By Adriana van Tilburg
Photography: © FEI/Shannon Brinkman; FEI/Christophe Taniére
Earlier this year at the World Cup in Bordeaux, Mylord Carthago’s breeding prowess was fully showcased. Not only did his daughter Is-Minka win the Grand Prix of the World Cup with Steve Guerdat, but two other offspring also achieved impressive results at the same event.
Dexter, ridden by Jeanne Sadran, and Déesse de Kerglenn, ridden by Harrie Smolders, further highlighted the success of the Richard family as breeders. But what’s the story behind Mylord Carthago?
Joris de Brabander
Mylord Carthago (2000: Carthago - Fragance de Chalus x Jalisco B), bred by Madame Paule Bourdy Dubois in Vichy, France, comes from a strong French dam line. However, Belgian breeder and veterinarian Joris de Brabander played a crucial role in this story. He applied his expertise in embryo transfer to the mares Caprice D’Ifrane (Galoubet A - Ifrane x Chateau du Diable) and Fragance de Chalus (Jalisco B - Nifrane AA x Fury de La Cense).
Over the past 30 years, he has worked extensively with embryo transfer in horses, and Fragance de Chalus is not only the dam of Mylord Carthago but also produced around 50 other offspring, all born thanks to the embryo transfer technique.
Influence of the Arabian
The dam line of Mylord Carthago traces back to the Anglo-Arab mare Ram Bera X (1930: Denouste OX - Raba OX x Djebel OX). Ram Bera X comes from an OX lineage, which is registered in the Selle Français studbook under SF 106. Ram Bera X was bred to the Thoroughbred Mont Bernina xx (1923: La Farina xx - Beauté de Neige xx x Saint Just xx), resulting in the mare Raita II. In 1947 and 1948, her full brother Ratout placed second and first in the French Eventing Championships, respectively. In 1954, he won ff514,000 in equestrian sports. Due to these exceptional performances, Raita II was awarded the title ‘Recommandée concours hippique’.
The offspring of Raita II made their mark both on the racetrack and in showjumping. Her first daughter, Emirline AA (L'Emir xx), was placed in all 12 steeplechases in which she competed. Emirline is the dam of the international showjumper Upsala D (Flux Cake). Raita II’s daughter, Marinella AA (Verdi xx), was often unbeaten in showjumping classes with an amateur rider. When bred to Cidre Mousseux xx, Raita II produced the mare Oita X, born in 1958.
Oita X had an outstanding career in sport, winning nine - 26 competitions and placing in 13 others. Her breeder, Roland Gilberton, repurchased her at the age of 13 to use her as a broodmare. Her most significant daughter was Ifrane X (Château du Diable xx). Raita also produced two full sisters to Matador X – Sissi X and Urania X – both of whom produced international showjumpers: Coq D'Or (Kalmiste) and Jessica D (Almé Z)... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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