By Agata Grosicka
Photography: Private collection
The Hanoverian stallion licensing that took place in Verden at the end of October was highly interesting for two reasons. Not only because it featured a young dressage stallion who was sold for a record price of over €2 million – purchased by the newly created entrepreneurship of Paul Schockemöhle and Andreas Helgstrand – but it marked a historical moment for Polish breeding, being the first time that a stallion bred in Poland was Hanoverian approved.
The duly recognized stallion was a two-year-old by Cornet Obolensky (out of a Cento mare), bred by Roszkiewicz family. Marta Roszkiewicz-Heizer, who is in charge of the Kunowo Stud Farm locared just outside Poznan, in the western part of Poland, is obviously delighted that many years of her family’s work and efforts have finally been cknowledged at one of the world’s most important breeding shows.
Q How long have you been breeding horses?
Breeding horses has been our family business for many years. Our Kunowo Stud Farm will soon celebrate its 20-year anniversary. It was established by my parents but, for the last 12 years, I have been running the stud farm. My sister Hanna is also involved as she is a successful showjumper who competes at 1m40 shows.
Q Tell me something about your farm?
Our herd consists of approximately 40 horses, including six to eight broodmares. Five of them are pregnant at the moment. As a breeder I want to focus more on quality than quantity. My approach to the breeding has to be complete: From the breeding conceptualization, through foals, to becoming a mare or a stallion – I do my best to manage every stage of the breeding as close to perfection as possible.
My concept is to breed with good mares, so their selection is crucial. When it comes to stallions, with such a great selection available in the marketplace you can always choose a world-class sire. But breeding is not about mathematics. You can’t calculate precisely how and where genetic material will be passed on. It is the experience and breeder’s intuition that count. ..CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO BREEDING NEWSSUBSCRIBERS CAN READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE BY LOGGING IN AND RETURNING TO THIS PAGE
