So Unique STH, Champion of the 2025 KWPN Stallion Licensing

Breeding

KWPN

- Text © Eurodressage (this article expresses Eurodressage's' eye-witness account and opinion about the licensing)
-- Photos © Dirk Caremans

The strong and supple moving So Unique STH was named the champion of the 2025 KWPN Stallion Licensing in 's Hertogenbosch on Saturday 1 February 2025.

A collection of 87 colts was selected and 80 were presented at this year's Dutch warmblood licensing. The commission accepted 35 colts for the stallion performance test, a mandatory phase which the colts have to conclude before being officially "licensed".

Seven colts were named premium and were invited to the champion's ring to vie for the title, a concept re-instated by the KWPN society this due to popular demand. For five years (2020 - 2024) the premium stallions were unranked. The "lunging" phase for KWPN stallions was dropped in 2022 after two tries (2020 - 2021).

So Unique STH Champion

The licensing committee, consisting of Bart Bax (chair), Johan Hamminga and Wouter Plaizier, was quite strict in their assessment, which was a breath of fresh air compared to the German licensing where pretty much everything passes that makes it to the licensing (what seems in the hopes of good sales/auction figures). Furthermore KWPN has a foot forward with its public commentary provided by Bax why each stallion is either accepted or rejected.

The KWPN committee chose the athletic chestnut So Unique STH as the cream of this year's crop.

The very handsome colt with four stockings and stripe impressed in freedom with his very engaged hindleg that was always moving under. The horse moved with much elasticity in the body and wasvery quick and light-footed off the ground.

So Unique STH is by the Hanoverian stallion Vivino (by Vivald x Dancier) and out of elite mare L'Unique (by Boston STH x Samba Hit x Farrington). The licensed stallion Pablo Picasso, owned by Glock, comes from this dam line. Sire Vivino is not approved with KWPN and is currently American owned, living in Spain, where he's being produced to Grand Prix level by Alejandro Asencio.

Bart Bax stated that “So Unique STH has a very nice model, moves very light-footed and has a lot of suppleness. He has a lot of balance and uphill tendency and also comes from a strong dam line.”

The breeders and owners of So Unique STH are Lens and Berna Nekeman, whose two daughters Denise and Jeanine Nekeman competed at international Grand Prix level. They own dressage training and breeding stable Het Stouwehof (STH). The Nekeman family owns a big carpet business, Interfloor and were former sponsors of Edward Gal (Interfloor Next One).

Everglow Gold Reserve Champion

Also the reserve champion had a German and golden, i.e. chestnut, touch. The chestnut Everglow Gold is by Westfalian stallion Escolar (by Estobar x Furst Piccolo) He is bred in Germany by Christine Arns-Krogman out of Weihe's Hope (by Sir Donnerhall out of Olympic mare Weihegold). She is owned by Arns-Krogman's Dutch business associates Saskia Poel and Karel Gerrits. Also Escolar is not approved by KWPN.

He was an eye-catcher with his flaxen tail and moved with much uphill tendency in trot. He often rounded his back upwards while moving.

“Everglow Gold is a strongly built stallion, who time after time moves well with his withers up, is light-footed and canters with great suppleness and ease.

McLaren Claims the Spotlight

Not giant Las Vegas with 8 presented sons (of which 3 were selected), but the more nimble and elegant Oldenburg bred McLaren (by Morricone x Sir Donnerhall x Akzent II) was the star of the 2025 KWPN licensing. He had four sons presented and all four of them were licensed. He presented a very uniform collection of similar looking stallions. One made it into the premium ring.

Saint Mclaren SG (by McLaren) is out of elite preferent mare Favorieta A (by Wynton x OO Seven x Ferro). Another top ranked premium stallion with a German sire, but this bay has a strong Dutch mare line that produced Grand Prix horses Grandeur A (Laurens van Lieren) and the licensed New Orleans (by Farrell).

Bred by Z.S. Geerligs-Dijk and owned by stallion keeper Joop van Uytert in partnership with Jan Anker (co-owner Hermes), Saint McLaren showed a very cadenced trot and strong striding canter, though could have been a fraction more uphill. The walk had plenty of overtrack but the horse could have marched a bit more.

The other three licensed McLaren sons are San Diego (out of an Olivi x Ulft x Lector dam. This smaller (1.62 cm) gorgeous bright bay impressed very with very elegant appearance and cadenced trot. He is bred and owned by De Dalhoeve. The dark bay Sirendo KH (out of a Tuschinski x Rousseau x Inspekteur dam) also had a very rhythmical trot with much ground cover. In canter he was often in cross canter and had a stiff tail. The walk had two hooves overtrack, the rhythm was okayish. He is bed by E. Reemst and owned by a quartet: Diederik van Silfhout, G. Rensink, Pail Jansen, and R. Prinsen. The fourth McLaren was Singapore Ave (out of a Governor x Tuschinski x Hitchcock dam). This taller bright bay had a beautiful face and neck and also moved well with good cadence. He is bred and owned by A. van Erp.

