You don't go to the showjumping sires rankings in search of new faces. Unlike the dressage breeders, jumping breeders tend to use stallions that have thoroughly proven themselves in sport, which doesn’t make for a lot of movement in the standings.

This year there is only one new face in the top ten, Mylord Carthago (Carthago x Jalisco B) up from 25th to 10th. Indeed the top three is a re-run of 2018: Chacco-Blue (Chambertin x Contender), Diamant de Sémilly (Le Tot de Sémilly x Elf III), and Casall (Caretino x Lavall I).

Chacco-Blue's number one competitor is Ben Maher's out-and-out super star, Explosion W (Baloubet de Rouet), the world number one, and winner of almost two million euros, with 2,683 points, almost double the total of Chacco-Blue's next best, Calisto Blue (Con Air).

The striking thing about the jumping rankings is just how many competitors you need to produce to make it to number one, in Chacco-Blue's case around 200, where Jazz made it to the top of the dressage rankings with just 19. Of course, it helps that Chacco-Blue had access not only to the world's largest (and arguably best-bred) mare band at Paul Schockemöhle's Gestüt Lewitz, which indeed is where Calisto Blue was foaled.

But Diamant de Sémilly, without the aid of Mr Schockemöhle, was still able to produce 169 competitors to carry him into second spot.

A breakdown of the total number of offspring registered to each of our top 20 sires is shown in Table 1.

It is interesting to note, however, that the top two seem to be producing their performers by finding mares from other studbooks. Two of Chacco-Blue's top three are out of mares by the Selle Français, Baloubet de Rouet (Galoubet A x Starter), while three of Diamant de Sémilly's top five, are out of 'foreign' mares. His number one, Don VHP Z NOP is out of a mare by the Hanoverian, Voltaire (Furioso II x Gotthard), who was forced to move to the Netherlands to find a home, while her dam is by the Holsteiner, Ramiro (Raimond x Cottage Son xx) out of Tsarina who combines the Thoroughbred Abgar xx with the Holsteiner Heidelberg. His number two, Venizia d'Aigully, is out of a thoroughly French mare (Quick Star x Pegase Gerbaux), but we are border hopping when we get to number three, Elzas, who is out of a mare by Cornet Obolensky (Clinton x Heartbreaker), a mix of Holstein, KWPN, and a touch of Hanover, out of a mare by the Selle Français, Zeus (Arlequin x Matador), whose dam is Hanoverian, albeit by the great Selle Français, Almé (Ibrahim x Ultimate).

The success of the third stallion, Casall, is the Holsteiner formula of old; stick to your own backyard. Of his top 30 performers, 27 are by Holsteiner stallions, his third placegetter, Caracas (Colman x Barnaul xx) is not given by a studbook listing because he was born in Australia, but his Holsteiner dam, Colthaga was safely in foal to Colman before she jumped on the plane to the other side of the world. Casall's most successful competitor is H&M Chilli Willi, the winner of four five-star GPs in 2018 with Nicola Philippaerts. His dam, the Lord daughter, Caletta VIII, has produced another 1m60 winner, Camiro, but her daughters have foaled an astonishing number of jumpers.

The Belgian bred Toulon, albeit by the great Dutch sire, Heartbreaker, out of a mare by Jokinal de Bornival, ranks fourth, with his best – Penelope Leprevost's 1m60 Grand Prix winning stallion – Vancouver de Lanlore, who is out of a Le Tot de Sémilly mare.

Another Belgian-bred stallion, Cornet Obolensky/ex Windows van het Costersveld is fifth, by the Holsteiner, Clinton, with Heartbreaker this time as the damsire. Belgian bred, but licensed in Westfalia, and that breeding area has provided fertile ground for his talents to blossom. Of his top 10 performers, six bear the Westfalian brand, with his team headed up by Clooney (Ferragamo) who has been setting the jumping world alight with young Martin Fuchs.

Kashmir van Schuttershof (Nabab de Rêve x Tenor Manciais) is branded sBs, but his blood is seven-eighths Selle Français, with just a touch of the great Gotthard. He has had his success largely with sBs mares, with his top performer, H&M All In, out of an Andiamo (Animo x Garitchou aa) mare. His second ranked, H&M Indiana is out of a mare by another son of Animo, Animo's Hallo (Wellington)...To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber