The hyped Oldenburg breeding stallion Jack Sparrow is not participating in the mandatory 30-day Stallion Performance Test in Schlieckau. This means that all 2013 born Jack Sparrow foals will not have full registry papers.
Jack Sparrow was acquired as new ride for Edward Gal in September 2011. With much pomp and circumstance the stallion was hyped in the Dutch press as the new Totilas and the media frenzy pulled Germany in its wake. The stud fee was set at a massive 2,000 euro; a fee normally charged only for elite and older, proven stallions. While Gal initially qualified the stallion for the KWPN licensing process via the KWPN Stallion Competition circuit, the horse was never entered for the KWPN Performance Testing.
The managemant company of the stallion then sent the black star on a German path. Jack Sparrow was originally licensed at the South German Under Saddle Licensing in October 2010, but this approval expired automatically in 2011. As a 4-year old he could have renewed his breeding license by scoring in a German 30-day performance test, but this didn't happen. The Oldenburg Society licensed him in 2012 on the basis of his performances in the KWPN Stallion Competition and under the condition that he would do the Stallion Performance Test either in The Netherlands or Germany.
Owner Carolyn de Roo had planned for Jack Sparrow to participate in the Schlieckau 30-day testing which started yesterday 20 November 2012, but the stallion was not trailered to Germany. A cracked hoof is the reason why the stallion will not be participating in the testing.
"Since April he has been dealing with a cracked hoof on his left front leg," De Roo told Eurodressage. "Fortunately we have it under control now but he is now only worked lightly and shod with special shoes with silicons and pads. Of course I find this very annoying but it is what it is and it is not wise to have Jack Sparrow do some jumping in freedom, which is part of the 30-day testing. The stallion's health is priority."
This means that breeders who used Jack Sparrow in 2012 will not get full registry papers for their 2013 born foals, neither with the KWPN nor with the Oldenburg society. Jack Sparrow bred approximately 100 mares in Germany and 50 in The Netherlands, cashing 300,000 euro in stud fee in 2012. The Dutch bred foals will get a register B-paper.
"We can't register the foals and I'm disappointed by it," Oldenburg dressage director Katrin Burger told Dutch equestrian magazine De Paardenkrant. "This is a bad thing and in my opinion the breeders, who took the risk with this stallion, are deceived."
De Roo discussed the issue with Oldenburg breeding director Wolfgang Schulze-Schleppinghoff two weeks ago and sent out a special letter to all the breeders in which she made a special gesture towards them. De Roo offers to buy any unborn Jack Sparrow foal for 7,000 euro if the interested breeder contacts her before 15 December 2012. Also in the spring of 2013 De Roo will be hosting a special Foal Show at Ahlers' Stallion Station, where all Jack Sparrow foals get 100 euro for participating. The Oldenburg foal inspection committee will rank the foal. The winning foal gets 2,000 euro prize money, the second placed foal 1,500 euro and the third placed foal 1,000 euro.
"So far we have had many positive reactions to our letter and two breeders have acknowledged that they want to use this buy-back service we are offering," said De Roo.
Wolfgang Schulze-Schleppinghoff told De Paardenkrant that Jack Sparrow will now enter the ‘Hengstbuch II’ and all his offspring will only obtain equal rights and possibilities when the stallion is able to comply with the Oldenburg regulations. This means that the stallion now has to finish in the top three five times in an S-level test or complete a stallion performance test later on.
De Roo also confirmed that her company will reimburse any administrative costs which could arise for the foal owners once their paper work will change when Jack Sparrow becomes fully licensed.
Photo © LL-foto.de
Related Links
2013 Born Jack Sparrow Foals to Be without Breeding Papers?
Jack Sparrow to Aim for Autumn Stallion Performance Test in Schlieckau
Jack Sparrow Not to Particpate in 2012 KWPN Stallion Performance Test
Jack Sparrow, New Ride for Edward Gal