BY CHRISTOPHER HECTOR
PHOTOGRAPHY: FEI/DIRK CAREMANS
It’s interesting to note that while the WBFSH sire rankings are so static they might as well be set in stone, the list of stallions who actually see the most mares fluctuates wildly, with new cases appearing every breeding season, while last year’s top names fade into obscurity.
Some breed societies are a little coy about releasing the figures, but we do know that in 2023 the most used dressage stallion in the Westfalian book was Diamantenglanz (Diamond First x Bon Coeur), while the jumping breeders stuck to the proven genes of Cornet Obolensky (Clinton x Heartbreaker).
The most used KWPN stallion in 20023 was Extreme US (Escamillo x Vivaldi). Up north in Sweden, the figures are more up-to-date, so we know the most popular 2025 stallion was Devin Franco G (Vivino x Bon Coeur). This five-year-old has recently been returned to his previous owner and breeder due to breathing issues. This only underlines the concern many astute breeders have, that so many of the popular young stallions never go on to a competition career, or even a performance test, due to unsoundness, giving rise to the question what will the long-term effect on the gene pool be? To compound the issue, Devin Franco’s sire, Vivino is now nine years old with not one single performance result on the FEI data base.
The latest dressage sire rankings
Let’s look at the latest sires rankings, but first consider what makes a top sire… Obviously performance at the highest level is a fair start, but not the be-all and end-all, as there has been more than a few show-ring stars who have been duds at stud and vice versa. Taking into account my first paragraph we’d like to see a stallion who has lasted and proven his soundness. Take for instance, the undoubtedly great Donnerhall, competing for the last time, as a German team member at the Rome WEG in 1998 at the age of 19. We’d also like a sire who has stamped his progeny with a certain attribute. Once again, looking at Donnerhall, it has been their willingness to work and trainability. A particular attribute can even out-weigh competition results. Take the example of Rubinstein, not a great competitor, not even the sire of great competitors, but a proven font of great temperament – indeed there are some canny breeders whose eyes light up at the R word, even if it is in the fourth line of a pedigree.
The other quality we seek is the ability to sire sires; this is where the third of the once dominant triumvirate (D, R, W), falls apart, even given chances offered no other in the Hanoverian book, Weltmeyer, like Rubinstein has failed to produce a stallion son of note, I’m sure the string of D stallion stars springs quickly to mind.
Once again, the number one WBFSH dressage sire, is Johnson (Jazz x Flemmingh), for the fourth time in succession, so he must be a great sire; well maybe! Johnson was a solid performer with Hans Peter Minderhoud, the best of his two career Grand Prix wins was at Rotterdam with a 79.240. He passes our soundness test, competing to the age of 17.
Progeny? His best performer on the current rankings is Hartsuiker (Scandic) ranked 19th in the world. He has 33 approved stallion sons, but again no stars; Hexagon Double Dutch ranks 176th while Meggles Boston comes in at 302.
And what does he pass on to his progeny? The KWPN progeny report summary notes:’A uniform collection of well-developed riding-type foals with good rectangular-shaped conformation and which are appreciated in motion. The foals use their legs well and show abundant elasticity as well as good self-carriage. However we must note that his progeny can be prone to buck, indeed at least one well-regarded Dutch training stable won’t have a Johnson in their barn, not even the progeny of a Johnson mare’.
This year Totilas (Gribaldi x Glendale) moves up from fourth to second. There were many – and I confess I was one of them – who thought the black stallion was more a result than a likely cause, but he has proven us wrong, albeit with the aid of an enormous number of mares, whose quality was more or less guaranteed by the huge stud fee, at least in the first few seasons. His top four points earners are all ranked in the world top 30, with his top points earner, Isabel Freese’s star, Total Hope (winner of 11 Grands Prix) out of Isabel Werth’s international star, Weihegold (Don Schufro x Sandro Hit). The rest are also royally bred – his number two, Gotilas du Feuillard out of a mare by Ferro; Toto Jr (Desperados); and Torvestlettens Titanium (Stedinger)...
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