Commentary: Trakehner Stallion Market Neumünster 2013

A blank white page is waiting for me – just as it does every year after Neumünster. My plan is usually to sort my impressions from the recent approval crop and form some sort of opinion that I can re-read and compare years later knowing what became of the stallions. 2013 will be different. Maybe it will be remembered as year of change – hopefully so! In short: the majority of stallion candidates did not have the quality for this event and failed to impress in the one trait that is the most important – athleticism. And as a consequence, the majority of stallions ended up in their owners’ barns right after the auction. That has to be considered a catastrophe – for the breeders/sellers, for the Verband and last but not least, for the Trakehner horse.

Hind sight is 20/20 – something that applies to me as well of course. Yet one cannot but wonder why the many critical voices that for years have demanded better, different selection criteria, have been ignored. My conclusion is simple – if good sport horses are offered, auction results are good, and sometimes outstanding. The 2013 crop was significantly impacted by one exceptional, outstanding stallion (Champion Kissinger), who was a beacon in a sea of very normal horses. In fact, in other crops, he may not even have been such a dramatically “better” animal – simply because the rest of the crop was better too. Not so in 2013.

When the catalog first arrived, it was quickly apparent that this would be an unexciting year. Fewer stallion candidates were presented for pre-selection, following the trend of decreased foal registrations that have hit German horse breeding (not only the Trakehner Verband). It follows that fewer foals means fewer stallions to choose from for NMS. As if that wasn’t bad enough – the incredible amount of “same old same old” bloodlines was rather shocking. In numbers:
Three stallions (Kostolany, Caprimond and Sixtus) dominate the pedigrees. Of the 46 selected colts, only six (6) carried none of the three in their first 4 generations. Of these six, one had Caprimond in his 5th generation, one had Mahagoni (the foundation sire for Kostolany) in his 3rd generation and one had Arogno (the grand sire of Caprimond) in his 4th generation. That then leaves one colt that had Arogno and also Mahagoni in his 4th generation. Exactly two (2!!!) stallions were not related to ANY of this blood – the part-Arabian (approved), Gabun, and the Zauberdyk son Solitär Rouge, one of the best jumpers (not approved). So in conclusion this means that of the 40 remaining stallions, 16 have Caprimond, 20 have Sixtus and 25 have Kostolany in their first 4 generations – often multiple times. That in itself is a really scary development!

Obviously, the selection commission can only choose from what is shown at the regional inspections and that is where I think a lot is already lost. I’m not alone in the assumption that the selection process and criteria for NMS need a major overhaul. We are no longer selecting sport horses. We are selecting horses that are supposedly “more marketable” and that have a certain body type – the long legged, very tall, dark “dressage” type with modern front arms (who cares about the back?). We had plenty of those types in NMS in 2013 – and plenty of them left the auction ring without a buyer. When you attend NMS with clients that are looking for athletes to ride, it is getting increasingly difficult to find such horses. And I don’t mean the “specialists” (which, btw, are already hard to find on the open market, but that’s a different topic). Many of the NMS auction horses, riding horses included, have grown to heights that can only be called unhealthy. What are you supposed to do with a 2yr old that stands 175cm (17.2h) with a 22cm cannon bone?? What with a young riding horse of 179cm (17.3h) height??
Of course, nobody will ride Mickey Mouse but the Trakehner breed has now surpassed the tallest German warmbloods and is coming up with an unhealthy size that actually turns sport riders away. We have managed to create a horse that “covers the arena” well, with its sheer size, but has lost the ability to track correctly (the hind end following the front end) – the instability of hocks and the hind ends in total was very obvious this year, especially in a huge number of young colts constantly counter cantering in the ring (the new 4th gait?). Even worse, thrust and impulsion have become less and less in recent years, and the natural ability to “sit” is also decreasing.
And even in the Gala, a shining example of this “modern” look came out with fanfare – young Sir Easy is a horse that at first impresses tremendously with unlimited suspension, great elevation in his front, yet nothing follows behind. The hind legs barely follow the exuberant and expressive front and the horse swings like a drunken sailor. Our breed generally lacks positive tension in the body, as well as an active hind leg that steps under the center of gravity with ease, thus lifting the horse uphill. There was exactly one young stallion in the entire array of (black/bay/dark bay) dressage stallions at the Gala that had this ability to sit, push, never lose his rhythm or balance, and he covered more ground than horses significantly taller – the Danish guest Placido Domingo. It is almost tragic (but unfortunately all-too-familiar) to note that his sire, Dorkas, is no longer standing at stud (no business) and his grand sire, who appears in multiple upper level competition horses (former Champion K2) is gelded. I guess that says it all.

