GERMANY (by Christopher Hector and Adriana van Tilburg) Most people would concede that Aachen is the de facto World championships. Unlike the official FEI WEGs, entried are decided on the basis of talent, rather than being restricted by nationality. On the hallowed turf of Soers, it is truly the best of the best in battle – it is here that we find the cutting edge bloodlines. So, which stallions claim boasting rights? In jumping, Chacco Blue (Chambertin - Contara x Contender) has 11 progeny among the entries...
... and is apparently the sire of choice among a fairly accomplished group of riders: Guy Williams, Philip Weishaupt, Henrik von Eckermann, Eric Lamaze, Marco Kutscher, Maurice Tebbel, Ludger and Markus Beerbaum and Philip Rüping. Then there are two stallions tied with seven offspring: Kannan (Voltaire x Nimmerdor) and Casall (Caretino x Lavall I).
Kannan's rider list is again a who's who: Lamaze (with two), Bertram Allen, Pedro Veniss, Samuel Parot, Roger- Yves Bost, and Christian Ahlmann – the highest ranked competitor being Allen’s Molly Malone (Janini x Cavalier).
It would be nice to know the number of mares Kannan has bred and the number covered by Casall, who, until this year was balancing highest level sport with breeding. The best ranked of his progeny at Aachen, with Ludger Beerbaum's Casello missing from the line-up, is Casallo Z (Kaginka III x Carthago) with Piergiorgio Bucci.
Kashmir van Schuttershof (by Nabab de Rêve out of a mare by the Grand Veneur son, Tenor Manciais, out of a Furioso II x Gotthard mare) was a genuine Grand Prix competitor with Philippe le Jeune, and he has an all-star line-up of six for Aachen, headed by Kent Farrington's Gazelle (Diva Ter Elzen x Indoctro).
There are three stallions with five: Balou de Rouet (Balou- bet de Rouet x Continue), Cornet Obolensky (Clinton x Heartbreaker) and Dia- mant de Sémilly (Le Tot de Sémilly x Elf III). For Pleasure (Furioso II xGrannus) has four and his son, Forsyth (Dorian), one. And, to round out our hall of fame, there are six stallions with three apiece on the Aachen list: Quidam de Revel (Jalisco x Nithard), Berlin (Corrado x Masetto), Clinton (Cassini I x Caretino), and the sire of 2016 Olympian and 2017 World Cup Final winner, HH Azur, Thunder v Zuuthoeve (a wonderfully eclectic mix, by Argentinus out of a Nimmerdor x Lord mare)...
