BY ADRIANA VAN TILBURG / COURTESY ROLEX
PHOTOGRAPHY: PETER LLEWELLYN; FEI/LEANJO DE KOSTER
The dam line of United Touch S is based on the memorable Olympic winner Classic Touch (Caletto II - Sevada x Landgraf I, Stamm 4025, breeder: Hans-Werner Ritters). Ridden by Ludger Beerbaum, the daughter of Caletto II won a gold medal in Barcelona in 1992, which brought Beerbaum his only individual Olympic gold medal in a long career.
There are two breeders that play an important part in the story of United Touch S. First the van der Vorn family, who bred Touch of Class and who owned Cantate Touch. Secondly, the breeder of United Touch S , who made the combination between the half-brother and sister that led to United Touch S.
The van der Vorm Family – De Margaretha Hoeve
Cantate Touch – the first foal of Classic Touch – was sold through Joop Aaldering to the van der Vorm family in the Netherlands, who owned de Margaretha Hoeve. Annemiek van der Vorm says on behalf of her family: “Classic Touch had just become German champion, so my family already thought she was a great horse. We heard from Mr Aaldering that he had a daughter by Capitol I: Cantate Touch. We were always Holstein oriented; my father invested in good mares at the time and bought her there and then. She was a fantastic mare.
“Over the years, we became owners of Lux Z and my family thought this was a perfect match for Cantate Touch. Lux Z had a lot of scope, length, power, and was hugely flexible. According to them, this was the perfect stallion for a super careful mare like Cantate Touch. I think we, especially my parents and brothers, have bred some fine horses for several people at Margaretha Hoeve with about 60 foals every year. Of course, we are super proud of United Touch S.”
Cantate Touch jumped at 1m60 with Ben Schröder, who rode for the van der Vorm family at that time. The partnership won Nations Cups and, amongst other classes, the Grand Prix in Modena in Italy.
Julius Peter Sinnack
Julius Peter Sinnack, who was awarded the Breeder of the Year Prize in 2015 in Westfalia, tried to buy the mare Cantate Touch from the Margaretha Hoeve for many years having seen her success in the ring.
Sinnack did not give up and in 2003, he was able to purchase a filly by Lux Z out of Cantate Touch. Sinnack baptised this promising filly Touch of Class, and recalls: “I always wanted to have something out of the line of Classic Touch. In the nineties Classic Touch was THE horse that made everybody’s heart beat faster. I saw her after her Olympic victory in the stable with Ludger Beerbaum. She impressed me very much. I asked my good friend Joop Aaldering, who has a lot of connections, if he could help me in finding an offspring from this line because he purchased Cantate Touch from Hans Werner Ritters and sold her to family van der Vorm originally...
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