate for a poor
core diet.
Non-breeding stallions do not differ
nutritionally from other adult horses
and should be fed according to
their workload, body fat levels, and
health requirements. The same
factors must be considered for
breeding stallions, although the
workload of a breeding stallion will
affect energy requirements and
certain nutrients have been shown
to support spermatogenesis and
sperm quality.
Energy for health and
performance
The amount of digestible energy
(DE) a stallion needs to consume
per day is influenced by their
activity level, which is the sum of
both breeding and non-breeding
activities. Stallions performing
more coverings have higher
energy requirements, although
how much energy is used per
covering has received limited
...Excess and inadequate
energy can impact negatively
on breeding performance.
research attention. A general
recommendation for stallions
covering frequently is to feed
20%-40% more energy above
maintenance requirements,
equivalent to them performing
light to medium work (NRC,
2007; Lawrence, 2013). Such
recommendations provide a
starting point to estimate daily
energy requirement, however like
for all horses, regular assessment
of fat stores and overall condition
are the best indicator of whether
a diet containing more or less
energy is needed.
Extreme high and low-fat stores
are associated with an increased
risk of infertility in men (Santi et
al., 2024), and although research
to support this theory in stallions
is lacking, the risks are assumed
to be similar. At the very least,
being overweight increases strain
on the stallion’s musculoskeletal
system during covering which
can reduce their willingness to
perform, particularly if they are
experiencing discomfort. Being
underweight may also reduce
breeding performance due to a
lack of energy.
The DE content of a feed can be
determined from the declaration
on the packaging, whilst the DE
content of forages and grass can
be estimated through laboratory
analysis. Feeds containing cereal
grains and oils are generally
higher in energy than forages,
although they are a smaller
portion of the stallion’s diet. For
stallions who maintain their body
weight easily, feeding a stud
balancer will provide the nutrients
they require without providing
additional energy. For stallions
with a tendency to lose weight, or
38 | British Breeder
Feeding | Feature
who perform exercise alongside
breeding duties, energy-dense
feeds with a higher DE per kilo are
ideal, with this energy coming from
a combination of cereal grains,
fibres, and oils.
Assess your stallion’s fat stores
regularly to identify if a lower or
higher energy diet is required,
as excess and inadequate
energy can impact negatively on
breeding performance.
Importance of fibre
Fibre has multiple roles in keeping
stallions healthy and should
form the basis of their diet. Due
to its complex structure, fibre
requires more chews per kilogram
compared to cereal grains to
reduce particle size before
swallowing (Harris, 1999). As
horses only produce saliva when
they chew, eating fibre leads to
greater saliva production which
has an acid neutralising action and
therefore helps to reduce the risk
of ulcer development in the upper
part of the stallion’s stomach
(known as Equine Squamous
Gastric Disease – ESGD). The
increased chewing requirement
for fibre means it takes longer
to eat and has a slower intake
rate than concentrate feeds
(Harris, 1999), reducing time spent
without access to food which can
contribute to the development of
stereotypic behaviours.
The structure of fibre is too
complex for digestive enzymes
in the horse’s small intestine
to breakdown, so fibre passes
through to the hindgut where
it is fermented by microbes.
These microbes thrive in a stable
environment which is achieved
from a regular, steady intake
of an appropriate food source,
namely fibre. When the supply
of their food source is altered,
either due to reduced fibre
intake or excessive intake of
soluble carbohydrates, the fibre
fermenting microbes cannot
function normally, allowing less
beneficial microbes to dominate.
You may have heard such a
scenario referred to as hindgut
disturbance or hindgut dysbiosis,
the signs of which range from
loose droppings or diarrhoea to
colic. The best way to avoid such
issues is to feed plenty of fibre
and a combination of different
fibre sources.
Feeding chopped fibres,
commonly referred to as chaffs,
is an excellent way of enriching
fibre in the diet alongside grass,
hay and haylage. Lower energy
chaffs are ideal for stallions prone
to weight gain, whilst oil-coated
chaffs provide additional energy.
Alfalfa-based chaffs go that bit
further, providing quality protein
as well as fibre. What may not be
obvious is that concentrate feeds
also include multiple fibre sources.
Sugar beet and grass meal are just
two fibre sources commonly used
in feeds that promote intake and
support digestive health.
Feed multiple fibre sources to
promote healthy digestion and
hindgut stability. Grass, forages,
chaffs and concentrate feeds all
contribute to a fibre rich diet that
will help your stallion thrive.
A general recommendation
for stallions covering
frequently is to feed 20%-
40% more energy above
maintenance requirements.
Protein and amino acids
Despite the importance of fibre
for digestive and overall health,
a high-fibre diet is unlikely to
meet the protein requirements
of breeding stallions due to
the increased muscle activity
associated with covering. Amino
acids supplied in the crude protein
(CP) portion of the diet are used
to repair and develop muscle
tissue, therefore stallions with
higher covering loads will have
greater amino acid requirements.
Amino acids also form sperm
cell membranes, enzymes within
the semen, and hormones,
plus many other non-breeding
related functions in the body,
therefore the diet must meet
protein requirements and supply
essential amino acids to allow the
synthesis of body tissues, cells,
and molecules.
The protein requirements
of breeding stallions are
predominantly influenced by
their exercise level, which
for those covering frequently
equates to just above medium
work. Feeding protein sources
high in essential amino acids
Below:
AMaintaining
stallions at a
healthy weight
makes coverings
or collections more
comfortable and
supports fertility
(amino acids the stallion cannot
produce itself) optimises cell and
tissue development, however,
utilisation of amino acids for
protein synthesis requires an
adequate supply of energy as
such processes are metabolically
demanding. Ensuring stallions
consume enough energy to use
the protein is therefore important.
The ideal ratio of protein to energy
in the diet of breeding stallions
is higher than ratios for exercise,
suggesting a raised protein
requirement specific to breeding
(protein to energy ratio for
breeding stallions 9:1 compared to
8:1 for medium exercise). Diets low
in energy and protein have been
shown to reduce libido and fertility
in other species, so are likely to
have a similar influence in stallions.
Higher protein requirements in
stallions may also be related to
muscle mass, as anecdotally
stallions are thought to develop
more muscle than geldings.
789g CP per day for a 500kg
stallion covering frequently
compared to 630g CP per
day for the same stallion at
maintenenance,
Research in other species has
indicated that feeding specific
amino acids may increase semen
quality and sperm concentration.
Wilson (2000) found that feeding
20g/day of lysine (an essential
amino acid) in conjunction with
a higher energy diet increased
sperm concentration per dose in
boars, compared to when fed a
diet lower in lysine (14g/day).
