By Claartje van Andel
Photography: Peter Llewellyn
In the February 2020 issue of WBN, under the heading, ‘A legendary quartet of sires loses three of its number’ we named the recently deceased Don Schufro. This story provides the sequel with a profile of the legendary Don Schufro.
Who won’t forever remember the proud, powerful, and elegant Don Schufro (Donnerhall - Fiesta OLD x Pik Bube I x Unkenruf [Trak]), bred by Martin Meier, Germany? Sadly, he died in early 2020, leaving the dressage world with only memories, approved sons, and outstanding daughters in particular.
Personally, I first remember Blue Hors Don Schufro from visiting the FEI World Cup dressage final in Aarhus, Denmark in 2001. Blue Hors Don Schufro was there with his rider Lars Petersen as a second training and show-horse accompanying finalist Blue Hors Cavan (Cavalier - Danena x Danatz). He was quietly resting, sleeping in his stable, completely undisturbed by the noise of other horses, the atmosphere, or anything. At that time, Petersen explained to me: “This marks for me the top quality and top character of this stallion. Don Schufro perfectly knows the art of showbusiness and when it’s time to rest and when to shine. He saves his energy. However, as soon as I pass by with the bridle and saddle, he is immediately there. In each ride, he shows his boundless energy and gives it all. This to me makes his special quality.”
Don Schufro, as an ‘old boy’ made his last official appearance in Herning 2015, where he was presented by Karsten Petersen, receiving a gold medal for his achievements in breeding and his sporting career. At that time, Karsten Petersen said, “You can tell that Schufro is old; but at least he doesn’t know or show that himself.”
His then groom, Julie Abild Christiansen gave me an insight into life behind the door of Don Schufro’s stable by saying, “He is and stays a very special horse. Audiences have seen how he is when he is out at events, where he seems to count the crowd. When he gets applause, he goes a little crazy.”
Starting with Schockemöhle
Although Don Schufro is recognized by most European breeding associations, he started his breeding career with Paul Schockemöhle, where he covered for one season as a three-year-old before being acquired by Blue Hors. He has been an internationally sought-after breeding stallion throughout his career and has had a very positive influence in breeding in Denmark, Germany, and Sweden, where he has the status of elite stallion and ranks very highly in dressage indices.
In sport, Don Schufro has met all expectations. He has won World Cup qualifiers and has over 30 international victories and placings in Grand Prix at some of the largest shows such as Aachen, Bremen, Wiesbaden, Lingen, Neumünster, and Nörten Hardenberg. The highlight, however, came in 2008, when he became Danish dressage champion with Andreas Helgstrand and played a crucial role for the Danish Olympic team in Hong Kong 2008, winning team bronze and finishing 11th individually... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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