By Elena Zobova
Photography: Elena Zobova

Despite the last-minute cancellation of the showjumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses, youngsters from five to seven years competed in the Lithuanian national championship at the Harmony Park venue, 40 kms from Kaunas city to receive the honour of being the best in their age group.

A perfect infrastructure and more than 50 horses representing 15 different studbooks contributed to the presence of riders, owners, breeders, and spectators. Courses were fairly built by the experienced course designer Szymon Tarant from Poland, which demanded exceptional showjumping qualities as well as speed from all the participants.

Five-year-old champion Quidam Stakkato

From 24 presented horses, 14 qualified to start in the final and eight subsequently contested the jump off, in which a Hannoverian-registered and OS-approved stallion Quidam Stakkato and his Lithuanian rider Matas Petraitis claimed victory. Obviously Petraitis knew that he had a careful horse with big heart under the saddle, as throughout the championship the stallion didn’t touch a single fence.
Coincidentally, Quidam Stakkato already has a colt Bishop du Rouet (out of Ballie du Rouet x Balou du Rouet), born May 15, who had been presented for the Baltic Hannover foal evaluation. Bred by Tessa Pfeil, Quidam Stakkato is a son of Quidamus out of So Nice P by Stakkato. Quidamus goes back to the well-known progenitor Quidam de Revel (Jalisco B - Dirka x Nankin), while his dam Gabienne is a daughter of another Jalisco B son, Epsom Gesmeray. The State Premium mare So Nice P also produced two approved stallions: Calido’s Son (Calido I), stationed with Paul Schockemöhle, and Quintet (Quintender), who is jumping with Denmark’s Laila Pedersen. “As a foal he was always up to something funny,” said his breeder Tessa Pfeil. She continued by saying; “Besides really good movements, he was always put nice together, never looked ugly. He has had always a sweet temperament. Quidam Stakkato liked working and was always willing to work with us. Free jumping was amazing for him, he had such quick feet and knew exactly how to use his body. It looked like he could jump the moon! I am really happy that he was bought by the Petraitis family and is working with such a talented rider like Matas, who can develop his best qualities.”
Another stallion ranked second – the Holstein-registered Congratulation, owned by Hobby Horse, a son of Colman out of Zisterne I by Carlos DZ, ridden by Gintare Malinauskaite. She explained: “This stallion has a quite nice character, he is very careful, never refuses to jump and is always trying his best for me”.
Bronze in the five-year-old age group went to a KWPN-registered mare, Kantara (Guidam Sohn - O.Peters Girl x Peter Pan) under the saddle of Vincas Civinskas. “Last summer Kantara had a foal, whom she unfortunately lost so I started to rider her in autumn. This championship was her first serious competition around 1m10 courses. Kantara learns fast, never stops, and likes to go on a hack,” Civinskas said... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO BREEDING NEWS
SUBSCRIBERS CAN READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE BY LOGGING IN AND RETURNING TO THIS PAGE