Review of the 2025 WBFSH breed rankings by Christopher Hector
Christopher Hector takes a look at the 2025 WBFSH breed books ranking
Dressage Once again Dutch breeders are leading the dressage breed books rankings, and this year these rankings are also a triumph for the Trakehner that came from Germany to the Netherlands, Gribaldi.
Gribaldi The success of this black Trakehner follows the success of Bordeaux, bred in the Netherlands and out of one of the stars of Dutch breeding, United, and from a dam with Gribaldi blood.
In Bordeaux’s dam line there are also signs of the great Donnerhall, who dominated these rankings for years and now only a shadow of his former glory remains.
Bordeaux, the son of Gribaldi, is the sire of Gotilas du Feuillard (Ferro), who is in sixth place in the Dutch team.
While Bordeaux is the sire of Fame (Rhodium), Carl Hester’s horse, who has the third-highest ranking in the Dutch team.
Fame (FEI – Leanjo de Koster) British dressage star Carl Hester speaks highly of this brown stallion.
He told Horse & Hounds: “Bordeaux is almost Guinness World Records-like in the number of Grand Prix horses he has produced from different mares.
It all comes down to one thing: he has given them all the work ethic for Grand Prix, regardless of their shape and size.
The best feature of my Grand Prix horse, Fame, is his Duracell battery work ethic, which I also see in other Bordeaux horses.
” Glamourdale (Rebecca Ashton) It is no surprise that the number one for the KWPN team is Glamourdale, who is by the Rheinlander Lord Leatherdale but out of a completely Dutch dam, Thuja by Negro and from an Ahorn mare.
Bluetooth (Rebecca Ashton) The Oldenburg breed book is in second place, and their team is led by Bordeaux’s son, Bluetooth.
Bluetooth is from one of Paul Schockemöhle’s famous mares, Loreana, by Don Schufro and out of Loretta (Ramino/Welt As), dam of the Hit brothers, Sandro and Diamond Hit.
Total Hope The second-highest score belongs to Total Hope, who is by Totilas and the great Weihegold (Don Schufro / Sandro Hit).
Total Hope is easily the best of the seventeen foals produced by former star Isabell Werth.
Denoix In third place is Denoix, who is by Destano, son of Desperados.
Denoix is out of a daughter of Pik Noir – now a reminder of the past, Donnerhall on Pik Bube!
Maxima Bella (Photo – Rebecca Ashton) The Oldenburg team’s number four is Maxima Bella, who is by Millennium out of Easy Game by Gribaldi and from a dam by Christ.
Both Bordeaux and Gribaldi were discovered by the talented breeder Joep van Uytert.
Joep says: “It was love at first sight.
” He said: “When I first saw Gribaldi, it was 25 years ago, he was two and a half years old and really was a true stallion, he won the Trakehner stallion show.
We bought him there and then, he came to the Netherlands, he gave a good performance test, and then his first crop of foals was born a year later.
At that time, people said the Trakehners were a bit ordinary, they had good types but had problems with canter and the hind leg, but many breeders were still interested in him and bred to him every year.
Easy Game said: “Then his first horses came under saddle, and when they reached six or seven years of age, you saw that they had a lot of potential for piaffe/passage, and that is the strength of the Trakehner.
You see many Trakehner horses that have ordinary movements, but when they come back, they have a very good rhythm in piaffe/passage, and that is the pinnacle of Gribaldi breeding and, of course, his son, Easy Game.
” Bordeaux has a very balanced pedigree.
He is by United, who combines the blood of Anky van Grunsven’s two Grand Prix stars, Krack C and Partout, with Gribaldi.
Bordeaux’s dam line takes us to Germany and introduces the blood of the great Donnerhall, while the lower line takes us to Adone, the dam of Nicole Uphoff’s wonderful Rembrandt.
Again, Joep was immediately captivated: “The very first moment I saw Bordeaux in the pasture as a foal, he was a horse who effortlessly packaged his gaits and had a smooth, flowing topline that showed plenty of technique and connection between his forehand and hindquarters, which also appeared in training.
” Toto Junior The powerful Hanoverian book that was once so strong has fallen to third place with the help of several generations of Gribaldi.
Their second representative is Toto Junior, born in the Netherlands, out of a mare by De Niro named Desperados, who died at the age of nineteen, and we can only think about how influential this black horse could have been if he had not died so young.