British Breeder | 39
Feature | Feeding
The effect of specifi c dietary
amino acid supplementation on
stallion fertility has received little
attention therefore it is diffi cult
to determine if feeding amino
acids would produce the same
benefi cial effects reported in
other species. Gaitskell-Phillips
et al. (2022) proposed that an
increased level of arginine in
seminal fl uid may support sperm
quality post-thawing in stallions
used for artifi cial insemination (AI),
although more research is needed
to support such supplementation.
What is recommended for stallions
is to feed a diet containing
quality protein that meets
estimated lysine requirements (CP
requirement x 0.043). To account
for protein digestibility a practical
guide is to feed a diet containing
8-10g lysine/100kg BW per day.
Ingredients such as whey protein,
soya meal, rapeseed meal (known
as canola meal in some countries),
lupins, linseed meal, sunfl ower
meal, and alfalfa are all sources of
quality protein.
Check ingredients and CP
and lysine levels of feeds to
determine their suitability for
stallions. Stud balancers and
feeds often contain higher protein
and lysine levels.
Micronutrients
Despite only being needed in
very small quantities, vitamin and
mineral requirements must be
met to maintain stallion health
and performance. Requirements
for non-breeding stallions are
the same as for maintenance,
whilst those of breeding stallions
increase slightly, being equivalent
to horses performing light work.
Most modern concentrate feeds
are fortifi ed with vitamins and
minerals, so even diets containing
non-stud feeds are likely to be
suitable and meet vitamin and
mineral requirements.
There is interest in the effect of
certain vitamins and minerals
on stallion fertility due to their
antioxidant function. Sperm cells
are particularly prone to damage
due to high metabolic activity.
This metabolic activity produces
free radicals that damage the
cells and negatively affect sperm
function. Feeding 3000iu/day
of vitamin E has been shown to
support fertility through improved
total and progressive motility of
There is interest in the
effect of certain vitamins
and minerals on stallion
fertility due to their
antioxidant function.
48-hour cooled semen (Gee et
al., 2008), making it of particular
interest for stallions used for AI.
Other studies have focused on the
effects of vitamin A, selenium, and
carnitine due to their antioxidant
actions and the negative effects
that defi ciencies of these nutrients
have on stallion fertility. Results on
the effect of supplementing these
nutrients are variable, with some
benefi ts being seen but only in
stallions with poor fertility. As such,
the recommendation is to ensure
that the stallion’s core diet is
balanced for vitamins and minerals
before supplementation with
specifi c nutrients is considered.
Meeting vitamin and mineral
requirements and providing a
balanced diet are more important
than supplementing one or two
specific nutrients. A balanced
diet is the most effective way to
optimise your stallion’s fertility. ●
Image credits:
Thank you to Stallion AI
Services for the images used in
this article. Dodson & Horrell are
the offi cial nutrition partner to
Stallion AI Services.
Abovet: Feeding
multiple fi bre
sources promotes
healthy digestion,
enabling your
stallion to thrive.
References
Gaitskell-Phillips, G., et al. (2022).
The seminal plasma proteins
Peptidyl arginine deaminase 2, rRNA
adenine N (6)-methyltransferase
and KIAA0825 are linked to better
motility post thaw in stallions.
Theriogenology, 177: 94-102.
Gee, E.K., et al. (2008). Effects of
dietary vitamin E supplementation on
spermatozoal quality in stallions with
suboptimal post-thaw motility. Animal
Reproduction Science, 107(3-4): 324-
325.
Harris, P.A. (1999). Review of equine
feeding and stable management
practices in the UK concentrating on
the last decade of the 20th Century.
Equine Veterinary Journal, 31(S28):
46-54.
Lawrence, L.M. (2013). Feeding
stallions and broodmares. In: R.J.
Goer, P.A. Harris, & M. Coenen (Eds.).
Equine Applied and Clinical Nutrition.
(pp 231-242). Saunders, London, UK.
NRC. (2007). Nutrient Requirements
of Horses (6th ed.). National
Research Council. Washington, D.C.,
The National Academic Press.
Santi, D., et al. (2024). Does an
increase in adipose tissue ‘weight’
affect male fertility? A systematic
review and meta-analysis based on
semen analysis performed using the
WHO 2010 criteria. Andrology,12(1):
123-136.
Wilson, M.E. (2000). Nutritional Effects
on Boar Semen Production. In: L.A.
Johnson, & H.D. Guthrie (Eds.). IV
International Conference on Boar
Semen Preservation. Beltsville, MD.
40 | British Breeder
December Issue
BREEDING
RANGE
NUTRITION FOR ALL LIFE STAGES
The breeding range looks after the specific needs of horses at stud, starting from conception right through to
the sales ring. The range recognises the different needs of different breeds throughout the year and provides
the right level of nutritional support. The updates reflect our evidence based approach to formulation and have
taken on board current research and client feedback.
Invest in your future champions with Dodson & Horrell
Scan to find
out more!
For feed advice, please contact our friendly and experienced Helpline team.
Call 01270 782 223 or email helplineenquiries@dodsonandhorrell.com
www.dodsonandhorrell.com
British Breeder | 41
December Issue
The Ultimate Guide to Licensed,
Graded & Approved Stallions
Sponsored by
Coming Soon!
Supported by
In Print, Online & Mobile
42 | British Breeder
feeding stallions | Product Watch
FEEDING
STALLIONS
Take a look at some of our top products to help your stallion’s nutrition.
Dengie Performance Fibre
Dengie Performance Fibre is
abundant in slow-release energy
- comparable to a Stud Mix - but
without the starch level that can
result in over-excitable behaviour.
The alfalfa supplies quality
protein helping to meet the
increased needs of a breeding
stallion. The inclusion of grass
and spearmint oil mean it’s a
highly palatable source of fi bre.
RRP: £20.75 for 20kg
dengie.com
Emerald Green Feeds Alfalfa Pellets
Emerald Green Feeds Alfalfa Pellets
are a rich source of unadulterated
plant protein and highly digestible
plant fi bre, whilst being naturally low
in sugar for weight maintenance over
gain during the colder months. The
specialised drying process ensures
the Alfalfa Pellets contains virtually
all the nutritional values of the fresh
crop, such as the valuable antioxidant
Beta-carotene and more.
RRP: £13.90 for 20kg
demeraldgreenfeeds.co.uk
Premier E
Premier E from Equine Products UK is a concentrated
Vitamin E supplement for horses and ponies needing
the highest levels of nutritional input for natural peak
performance. The powerful anti-oxidant formula helps
mop up free radicals in the muscle
tissue while helping build healthy
muscles and assisting in the
maintenance of fertility in stallions
and brood mares. Premier E
contains four key ingredients
including high concentrations of
Methionine and Lysine and fast
absorbing Vitamin E.
