Rotspon has been proclaimed the Hanoverian Stallion of the Year 2017 at a special ceremony held at the 2017 Hanoverian Stallion Licensing in Verden, Germany, on Saturday 28 October 2017.
The 22-year old Hanoverian was presented in hand and received a laurel wreath. Unfortunately his breeder Hans-Heinrich Müller did not live to see this success. His wife Christiane was completely overwhelmed when she accepted the award on his behalf, an oil painting of the artist Manfred Busemann and a well-remunerated cheque.
Rotspon is by Rubinstein out of Antalia (by Argentan I x Pik Bube I x Wendekreis).
He was the reserve champion of the 1997 Hanoverian Stallion Licensing, where the state stud Celle acquired him. They named him Rotspon, a tradition-rich North German expression for high-quality red wine.
Rotspon went on to win the 300-day stallion performance test (HLP) in Adelheidsdorf in 1998 with an overall score of 145.67 points. He scored a dressage index of 148.72 points and for show jumping he got 118.74 points. He beat 1997 licensing champion Londonderry at the time (though Londonderry already became Hanoverian Stallion of the Year in 2013) and breeder Hand-Heinrich Müller received the Freiherr von Stenglin-Award in 1999 for Rotspon's HLP victory.
Remarkably, Rotspon never competed in sport!
Rotspon sired 29 licensed sons in Germany, amongst them U.S. Olympic team horse Rosevelt, Rascalino, Royal Blend, and Re Primeur. He sired 122 state premium mares, amongst them first crop mare Romanze, winner of the 2002 Ratje Niebuhr-Show in Verden.
Photo © Christine Beuke
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