The third member of their team is Toto Junior’s son, Taminiau, out of a daughter of Sandro Hit, a stallion that has disappeared from sight.
The Hanoverian group also highlights another fading line, the Westfalien F line.
The top Hanoverian is the powerful Freestyle, by Fidermark and out of a mare by Donnerhall, while their group is completed by First Class, by Florestan’s grandson named Fürstenball.
Freestyle (FEI/Pernilla Hägg) Twenty years ago, when the European Common Market’s free trade rules forced French breeding authorities to open the studbook, the voices of traditionalists rose in protest and the French purebred horse was condemned to extinction, but two decades later, a period that also saw the disappearance of the powerful state studs, the Selle Français studbook appears to be surviving well.
They were once again named champions of the show-jumping studbook, and their traditional rivals, Holstein and the Dutch, finished second and third respectively.
In this day and age, it is astonishing that the six horses whose scores secured France’s victory were all, except for one, French.
Donatello d’Auge (FEI/Benjamin Clark) At the head of this group is Donatello d’Auge, the international star with Julien Epaillard, whose best performance this year was the €172,500 prize for first place in Basel.
Donatello d’Auge’s pedigree even celebrates one of the forgotten streams of the French breed, the Anglo-Arab, through his sire Jarnac, who is by Ryan d’Anzex aa.
The dam line is equally French and includes two crosses of the great Almé through Olisco and Galoubet A.
This stallion was bred by Julien’s wife, Susana, out of Tequila d’Auge, who was used as a broodmare after an injury.
His sire, Hello Pierville, was competed by Susana to five-star level.
Bond Jamesbond de Hay (FEI_Kim C Lundin) if the leading horse in the SF team is a “blue-blood,” the second horse, Bond Jamesbond de Hay (breeder, Jean-Luc ‘Helgouarc’h), according to Arnaud Evain, a French breed expert, is somehow a “mongrel.”
His top line is entirely French through the horse that dominates the SF team, Diamant de Sémilly, while his dam is a mix of Hanover and Holland through Kannan and Holstein thanks to Capitol II.
This horse is ridden by the Belgian, Gregory Wathelet, and his best result this year was €125,000 for the win in Windsor.
Diamant de Semilly is the third-placed horse in the SF team, Dexter de Kerglenn, who is by the French star, Mylord Carthago, who himself is by the great Holsteiner, Carthago, and out of a dam who may be the greatest show-jumping broodmare in history, Fragance de Chalus (Jalisco/Fury de la Cense), although it should be noted that Fragance benefited from the unique skills of her owner Joris de Brabander.
This Belgian veterinarian was one of the pioneers of embryo transfer, and his amazing ability to select the right “cross,” together with Joris’s interest in harness racing, led to the production of a string of international show-jumping horses.
Fragance is the dam of 34 foals, including two top French stallions, Mylord and the son of Centro, Nortond’Eole, and competitors at five- and six-star level, too many to mention.
Dexter (FEI/Leanjo de Koster) Dexter’s dam, Shana de Kerglenn, contains some of the best French jumping bloodlines.
She is by Diamant de Sémilly and out of a dam by world champion Quito de Baussy.
Dexter’s full brother, Darius, is a 1.60 jumper, while his sister, Dana, competes at 1.55.
Ermitage Kalone (FEI/Benjamin Clarke) The fourth-ranked horse, Ermitage Kalone, was bred in France but has been presented by the Belgians as a BWP Ambassadeur.
He is by the Holsteiner, Catoki, grandson of the great Caletto I, and out of Bellaventure Kalone by Kannan and from an Anglo Arab mare by Veloce de Favi.
The next Selle Français representative, Dynastie de Beaufour, reminds us of two things: first, the vital role of her sire Diamant de Sémilly in the breeding of modern French jumping; in fact, this mare was bred by Eric Levallois, whose name is inseparably linked with the record of this great stallion.
It also shows that perhaps Brussels bureaucrats were acting in the interest of French breeders in 1994 by opening up breeding borders, because this mare is out of a Holstein mare by Cassini I and from a dam by Calvados II.
Kannan completes the French group, Vitalhorse Fleur d’Oz, who is by Kannan’s son, Olimbus Merze, and out of a mare by Papillon Rouge.