RRP: £27.93 for 1.5kg
equineproducts-ukltd.com
SPILLERS Gro N’ Win Balancer
SPILLERS Gro N’ Win Balancer is a nutrient rich formula
ideal for broodmares, foals, youngstock an stallions that
do not require the high level of
calories provided by traditional stud
feeds. It’s rich in essential amino
acids to support growth and muscle
development and includes probiotic
live yeast to support digestive health.
High in vitamin E to support muscle
and immune health and contains
probiotic live yeast to support
digestive health. Whole cereal grain
free, low in starch and sugar.
RRP: £27.93 for 20kg
spillers-feeds.com
British Breeder | 43
Feature | Farriery
UNSTABLE
HOOF
Dysfunctional feet
Fig. 1
Written by
Andrew Poynton FWCF
Master Farrier.
Fig. 2
CASE STUDY: 8 YEAR OLD
THOROUGHBRED
GELDING EX-RACEHORSE
This case study happens to feature
a thoroughbred gelding with poor
condition feet, but feet in a similar
condition can commonly be found
amongst brood mares. Why this is, could
be due to shallow feet, heavily pregnant
mares on wet ground, hooves being left
too long between trimming and neglect
of attentive care. The good news is that
they can be restored to healthy function.
Materials
Imprint Hoof Repair, Imprint
Ultrafast Adhesive, Imprint
Sport shoes, Imprint Shoe
Freezer, surgical spirit,
medicated wax putty.
History
Fig. 3
This case was presented to
the referring farrier in this initial
condition by the owner not long having
purchased the horse, having recently
come out of racing.
Fig. 4
Clinical Condition
The horse walked lame on the right
fore (RF). All hooves were long overdue
for attention. The RF being in the worst
condition, having an almost complete,
complicated central toe crack and a full
depth complete lateral quarter crack.
There was a lump of aluminium and
adhesive perched on the middle of the
toe supposedly to hold the toe
together but in fact achieving
nothing positive.
The left hind (LH) was next
in magnitude having a
complete lateral quarter
crack, with the associated
hoof flare and distortion.
Next the right hind (RH) was
overgrown with superficial
lateral toe cracks, and a low
central toe defect. The LF was the
only hoof without a crack, but was long
with flaring and irregular growth rings as
were the other feet. Although the horse
had been shod with heart bar shoes, in
front their value was limited due to the
neglected state of the feet.
A veterinary surgeon was in attendance
throughout the initial treatment. X-rays
Latero-medial and dorso-palmer
radiographs had recently been taken
of the front feet, which were helpful
in locating the exact position of the
third phalanx (P3) thereby allowing for
accurate trimming.
For this article, to avoid unnecessary
repetition, the main focus will be on the
RF as all 4 feet were treated by the same
method, only the RF was showing up
much more lame than the others.
Right Fore: Discussion
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
As the method of shoeing did not include
nailing but a rim similar in properties to
hoof horn, it was possible to achieve
trimming to remove the flaring of the hoof
wall that otherwise would not have been
safely feasible. By looking closely at the
coronary band, it could be seen that
instead of a flowing arc from heel to heel
(see Figs 2 & 3) there was an irregular arc
with acute points where the hoof cracks
radiated from. The line of the coronary
border also deflected vertically at these
points. In effect the deformed, cracked
and dysfunctional hoof was damaging
the coronary corium. The vertical ripples
or corrugation visible externally obviously
reflect internally creating unwanted
compression and tension of the lamellae,
sandwiched between the hoof wall and
P3. Instead of working as an integral unit
absorbing and dissipating impact and
then recoiling to utilise the energy for
propulsion, concentration of mobility was
44 | British Breeder
Farriery | Feature
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
focused at these stress points where the
cracks appeared, causing trauma not
only to the hoof capsule but internally to
the soft tissue and vascular structures.
Sooner or later, due to the loss of
integrity of the hoof capsule, tearing of
the laminae occurs causing bleeding
and bruising.
The loss of hoof wall integrity had the
knock on effect of overloading the sole
causing it to fl atten and spread, leaving
little or no room for suspension, solar
bruising being the inevitable outcome.
The Remedy
Reverse this trend by trimming and
beginning to remove all deviated and
undermined overgrowth, allowing
the foot to begin to equalise the
stresses it is subject to. With seriously
compromised cases, similar to the one
here being discussed, it is unlikely
that it will be possible to trim out all
deformation in one session without
further weakening the hoof capsule.
The horse needs a hoof to walk on.
That said, as the evidence here reveals,
much headway can be achieved to
restore a functional foot. Synthetic
materials, adhesives and plastics such
as used here have become a real
game changer.
So onto this foundation
a prosthetic synthetic
hoof capsule can be
built which begins
to restore normal
healthy foot function.
At this point a vast
amount of progress
can be achieved. The
patient will tell you this
by weight bearing in a
Fig. 11
relaxed manner on that
foot, or not. The chosen shoe
should further provide protection
grip and wear on the well-balanced foot.
Right Foot Treatment
Having the benefi t of x-rays it was
possible to go ahead and trim with
more confi dence, knowing the exact
position of P3. Often it is only the lower
1/3rd of the hoof that is affected, not so
in this case. Any deformity of the bars
that was possible to remove, was pared
out. Moving onto the hoof wall, as much
fl aring removal as possible was achieved,
attempting to re-attain a straight wall from
coronary border to distal edge, trimming
as far as the white line. So a sole view
revealed just that, sole and little wall.
Attention was then turned to the hoof
lesions. The lateral quarter crack
extended to the coronary border and
was full wall depth, but was not currently
bleeding, whilst the toe crack extended
to within 12mm of the coronet, was full
depth and undermined the wall more at
its lower half extending to the soft tissue
of the lamellae. Whilst debriding this
area a capillary vessel was snagged, so
it was cleansed with surgical spirit. In the
area that was deeper than the hoof wall
some Keratex Putty was placed fi lling
it and covering the spot that had bled.
The Hoof repair material would then
not create an inward corrugation but
something more akin to a healthy
hoof wall. An access window
in the repair was made
over the snag site so
that if need be it could
be opened up in the
event of infection.
In this case, it was
not needed.
Multiple keying
points were made
either side of the
lesions in preparation
to form a strong union
between the hoof wall and the
prosthetic rebuilding.
Fig.1 This horse needed serious
salvage work on all feet, right fore
being the most severe.
Fig 2. Shallow hooves and
overgrowth had resulted in complete
complicated quarter and toe cracks.
Fig 3. Superfi cial attempts at
stabilization had been attempted.
