WBFSH Sire Rankings in 2025
Diamantenglanz, who are the favorites in Westphalia? Who tops this year’s stallion rankings?
It is interesting that while the WBFSH stallion rankings are so fixed it seems as though they were carved in stone, the list of stallions that actually attract the most mares fluctuates wildly, with new faces appearing in every breeding season while last year’s stars slowly fade into obscurity.
Some breed associations are a bit cautious about providing statistics, but we do know that in 2023 the most-used stallion in the Westphalian studbook was Diamantenglanz (Diamond First / Bon Coeur).
While show jumping breeders were sticking with the proven genes of Cornet Obolensky (Clinton / Heartbreaker).
Extreme US was the most-used KWPN stallion in 2023 Extreme US (Escamillo / Vivaldi) was.
In northern Sweden, the statistics are more up to date, so we know that the most popular 2025 stallion was Devin Franco G (Vivino / Bon Coeur).
Devin Franco (photo – Michaela Sword) Devin Franco, who is only five years old, has been returned to his previous owner and breeder because of respiratory problems.
This confirms the concerns of many intelligent breeders that many popular young stallions never make it to a competitive career or even a performance test, due to instability, which raises the question: what will the long-term impact on the genes be?
To make things more complicated, Devin Franco’s sire, Vivino, is now nine years old and doesn’t even have a performance result in the FEI database.
Donnerhall, truly a great stallion.
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Let’s take a look at the latest stallion rankings, but first let’s examine what makes a top stallion.
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Obviously, performance at the highest level is a fair starting point, but it is not everything; more than a few show stars have failed at breeding, and vice versa.
Going back to my first paragraph, we like to see a stallion that has endured and proven his soundness.
For example, the undoubtedly great Donnerhall, who competed for the last time at the age of nineteen as a member of the German team at the Rome WEG.
We also like to have a stallion that has passed on a special trait to his offspring.
Again, look at Donnerhall, whose offspring have inherited work ethic and rideability.
A special trait can even overshadow competitive results.
For example Rubinstein, not a great competitor, not even the sire of great competitors, but a proven source of superb temperament — truly, some clever breeders’ eyes light up at the mention of an R, even if it is in the fourth generation of a pedigree.
One important trait we look for is the ability to produce outstanding colts.
This is where the third member of the former powerhouse trio, Donnerhall, Rubinstein, and Weltmeyer, falls short.
Even with opportunities given to no other stallion in the Hanoverian studbook, Weltmeyer, like Rubinstein, failed to produce an outstanding colt.
I’m sure a string of D-stallion stars immediately comes to mind.
Johnson once again, Johnson (Jazz / Flemmingh) has been chosen as the top WBFSH dressage stallion, for the fourth consecutive time, so he must be a great stallion, perhaps.
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Johnson with Hans Peter Minderhoud had a strong performance and his best Grand Prix victory was in Rotterdam with a score of 79.
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He also passed our health test and competed until the age of seventeen.
Offspring?
His best performance in the current ranking is Hartsuiker (Scandic), who is ranked 19th in the world.
He has 33 approved stallions, but still no stars.
Hexagon Double Dutch is ranked 176th and Meggles Boston is ranked 302nd.
And what traits does he pass on to his offspring?
The KWPN offspring report summary says: a uniform set of riding foals with good rectangular conformation and admirable movements.
These foals use their legs well and show a lot of suppleness and good self-carriage.
However, it should be noted that his offspring may be prone to kicking, so that at least one reputable Dutch training stable does not accept any Johnson in its stable, not even offspring of a Johnson mare.
Totilas, now a proven stallion, this year Totilas (Gribaldi / Glendale) has risen from fourth to second place.
Many, including myself, thought that this black horse was more the result than the cause, but he proved us wrong, though with the help of many mares whose quality was guaranteed by the high cost of breeding, at least in the first seasons.
His top four horses are all among the top thirty horses in the world, and his top horse, Total Hope, who has become a star with Isabel Freese, was born from the international mare Isabell Werth, Weihegold (Don Schufro / Sandro Hit).
The others are also of royal blood — his number two, Gotilas du Feuillard from a mare of the Ferro line, Toto Jr (Desperados) and Torvestlettens Titanium (Stedinger).
Total Hope the rest of the top ten horses are an interesting mix of those who have been successful in Grand Prix competitions and those who have not.