The Holstein book is ranked second in this year’s standings; this is also a breeding association that has only just managed to enter the world of cross-border fertility, but once again, the result seems to justify the move.
Their number one is Bull Run’s Jireh, who is by the Dutch stallion Uriko, himself by Untouchable out of Hors la Loi II, the French stallion whom Joep van Uytert identified at the age of three and a half and placed on his farm.
Jireh is out of a mare with excellent Holsteiner breeding, Colman on Contender.
Monaco NOP ©FEI/Lukasz Kowalski, the second-ranked Holsteiner, Harrie Smolders’ show-jumping machine, is Monaco.
This horse is by Cassini II and out of a Contender mare whose dam is by the Thoroughbred great Heraldik, best known as the sire of eventing horses.
Monaco was bred by Ralf Luetje, a second-generation Holsteiner breeder and the 2023 breeder of the year, who is a little surprised to see himself as the breeder of an international star.
He said: “Over the years, our family has bred many foals, and most of them have gone on to become breeding horses or top-level leisure companions.
Given that, it is truly special that one of our horses has been this successful internationally.
Whenever I see Monaco on television, my palms sweat.
” Third is Conor Swail’s horse, Casturano (Castelan I / Canturo), who combines a balanced mix of the Cs that made Holstein famous, the power of Capitol and the intelligence of Cor de la Bryere and, in the last line, one of the greats of the past, Landgraf.
For Pleasure is fourth with For Gold by For Fashion, son of the show-jumping horse and Hanoverian sire, For Pleasure, out of a Heraldik xx mare.
With the fifth Holsteiner representative, Lyjanair, we are back in the Schleswig-Holstein marshes.
This horse’s pedigree includes many Holsteiner greats.
This horse’s sire, Lyjanero, is a grandson of Lord and out of a Casall mare.
Lyjanair’s dam, named Villa, carries a combination of Coriano and Contender.
The sixth member of the Holstein team, My Lady Lavista, is by Mylord Carthago and the Holsteiner mare Tina II by Levisto.
Her pedigree includes three of the greats – Landgraf, Caletto I and Corrado –.
The old legend of eventing that said eventing horses could not be bred has been completely disproven.
A look at the world’s top horse competitions shows that, in the winners’ circle, there is a series of purpose-bred, superb eventing horses.
The eventing horse leading the winning Holstein team is London, the world’s top eventing horse and a big star with Laura Collett of Britain.
London London is by Landos, the half-blood son of Lord and out of a mare by Calypso I (Cor de la Bryere).
Calypso I was never as famous as his brother Calypso II, who introduced Holsteiner blood into Hanover, but unlike the usual Holsteiners, both produced more dressage horses than jumpers – the elder brother produced six Grand Prix show jumpers and twelve dressage horses that reached Grand Prix.
London is out of Vernante, who is by Quinar and out of a Selle Français grand-sire, Quidam de Revel (by Alme’s son, Jalisco B).
Quinar is out of Adele, a granddaughter of Alme, and in the dam line there is another crossing of Calypso I.
Vernante’s dam, Legende VII, is by Cassini I and out of a mare by Sacramento Song xx.
Ladykiller appears that Holstein breeders have benefited from the legacy of that group of Thoroughbreds – Ladykiller, Cottage Son, Sacramento Song – which helped transform the Holsteiner from a working horse into a modern sport horse.
All these horses are present in London’s pedigree.
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London was bred by Ocke Riewerts, a small family breeder on the island of Föhr.
He has won the WBFSH Breeder of the Year award in eventing twice, in 2021 and this year.
The next in the Holstein team, another of the world’s best, JL Dublin is owned by Tom McEwan.
This horse is by Diarado, who has had a roller-coaster career.
He was first presented as the ultimate combination of the best of France and Holstein, by Diamant de Sémilly and out of a mare by Corrado.
This stallion was introduced to many quality mares with a dream start and with the cooperation of Holstein Verband, Joep van Eytert and Paul Schockemöhle.
Diarado was not successful in competition, and while he produced several outstanding jumpers, the result was somewhat disappointing, although he now seems to have found his place as a sire of event horses.
JL Dublin is out of Zarinna, who is by the 1.60 show jumper Canto and out of a mare by the Landgraf son Lombard.
Carlitos Quidditch and Malin Hansen-Hotoop (FEI – Benjamin Clark) In third place among Holsteiner horses, Carlitos Quidditch K is by Quiwi Dream and out of a Quidam de Revel mare and a Contender mare.