Fig 4. Radiographs enabled
maximum precision debridement and
trimming.
Fig 5. The ‘dowel’ keying provides
strong attachment for the Imprint
Hoof repair
Fig 6. Medicated putty was placed
over the soft tissue as protection,
then adhesive applied.
Fig 7. Imprint Hoof Repair used to
reinstate hoof integrity whilst natural
hoof regenerated.
Fig 8. More ideal hoof dimensions
and function were reinstated.
(Compare with Fig 2)
Fig 9. Adhesive applied in
preparation for prosthetic sole.
Fig 10. Prosthetic sole modelled to
foot.
Fig. 9 Fig. 10
Fig 11. Rapid cooling and hardening
achieved by refrigerant. Less time
standing on three legs.
British Breeder | 45
Feature | Farriery
Fig. 12
Next a thin layer of the adhesive was
dispensed over the areas to be fi lled, and
then some ready softened Imprint Hoof
Repair was modelled onto the hoof. The
objective of using the material was to
mimic hoof capsule function. As the sole
was fl at and painful, it was given a thin
layer of adhesive and then a thin layer of
the Hoof Repair was modelled to create a
healthier sole shape with a little concavity
and an outline like hoof wall to slightly
elevate it, this provided a thicker bonded
sole that would still be able to fl ex;
the bonding avoids condensation and
softening of the sole. The inner margin
extended as far as the frog.
To then fi t an Imprint Sport shoe, the
lower border of the now plastic hoof was
slightly heated using a small gas torch
to make the plastic sticky, and then the
ready heated Imprint Shoe was fi tted by
plastic welding the two together. This
created an extremely strong and durable
Fig. 13
union with the hoof. The shoe having a
broad frog plate covered and provided
maximised bearing surface in the palmer
region of the foot.
Immediate Result
The patient favoured
standing full weight
bearing on that limb.
Fig. 15
All 4 feet were
treated similarly,
with the exception
of not needing the
sole casting. Apart
from the materials used
to remedy the situation
the hoof trimming played a
major part in the recovery of this
patient. Further regeneration
of the feet was achieved at
subsequent shoeing sessions
every 6 weeks.
Subsequent Shoeings
At the second visit 6 weeks later, no
further hoof repair was required as all
bonding was sound in and around the
defects, the sole casting on the RF was
no longer necessary. At this time the
lameness of the RF was 1-2/10. At the
third visit (12 weeks from initial treatment)
the horse was moving sound.
Conclusion
The horse continued sound in work. He
was shod with conventional shoes at 6
months. The client was pleased with the
transformation of her horse’s feet. This
method of treatment should give hope
to horse owners, as with quite extreme
cases, much can be achieved to restore
the horse to soundness. It is worth
noting that the soles were not packed
out with any form of fi llers, thereby
allowing the foot to move naturally
whilst maintaining traction. The
most important ingredients
are attention to detail
and patience. ●
Fig. 16
Fig. 14
Fig 12. Sweating the lower plastic
hoof wall...
Fig 13. Imprint Sport shoe welded
on.
Fig 14. Patient walked away
markedly more comfortable than
before treatment commenced.
Fig 15. Completion of fi rst treatment.
(compare with Fig 3)
Fig 16. Second visit. Now no need
for the Imprint synthetic sole.
46 | British Breeder
December Issue
Van De Vivaldi
16.1hh | 2003 | Liver Chestnut | AES, Bavarian Warmblood
Stud Fee: £750 + collection & postage (£150) for fresh & chilled + VAT - LFG | £750 + postage for frozen
Accredited as a golf British showjumping
elite stallion and has represented team
GB on many occasions. Winner of the
prestigious CSI4* at Bolesworth in 2015.
He has competed at the hightest 5*
1m60 level, with winnings in excess of
£135,000.
VIVALDI VAN DE
KAMPEL
GOLDEN LADY
DARCO
LADOLA
GOLDEN JOY J
SINDY
LUGANO VAN LA ROCHE
OCOUCHA
CONCORDE
GIDOLA
REJS
AKSIOMA
LINCOLN
SOLOTANZERIN
After passing his performance test as a 3 year
old he went to sire around 40 offspring, several
of which went onto compete at Grand Prix
level, most notably Van De Emma who has
successfully competed up to 5 star 1m60 level
with Peter Wilde.
I mperium Stud
Ryan or Laura Harrison – 07792 372 994
imperiumstud@outlook.com
British Breeder | 47
December Issue
BRITISH
BREEDING
Sponsored by
Addington Manor Eques trian Centre ,Buc kinghamshire, MK18 2JR
Graded & Approved Stallions
Breeding Industry Trade Stands
Visit stallions in their stables
For informaaon & ac kets:
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48 | British Breeder
In Associaaon with
British Bred Stars | Feature
FLASHBACK
As we reflect on the Olympic and Paralympic successes of
Equestrian Team GBR, British Breeding magazine focuses
in on the British bred equine athletes who’s careful and
established pedigrees, as well as their training, temperaments
and exceptional relationships with their riders contributed
to our medal tally. Embodying the nation’s equine heritage
and meticulous breeding programmes, let’s spotlight these
standout horses and a little bit about their backgrounds.
TO BRITISH
BRED STARS
OF TEAM GBR’S PARIS 2024
EQUESTRIAN LINEUP
Photo Credits: British
Equestrian and Jon
Stroud Media.
Lordships Graffalo
(Grafenstolz x Rock King)
For eventing, Lordships
Graffalo stands as a testament to
British breeding, early handling
and training. Bred by Pennie
Wallace, then at Lordships Stud,
part of Writtle College in Essex,
Walter, as he is known, is out of
Bridget Parker’s mare Cornish
Queen. Walter was carefully
produced as a youngster for
Futurity by Writtle College
students and gained a Higher
First Premium (as they were
known at the time). He went to
Ros Canter as three year old to
be produced.
Steady progression through the
grades ultimately helped secure
a team gold for Britain at the
Tokyo 2020 Olympics. To Horse
& Hound, Ros has said of Walter
“Eventing is what he lives and
breathes for. He’s a busy little
character when he’s not being
ridden, so this job fits
him perfectly.”
Above: Jagerbomb and Becky Moody. Below: Lordships Graffalo and Ros Canter.
The pair were pivotal in landing
Team GBR’s fifth consecutive
team Olympic eventing medal,
solidifying their position as
the most successful team in
eventing history. The 2024 team,
consisting of Laura Collett with
London 52, Tom McEwen with
JL Dublin, and Ros Canter with
Lordships Graffalo defended
Team GBR’s gold medal from
Tokyo 2020 at historic Versailles.
