20 March '24
The Z breeders of the jump-off horses
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Z-Events
@sportfot
This year a stunning twenty-nine Z horses jumped in the WC finals and that means the horse is made of the right stuff. How did the Z breeders achieve that? By making deliberate choices or by chance? Or maybe a combination of both? Z-Magazine popped the question. Aberdeen Z’s dam returned to Helena Stormanns because of an injury. Tim Franssen couldn't sell Celvin FS Z’s dam and hence started her in breeding. Jorn Blevi has a connection with Carlsberg Z’s dam line. The Morsink family have been breeding with their Calida Z for several generations. Geert Baertsoen has a soft spot for Cornet Obolensky and Matteo Delmiglio bought an embryo from the De Brabander family hoping to breed a good showjumper.
5-year-olds
In the 5-year-olds we make an exception for two horses who narrowly missed the jump-off due to time penalties. But these horses completed an excellent week with good results.
Carlsberg Z
Carlsberg Z (Comme il faut – Ma Belle Z x Mylord Carthago) is the first horse from Jorn Blevi’s breeding who jumped at the WCs. Carlsberg Z has another horse in his family who had done so before him, Clintop (Clinton) who ultimately progressed to 1.60m. ‘I sold Carlsberg Z at an auction when he was a foal. Throughout the years I stayed in touch with Greg Broderick to see how Carlsberg Z was developing and he seemed to be doing really well. I used his sire Comme il faut because of his technique and his singular jumping style, he jumped like a cat. I can see the same now in Carlsberg Z. At home I have a horse-raising yard, t’Laarveld in Kampenhout. I only breed two to three foals a year, all directly from the Clintop line. I started this line with the mare Sarilla van de Kiekenhoef (Caprilli), granddam of Clintop. She was a very athletic horse, when she took off in the jump-off she was ultra fast and if she stayed clean she always won. I was terribly lucky to be able to buy Clintop’s dam and granddam. Carlsberg Z is out of a half sister of Clintop. I used Mylord Carthago on Carlina v/d Kiekenhoef Z (Calvaro Z out of Sarilla van de Kiekenhoef) because he was doing so well in the sport at that time. He was still fairly young and I believed him to be a good match for the Calvaro Z mare, with the eye on adding a bit more blood. I called that foal Ma Belle Z simply because she was such a gorgeous thing. Ma Belle Z is presently in foal by Dourkhan Hero Z. His blood is going to be a good fit with the Mylord Carthago blood. A half sister of Carlsberg Z, the mare Cornelle Z (Cornet Obolensky) is in foal by Colorit Z. Last year I got a colt foal from this combination. If it had been a filly foal I would have loved to keep it. I’m hoping for a filly foal next year. This line produces good-looking, athletic foals. It’s still a young line but I see a future for it. So it was hugely exhilarating to watch Carlsberg Z at the WCs. I had already seen footage of the Thursday and Friday and then I knew he was going to keep a clear record. But watching it live makes it quite exciting. I’m going to go full circle with Clintop. He was first competed by Max Kühner and later by Daniel Deusser. Clintop was retired and Stefan Conter suggested to give Clintop to my eldest daughter, who also jumps. On the condition of course that I couldn’t sell Clintop. Meanwhile he enjoys the run of the field in his old days, together with the young stock. His 32-year-old granddam is also turned out in the same herd of youngsters. The older and younger horses are in the same field. The older ones bring peace and quiet to the herd and keep the little ones in check. The younger horses keep the older ones on the move and they all play with each other.’