Carlitos is out of a mare by Cassini I.
In fourth place is the horse Vitali, by the grand sire Contender (Calypso II/Ramiro) and out of Heraldik xx.
The next horse, Commando 3, is by Casall, namely Connor.
Commando is out of the Holsteiner mare R-Adelgunde, whose sire is the Thoroughbred Amigo.
Laura Collett completes the Holstein team by riding Dacapo, another son of Diarado out of a Canturo mare.
The Irish studbook is in second place this year and offers an interesting blend of traditional Irish blood and imports that saved the Irish horse from stagnation.
Brookfield Quality (Libby Law) The top spot in their team goes to another horse of Tom McEwan named Brookfield Quality, who is by the French show-jumping star Quick Star’s son, Obos Quality, who has had a major influence on the development of modern Irish sport horses.
Brookfield Quality is out of a mare by Cavalier Royale, a Holsteiner import by Cor de la Bryere.
Cooley Rosalent, The second top Irish horse, Cooley Rosalent, but it should be noted that seeing the Cooley prefix in competition results, you may think there is a farm called Cooley with a very successful breeding program.
But that is wrong, Richard Sheane and Georgina Phillips, the two talented people behind Cooley, do not breed any horses and search across Ireland for promising horses.
Their activity began in 2004, and now their clients include big names in the competition world.
Cooley Rosalent is no exception to this program either.
He was bred by J.
W.
Rosbothan in Armagh and is by the imported Dutch sire Valent (Hors la Loi / Lux Z) and out of a Thoroughbred mare.
Rosalent has had an outstanding record with Ollie Townhend, and the highlight of his last year was winning the 5* Lexington competition.
The next horse is Jack of Diamonds, by the Swedish sire Irco Mena and a mare that has a combination of two legendary eventing sires, Imperius xx and King of Diamonds.
Cooley Snapchat (FEI-Libby Law) the next three horses on the Irish team show the vital role of 'foreign' stallions.
Cooley Snapchat (Kannan / Arkansas VDL), CSF Mr Kroon (Kroongraaf KWPN/ Cavalier Royale) out of an Obos Quality mare and finally Black Ice, who was born from the Dutch sire Vechta (Voltaire) and Brookhall Lady by the sire Galoubet A, Touchdown.
Britain is the spiritual home of eventing, and from the very beginning there were a number of brave breeders who deliberately bred for the discipline rather than by chance.
So it is no surprise that the Sporthorse Breeding of Great Britain book comes in third place, although unlike the pioneers of British event horse breeding such as Sam Barr, this time breeders have relied heavily on continental European horse blood.
Lordships Graffalo (FEI- Libby Law), number one on the SHBSB team, is another star on the powerful British team; Lordships Graffalo belongs to Ros Canter and is by the Trakehner stallion named Grafenstolz (Polarion TSF / Camelot), who competed with Michi Jung in a three-star event, but his dam is from the early British eventing stallions, Ben Faerie xx and Just A Monarch xx.
Jaguar Mail is the second highest-ranked event horse Colorado Blue, who like the fifth, Treworra, is by Jaguar Mail, a very successful stallion in event horse breeding.
I am sure Bernard le Courtois was aiming to breed a show-jumping horse when he bred Jaguar Mail, and in fact this stallion was a member of the Swedish Olympic show jumping team, but looking at his pedigree, he seems like the ideal event horse breeding stallion.
Jaguar Mail is seven-eighths Thoroughbred.
His Thoroughbred sire, Hand in Glove, was a 1.60 show jumper and competed in Prix St Georges dressage.
His maternal grandsire was Europe’s last Grand Prix Thoroughbred show-jumping star, Laudanum, who was bred to a mare that combined the two jumping immortals, Almé and Gotthard.
Add to this combination another one of Laura Collett’s front-running horses, Bling by Kannan (it seems no ranking is complete without Kannan), and let us finish with a leading note.
Chilli Morning IV (FEI-Ecary) is the latest member of the SHGB team, a clone, Chilli Morning IV, owned by Gemma Stevens and on the rise, and like his famous sire?
Brother?
is by Phantomic xx and out of a mare by Kolibri.
There are four clones of Chilli Morning, and unlike previous cloning attempts, all of them look promising.
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Source: The Horse Magazine