By Jean Llewellyn
Photography: YHS and personal archive
On June 8, 2022, the WBFSH announced itsnew collaboration with the Young Horse Show Series in the form of two Breeding Award Programs for the 2022 season, stating: “By giving recognition to the WBFSH studbooks and their breeders involved in the Young Horse Show Series, the WBFSH aims to draw attention to the fact that top-class horses are the result of a carefully considered breeding program over many generations.”
WBFSH President Jan Pedersen stated; “Choosing the stallion that is the best fit for a mare is an important element to produce a good horse, but so is a good and healthy upbringing. This includes preparing young horses for the sport. The WBFSH is pleased to be associated with the Young Horse Show Series, which allows young horses to be exposed to a show environment in an age-appropriate manner, and which prepares them for the sport, giving them mileage, in a setting that is horse-friendly and professionally run.”
According to Jean-Yves Tola, founder and technical director of the series; “We are extremely grateful and excited at once. This collaboration represents a lot for us, it validates over 10 years of work, but most importantly it validates every single horse and breeder as well as their respective stud-books that participate in the series. We could not be happier.”
An interesting meeting
In 2010 during the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY, I had the good fortune to meet and interview passionate breeders – Jean-Yves and Saret Tola – locally based out of Jump Start Farm. At that time their planned North American Stud-book was still on the drawing board, with a member application being submitted to the WBFSH later that year. Located in the rolling hills south of Lexington, best known as the horse capital of the world for its Thoroughbred breeding industry, Jump Start Farm benefits from the world renowned ‘blue grass’, and is one of a growing number of Warmblood breeders attracted to the equestrian infrastructure the area offers.
According to a statement on the Jump Start Farm website, their remarkable success in breeding sport horses has stemmed from “a web of constructive self criticism, painstaking culling, a healthful environment, expertise in pedigrees and selective breeding,” as well as “compassionate training that yields horses of superb, type, temperament, and athletic ability, demonstrating the greatest rideability.” Their personal doctrines have produced no fewer than seven approved stallions and successful sport horses, alongside numerous premium mares and United States’ champion foals.
My introduction to the 2010 interview (published in November 2010: BN #167) stated: “A Frenchman by birth, former musician, Jean-Yves Tola embraced the passion of his American wife, Saret, a self-confessed ‘accidental’ breeder. Saret went on to explain: “It was almost by mistake that we started breeding. Previously I was riding and showing, always hunter-jumper, and I went to look for a mare and it happened by luck that I found a particular horse, she got pregnant, and had a colt. I was going to have him gelded because he was going to be my riding horse, but people more knowledgeable stopped me. So I took him to some in-hand shows and didn’t really expect him to do well, but he did. So we took him to a keuring, he was approved as a stallion, and that started the breeding business. Just like that.”
The stallion’s name was Balta’Czar, a 1999 Oldenburg by KWPN Alla’Czar, a son of Zeus/aka Nurzeus (Arlequin X), out of the Holsteiner mare Jeté (Columbus x Calypso II) – so a double helping of Cor de la Bryère, on both the top and bottom of his maternal line... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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