BY SALLY REID
PHOTOGRAPHY: CORNEGE PHOTOGRAPHY; MENDIP FARM PHOTOGRAPHY
The first of New Zealand’s age-group jumping stars emerged at the National Young Horse Championships in early December. The four-day competition took place in Hastings, testing both talent and stamina in the qualifying rounds, with only the top scorers contesting the finals.
There was a strong showing of Hanoverians and New Zealand Warmbloods among the high achievers, and this perhaps reflects the fact that Kiwi breeders are (at last) taking seriously the call to register with an internationally recognised studbook.
Super 7yo Phantom HPNZ
A special sparkle was added to this year’s show with the presence of Katie Laurie, who is based close to SpruceMeadows in Canada but returned home to compete on Carissa and Mike McCall’s young horses. She claimed the seven-year-old championship with their super-speedy, super-stylish and super-talented Phantom HPNZ (Chacoon Blue x Phantom Hologram x Hattrick VDL). This horse is a registered New Zealand Warmblood (NZWB), but was bred in Western Australia by Guy Wallace. Guy suffered life-changing injuries several years ago and being no longer able to compete, founded Blackwatch Stud with the ‘Phantom’ prefix, breeding eventers and jumpers.
Phantom HPNZ’s sire, Chacoon Blue, died recently (October 2025), but is currently third on the WBFSH jumping sire rankings. He was, of course, a son of Chacco-Blue, and was known for his extraordinary scope and technique as a competitor, as well his superb record at stud. He has (at present) 62 approved sons, and a very long list of winners. He was born at Paul Schockemöhle’s Gestut Lewitz, and stood at Deckstation Schockemöhle.
P. Hologram, the seven-year-old’s dam, is a lot harder to trace, but is by the VDL stallion Hattrick (Ahorn - Bijloma KWPN pref, prest, ster x Ronald).
“I bought Phantom from Tiarna Noseke, who had bought him off Guy, in Perth, Western Australia,” says Clarissa McCall. “He is a fantastic horse; a real winner. He’s brave and careful and wants to win. We were very happy with this win, and grateful to Katie Laurie for coming over and riding him in the show.”
Katie was also fourth in this class riding Van Gogh MVNZ (Eldorado van de Zeshoek - Casual LVP x Cassini I), another NZWB gelding owned by the McCalls and most definitely one to keep on the radar. “He is probably a little greener, but every day he impressed me more,” says Katie. “He is very scopey and nice. I think he will be Carissa’s next World Cup horse; he really does have all the scope in the world.”
Van Gogh MVNZ was bred by Wendy Keddell at Mount View Sport Horses, and is a half-brother of the now 10-year-old stallion Rolensky MVNZ, who sold for the co-highest price at the Stal Tops International Auction in the Netherlands in 2023. Their Zangersheide dam, Casual LVP Z (Cassini I x Landjunge x Lord) was bred in Belgium by LVP Stables and born in 2008. She is out of a Bezirksprämie mare Novelle I, who was bred by George Clausen of Gestut Rabenhof in Germany. Her granddam, Lisa (Lord) is a half-sister of the famous foundation sire Caretino. Both descend from the mare Isidor...
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