Furst Fabrice, Champion of the 2016 Oldenburg Stallion Licensing

Breeding

Oldenburg Breeding News

The dark bay Furst Fabrice (by Furstenball x Sandro Hit) was named champion of the 2016 Oldenburg Stallion Licensing in Vechta, Germany, on 19 November 2016. The 2016 Oldenburg Stallion Licensing featured an overall high quality collection of young colts, unfortunately with no real high flyers. The licensing was furthermore heavily stamped by Dutch blood and for the first time in a decade not a single S-line stallion got approved.

Forty-five dressage bred colts were pre-selected to attend the licensing and four dropped out before the start of the grading. Twenty-five of them were licensed and six named premium.

Zackerey (by Zack x Sandro Hit) The star horse of this year's Oldenburg licensing was, without a doubt, the Danish warmblood bred Overgaard's Zackerey, bred by the Moller Norgaard family in Denmark and owned by Blue Hors Stud. The tall, long legged bay colt is by Zack out of Overgaard's Hit Me (by Sandro Hit x Solos Carex x Paganini xx) and he has a 3-year old full brother Zackaboni. He descends from a top performance line which also produced Grand Priox horses Gorklintgards Dublet, Dorina, Gay and World Champion mares Fiontini and Fiontina. Zackerey is a very athletic colt and showed an incredible active, engaged hind leg that truly reached under, while being very lightfooted and scopey in front. The trot was huge on this big leg mover and he preferred to show trot instead of canter in the freedom phase. In walk the horse has quite straight hindlegs but he keeps a clear rhythm. The stallion is owned by the Danish Blue Hors stud but has been leased to stand in Germany for the 2017 breeding season.

For the premium ring the Oldenburg licensing committee is only allowed to pick Oldenburg registered colts, so that left Zackerey out of contention for the champion's title. Six colts were invited to the premium ring and the final ranking was quite puzzling.

Ampere's Diamond (by Ampere x Royal Diamond) The best Oldenburg registered colt of the premium ring was definitely the Belgian bred Amacho van het Klaverhof (by Ampere x Royal Diamond x Krack C x Feinschnitt I). This bright bay colt stood out with his stunning looks, modern and sporty type. He showed much cadence in trot, with a quick, engaged hind leg. In canter he could swing a bit more over the back but his hindleg was powerful. The walk was good. On the lunge line the horse was rushed by its handler but the quality was definitely there. Amacho van het Klaverhof is an absolutely gorgeous horse but in the premium ring, the committee put him in fourth place, tying with two other colts.. so one could say they were last! His auction price proved otherwise though and he sold for 140,000 euro to Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff, even though at the auction the buyer by proxy remarkably came from Schleswig-Holstein. Linsenhoff has uncreatively renamed the stallion Ampere's Diamond.

Furst Fabrice (by Furstenball x Sandro Hit) The Licensing committee, however, favoured two Furstenballs for the number one and two spot. They were certainly lovely stallions, but neither offered the complete 'star package' one longs for. The champion was René Tebbel's dark bay Fürst Fabrice (by Fürstenball x Sandro Hit x Castro x Weltmeister), bred by Arnold Wegbünder. The champion stood out with his incredibly beautiful, light forehand with much freedom of the shoulder. In trot he has much cadence and nice suspension but the hindleg could be more carrying. In canter the hindleg could show more flexion in the hocks. The walk was good. This horse sold for 300,000 to the Swiss Adrian Gasser.

The reserve champion was the bay Finnländer (by Furstenball x Quattro B x Ramino x Herold), bred by Heinz and Elisabeth Schulte and owned by Johannes Westendarp. The bay earned his reserve title purely on his exceptional presentation on the lunge line, because in the freedom phase the trot had much cadence but the horse could be more uphill oriented with a hind legs that moves towards the point of gravity. The canter could have have more roundness. The old fashioned, sturdy looking colt with his atypical Furstenball face (this one has big cheeks and is quite heavy) is a powerful horse, but the walk is problematic. He easily became lateral. He sold for 220,000 euro to a customer from Bavaria.