Third in the ranking, Quaterback (Quaterman I / Brandenburger), had no competition at FEI level, fourth-placed Vitalis (Vivaldi / D-Day) was a mediocre competitor in Prix St Georges, but as a stallion and sire of stallions he has been influential, while Zack in fifth place (Rousseau / Jazz) was a serious international Grand Prix star.
Apachi (UB40 / Krack C), who is in sixth place, competed in Grand Prix competitions.
Although he was a bit unpredictable in the arena, he is known as the sire of good Grand Prix horses.
Quaterback at the age of 3 received a score of 10 for collected movement in seventh place is Dante Weltino, whose bloodline goes back to some of the earlier stars in the ranking.
He is a son of Danone I by De Niro and out of a mare of the Welt Hit II line.
Dante Weltino this black horse has performed well in Grand Prix competitions and is now known as an exciting sire, which is undoubtedly the reason for his leap from 31st place last year to this position.
Jazz is competing in Jerez, the sire of Johnson Jazz Great (Cocktail / Ulster), who has dropped from fifth to eighth place, will always remain one of the greats of dressage, a Grand Prix competitor and a legendary sire.
Bordeaux Bordeaux (United / Gribaldi), who remains in ninth place like last year, is himself a mediocre Grand Prix competitor but is known as an exciting sire.
At the top of the top ten, Zonik NOP (Zack / Romanov), who has risen from 55th place to get here, mainly thanks to the current international dressage sensation, Zonik Plus (out of a Hohenstein mare), which is ranked third in the world.
The new dressage sensation, Zonik Plus. I still remember, with a little disbelief, the call I received from a man who prides himself on being a top show-jumping breeder.
He asked: “What horses should I use next season?
Which sires will be hot?
” When I explained that I needed to know which mares and what their needs were, he was upset.
This is the formula that makes real breeders.
I remember that Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst, who rode Chacco Blue throughout his career (who is third this year), told me what this horse passed on to the next generation: he said, “He passed on to the next generation an extraordinary technique, front-leg technique, and most importantly, a positive attitude toward the sport.
Some horses may initially be a bit sensitive, when they are young they seem a little odd, not really odd, but their senses are 100%, what they hear, what they see, and it takes a little time for them to calm down.
This is not a weakness; this is something every good young horse has.
” “Chacco Blue, a positive attitude toward the sport…”
He also pointed out that although the owner of this horse, Paul Schockemöhle, had mated Chacco Blue with many mares, he knew each one well, how they were bred, and most importantly what they had bred.
Cornet Obolensky at AachenThe look at this year’s top ten horses shows that they are all outstanding stallions, and it is up to the breeder to make the right choice by analyzing the needs of his mare.
So what factors should we consider before we move on to this year’s number one horse, Cornet Obolensky (Clinton / Heartbreaker)?
This grey horse gained great fame in jumping, but his rider, Marco Kutscher, told me how difficult he was to work with, especially at the beginning of their partnership.
He said: “When I started riding him, he was four years old.
When he was five, I took him to a real show.
I remember it exactly, in May, the first outdoor show.
Cornet was special, lazy at home, he didn’t even look like a stallion, but when you unloaded him from the truck, he became like a lion.
He would go up on two legs, crazy, screaming, wild, uncontrollable, nothing – he would forget everything you had taught him at home.
At home, you almost had to push him to make him move.
” Although he has been one of the most successful stallions in the history of show jumping, his offspring have become known for their particular traits.
Perhaps we should look for mares with an excellent temperament, because Cornet seems to pass on everything else, such as accuracy, power, and scope, to his offspring, with the caveat that they may need a skilled and tactful rider to handle them.
Kannan the second place in this list goes to Kannan (Voltaire / Nimmerdor), who is almost the opposite of Cornet, because he is known for producing horses that are so rideable that even if they do not become international stars — and there are many of them — they can also be enjoyed by amateur riders.
Diamant in fourth place is the outstanding athlete and stallion, Diamant de Sémilly (Le Tot de Sémilly / Elf II).
Having competed at the Olympics with his breeder's son, his influence as a stallion has spread throughout Europe.
In fact, for a while it seemed that he was more popular in Holstein than in his native France, although the balance has now returned, and this year his top eight horses are all identified with the Selle Français brand, led by world number three, Bond Jamesbond de Hay (out of the mare Kannan).
Diamant is currently the leading licensed stallion, with an astonishing number of 169 approved sons.
Mylord Carthago is the next horse in our top ten, Mylord Carthago (Carthago / Jalisco B), which raises another selection issue: are we breeding for quick returns or for lasting fame and glory?
