FRANCE (by Mathilde Juncke) Late October, Normandy was the place to be for breeding. The Selle Français Studbook organized its two- and three-year-old stallion championship, as well as its Young Stallion Masters. Normandy remains one of the most important regions for sport horse production and this event is strategically organized in this SF heartland, as close as possible to the breeders themselves.
The Journées Selle Français were once again coupled with the great sporting ren- dezvous, the three-star CSI of Saint-Lô. This mix of sport and breeding enables owners, professionals and amateurs to enjoy a true synergy: benefitting from a trade flow and the opportunity to watch some of the best horses in the world.
SF 2yo and 3yo
This 2014 edition was launched with the two-year-old stallion candidates, then three-year-olds, under the sharp eye of three judges working independently (a novelty at a stallion final) with a ‘live’ display of the free jumping scores. Once the scores were awarded for each one of the different stages of the SF stallion championship, (free jumping, conformation, gaits and jumping under saddle – only for three-year-old stallions), the 2014 ranking was drawn up, with Balko d’Elle adding his name to the list of three-year-old champions while Cher Epoux was sacred two-year-old champion.
By the end of the SF stallion finals, the studbook was pleased to approve 35 new Selle Français stallions: eight two-year-olds and 26 three-year-olds.
Jumping 2yo section
The splendid conformation of the Selle Français ‘Originel’ Cher Epoux, coupled with his stupendous gaits, really made a difference, and he well deserved the two-year-old champion’s title. A son of the famous Thoroughbred Network xx, out of Epouse du Taillan (Qyou de Longvaut), he was bred by Sylvie Bouchainville, and received the best conformation mark (8.34) due to his modernity and chic style. He is a future champion with the sport-horse aptitudes the SF studbook has been looking for for years. Lightweight, with impulse, very reactive over the jumps, and his ground-covering gait earned him a 7.42. A good jumper, he received a total score of 7.85/10, while his maternal bloodlines earned him a genetics score of 7/10....