Aberdeen Z
Helena Stormans (HS Sportpferde GmbH) is no stranger in the horse world. She was an international showjumping rider and these days she’s mainly known for the many riders she trains and coaches at competitions. She is the breeder of the approved stallion Aberdeen Z (Aganix du Seigneur Z – Cascada x Canturo) who just missed the jump-off on account of two time penalties. ‘I attended the WCs in the capacity of owner, breeder as well as trainer. I certainly wouldn’t call myself a professional breeder. I am however sincerely interested in breeding. That happened because my star horse Just Malone from my career as a rider in the 80s, turned out to be by the same sire as Nick Skelton’s Apollo (Erdball xx). In those days no one in Great Britain had a clue about breeding, apart from breeders of racehorses. This piqued my interest and the fact that my horse was related to Nick Skelton’s horse fascinated me. I started following horses in Europe, incidentally I also married a German and moved to Germany. That’s when I started following horses that were purpose-bred and where I could find similarities in their bloodlines. It was the time of Hervé Godignon and Quidam de Revel taking part in the Olympic Games of Barcelona. I followed the horses and purchased them on the basis of their bloodlines. When my husband and I bought stables near our sport stables in Eschweiler we found the opportunity to start breeding ourselves. It all began with the mare Cascada who I had sold to a client who had jumped at 1.40m, but she contracted a tendon injury. I took Cascada back to put her to use as a broodmare. Her first foal would be for the owner but after that she would be mine again. Her second foal was Aberdeen Z. I paired her to Aganix du Seigneur Z because she is very careful and is high-blooded, but she isn't overly tall. With Aganix du Seigneur Z I was aiming to add more capacity and size. I didn’t want to use a stallion who breeds small offspring, which was an important reason to opt for Aganix du Seigneur Z. I had already seen a few of this stallion’s offspring and decided that he would be the right match. Aganix du Seigneur Z is a good sire. When he was a foal Aberdeen Z already had a tendency to act as the leader of his group and was always in front. He has always been a very special horse.’
6-year-olds:
Celvin FS Z
Tim Franssen is the breeder of Celvin FS Z (Carrera VDL – Uschi-Vira x Hors la Loi II) and is indeed a small breeder: ‘I have my own sport stable in Gilzen and own two broodmares who are both living in Lode van de Weghe’s yard in Belgium. He is a friend of mine and takes full charge of all my mares. For me breeding was not really a very serious affair to begin with, but now that our breeding products are starting to do rather well I am really enjoying it. Frankly, Uschi-Vira has already given me some -good offspring. She was a mare I had purchased for my girlfriend but since they were not a very good match I tried to sell her again. But without success. She had however, a good pedigree. All her offspring are terribly good jumpers. Uschi-Vira herself is very sharp with good quality over the fence, but she lacks capacity. It’s a blessing in disguise that she stayed. Unfortunately, Uschi-Vira died when she gave birth to her last foal, the foal didn’t live either. Celvin FS Z is her last foal. I now continue breeding with a half sister of Celvin FS Z, Grease DK Z by Grison van den Bisschop and that looks promising, which enables me to continue her line. A half brother of Celvin FS Z, Gambler Z by Glasgow van’t Merelsnest, has already taken part in the Global Champions Tour. That’s looking good too. We have paired her to stallions with capacity, such as Glasgow van’t Merelsnest and Carrera VDL and that has turned out well. I was awfully proud of Maxime Thefenne and Celvin FS Z, Maxime has only been here for a year. The results are exceptionally good. Maxime has never ridden at high levels. He used to ride 4-year-olds in France. This was his first international competition. Celvin FS Z is a very level-headed horse who always gives his best and has lots of capacity. I was truly happy for the rider to see them performing so well together.’
Don Juan Z
Wim Luyten is not a new name for Z-Magazine readers. Last year Don Juan Z (Dominator 2000 Z – Zitha x Fuego du Prelet) also made it into the final and finished in 12th place in the final for 5-year-olds. Wim then already told us: ‘First of all, Don Juan Z comes out of a very fine dam: Zitha (Fuego du Prelet x Narcos II x Le Mexico). A tall dam who gave a tall foal. We bought Zitha as a broodmare. Her first foal was by Contendro and was sold to Russia as a dressage horse. Don Juan Z is her second foal, from one of Dominator 2000 Z’s first crops. Sadly, dam Zitha is no longer alive and we don’t have any daughters from her that we could have used to continue the line. I saw Dominator 2000 Z and wanted him. His model hugely appealed to me and when we saw him jump that also caught the eye. We were looking for a stallion with lots of capacity. At that time his stud service fee was €1,000. I don’t know the current price for Dominator 2000 Z but I reckon we had quite a bargain. And the result is good. We presented him a the Z-Inspection as a 2½-year-old but he was too green. No need to return the second day, a correct decision by the Jury. He was subsequently schooled by a young lady rider but just like his sire, Don Juan Z became rather formidable and strong so he went to Jarno van Erp, who now owns a half-share in him. Last year we saw him jump three clear rounds, a rather outstanding performance. This year he jumped the qualifier in the Netherlands and again stayed clean, so he was off to the WCs for the second time. And again he reached the final. That is, shall we say, every breeder’s dream. Pity he had that one pole down in the jump-off but other than that his jumping was fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I follow all events where Don Juan Z jumps. If he’s on the starting list we try to go and watch as many times as possible. I sadly no longer have a broodmare from Zitha’s line but I do have a Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve mare whose granddam is Heroine de Muze. Right now she is the only showjumping mare we use for breeding. We are hugely enjoying Don Juan Z’s successes.’
