and jumping and the 2010 WEG where Holsteiners again achieved gold medal status in the team jumping competition and silver in team dressage. The Holsteiner breeding association in Germany and in
North America remains steadfastly devoted to one solitary objective: to dominate the sport of International show jumping. To this end they have achieved their goal in 2010 by placing second in the WBFSH (World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses) rankings for show jumping. While the breeders are happy to celebrate the accomplishments of their horses in other disciplines, they believe that maintaining the focus strictly on jumpers is the best way for their relatively small breeding program to be successful. After all there are plenty of other registries already breeding horses for dressage! However it is possible to find farms throughout Germany and neighboring countries which include Holsteiner genetics in their dressage breeding programs. Of particular note is the Danish Warmblood Calecto V who competes at Grand Prix level for the United States. His sire is the Holsteiner Come Back II and his dam is by a Swedish Warmblood stallion named Rastell who is by the Holsteiner sire Raimondo. In an additional twist of fate both Totilas and Hickstead, champions at the 2010 World Equestrian Games both show the Holsteiner stallion Amor in the dam’s pedigree. Totilas’ dam’s pedigree also contains the Holsteiner stallion Farn twice while Hickstead’s dam shows additional Holsteiner lineage from the stallion Joost
(previously called Conus in Holstein). There is also interesting research that now reveals the
Holsteiner is actually in second place when you compare the percentage of Holsteiner horses that are born who made it in the FEI Top 300 for dressage. According to the Dutch publication Horse Genetics and their report on Sport Horse Breeding, Danish Warmbloods born from 1995 to 2002 have the highest percentage of horses in this ranking at 0.2709%. Holsteiners are second with 0.2254% and the Oldenburgs are third at 0.2034%. This reflects quality of breeding rather than quantity. Now the biggest challenge for the Holsteiner breed is
to provide diversification of its genetics which are largely based on the three sires Landgraf, Capitol and Cor de la Bryere who all achieved dynasties beginning over 40 years ago. To remain on top in the competitive show jumping environment, breeders strive for a horse that is quicker over the ground with good handling to negotiate the demanding courses of top level sport. Adding just the right Thoroughbred blood to the existing mare base will hopefully keep the Holsteiner in its preeminent position competitively, but the haunting question remains: who is the “right Thoroughbred?” One excellent example is the use of the Thoroughbred Ladykiller 45 years ago which propelled the breed on its current course as a modern sport athlete. Replicating his success would be an enormous win for any horse breeding association. v
40 May/June 2011
SPECIAL HOLSTEINER SECTION
American Holsteiner Horse Association
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