2012 season

Next into the ring was El Thuder (below), a 16.2hh bay stallion by Thunder van de Zuuthoeve (Argentinus x Nimmerdor x Ladykiller) and out of a Larome x Goldspring de Lauzelle x Seneka mare. This stallion is, for me, the whole package; he combines the movement and jumping style of the greats of his pedigree with the elegance and refinement of the Thoroughbred influence that is strongly seen in his pedigree, making him an incredibly versatile sire of jumpers and eventers alike. All of his foals so far have been very ‘blood’, out of a wide variety of mares, proving that he stamps them all VERY strongly; all bar one are bays with very little white, whilst one seems to be turning grey. On the day, El Thuder showed himself off very well, exhibiting his flamboyantly expressive trot and excellent uphill canter as well as showing how well he uses his whole body over a fence, whilst being super careful, getting in very deep to a few fences but still clearing them. This stallion also showed his excellent temperament (which seems to be passing on successfully to his progeny) as he was incredibly welcoming of any and all visitors to his box and once untied, promptly lay down for a well earned nap! Having already used this stallion myself twice, one of which youngsters is being retained as a stallion prospect (see below), I would highly recommend him to anyone as he is a real mare improver. To have the foal successes he has had already, when he is only a young stallion himself, I am sure that in time he will be up there as one of the best. He should definitely be looked at closely by eventing breeders wanting to keep the blood but improve the movement/jump on their mares.

Don VHP Z (below) was next on the list; this stallion is a seriously impressive ‘hunk’ of a stallion by whom people cannot fail but be impressed. Standing approximately 17.1hh, this 6 year old liver chestnut stallion is nothing if not magnificent and belies his huge proportions by being superbly light on the ground and surprisingly athletic - more so, dare I say, than many lighter boned horses out there. He is sired by one of the modern greats, Diamant de Semilly, whose possibly most-publicised son, Diarado, was Champion of his 30 and 70 day tests and sold for a very large sum. Diamant de Semilly has also sired the Olympic Show Jumper Kalaska de Semilly and many others as well as having himself extensive showjumping achievements. Don VHP Z’s dam line is no less superb, including the progenitors of Voltaire and Ramiro Z as well as the great TB progenitor of Abgar. This stallion could be equated in car terms to a classic E-type Jaguar and one can only envy his rider the privilege of getting to ride him. As well as being superbly athletic and correct, all 3 paces are supremely rhythmic, and his jump is effortless, leaving the audience in awe. His first crop of foals is expected to start arriving within the next 3 weeks and are being very eagerly awaited by the entire Brendon team! Due to his size, I feel that this horse still definitely has the best still to come as when he finally finishes growing into himself, he will be a competitive force to be reckoned with – not that his size has hindered him winning the Hickstead 5 year old Championships in 2009!

One of the undisputed stars of the show has to be the up-and-coming young superstar Warrior, (below) who recently stole the show at the PSHP Stallion Parade and who never fails to exceed expectations, having won, by the age of 6, approximately £8,000 in actually winnings and is already on the BEF Equine Pathway. There are not many of his age that can claim the same! Warrior is now 7 years old and stands 16.3hh; he is by the KWPN stallion Tangelo vd Zuuthoeve, who has finally come into his own as a sire. On the dam side, not only is every mare in his line either Keur or Ster graded, but his dam sires are none other than the impressive Heartbreaker and Burggraaf. Warrior cannot fail to make an impression wherever he goes: he is one of the most eye-catching horses you will see, whether it is his huge expressive paces, his breathtaking ability to jump seemingly impossibly high fences or his trainability to put on a dressage display complete with double bridle: this stallion has it all! When he came into the arena, the already full gallery suddenly became more crowded, with people clearly coming just to see him, and when he was in the arena, you could have heard a pin drop. His first foals were born in 2009 and all were like their dad: big, well put together and ‘blingy’, with all having huge socks and blazes with the exception of one, a skewbald filly out of the dam of Nederland Esquire and My Squire Caretino. With the record this stallion is building in the competition ring, being almost unbeaten in age classes thus far, as well as the quality of the stock he has so far sired, I am certain he will be a surefire top sire of the future. Judging by the large numbers visiting his stable to meet him afterwards, he will be an even busier boy this year!

Following Warrior was the incredibly versatile and established stallion Caretino Glory (below). This stallion has been a stalwart at Brendon Stud for well over 8 years now and his progeny are certainly getting out and about, with a 6 year old by him winning a big Championship abroad this past winter and others in demand by eventers and show jumpers alike. Caretino Glory is a 16.3hh 12 year old bay stallion by the prolific GP Dressage (yet jumping bred) stallion Cheenook, who was in turn by the undeniably great Caretino. His dam line is just as good, with his dam sire Glorieux having been owned by Paul Schockemöhle and with the superb Calypso I (Cor de la Bryère) appearing on the tail end. Caretino Glory’s achievements are indisputable, with his record in young horse classes being nothing short of amazing. He was the out-and-out Champion at HOYS in the Young Horse Evaluation Series and is an International Grade A stallion in his own right. At the Open Day he showed off exactly what makes him so special; rarely will you see a pure Showjumper with paces such as his. His trot is made for the dressage ring - to him, extension is as easy as breathing - and whilst his main focus is the jumping, which he showed off with great flair, many people would not be blamed for wishing to see him out in the dressage ring professionally. The individual dressage display he did was superb, albeit in places a bit excitable, and it would be great to see this stallion challenged with more upper level dressage movements. Overall this is probably one of the most versatile stallions based at the stud as he epitomises the modern event horse sire as well as being a superb jump sire and excellent for adding athleticism to heavier dressage-bred mares. There are many progeny of his based at the stud, several of which were seen in the stable, and the filly shown by him, Caretino Honey, whilst green, shows all of her sire’s great attributes, with not only his stunning looks but his scopey jump and free expressive paces.