2012 season

With the rise of the internet as both a research and a communication medium, British mare owners are now able to ask questions and analyse stallions to a higher degree than ever. Coupled with the increasing availability of AI, the choice of stallions can seem endless.

Many owners that are, perhaps, breeding performance horses for the first time, are often given the advice that a stallion needs more than just a nice pedigree or just a competition record – he needs the whole package. And Weston Justice is an example of such a stallion.

Firstly the horse himself: short coupled, with a strong topline, not overly big, he really does look like he would suit a wide range of mares to produce a good eventing stamp. Then, performance: having competed to, and won at advanced level, Weston Justice showed not only great trainability and athleticism but also toughness and precocity, being twice placed in the Burghley Young Event horse finals. Ridden by Oliver Townend, he not only won at advanced level but was also placed internationally, including at the Athens Olympic trial event.

His offspring are also starting to represent their sire well. Having covered only limited mares initially, his first decent-sized crop of foals are now 5, and being targeted at the Burghley Young Event Horse series. A number of them have found their way onto professional yards, so Weston Stud are looking forward to the 2010 season with high expectations. A number of stock have also been presented to the BEF Futurity evaluators, scoring high first premiums and he was the 7th highest ranked eventing sire in 2009. Interestingly, that statistic is generated by looking just at a stallion’s top 3 offspring. If you take all the offspring presented into account, Weston Justice actually rises to fourth place overall - a testament to the quality of his stock across the board.

Then when it comes to his genetic background, things get very interesting. So often, mare owners only look at a stallion’s sire line, which in the case of Weston Justice is strong. His sire Criminal Law stood at the famous Louella Stud, and passed on his own attributes of scope and great conformation, and in doing so sired winners in both eventing and the show ring in equal measure. However it is Weston Justice’s dam line which helps him stand out from the crowd. His dam Weston Miskris won Individual Silver and Team Gold medals at the Junior European Championships, at just 8 years of age. Besides Weston Justice, she bred another Criminal Law colt who competes successfully at advanced dressage in Holland.

Weston Justice’s grand dam, Weston Royal, also produced the stallion Weston Maestro, who not only show jumped successfully, but also evented, team chased and hunted. Weston Royal has proved herself to be a wonderful foundation mare, having also produced two more intermediate eventers, and through a separate daughter, advanced dressage horses.

Weston Royal was herself a daughter of one of the greatest HIS stallions, Hoarwithy, who produced both show horses and eventers, and great breeding stock.

Here in Britain, breeders often feel they struggle to compete with mainland Europe, where the stud book data, strict grading procedures and slick marketing attract many UK buyers. And don’t forget the sheer numbers produced. There is a lot to learn from the Continent on these aspects but also a lot to learn about their breeding selections. Top stud books, such as the Holstein and Trakehner, attribute great respect to their mother lines. They can recall both top breeding stock and excellent competition horses that are produced by different mare families, and how those families mix with different sire lines.

A mother line such as the one that produced Weston Justice would be highly praised in Europe and when you add his own competition record, he surely must be the complete package for the mare owners seeking to breed a top eventer.