By Sally Reid
Photography: Michelle Clarke and Cornege Photography
New Zealand’s National Young Horse Championships are just around the corner; meanwhile, some lovely five-, six- and seven-year-olds jostle for prime positions on the ESNZ series leaderboards, with a Goldengrove gelding currently heading the eldest age group.
The seven-year-olds are headed by Lord Axel (Lordano - Angeline GNZ x Corlando), a gelding bred by Paul Ffoulkes at Goldengrove Stud in Christchurch. This youngster was a very good six-year-old too, and finished third-equal in his ESNZ 2021-22 series. He has won all of his seven-year-old starts to date, and is owned by Leah Causer, but will be on the market at the end of this season. His rider is Makenzie Causer.
Second place is shared by a mare and a gelding. The mare, Pure Cascade (Cassiano - Langtry x Lansing) was bred by Laura McGregor of Pure Equestrian in Auckland, and is ridden by her owner, Amy McMullan. The gelding is Double J Graduate (Double J Repicharge - Sara Jane x Chico D’Oro), bred by Wendy and Robin Jacobs of Double J Stud, owned by Lara and Ike Baker, and ridden by Ike. Like Lord Axel GNZ, Double J Graduate was a good six-year-old. He finished the ESNZ series in fifth place, but is looking even better this season. His sire, Double J Repicharge (Voltaire II - Replica x Oregan xx), is a stallion who has really made his mark as a sire of jumpers, and whose own dam competed at World Cup level here.
Six-year-old mares go head to head
Three mares share the top spot on the six-year-old rankings at present – each of them a very exciting prospect from both pedigree and performance angles. Two were bred in New Zealand, and the third is a fairly recent arrival from Belgium. They are: LT Holst Ellie (Emerald van’t Ruytershof - LT Holst Wilma x Crawford); Kingslea Centrose (Euro Sport Centavos - Littrose x Littorio); and Anouk G Z (Uniek vd To-Jo-Pe Hoeve x Calvados).
LT Holst Ellie was bred by Ewen Mackintosh at Lake Taupo Holsteiners and has won three of her six-year-old starts to date. And, although she hails from the centre of New Zealand’s North Island, she has a fully European pedigree. Emerald, her fabulous sire, was 25th in the last WBFSH jumping rankings and of course adds the blood of his own exceptional father, Diamant de Sémilly, to his offspring.
Ellie’s dam LTH Wilma or Wilma XVIII (Crawford - Ondine II x Lorentin) was bred in Germany by Johann-Peter Lass and has significant jumping blood of her own, including Cor de la Bryère on both sides, plus a Verbandsprämie mother and Staatsprämie grandmother. LTH Ellie is ridden by Sophie Scott, who owns her in partnership with Tania Scott.
The second mare, Kingslea Centrose, was bred by Courtney Hedges of Kingslea Park Stud in Auckland, and is a New Zealand Hanoverian. She is owned by Tarek Yousef and Haidee St John, and is ridden by the very experienced Jeremy Whale of Diamond Lodge. Kingslea Centrose is yet another example of the quality and prepotency of her sire, the imported Hanoverian Euro Sport Centavos (Escudo – Anabell STPrSt x Argentinus), a stallion who might well be seen as Europe’s loss and New Zealand’s gain. He was bred by Heinz Schütte and purchased by Claudia Hay of Euro Sport Horses when he was just a colt. He has jumped internationally at 1m60 and impressed some of the very best, including US international Beezie Madden.
Kingslea Centrose’s dam, Littrose (Littorio BWP Ammbassadeur - Lucinda x Unknown) is a New Zealand Hanoverian who has had a 1m05 win as well as her young horse classes.
The third mare of this leading trio is an imported Zangersheide, Anouk G Z (Action-Breaker - Uniek vd To-Jo-Pe Hoeve, Prest, PROK, ster x Calvados), who was bred in Belgium by W. van Gestel and arrived in New Zealand around a year ago. She belongs to the Causer family of Aspen Park Performance Horses in Canterbury and is ridden by Makenzie Causer, who also rides the top seven-year-old, Lord Axel GNZ. Through her sire Action-Breaker (Heartbreaker), Anouk G Z has the blood of Nimmerdor and influential Selle Français Lys de Darmen. Action-Breaker himself was the champion four-year-old in Belgium and jumped successfully at five-star level.
Uniek vd To-Jo-Pe Hoeve, Anouk’s KWPN dam, is from Zolinda-stam, Merrielijn 21, fokfamilie 144 and has so far produced six offspring jumping at heights of 1m35 to 1m55. One of these is Anouk’s nine-year-old full brother, Vins van de Tojopehoeve Z, who had an outstanding young horse career with Nick Skelton’s nephew Charlie Jones.
Anouk G Z has been first equal or outright winner of all her six-year-old starts. “She looks like a super horse for the future,” reports Makenzie Causer... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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