By Christopher Hector
Photography:
Totilas alone would have been proof that Gribaldi was a very fine sire, but it is wise not to be dazzled by the black superstar, and look upon the totality of Gribaldi’s contribution to modern dressage breeding.
Do that, and you find a stallion who deserves elevation to the pantheon of great dressage stallions, sharing the pedestals with Donnerhall, Florestan and Jazz.
Gribaldi was a serious dressage competitor. At the age of four he won the stallion class in Den Bosch and took reserve champion honours in the Pavo Cup for four-year-old dressage horses. Later he competed at Grand Prix level with Edward Gal with considerable success. The combination won the 2004 Zwolle International Stallion Show Kür with 73.70% and the Kür at the CHIO Rotterdam.
Success came early due in no small part to the skills of his owner Joop van Uytert as a promoter, but let’s remember there have been many super-=hyped stallions who disappeared without trace. But, so far, So far, Gribaldi has sired 95 Grand Prix competitors, including stars like Painted Black, Totilas, Unee BB, and Atterupguards Orthilia.
However I suggest his greatness lies in his ability as a stallion maker. Gribaldi is the sire of 50 approved sons, and a remarkable number of those sons, have become important stallions in their own right:
• Painted Black is the sire of 16 approved sons and 23 Grand Prix competitors;
• His sonTotilas is the sire of 35 approved sons, 16 Grand Prix dressage competitors, plus and one 1m60 jumper;
• His son Hofrat is the sire of 11 sons, 12 Grand Prix horses, and is the sire of Hotline with 11 sons and 23 Grand Prix progeny.
Gribaldi is the sire of Easy Game, the sire of two Grand Prix superstars, Dalera and Hermes, and seven sons including Millennium, who is the sire of Morricone I, a Grand Prix competitor and sire of 21 sons including Morricone II and III.
Gribaldi: According to Joop van Uytert
Q I find it interesting, that while some stallions – like Cor de la Bryère – had to leave their homeland to find the right mares. Gribaldi’s most famous son Totilas is out of a Dutch (largely jumping blood) mare so you might think it’s the Dutch outcross, but most of Gribaldi’s successful progeny have been out of Trakehner mares. When you bought Gribaldi, Trakehners were not very fashionable, they had a bad name for being pretty but useless. Why was he such an influential sire?
When I first saw Gribaldi, it was 25 years ago, he was two- and-a-half years old, he was already a real stallion, a real stallion type, he was the winner at the Trakehner stallion show. We bought him there and he came to Holland. He did a good performance test, then his first crop of foals came one year later. At the time they said Trakehners were a bit normal, nice types but trouble with the canter and hind leg, but a lot of breeders were still interested in him and bred every year with him... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO BREEDING NEWS
SUBSCRIBERS CAN READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE BY LOGGING IN AND RETURNING TO THIS PAGE