Jagerbomb
(Dante Weltino x Jazz)
Bred and ridden by Becky
Moody, Jagerbomb is a 2014
bay gelding out of mare Udysee.
His dressage progression has
been testament to his careful
British Breeder | 49
Feature | British Bred Stars
handling and training as well as
his exceptional work ethic and
character that helped him secure
the team slot. When speaking to
British Dressage, Becky said of
Jagerbomb “He’s such a character
and absolutely a yard favourite at
home as he’s probably one of the
best to hack, and he goes out in
the field and chills out. He’s just an
all-round legend.”
Jagerbomb has had a stellar
career under Becky’s guidance,
winning the 7-Year-Old British
Championships in 2021 and
progressing to Grand Prix by
2023. At the Games, Becky and
Jagerbomb delivered sterling
performances and were pivotal
in helping the British dressage
team secure a bronze medal
in the Team Grand Prix Special
with a new PB of 76.489%. In the
individual Grand Prix Freestyle
they scoreboarded 84.357% for
8th place.
Keystone Dawn
Chorus
(Dimaggio x Escudo 19)
Keystone Dawn Chorus (known
as Lottie) was bred by Suzanne
Lavandera. Sire Dimaggio is
known for producing horses
with remarkable movement
and temperament as well as for
passing on his calm approach and
expressive gaits. In a previous
issue of this magazine (Senior
Stallion Stars in 2010) Suzanne
said “We first encountered
Dimaggio when he was rising
The pair’s performance under pressure
was a real highlight, demonstrating
harmony, rhythm and consistency, more
than rising to the occasion.
three years old. When we saw
him we immediately fell in love
with his beautiful face, huge loose
elastic paces and his enthusiasm
for work. We felt he had the
natural ability to make a top class
international competition horse
and if he could pass on his talent
to his progeny, he could be a
stallion to be remembered”. How
right Suzanne was, with Dawn
Chorus’s solid pedigree and
exceptional temperament proving
to be advantageous, leading to
a Paralympic bronze grade III
freestyle individual medal. Scoring
73.167%, Natasha secured the
tenth medal of her Paralympic
Above: Keystone
Dawn Chorus and
Natasha Baker.
Below: Sakura and
Georgia Wilson.
career. Lottie is now 13 years
of age and a possible candidate
for Los Angeles 2028. Said
Natasha “I call her Mary Poppins
because she’s practically perfect
in every way”.
Sakura
(Supertramp x Woodlander
Rockstar)
Known as Suki, this relatively
inexperienced (at this level) ten
year old mare was bred by Geri
Eilberg out of mare Woodlander
Rochelle and ridden by Georgia
Wilson. The pair took home two
Paralympic grade II individual
grade II bronze medals. After
scoring a personal best of 79.37%
to take home the individual grade
II freestyle silver medal, Georgia
focussed on her next performance
which resulted in a score of 73.41%
to secure the individual grade II
bronze medal.
The pair’s performance under
pressure was a real highlight,
demonstrating harmony, rhythm
and consistency, more than rising
to the occasion. Georgia has
said that Suki has been very
receptive to learning voice
commands and one of her
highlights is her trainability.
Testament to her careful
preparation, Georgia recounted
to Horse & Hound “She took it all
in her stride, and wasn’t bothered
about anything. She’s very kind
and always very relaxed, even
on the plane (when she first
competed at the Tokyo Paralympic
Games) she was busy eating and
thinking about food.” ●
50 | British Breeder
December Issue
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British Breeder | 51
Feature | WBFSH
thought provoking presentation
highlighted that welfare very much
starts at home.
WBFSH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY 2024
12-15 OCTOBER, PORTUGAL
Welfare and Social Impact of Sport Horse Breeding.
The World Breeding
Federation for Sports
Horses (WBFSH) is the
official body of all sports horse
studbooks, with 85 member breed
societies from 36 countries, all in
all representing some 150,000
breeders worldwide. The purpose
of the organisation is to support
the breeding of sports horses
by working closely with the FEI,
with whom it organises the World
Breeding Championships for
Dressage, Showjumping and
Eventing. The WBFSH also aims
to improve equine health and
welfare through fostering close
collaborations with the scientific
community and through creating
opportunities for information
sharing and knowledge transfer.
In recent years, British breeding
has become very strongly
represented at the core of the
organisation, with Dr Eva-Maria
Above: Jan
Pedersen,
President WBFSH
with Göran
Akerstrom, FEI and
Professor Jane
WilliamsBelow::
Prof Jane Williams
and Janet Forbes.
Livesey (AES) as a Vice President
and Katy Holder-Vale (BHHS) as
an Executive Committee Member.
Some of the organisation’s key
initiatives are supported by
institutions and stakeholders
from the UK, allowing our country
to take a leading role in the
future development of sport
horse breeding.
Welfare and Social
Impact of Sport
Horse Breeding
This year’s General Assembly
took place in Portugal from 12th –
15th October. A strong emphasis
was placed on welfare, focusing
on supporting and promoting
equine welfare through seminars,
discussions and webinars, while
maintaining a balanced and
scientifically informed approach.
Key to this is the creation of a
WBFSH Welfare Statement, based
on in depth and far-reaching
research supported by the
organisation and carried out
by Prof Jane Williams and
Janet Forbes from Hartpury
University. Their work was
presented at the General
Assembly and showed that
breeders can have a highly
significant impact on equine
welfare through choices they
make in the management of
their mares and youngstock,
as well as through their
breeding selections. Their
This work led topically into a
Round Table Discussion entitled
“What are the challenges that
we face in sport horse breeding
with respect to Social License
to operate, and what are the
limitations of our actions in
response to these challenges?”
Introduced and moderated by Dr
Eva-Maria Livesey, the discussion
started with an engaging
presentation from the keynote
speaker, Roly Owers from World
Horse Welfare. The panel further
consisted of Jan Pedersen,
President of the WBFSH, Göran
Åkerström from the FEI, Dr
Heidi Kellokoski-Kiiskinen
from FEEVA and Prof Jane
Williams. The discussion
centred on the importance of
adopting proactive approaches
to welfare and on personal and
institutional responsibility.
Dr Klaus Miesner presented the
results of a WBFSH commissioned
university study asking “Are the
World Breeding Championships
a predictor for future success in
the sport?” Zoë Schelvis and Fleur
Prinsen from AERES University
of Applied Sciences in Dronten
analysed data from horses that
had participated in the finals of the
FEI -WBFSH World Championships
for Young Horses in Jumping,
Dressage, and Eventing from
2012 to 2022. They found
encouraging results with way over
half of the horses achieving and
maintaining subsequent
international successes.
