KWPN Award Mermus R Keur Predicate

Following the announcement last weekend that Mermus R, the 15 year old stallion by Burggraaf had been awarded the Keur predicate at the stallion show in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, I spoke to one of his joint owners, Alan Robertson, about the prestigious award and his background in breeding.

Brought up in a non-horsey family in Fivemiletown, Co.Tyrone, Alan began breeding at the age of fifteen when he bought his first mare National Clover (Cloverhill x Middle Temple). A full sister to the Grand Prix show jumper Westgate who was campaigned on the circuit by Edmund Hickey, her first foal for Alan was by Dutch Treat. “Her foals sold well” he said, and with the money from her progeny he vowed to buy and breed better every year.

At eighteen years old, Alan moved to France and while there he purchased the lovely Quatoubet Du Rouet mare High Jump Tarroy. High Jump has produced two very talented sons of Quick Star, namely Omega Star who was consistently placed in age classes while ridden here in Ireland by Ronan McLaughlin and is now a resident in Michael Whitaker’s yard, and also Beer Hunter who won the six year old class at The Dublin Horse Show in 2009. Alan has retained a full sister to both of these horses for breeding and her 2010 foal is eagerly awaited, as she is in foal to Mermus R.

Over the years Alan has bought mares and young stock from Stal Roelofs and has built up a great respect for the farm and its occupants. Alan has high praise for their breeding programme as their emphasis has always been “performance orientated” with “strict guidelines on conformation and bloodlines”.

It was inevitable, therefore that when Alan decided that he would like to purchase a quality stallion to stand in Ireland, then Stal Roelofs was his next port of call. He was searching for a stallion to “suit Irish mares and give sufficient blood and quality to the resulting offspring”. His search ended at Mermus R: a thirteen year old bay stallion combining the bloodlines of Burggraaf, Ramiro Z and Joost, a brother to the stallions Odermus and Wender R, and the sire of Rupert R, ridden to the highest level by Peter Charles - and to cap it all, he is the sire of seven approved stallions.

Mermus was purchased in partnership with Justin Burke (owner of Galway Bay Stud) and arrived in Ireland in the spring of 2009 where he subsequently covered over two hundred mares here in Ireland and a further forty mares in Holland.

Some of Mermus R’s most prolific progeny include:

Rubert R (Peter Charles),
Gifted (competitor in several World Cup Qualifiers),
Talent (2nd in the Mechelen Grand Prix),
VDL Groep Zimba (Eric van der Vleuten),
Anuberta (Germany).

Mermus has also done very well at auctions where his son Within Temptation sold for 150,000 at the P.S.I sale to Zangersheide Stud.
He is also starting to make an impact as a dam sire through the 2009 KWPN Champion Arthos.

As a result of Mermus R’s high number of progeny competing at international level relative to the amount of mares he covered, the KWPN decided he was worthy of the Keur award. Mermus and his new owners Alan and Justin were present at the KWPN stallion show last weekend to accept this prestigious award along with five of his progeny. With a large number of enquiries from America, Australia and Holland regarding semen availability, Mermus will stay at a Dutch AI Station for the next month before returning home to Ireland.

Mermus will be standing again at Galway Bay Stud in Co. Galway for 2010, and will be available to UK customers in 2010 through elitestallions.co.uk and you can contact Alan on 07774457829 with any enquiries.

He is fully approved with the AES, Irish Horse Board, KWPN and S.F.

You can keep up to date on news of Mermus with Alan and Justin’s website select-stallions.com which will go live in a few weeks.

Photos courtesy of Dirk Caremans and Alan Robinson