The Other Premiums

Aside from the champion and reserve champion the other five premium stallions were not ranked.

Premium stallion Sylvester (by Bordeaux x Zhivago x San Remo) was a very youthful looking colt who had good basic gaits but still lacked some power, particularly in canter he could not keep the balance and self carriage yet. This cute colt has plenty of promise though as he will muscle up in the future. He is bred by H.P. de Zeeuw-van Heuckelum and owned by Joop van Uytert.

Premium colt Simply the Best (by Ferguson x Dream Boy) is an exciting colt with a lovely type and a good trot, albeit a fraction slow. He is bred by A. van Ballegooijen and owned by Jeroen and Emmelie Witte-Scholtens.

The liver chestnut Scott Nicolas (by For Romance x Vitalis) is bred and owned by dressage rider Judith Ribbels. The full bodied colt moved with power but could have more uphill tendency.

The Schellekens' family can be proud of their Scaramouche (by Toto Jr. x Negro) who is an appealing young stallion with a strong and powerful trot that is light footed and with a hindleg reaching under. The walk had plenty of overstep but could be a bit more supple in the back.

KWPN Select Sale

Scaramouche became the price highlight of the KWPN Select Sale following the licensing. He sold for 280,000 euro.

The second most expensive stallion was Salvation ES (by Bloomberg x Vitalis). Egbert Schep's tall black stallion showed a trot with a good balance but had a stiff tail. He sold for 180,000 euro.

Shemar I.K. (by Total McLaren x Glamourdale) trotted with much cadence and power, but appeared a bit weak in the loins. He sold for 70,000 euro.

Two horses sold for 60,000 euro: Stromae (by Las Vegas x Sir Donnerhall I) who had a rather quick and short walk and Special One (by Livius x Wynton). The latter had a ground covering walk, but did not have the prettiest face.

Sunshine (by Total McLaren x Apache) found a new owner in the USA for 55,000 euro. He stood out with his cute face and uphill canter.

Non-Licensed Colt Third Most Expensive!

Nameless colt by Taurus x Finest Selection

Taurus x Finest Selection x Dante Weltino. This black was a stunning colt with a powerful canter, floaty strong trot wok and a nice neck. He was surprisingly not selected for the performance test but his 110,000 euro auction price proved that he was a catch. He is bred in Germany by C. Boekhoff and owned by R. Janssen

The non-licensed Snoop Dogg FM (by Sir Donnerhall I x Johnson) sold for 50,000 euro. He was a supple mover with an elastic trot and lots of push from behind. The hindleg could be a bit more carrying. He's related to the licensed stallion Intro K.

So Special (by Total McLaren x OO Seven) sold for 48,000 euro. He should move more under with the hindlegs.

Worth Mentioning

Overall the quality of the collection was quite good with a lot of supple moving horses. Not all of them had good back usage and could have been a bit more uphill in general, but the KWPN can look back at a good crop.

There were several colts that had something attractive to them.The most interesting one of the lot was the licensed Sonic, a gorgeous liver chestnut by Las Vegas x Davino VOD x Goodtimes, bred by F. Rey and owned by Astrid Langeberg. He seemed quite big boned but moved with featherlight gaits and superb cadence in trot.

The licensed Sergio Leone US (by Morricone x Florencio) was a bit slow behind in trot but was a supple mover with a lovely topline and a hindleg reaching under the body. He seemed to paddle with the left frontleg. His trot in hand was at times better than in freedom.

Street Art (by Mowgli VOD x Wynton) also impressed with his hindleg mechanics and he made easy flying changes in canter. The canter and walk were solid.

The bay who had the crowd clapping the first on day one was Schepje Er Bovenop MP (which means "little scoop on top"). This Sezuan x Stedinger was a trotting machine and probably had the most powerful, floaty trot of all. He clearly preferred the trot over the canter. His walk was huge but got slow and edgy in the rhythm.

Rom Vermunt's Sempre Fidelio (by Kyton x Zack) was a powerful moved with a light footed, engaged trot and powerful canter. He was not selected. Neither was Steenenburg Stradivarius (by Las Vegas x Painted Black) whose canter was uphill, a good regular beat in trot and an okay walk.

The liver chestnut Sunrays Flower (by Las Vegas x Fursten-Look) was maybe not the quickest from behind but had nice elevation in the forehand. The walk was not great. He sold for 28,000 euro at auction.