The seminar sessions concluded
with a fascinating talk by Tullis
Matson from Stallion AI Services
in the UK who explored “How
modern technology can safeguard
genetic diversity and biodiversity”.
Tullis’s thought provoking
presentation showcased the
technological advances in
cryopreservation and related
technologies that can help to
protect endangered species from
extinction and will permit us to
preserve valuable genetic material
for the future. The presentation
showed the vast developments
in reproduction technologies
in recent years and invited the
audience to reflect on the need
to use these responsibly and as a
force for good.
52 | British Breeder
WBFSH | Feature
Bérengère Lacroix presented
the results of a survey carried
out by the WBFSH Breeding
department on the practices
of assisted reproductive
techniques. Studbooks were
encouraged to continue to
contribute to developing a clearer
understanding of the use of these
techniques in view of gaining
a better understanding of their
impact on the industry and on
equine health. In this context,
Ralph van Venrooij put forward
the suggestion that all studbooks
should start registering the
insemination techniques used
as part of the equine passport.
Everyone agreed that this was the
right way forward.
Maria João Fradinho introduced
the work of EUnetHorse, which
is A European project to improve
resilience and performance of
equine farms in Europe, focusing
on socio-economic performance,
health, welfare, and environmental
sustainability. Her very well
received presentation invited
everyone to think about our role
in the wider equine industry and
our responsibilities towards the
environment and our social impact.
In a fascinating talk, Dr Heidi
Kellokoski-Kiiskenen from FEEVA
presented the perspective of
the veterinarian in a talk entitled
“How do we maintain the number
of veterinarians that specialise
in breeding in the future, and
what strategy does the sector
have for this?” She highlighted
the worrying trends in diffi culties
recruiting vets specialising in
equine reproduction and gave
insights into the challenges of the
job. We were all left with a clearer
understanding that better support
of vets is crucial for the viability of
our industry.
Every year, over
100.000 sport
horse foals are
registered with
our now more
than 85 members
across 36 different
countries.
Above:
Hanoverians
all over the
world – Renai
Hart (New Zealand)
Maren Schlender
(Germany) Katy
Holder-Vale
(UK) and Kate
Eaton (UK).
WBFSH Studbooks
Global Database
Connected with the organisation’s
ongoing ambition to be a driving
force in the sport horse industry’s
strive for better equine health
and welfare is the promotion of
transparency and traceability.
This will provide a better
understanding of how we can
improve the breeding of sounder,
happier horses. Better data are
needed to ensure no horses fall
between the slats
and will foster the
global exchange
of information
and ideas.
Fundamental to
the long-term
success of these
aims, which will
be vital for the
survival and
sustainability
of our entire
industry, are
reliable and
complete horse id and pedigree
data to be shared among
all member studbooks and
accessible to everyone involved
with WBFSH member studbook
registered horses, from larger
stakeholders such as the FEI and
National Federations to individual
breeders, owners and riders.
It is to this end that the WBFSH
has embarked on a highly
ambitious project: To create not
merely a single central database
of verifi ed equine id and pedigree
data drawn from all its members,
but an entire data fl ow system
between members and users in a
revolutionary concept.
To facilitate this world-leading
initiative, the WBFSH is working in
partnership with Equine Register,
a global expert in digital solutions
for horse identifi cation and
traceability. Equine Register has
already been the organisation’s
digital partner for several years,
having designed its industry
leading website and CMS system.
WBFSH President Jan
Pedersen explains:
“We have known for many years
that what our industry needs,
is a reliable and complete
source of horse id and pedigree
information. Many have tried, and
many have struggled. We are
now in a serendipitous position
having found in Equine Register a
digital partner with the necessary
knowledge of what it means to be
a studbook in the modern age,
combined with the capability to
fulfi l our aspirations.”
More than “just another database”.
Every year, over 100.000 sport
horse foals are registered with
our now more than 85 members
across 36 different countries. By
conservative estimates we assume
that there are about 1.5 million
living WBFSH member studbook
registered horses scattered all
over the world.
While conventional databases that
pull together records from wide
ranges of sources already exist,
the WBFSH Data Project will be
the fi rst one that provides
British Breeder | 53
Feature | WBFSH
“We believe in treating all
participants with respect.
Our studbooks need to feel
that their data is in safe hands
and that they all benefi t fairly
from the project. Respect and
fairness are also due to riders,
owners and third parties. In
Equine Register we have a
digital partner with the
expertise to oversee
the safe handling of
data and compliance
with legislation
everywhere in
the world.
a complete set of data all fully
verifi ed and reconciled by and
between member studbooks.
This includes the reconciliation
of duplicate records, inaccuracies
and inconsistencies that exist
between different records, thus
creating a more reliable data
resource in the industry.
However, the concept goes far
beyond that. Says Stewart Everett
from Equine Register:
“When starting to think about the
design of the WBFSH Data Project,
we decided to look at things from
a different perspective. We were
not so much worried about getting
everyone’s data into a central
database, as focusing on how
we can make sure the studbooks
and every other user also get
the information they need out of
it. Studbooks often lose sight of
their horses when they are sold
to new owners. They also lose
out on crucial information about
progeny from their damlines and
stallions when horses are sold and
registered abroad.
The revolutionary way in which we
are designing the project means
that the database does not only
receive data from the members,
cleans it and reconciles any issues.
Crucially, it also feeds data back in
real time and in a way that speaks
the IT language of each studbook’s
system. This allows studbooks
to complete their records and
reconnect with their horses all
over the world without having to
invest in more manpower or costly
systems updates.”
The concept is to create a fl ow
of information between
all participants,
from horse owners,
breeders and riders
accessing the database
for information, to the
studbooks and key industry
stakeholders.
To aid the development of
the project, a wide range of
key member studbooks have
already submitted test records,
with many more lined up to
contribute over the coming
weeks. The project has already
received data from the KWPN,
the Oldenburger Verband, the
British Hanoverian Horse Society,
the Anglo European Studbook,
the South African Warmblood
Horse Society, the New
Zealand Hanoverians and the
Danish Warmbloods.
Chris Andrews who is overseeing
the project development at Equine
Register explains:
“In this current phase we obtained
test records from as many
different studbooks as possible,
deliberately focusing on a wide
range from some of the largest
to some of the smaller ones.
This allows us to gain a clear
understanding of everyone’s data
formats, allowing us to build a
system that has the fl exibility to
serve everyone.”
Fairness and
Transparency
Key to the success and viability
of the project are fairness and
transparency.
Says WBFSH General Manager
Nadine Brandtner:
Above Inset:
Göran Akerstrom
in Conversation
with Princess
Benedikte of
Denmark and Jan
Pedersen.