Once again, let Anaud Evain make the point: he said, “Mylord from Carthago inherited athletic ability, but it took a long time for Mylord Carthago to become an efficient athlete, and it seems that Mylord’s offspring also need time to become efficient.
They need time to grow.
There are two speeds in the market.
The speed of selling foals and three-year-old horses, which is the concern of everyone who breeds for money and needs to sell young.
” Then there are stallions like Mylord and Kannan or For Pleasure who are not very popular in this business.
If you are looking for the first market, there are stallions like Heartbreaker, Caretino, Catoki, which have beautiful and attractive jumping, even if they do not have all the power and ability.
If you want to produce a champion for the long term, you may think of For Pleasure or Kannan or Mylord — the breeder must decide what he wants to produce.
The five other stallions in the jumping rankings do not have room for expensive promotion of unproven products.
They are, in order: Vigo d’Arouilles (Nabab d’Rêve / Fleuri du Manoir), Comme il Faut (Cornet Obolensky / Ramiro), Toulon (Heartbreaker / Jokinal de Bornival), Emerald (Diamant de Semilly / Carthago).
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Best WBFSH 2025 stallions in eventing Despite the recent boom in breeding for eventing, our best stallions have mainly been bred for the jumping arena, and only a few of them have proven their worth on the cross-country course.
Diarado Diarado (Diamant de Sémilly / Corrado) is once again at the top of the table, and his team is led by the international star Tom McEwen, namely JL Dublin (Canto 16).
Diarado was certainly bred with jumping in mind, a combination of the best of France and the best of Holstein.
He was a sensation at the Holsteiner licensing and served a large number of mares in his first seasons.
He produced several international show-jumping stars, but it soon became clear that most of his offspring, like their sire, were mediocre jumpers.
Fortunately, it was discovered that they were very well suited to eventing, especially since this bay stallion had been able to attract mares of a quality that no eventing stallion could reach.
Jaguar Mail second stallion, Jaguar Mail (Hand in Glove xx / Laudanum xx) was much more successful and competed on the Swedish Olympic show jumping team at the 2008 Games.
However, with a pedigree that is 7/8 Thoroughbred, he was an ideal stallion for eventing, but as Thomas Carlile, who took several of his progeny to World Championship success, discovered, the best were from Anglo-Arab mares, which gave them a sharpness in front that Jaguar and his offspring lacked.
Obos Quality Third Obos Quality stallion (Quick Star / Domino) was a Grand Prix show jumper, but as one of the European stallions imported to Ireland, on good Irish mares, he became one of the world’s leading eventing stallions.
Upsilon and Thomas Carlile on the way to the fourth stallion, the first one to really make a name for himself as an eventing star.
The horse Upsilon (Canturo / O’vive aa), ridden by Thomas Carlile, shone at the World Championships for Young Horses in eventing and finished runner-up in the seven-year-old class.
He then won the Barbury Castle three-star, but an injury ended his competitive career.
In France, Upsilon was regarded as a savior of the Anglo Arab breed, because very few Anglo stallions remained, and Upsilon, because of his Anglo mother, was eligible for the AA suffix.
Upsilon’s most successful progeny this season is the 4* mare named Golden de Beliard AA, who, as you might guess, is ridden by Thomas Carlile.
Grafenstolz and Michael Jung fifth stallion, the Trakehner named Grafenstolz (Polarion TSF / Camelot), won the World Championships for six-year-olds with Michael Jung and then competed at three-star level before focusing on his breeding duties.
His top rival is one of the true stars of the eventing world, Lordships Graffalo, who is ranked second in the world with Ros Canter.
Lordships Graffalo is out of Cornish Queen, a reminder that very few brave people were involved in this work before eventing breeding became fashionable and profitable.
Graffalo’s dam, Cornish Queen, is by the two-star horse Rock King, himself by the prolific eventing stallion Just A Monarch xx, and out of the four-star Cornish Faer, by another pioneering eventing stallion, Ben Faerie xx.
Lordships Graffalo Our top ten includes five other very good horses, but none of them were bred with eventing in mind.
These horses are: Contendro I (Contender / Reichsgraf), Kannan (Voltaire / Nimmerdor), Diacontinus (Diarado / Contendro I), Vigo d’Arsouilles (Nabab de Rêve / Fleuri du Manoir) and finally Sligo Candy Boy (Balou du Rouet / Conley 2).
Source: The Horse Magazine