By Jenneke Smit / KWPN
Photography: © Dirk Caremans
For some mares, it seems to make no difference which stallion they are inseminated with – they consistently produce top-quality showjumpers. This is certainly true for the Lux daughter Utah NL.
No fewer than eight of her offspring have performed at the international level, including the successful Florida Baila NL (Bustique) and Balintore (Vincenzo). It’s high time to highlight this exceptional mare, who served for many years in the breeding program of her breeders, Dinand Noeverman and Maartje Lanooy.
Grandmotherly beginnings
The story of Utah NL begins with her grandmother, the keur-and prestatie mare Kebal (Ekstein). This mare produced two offspring that competed at the highest international level: the Heartbreaker son Waterloo, who was successful with Schuyler Riley, and the Celano daughter Obalia NL. The latter won prizes at the 1m50 level, including with Giuseppe De Luca, and is the dam of Utah NL.
According to Maartje Lanooy: “I was crazy about Celano, and at that time, that stallion was stabled with Hans Horn. I was an amateur rider and thought it would be fun to have a Celano offspring. Eric Naberink, who worked at Hans Horn’s stable at the time, knew of a mare that was pregnant by Celano. He put me in touch with the owner of Kebalia. That’s how it came about that I bought the unborn foal, and luckily, it turned out to be a filly – Obalia.” Obalia NL became her first broodmare.
As a young horse, she produced two offspring by the successful Grand Prix stallion Lux: the mares Tennesse NL and Utah NL. She then went on to a career in sport. “We sold Obalia as an eight-year-old; she was competing at the ZZ level and went to Finland. She traveled across half of Europe and returned to us at the age of 18. Now, at twenty-eight, she enjoys her retirement here.”
When choosing Lux, Maartje Lanooy, just like with Celano, followed her instincts. “That stallion was ridden by Jerry Smit at the time and performed excellently in sport. In hindsight, we can also say that he turned out be a real mare-maker; it’s remarkable how many good horses come from Lux mares. Since we had two full sisters, the plan was to sell one for sport and keep the other for breeding.”.. To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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