Nobody is
forced to provide
their data, and
there will be no
so called ‘data
scraping’ from third
parties’ published
sources. We would like to
encourage all stakeholders
to become actively involved. We
know they will also benefi t from
the greater accuracy in horse id
and pedigree data that will be the
direct result of the project.
To this end we are keeping the
FEI involved at every step of
the way, as we are confi dent
that our joint activities, such as
our data exchange project, can
greatly benefi t.”
The big question is: will the
WBFSH pull this off?
Innovative projects like the
WBFSH Database are ambitious
as they aim to serve a highly
diverse global community. At the
same time they are necessary
and will greatly benefi t not only
all sport horse studbooks and
breeders, but our entire industry.
In the past, collaborative projects
aimed at including the entire the
sport horse breeding sector have
been impeded by fragmentation
and by a reticence from those
concerned with protecting
what they see as a competitive
advantage arising from their data.
However, studbooks are realising
that breeding has become more
and more globalised and that
the value of their data will only
increase with becoming part of a
larger whole. It is for that reason
that we know that this project
will succeed. Conceived by the
studbooks for the studbooks it will
benefi t everyone with an interest
in sports horses. ●
54 | British Breeder
December Issue
Devonte was born in 2008 and is the offspring of
Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve. jumped to 1.40 and sustained
and injury and retired to stud. Beautiful gentle
temperament / movement and confirmation, stamps
his foals with beautiful heads and confirmation, they
are modern and athletic and proving to have massive
capability over a fence, a desirable pedigree and he suits a
good range of mares.
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British Breeder | 55
Feature | Weaning
WEANING
Are we giving our foals
the best start in life?
WHY DOES THIS MATTER?
Written by Gemma Kirk BVetMedMRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon at Towcester Equine Vets.
What happens in the wild?
Interestingly, and contrary to abrupt
weaning, natural weaning was proven
to induce no stress response in mares
and foals in a study of Icelandic ponies (1) .
This study also concluded that, based on
the time a foal spends with the mare and
their relationship pre and post weaning, it
is more the abrupt breaking of the marefoal
relationship than the cessation of
suckling, that is stressful for a foal.
Differences in time frame have been
noted between natural and abrupt
weaning, with natural weaning occurring
at 9-10 months, when foals cease
suckling and their nutritional dependence
on the mare stops (2) . However, the
emotional relationship between mares
and foals has been observed to continue
for much longer, until 1.5 to 3 years (3,4) .
This continued time spent with the mare,
beyond ceasing suckling, is considered
beneficial as it enables further social
education of the foal (5, 6, 7) .
The process of how natural weaning
occurs has also been reviewed.
Studies concluded that weaning
occurs gradually over several months
when the foal gradually increases the
mare–foal distance, decreases the
suckling frequency and develops a
larger social network. This thought to be
mainly foal driven (8,9) .
How can weaning affect foals
and what can we do about this?
Artificial weaning is known to be one of
the most stressful events of a foal’s life (10,
11)
, but what is the impact of this?
The stress of weaning manifests in
the expression of certain behaviours,
commonly vocalisation, defecation and
increased locomotion, which in turn have
knock on effects such as increased risk
of injury and decreased growth rates,
which are detrimental to foals, owners
and breeders alike.
Studies have shown that management
throughout weaning can play a role in the
development of (12) , or be the trigger of
stereotypical behaviours (13) . Stereotypical
behaviours are repetitive behaviours with
no goal or function that are rarely seen
in the wild. Examples include cribbing,
wind sucking, weaving, box walking
and head tossing. These can all have
a negative impact on a horses overall
health such as increasing the risk of colic,
overdevelopment of certain muscles
and weight loss. Although it is no longer
56 | British Breeder
Weaning | Feature
positively, there is thought to be a
roughly linear relationship between age
and weaning stress (20) , so there may be
benefit of leaving foals with the mare for
an additional few months only.
Why do we practice early or
abrupt weaning?
Broadly speaking abrupt weaning
practices normally occur when a foal is
between 4-7 months of age. This is likely
to be based on the timeframe when the
foal’s nutritional requirements begin to
exceed what the mare can provide (21,22) .
Practical and economic considerations
also come in to play in terms of
preparing foals for sales and to transfer
dependency of foals from the mare to
humans. There is also the mare aspect
to consider, protecting the mare’s future
reproductive efficiency from the negative
impact of prolonged nursing (1) . The
poignant question is: should our choices
thought that these behaviours can be
learned from one horse observing another,
it can make management very challenging.
...weaning occurs gradually over several months
when the foal gradually increases the mare–foal
distance, decreases the suckling frequency and
develops a larger social network.
It is thought that there is some individual
susceptibility to stress. For instance
studies have shown colts to be less
affected by the stress of weaning
than fillies, (14, 15) and foals that suck
more frequently prior to weaning are
more susceptible to developing post
weaning abnormal stereotypic behaviors
(13)
. In terms of breed susceptibility,
Thoroughbreds have a higher propensity
to show stereotypical behaviours (12) . It
may therefore, be of the most benefit
to optimize weaning practices in
thoroughbreds?
Stress and elevated cortisol levels
at weaning, can lead to a decreased
immune response, which has a negative
impact on the maturation of the gut
microbiome. This could also have
a negative impact on the long term
health of the foal (16,17) . Recent studies
have shown that the composition of
gut bacteria can even be a predictor
for future performance (18) . On a similar
note, the same study illustrated that
paying close attention to the mare’s diet
and environment, and minimizing stress
for her, can be the most influential in
terms of her offspring establishing good
diversity in gut microbiome (18) . Promoting
microbiome diversity in a mare can be
achieved by access to mixed, high quality
fibre sources and avoiding high starch
diets, avoiding abrupt changes to diet,
minimizing stress (transportation, mixing
of groups), avoiding excessive physical
exertion and being conservative with
antibiotic usage (18) .
Over recent years there has been
significant breakthroughs in the sphere
of epigenetics. Genes are coded for
by DNA, but it is now well understood
that some genes can be turned on or
off dependent on the environment they
are exposed to or external factors. As a
result, chronic stress of the mare during
pregnancy, or their offspring during
brain development (or at weaning), can
cause long lasting alterations at genetic
level. This can in turn negatively impact
the body systems, have and long term
detrimental effects on brain functioning,
thus having a detrimental impact on a
foal’s ability to learn.
In addition to the epigenetic effect on
brain development, a significant study
of early weaning (19) has shown that foals
weaned early are less likely to play with
novel objects, meaning they are possibly
more fearful and have lower learning
capacities. It also illustrates that early
weaning is associated with increased
risks of displaying abnormal behaviours.
