Pre-Olympic Winning Bloodlines
There are some fascinating conclusions to be made about the bloodlines prominent among likely Olympic contenders.
By Judy Wardrope M
any top contenders were present at the recent World Cup Finals for dressage and jumping (March 23–28, 2016, Göteborg, Sweden), at the
Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event (April 28–May 1, 2016, Kentucky) and at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials (May 4–8, 2016, Badminton, United Kingdom). Analyz- ing the bloodlines of these top placing competitors reveals interesting patterns and points out which lines are most influential in each sport.
DRESSAGE
The top ten horses at the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Final provide an interesting pedigree analysis. The dres- sage-specific pedigrees were not surprising, but the ones with jumping bloodlines might raise an eyebrow or two.
Glock’s Flirt, the winner, a Swiss Warmblood, qualifies as bred for dressage, being by Florestan I (sire of such notables as Fabriano and broodmare sire of the likes of Leonidas) and out of a mare by Gauguin de Lully (individual bronze at the 1988 Olympics). The surprise happens with the sire of his granddam, Dream Dancer. Not only was Dream Dancer a jumper, he was actually born in the U.S. and registered as Bush Buck with the Jockey Club. He was a Thoroughbred, and a grandson of Buckpasser. He also traced to other horses found in eventing lineage: Mahmoud, Olden Times, Sir Galla- had III, Princequillo, etc. Three of the top six dressage mounts are descendants
of Donnerhall, all through male lines. Don Auriello (2nd) is by Dondavidoff, a son of Don Gregory (by Donnerhall and out of a mare by Rubenstein I) and a Vollkorn xx/Mano- lete xx mare. Don Auriello’s dam carries further dressage
(Note: xx stands for Thoroughbred in Warmblood breeding.) Warmbloods Today 25
ABOVE: Glock’s Flirt, ridden by Hans Peter Minderhoud of The Nether- lands, came out on top at the FEI World Cup held in Sweden in March. RIGHT: Donnerhall, a flagship stallion for the Oldenburgs, appears in the pedigree of three of the top six dressage horses.
influences courtesy of Weltmeyer, Flores- tan II and Argentan I. Donnperignon (5th) is a direct son of Donnerhall and his dam is a grand- daughter of May Sherif (a Danish dressage horse and sire of dressage horses) and traces to Lucky Boy xx and Pericles xx. D’Agostino (6th) is by De Niro (by Donnerhall and out of an Akzent II mare) and out of a mare by Shogun xx (a grandson of Persian Gulf and Ticino), who is also the broodmare sire of Lancet (an international dressage horse). Unee BB (3rd) is a KWPN by Gribaldi (Trakehner and a Kostolany/Ibikus blend), who was an international dressage
FEI/Roland Thunholm
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