Speciaal (by Vivaldi x De Niro) had a lovely topline and was an elegant mover with an uphill tendency. The committee wanted to see him "move more under the body."

Results - 2025 KWPN Stallion Licensing

Premium

1. So Unique STH (by Vivino x Boston STH) - Breeders & Owners: Lens and Berna Nekeman
2. Everglow Gold (by Escolar x Sir Donnerhall) - Breeder: Christine Arns-Krogman - Owners: Saskia Poel & Karel Gerrits
Saint Mclaren SG (by Mclaren x Wynton) - Breeder: Z.S. Geerligs-Dijk - Owners: Van Uytert & Anker
Sylvester (by Bordeaux x Zhivago) - Breeder: H.P. de Zeeuw-van Heuckelum - Owner: Van Uytert
Simply the Best (by Ferguson x Dream Boy) - Breeder: A. van Ballegooijen - Owner; Witte-Scholtens
Scott Nicolas (by for Romance x Vitalis) - Breeder & Owner: Judith Ribbels
Scaramouche (by Toto Jr. x Negro) - Breeder & Owner: Schellekens family ==> 280,000 euro

Licensed

Salvation ES (by Bloomberg x Vitalis) - Breeder & Owner: Egbert Schep ==> 180,000 euro
Special Me HH (by For Ferrero x Ampère) - Breeder: D Hermans, T Hendriks - Owners: Van de Sande
Simba VOD (by Fynch Hatton x Jazz) - Breeder & Owner: Van Os family ==> 30,000 euro
Seven Sunday (by Glamourdale x Vivaldi) - Breeder: A van den Broek - Owner: Van Olst
Solo TCS (by Toto Jr. x Jazz) - Breeder: Tim & Leida Collins - Owner: Egbert Schep
Sueño (by Hermès x Vivaldi) - Breeder: Hans Bernoski - Owner: Bernoski & P. Luersman
Singleton Rs2 (by Jameson x Sir Donnerhall) - Breeder & Owner: RS2 Dressage
Saquon SSF (by Jovian x Charmeur) ) - Breeder & Owner: Scot Tolman
Silverstone (by Jovian x Toto Jr) - Breeder: M. den Teuling - Owner: Witte Scholtens
Special Surprise (by Las Vegas x Special D) - Breeder: F. Van Eck - Owner: De Dalhoeve & Nico Witte ==> 36,000 euro
Stromae (by Las Vegas x Sir Donnerhall) - Breeder & Owner: Bernoski ==> 60,000 euro
Sonic (by Las Vegas x Davino VOD) - Breeder: F. Rey - Owner: Astrid Langeberg
Special One (by Livius x Wynton) - Breeder: J. de Jong - Owner: MT Stables, J. Marse ==> 60,000 euro
San Diego (by Mclaren x Olivi) - Breeder & Owner: De Dalhoeve ==> 50,000 euro
Sirendo KH (by Mclaren x Tuschinski) - Breeder: E. Reemst - Owners: D. Van Silfhout, G Rensink, P jansen, R. Prinsen
Singapore Ave (by Mclaren x Governor) - Breeder & Owner: A van Erp
Sergio Leone US (by Morricone x Florencio) - Breede & Owner: Unlimited Stables
Street Art (by Mowgli VOD x Wynton) - Breeder: A. Luyten - Owner: E & M Bakker
Special Order Sth (by Blue Hors Santiano x Davino VOD) - Breeder & Owner: Nekeman
Sotogrande (by Blue Hors Santiano x Feinrich) - Breeder & Owner: Close Horses
Superstar (by Next Romancier x Five Star) - Breeder & Owner: Joop van Uytert & Ad Barneveld ==> 18,000 euro
Slow Down (by Revolution x Don Olymbrio) - Breeder & Owner: Niels Bax ==> 24,000 euro
Schepje Er Bovenop MP (by Sezuan x Stedinger) - Breeder: M P Olthof - Owner: Egbert Schep
Sunshine (by Total Mclaren x Apache) - Breeder & Owner: E. Ten Bosch ==> 55,000 euro
Shemar LK. (by Total Mclaren x Glamourdale) - Breeder: I. Krust - Owner: Jan Pieter Dalsem ==> 70,000 euro
Son of Zalome (by Vitalis x Aljano) - Breeder & Owner: MH Sport Horses & Frank Jespers
Nashville SW (by Secret x Jazz) - Breeder: Stal Willig - Owner: Marco te Brake
King Charles (by Rheinglanz x His Moment) - Breeder: Jill Mieleszko - Owner: Reesink & Turfhorst

Complete catalogue - complete results here.