Therefore, the stress of early weaning
has the capacity to negatively impact
the foal’s future trainability. However,
and weaning practices be dictated
by nutritional requirements, industry
pressures and practical considerations
alone, over the emotional health of our
foals and future athletes?
Why should we consider
rethinking our weaning
practices?
Most horses are bred for a purpose and
require to be trained. Maximizing their
ability to learn is therefore paramount.
Evidence suggests that minimizing stress
and maximizing confidence in foals leads
to overall, improved learning ability and
greater resilience to stress later in life (1) .
If taking the time to breed our next big
stars it makes sense to give them the
most optimum start. We can achieve
this by applying our growing knowledge
on this subject to modify weaning
practices, thus benefiting the future
equine population. In an age of an
increased regard for equine welfare,
why would we not adopt some changes
that can improve, not just their start in
life, but potentially have lasting benefits
throughout their lives? Making such
changes doesn’t only benefit the equine
population, but has a positive impact on
the overall safety of those working in the
industry too.
British Breeder | 57
Feature | Weaning
What can we do to improve our
weaning practices?
Minimise a foal’s stress response to
weaning by:
• Maintaining the foal in the same/ familiar
environment, ideally paddock and or
group as pre weaning
• Providing gradual rather than abrupt
weaning
• Providing an adult/ nanny prior to weaning
that stays with the foals post weaning
• Feeding a high fi bre and high fat but
low starch diet post weaning (20) .
General concepts
• Aim towards weaning at 9 months
• Focus not only on the nutritional aspect
of weaning but also on the emotional
aspect the mare/ foal bond.
• Consider, where possible, to manage
and cater for foals as individuals given
different foals may have different
requirements.
• Remember the signifi cance of careful
broodmare management in minimising
the stress response, preventing
deleterious epigenetic changes and
to encourage diversity of the foal’s
gut microbiome.
Take home message
Minimising stress at weaning can have
a positive, lifelong impact on a foal’s
wellbeing and future development by
• Improving the capacity for learning, thus
improving trainability
• Decreasing the tendency to express
detrimental stereotypical behaviours.
• Improving the diversity of the gut
microbiome and thus the immune status
and health of the foal. ●
References
1. Séverine Henry, Hrefna Sigurjónsdóttir, Aziliz
Klapper,Julie Joubert, Gabrielle Montier, and
Martine Hausberger, Domestic Foal Weaning:
Need for Re-Thinking Breeding Practices.
Animals 2020
2. Henry S, Sigurjónsdóttir H, Klapper A, Joubert
J, Montier G, Hausberger M. Domestic foal
weaning: need for re-thinking breeding
practices? Animals. 2020;10(2):361.
3. Waring G. Horse Behavior: Elsevier Science;
2003.
4. Lansade L, Lévy F, Parias C, Reigner
F, Górecka-Bruzda A. Weaned horses,
especially females, still prefer their dam
after fi ve months of separation. animal.
2022;16(10):100636.
5. McDonnell S. Sexual behaviour. In: Mills
D.S., McDonnell S.M., editors. The Domestic
Horse, the Evolution, Development and
Management of Its Behavior. Cambridge
University Press; Cambridge, UK: 2005. pp.
110–125.
6. Satué K., Felipe M., Mota J., Muñoz A. Factors
infl uencing gestational length in mares: A
review. Livest. Sci. 2011;136:287–294.
7. Christensen J.W. Early-life object exposure
with a habituated mother reduces fear
reactions in foals. Anim. Cogn. 2016;19:171–
179.
8. Waring G.H. Horse Behavior. 3rd ed. Noyes
Publications, William Andrew Publishing; New
York, NY, USA: 2003
9. Crowell-Davis S.L. Spatial relations between
mares and foals of the Welsh pony (Equus
caballus) Anim. Behav. 1986;34:1007–1015.
10. Waran NK, Clarke N, Farnworth M. The
effects of weaning on the domestic horse
(Equus caballus). Applied Animal Behaviour
Science. 2008;110(1-2):42-57.
11. McGreevy P, Berger J, De Brauwere N,
Doherty O, Harrison A, Fiedler J, et al. Using
the Five Domains model to assess the
adverse impacts of husbandry, veterinary, and
equitation interventions on horse welfare.
Animals 8 (3): 41. 2018.
12. Waters, A, J. et al (2002) Factors infl uencing
the development of stereotypic and
redirected behaviours in young horses:
fi ndings of a four year prospective
epidemiological study. Equine Veterinary
Journal. 34(6), pp.572-9.
13. Nicol C.J., Badnell-Waters A.J. Suckling
behaviour in domestic foals and the
development of abnormal oral behavior.
Anim. Behav. 2005;70:21–29
14. Moons C, Laughlin K, Zanella A. Effects of
short-term maternal separations on weaning
stress in foals. Appl Anim Behav Sci. 2005;
91(3–4): 321–335.
15. Wulf M, Beythien E, Ille N, Aurich J, Aurich C.
The stress response of 6-month-old horses
to abrupt weaning is infl uenced by their sex.
J Vet Behav. 2018; 23: 19–24.
16. Gensollen T., Iyer S.S., Kasper D.L., Blumberg
R.S. How colonization by microbiota in early
life shapes the immune system. Science.
2016;352:539–544
17. Zhuang L., Chen H., Zhang S., Zhuang J.,
Li Q., Feng Z. Intestinal microbiota in early
life and its implications on childhood health.
Genom. Proteom. Bioinform. 2019;17:13–25.
18. Leng, J., C. Moller-Levet, R.I. Mansergh, R.O.
Flaherty, R. Cooke, P. Sells, C. Pinkham, O.
Pynn, C. Smith, Z. Wise, R. Ellis, A. Cuoto-
Alves, R. La Ragione, and C. Proudman.
2024. Early-life gut bacterial community
structure predicts disease risk and athletic
performance in horses bred for racing.
Scientifi c Reports 14(1):17124.
19. Parker M., Goodwin D., Redhead E.S.
Survey of breeders’ management of horses
in Europe, North America and Australia:
Comparison of factors associated with the
development of abnormal behavior. Appl.
Anim. Behav. Sci. 2008;114:206–215
20. Gemma Pearson, Royal (Dick) School of
Veterinary Studies.
21. Oftedal O.T., Hintz H.F., Schryver H.F.
Lactation in the horse: Milk composition and
intake by foals. J. Nutr. 1983;113:2096–2106
22. Burns D., Gibbs P.G., Potter G.D. Milk energy
production by lactating mares. J. Equine
Vet. Sci. 1992;12:114.
58 | British Breeder
December Issue
British Breeder | 59
December Issue
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60 | British Breeder
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