Antheros (by Ampere x Lorentin) The third ranked stallion in the premium ring was the athletic Antheros (by Ampere x Lorentin I x Carthago x Königspark xx), bred and owned by Ludwig and Karin Zierer. The sporty bay with his grey tail is a very flashy mover with an incredible front, but he tended to move in two pieces because of weaker loins. His well suspended, flashy trot could have more carriage from behind. The horse is very narrow in the hocks, but still has tons of elasticity. In canter the horse showed big uphill strides and much suppleness. The horse sold to Sweden for 200,000 euro.

The further three premium stallions were Damareto MN (by Danciano x Sandro Hit x Rubinstein x Weltmeister), Fine Romance (by For Romance x Dormello x Feiner Stern), and Valentino (by Vivaldi x Donnerschwee x Rohdiamant). The black Danciano is bred by Alfons Kramer and owned by Silvia and Wilhelm Klausing. The cute black colt stood slightly overbuilt with weaker loins, but he had a lovely neck and showed a good amount of elasticity in trot. He also was tight in the hocks, a typical Sandro Hit trait. He had nice freedom in the shoulder, a good walk and appeared very well mannered and calm in the licensing frenzy. He sold for 110,000 to the Dusseldorf based Magdalena Nash.

Fine Romance (by For Romance x Dormello) The chestnut Fine Romance (by For Romance x Dormello x Feiner Stern x Fiorello) gave three very different impressions on the three licensing days. Bred by Peter Baade and owned by Belgian Patrick d'Eer in partnership with Marita Pundsack, this colt had its best moment during the freedom phase in which he showed off his impressive front. The croup is a bit steep though. In trot he had good bounce and suspension but could cover more ground. Overall he needed to have more uphill tendency. In hand, however, on the final day, the colt disappointed with a jerky hind leg, a high croup and sunken back. He moved in two parts despite the suspension he generated. The walk also became lateral. The Belgian owner, Patrick D'Eer, bought the horse back from 120,000 euro.

Valentino (by Vivaldi x Donnerschwee x Rohdiamant x Freiherr) is bred by Henry Grosse Macke and owned by Swede Johan Ifverson and Dutch Eugene Reesink. The chestnut could not impress with his conformation; while he certainly had a good face, the topline was incredibly straight and the croup very short. He also become narrow at the base behind in trot even though he had much freedom in the shoulder. The hind leg did not show enough self carrying potential in trot and he remained quite flat and stiff in his gaits despite good ground cover and suspension. The horse sold back to Sweden for 130,000 euro.

A highly discussed colt at the licensing was Erdinger (by Escolar x Contender x Coriander x Marlon xx), bred by Hermann Gerland and owned by Gerland in partnership with Gestut Sprehe. After the lunging he was praised by some in the crowds as the best of the licensing, but the old fashioned bright bay colt underwhelmed in freedom. The Westfalian registered Erdinger does not have a smooth topline and does not exemplify modern breeding with his heavy limbs and face; he appeared more the jumper type. The trot was powerful, but there was not enough back usage and he moved unelegantly and on the forehand in freedom.

Twenty-five colts in total were licensed this year and that were probably five too many. Eye brows were certainly raised when the committee exclaimed their positive verdict for the slow Ampere x De Niro and Danciano x Sandro Hit, the unimpressive Aventador (by Ampere x Fidertanz - which sold for 200,000 euro to Scandinavia), the heavy Quidam Royal (by Quateron x Don Diamond), and the unappealing Danish bred Sezuan x Hotline.

The average price for a licensed stallion at the auction was 109,267 euro, the average price for a non-licensed stallion was 25,600 euro. The licensed Zack x Munchhausen x Donnerhall sold for 71,000 euro to Thuringia, the sympathetic Livaldi (by Livaldon x Dancier x Feinbrand) for 70,000 to Thomas Ehrengut in Holstein. The most expensive non-licensed stallion was the chestnut Totilas x Sandro Hit x Figaro which sold to Lower Saxony for 43,000 euro.

by Astrid Appels - Photos © LL-foto