By Sally Reid
Photography: Euro Sport Horses
Baloubet de Braembeier Z is the latest European import to join Euro Sport Horses’ elite group of stallions. The gorgeous three-year-old, who bears more than a passing resemblance to his father, arrived a little late in the local breeding season, but will have a small crop of foals next year.
Baloubet de Braembeier Z (Baloubet du Rouet x Beach Boy) is now settling in well at his Waikato home, and is proving to be a pleasure to handle.
His sire, Baloubet du Rouet needs absolutely no introduction to these pages, but let’s just take a quick backward glance at one of the greatest jumpers in history. He is the only horse ever to win three FEI World Cups, was elected ’Best Horse in the World’ in 2004, was the WBFSH’s leading jumping sire in 2012 and 2013, and is still making an impact in the WBFSH rankings, at number 22, seven years after his death.
ES Baloubet de Braembeier Z’s dam, Arka (Argentinus - Unika x Beach Boy), brings her own share of terrific jumping blood into the mix. She is a full sister to Nick Skelton’s Arko III – the leading jumper in Europe for five consecutive years. Incidentally, Arko finished equal 10th at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games at which the individual gold medal went to... Baloubet du Rouet and Rodrigo Pessoa.
Arko and Arka are from one of the world’s top marelines: KWPN Nomana-stam, Merrielijn 2, fokfamilie 8. And of course, their sire is one of the all-time greats: Argentinus. Incidentally, Argentinus is also the damsire of Euro Sport Horse’s superstar, ES Centavos (see below).
Euro Sport Horses was founded nearly two decades ago and is now well established as offering some of the most influential stallions in New Zealand. Claudia Hay, who owns and operates the enterprise alongside her parents Vicki and Peter Hay, made time in her very busy schedule to answer some questions about their impressive new boy, Baloubet de Braembeier Z, who she explained was bred in Belgium by Amel Benoot at Stal de Braembeier.
Q How did you come to purchase him?
We brought him from a foal auction. We were very attracted to his bloodlines, we have been huge fans of Baloubet du Rouet forever, and also the dam Arka being not only a full sister to the also very famous and much admired Arko III, but an excellent producer herself, with her daughters also providing top horses. The auction committee had described Baloubet de Braembeier Z as a stallion prospect with his type and breeding, and we certainly loved his type and movement also.
So, it was a combination of his bloodlines and his athletic modern type that most attracted us. Also, the auction committee described him as having an impressive character, calm and easy going – and temperament is Number 1 on our list... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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