F


Erica Larson


or many Warmblood enthu- siasts, just the mention of the


famous stallion Riverman is enough to send chills down their spines.


The stunning grey Holsteiner, who currently stands at stud at Hilltop Farm in Colora, Maryland, was the Reserve Champion at his stallion licensing, and was a Verband stallion in Germany for the first part of his life. After the now twenty-year-old was imported to the


United States in the early 1990s, Riverman was named the 1995 Grand Champion at Dressage at Devon. Although he was never competed at the top level of the sport, he was trained to Grand Prix dressage, and his athleticism shined as he mastered all the upper level movements. Warmblood breeders in the United States quickly took


notice of Riverman as a potential sire for their future foals. The foals he produced in Germany were some of the top jumpers and dressage horses on the circuits. Initially, many of his foals in the United States were of the same classification, and some eventually excelled in the sport of competitive driving. But a small and very select group of Riverman foals— fillies to be exact—have been excelling over the past


38 November/December 2010


few years in the sport of three-day eventing. In 2009, two Riverman-sired mares made the FEI WBFSH Eventing Rankings. Another is flying around Intermediate level courses with ease. A fourth has retired from eventing, and is now producing Riverman granddaughters. Whatever the reason, Riverman daughters have taken the eventing world by storm.


and ridden by Kristi Nunnink. Affectionately known as Rosie, this flashy grey rocketed up the levels and currently competes at the Advanced level. Kristi grew up riding hunters, but made the switch to


O


eventing at the age of twenty-two. She competed her first mare, Limited Edition, through the Intermediate level. In 1984, “Eddie” was named the Open Intermediate Champion in California. Kristi stuck with eventing after Eddie retired. She kept riding, and in 2005, she met the horse that would propel her onto the international eventing scene. “I first saw Rosie when she was a four-year-old,” says


Three pictures of RIVERMAN, the Holsteiner stallion from


Hilltop Farm. (Galloping photo, left, by Bob Langrish; Scott Hassler riding the piaffe, center, photo by Alix Coleman)


ne of Riverman’s most successful daughters in eventing is R-Star, a nine-year-old Holsteiner owned


R-STAR


By


➡


Riverman


Mares Eventing


ROCK!


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