7-year-olds:
Calida Z
The Morsink family have a strong connection with the WCs. Several horses from the direct line of Calida Z (Cornet Obolensky – Calina Z x Carthago) featured in the WC final. Gerben Morsink’s father Jos Morsink relates: ‘We have bred several horses from Calida Z’s direct dam line who have taken part in the WC final. Later these horses also broke through to the international jumping scene. The WC final is the stepping stone to international sports. As long as nothing happens to her Calida Z will undoubtedly progress further in international sports. She had no trouble at all with the WC final 7-year-olds. Everything works in her favour: she has character, technique and capacity. We used Cornet Obolensky on her dam Calina Z because his father Clinton is steadily gathering more influence in showjumper breeding. And we know Cornet Obolensky from his sporting days under Marco Kutscher’s saddle. He was active just across the border from here and collected good results in the sport. His offspring inherit blood and capacity and the dam’s rideability is good. We obviously know the mare line quite well because this mare line has been in our family for over forty years. We started this line with the Nimmerdor mare Wokina who was born in 1980. All the horses from this line have capacity and when the fences get higher then their capacity is of course quite an asset. Calina Z’s first offspring Zekina Z (Zandor Z) won the WC final as a 6-year-old in 2007 and as a 7-year-old came 3rd in the final. Later this mare went on to jump World Cups with Jane Richards in the saddle. Another of Calina Z’s daughters is Quilina Z (Quinar Z), in combination with Chacco-Blue she brought the Z-approved stallion Chaqui Z. He took part in the finals of the 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds. He later jumped at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, won Gold with the Irish Team at the European Championships in Gothenburg and competed in the Nations Cups of Aachen, Dublin, La Baule and Rome. Breeding is a hobby for us. We only breed with five mares. We all talk about it and all of us derive pleasure from our breeding.’
Cinnamon Pommex Z
The partnership between Haras de la Pomme and Stephex in the shape of Pommex is beginning to pay off. The oldest horses acting under the suffix Pommex Z are eight years old now. This year Cinnamon Pommex Z (Cornet Obolensky – Mom’s Goya x Kannan) jumped in the final. Geert Baertsoen from Haras de la Pomme explains: ‘This project is a hobby gone out of hand. Stefan Conter and I were introduced to each other via a mutual friend. Stefan Conter too realised that a partnership might work, the sport via Stephex and breeding via us. We sat ourselves at the table and we have moved on ten years by now. We have the facilities for breeding as well as for raising the young stock. We started with ten foals and have grown to thirty to forty foals per year. We aim to breed with the better-quality mares because we see that better mares also produce better horses. Stefan is a fighter and so are we. We have decided to focus even more on the sport for our breeding. We breed foals we want to breed for ourselves, foals that in the end will also be enjoyed by other people. We don’t buy embryos. Mom’s Goya belonged to us first, her daughter Cinnamon Pommex Z was born here. We have used Cornet Obolensky because he adds suppleness and it’s absolutely possible to breed a good horse within one generation. The combination Cornet Obolensky and Goya has worked well, the offspring are keen to work. It’s a pleasure to see our horses at the WCs and at the same time it provides a benchmark. Now we are motivated to return with still more horses next year to take part in the WCs. It’s also proof that the pieces are nicely starting to fall into place.’
Mister Qerly Z
Italian Matteo Delmiglio is the man behind company CDM GMBH, breeder of Mister Qerly Z (Mosito van Matteo het Hellehof – Excellentia de Muze x For Pleasure). ‘We have a professional horse farm with 180 horses and breed around 20 – 25 foals a year. I bought Mister Qerly Z from Joris de Brabander, who’s a good friend of mine. I bought several embryos in that year. In my view, Excellentia de Muze stems from the best branch of the Qerly Chin line. This year the second crop from our breeding appeared at the start in Lanaken and it was the first time we had a home-bred horse in the final. For us Mister Qerly Z was a huge success.’
