By Jo de Roo
Photography: Peter Llewellyn

During the recent third phase of the BWP stallion expertise, the jury approved five dressage and 39 showjumping sires, and it’s interesting to note that six stallions were each responsible for two representatives.

Our analysis shows that of the sires represented in the showjumping option, the top progenitors with two sons are namely: Balou de Rouet and Emerald van’t Ruytershof, the five-star competition stallions El Barone 111 Z and Nixon van’t Meulenhof, and – very strikingly – two young stallions from the ‘P’ vintage (°2015), notably Parfait van het Schaeck and Pegase van’t Ruytershof, who are themselves both sons of Comme Il Faut.

BWP showjumping champion: Talifax van’t Roth

Beginning with the BWP showjumping champion, Talifax van’t Roth, a son of Scuderia 1918 Halifax van het Kluizebos out of Ulivia van’t Roth. Talifax is bred by the modest, small-scale hobby breeder Jean Meurrens who exclaimed: “The moment when Talifax was proclaimed champion stallion was indescribable and unforgettable. Talifax is approved as a breeding stallion, but becoming champion is an extraordinary dimension. This is a once-in-a- lifetime event.” Adding, in all modesty: “I’m just a hobby breeder. I only have two broodmares and five stables.” According to Meurrens, the element of luck also plays a role: “I occasionally sell a foal or horse. I was lucky enough that Talifax was discovered as a foal at the time. Talifax was a good foal, but I took a risk and cannot predict as a foal whether it will become a champion later on. However, I have already seen many of them because I have registered foals for 30 years. I have had to compete with professionals who have the best breeding material and many resources. There’s an element of luck in it anyway.
“It started with Livia, a Lord daughter that I imported from Germany to Belgium in 1978. She is the foundation dam of BWP lineage 59. At the time I started breeding with two dams from two different lineages and in the end, I was left with one lineage. I owe a lot to Maas Hell, Holstein’s leading breeder at the time. I stayed in Holstein for a few days and couldn’t buy any breeding material there. Maas Hell told me ‘I will show you a foal somewhere. It’s a foal born at the end of August’. That filly was Livia. We agreed on a price and I bought her. I started breeding with her afterwards and was lucky with her.
“Livia has given birth to one foal every year. There were 18 in total. Her first male offspring were sold to Holstein, including Calimero/ex Fokus (°1982 by Carneval) who was approved there as a breeding stallion and then exported to the United States. Her second descendant, Calimero II/ex Gonzales (°1983), was also approved for breeding and has performed in sport. Livia’s third son, Innocent Boy, was born in 1985 and approved by BWP.
“In combination with Calypso III, Livia produced four daughters, namely: Rumba (°1994), Samba (°1995), Taggi van’t Roth (°1996) and Ulivia van’t Roth (°1997). Ulivia and Rumba both stood over a lot of ground, while their full sisters, Samba and Taggi, were a little closer to Cor de la Bryère and were a little smaller. I have known the approved full brothers Calypso I, II, III, IV and V very well from birth. The breeder of these Calypsos, Ernst-Otto Lill, was not an acquaintance, but a friend. I visited him three to four times a year.”
Why your fondness for Calypso III? “Calypso III remained faultless in the Hamburg derby as a seven-year-old. I have attended this derby several times as a spectator. Staying clear was already quite an achievement. The fighting ability typified Calypso III. He was one of my favourite stallions at the time.”
Meurrens continues passionately: “The grandsire of the Calypso brothers is the Thoroughbred Rantzau xx. I realize that a shot of Thoroughbred can be problematic at times, but it can also be valuable. In Holstein, for example, the Rantzau son Cor de la Bruyère (the Calypso brothers’ sire) has left his mark and in Oldenburg with the Furioso xx son Furioso II.”
Let’s talk about the four full sisters Calypso III x Livia... “In partnership with my son Kris, Taggi performed up to the highest LRV class. Rumba was sold to somebody who lived in East Flanders. Patrick De Muynck (Studfarm van het Dennehof), has bred several horses from the 1m60 circuit from a daughter of Rumba. I am thinking of Glamour, Jack and Luna van het Dennehof. Rumba’s full sister, Samba, was sold to Switzerland... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber

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