By Jo de Roo
Photography: Jo de Roo
The BWP national championship for elite foals took place August 30 at Sport Stable Vanderhasselt with the prizes and trophies being presented to the winners. We interviewed the breeders of the winning foals, supplemented by comments from the professional jury.
C-Eros van de Lindedreef (Ermitage Kalone - Voice van de Lindedreef x Hardrock Z, breeder: De Lindedreef) won the BWP older colts’ series ‘older in the showjumping option. Jury member Herman Bode declared: “The winner is a very modern foal that moves with a lot of suppleness. It has a very good trot and brilliant canter.” Curioso vd Bruinbeke (Unicum vd Donkhoeve - Callista Z x Clintissimo, breeder: Guido D’Haese) ranked second, followed by Cartouche van de Backershoeve (El Barone 111 Z - Smiley van de Backershoeve x Balou du Rouet, breeder: Pieter De Backer).
Benny de Coster, the founder of studfarm Van de Lindedreef, talked about Voice van de Lindedreef, the dam of C-Eros: “She is a four-year-old daughter of Hardrock and I bred her myself. Out of her dam, Sinaeda (Concorde) I have bred two other Hardrock descendants, the oldest of which is five and will be competing next year. Voice is also expected to compete in sport. For this reason, she is currently not in foal. Despite her small stature, Voice gave birth to a modern, long-legged foal with great size and length on April 24 of this year, our champion foal C-Eros. He has been an eye-catcher from birth. Sinaeda previously produced Snapchat van de Broekkant (a Hunters’ Scendix son with whom McLain Ward performs at 1m50 level in Canada and the USA) and Gigolo vd Broekkant, who has participated in five-star Grands Prix and Nations Cups, under the saddle of Alberto Michan [for Mexico].
Ermitage Kalone sired C-Eros... “I chose him because he’s a top horse that performs outstandingly. He’s focused on every jump. Voice is by Hardrock (Heartbreaker x Carthago). So, there is a lot of blood. The cross could be a success.
“I’ve had a great passion for horses for a long time. When I was seven, I competed with a pony at LRV rural level. I’ve achieved victories with both ponies and horses.”
But there wasn’t much time for breeding horses: “I’m married and have four children, several horses, and my own business (Bendec, specializing in cutting, folding, punching, and welding aluminium, powder coating steel and aluminium, and distributing aluminium roof edges). So, I often didn’t have enough time. At some point, I made a choice. I decided to expand my business. Now that the younger generation is taking a more prominent role in our business, my wife and I can focus more on my passion for horse breeding.
“I started just five years ago and we breed an average of five or six foals annually. This is the first time I’ve participated in a foal championship. C-Eros was selected for the national championship during the BWP Breeding Day Limburg. I hesitated for a while about participating at the national foal championship because of the distance. I finally decided to take my chance, with the results we now know.” With tears in his eyes, “It’s the icing on the cake.” Benny continues: “Breeding is hard work. It takes time, money and energy.”...
CLICK HERE TO READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE IN THE ONLINE EDITION OF BREEDING NEWS