I constantly hear the term “breed improvement” – and have yet to find a definition for this term used in the Verband magazine to describe how our horses “are getting better”. The term apparently is based on just how many premium titles have been won by a certain mare, stallion or family or how many approved sons a stallion has produced. Yet all of that means nothing! It feels as we have more elite stallions than normal stallions, more premium mares than anything else. Why? What for?? It would be a great wind of change if we could drop all that premium talk in the catalog and focus on sport results from certain lines and families. Why spend all that ink on titles when a particular family has produced nothing but horses with titles, and no under saddle show success? The poor sales results from NMS 2013 mean we must discard our blinders and look outside at what is emphasized in other registries’ catalogs: Verden (Hanoverian), Vechta (Oldenburg), or even in NMS in November (Holsteiner Verband approvals in the Holstenhallen) mare families are simply listed by sport results; titles – if used at all – are only marginally mentioned.  Following this lead towards emphasizing sport horse results would be a step in the right direction.
As a consequence, I have decided to drop all titles from any future TI webpage reports, catalog and stories – the only ones I will continue to use are the TSF tags for outstanding sport horses sponsored by the Trakehner Sporthorse Promotion, and the ATA’S performance designations *Pb*, *Ps* and *Pg*.
We should not be afraid to use sport horse results for mare families – they are there! It’s not like we don’t have them – they just aren’t in the spotlight, and hence, breeders (for decades) have been taught to look for a different type of rating – that of premiums and elites. Yet at the end of the day, they mean nothing.
Unfortunately, this type of “brain washing” has left a number of breeders, especially those that look for the quick sale of a foal (understandable!) checking out what’s new and hot versus what is old and proven. And we’ve maneuvered into a situation where old, proven lines are simply vanishing – they will be gone, forever. No turning back! It’s just not sufficient to blame the leadership here! We’re all responsible for our own breeding decisions. And there is nothing wrong with using a young, unproven stallion if he comes from a family of horses that have produced noteworthy sport horses under saddle. There is an infamous saying: “The biggest problem of the Trakehner horse is the Trakehner breeder”. I’m afraid that is pretty spot on (and has been for a very long time). In our quest to strive for the KWPN/Gelderländer legs-to-the-sky type of horse, we have totally lost sight of what made and makes this breed a really good sport horse breed. That is something I do criticize the current leadership for – that it was suggested that the Trakehner needs to be “reinvented”. It is true that modern movement, especially in the front arm, was lacking for a long time, but what is the point of creating a new horse that moves with a better front arm if the general versatility, athleticism and hind end strength end up dead on the road in the process?

The bitter pill from the Neumünster weekend in 2013 is not the result of mistakes made in the recent past – it’s a systemic mistake that was created since the 1990s, and it is hard to get rid of! We have followed the call for certain stallions that have had great success in other warmblood breeds – yet have left nothing of significance (again, in competition) in their own population. The only way out of this trap is to honestly put up all available numbers and look at the big picture – foals born vs. sport horses registered with the FN and their success, separated by the level of competition. That is when we will finally truly see the light – and I can guarantee most of you will be surprised (and probably shocked) to see your vision of the Trakehner world turned upside down. Yes of course, to develop a sport horse successfully requires time, money, and a delicate set of special circumstances, and you can’t ride paper. Agreed. Yet some information can be drawn from sport horse tables such as the proposed above, and it is way past Noon to get started on this.
At the end of the day, we simply do not select for sport horse criteria anymore. In fact, I can report from personal experience that comments like “great sport horse type” do not mean a young stallion gets selected for NMS. I have begun to wonder if “sport horse type” and “approvable stallion selected for NMS” are mutually exclusive terms ….. that would be really sad.

While NMS did leave a really bitter taste in my mouth, I want to be fair and say that some horses raised my spirits. One such animal was catalog No. 1, Rusticus by Favoritas xx – Bartholdy. He embodied the non-pretty Trakehner sport horse with a great eye, most convincing athletic abilities, great jumping and good movement (balanced, active, solid and round). He had brilliant moments in-between (one needs to look at horses more than once!). Great that he was selected, even better that he was approved! And while no German stallion station was interested in this sport horse type, Michael Pollard and his sponsor saw the great potential of this youngster and secured him for Chatsworth Stud and the US eventing world. What a coup! This horse is now where more of our horses need to go – into the most capable hands of internationally successful riders. We can produce these horses, we’re just running out of genetic reserves to get them out, developed and ready for resale.  Note to self – Seacookie TSF would not stand even a remote chance at a modern Trakehner foal show, mare show or stallion selection, yet he just won the CCI**** Pau, one of the biggest, toughest three day events on this planet. Go figure. Where was the recommendation to use his sire, Helikon xx, when he was still alive? Helikon xx probably bred a fraction of what other stallions did in the Trakehner breed, yet Seacookie is not his only FEI eventing offspring – Ingrid Klimke’s Hale Bob counts for him as well.

Allow me some words about the free jumping in NMS. The Trakehner crowd in NMS wildly applauds horses that just somehow make it over the jump – the more spectacular the better – even if they jump like helicopters (which many of them do). This crowd is not made up of experts (for jumping) – an apparent fact. Maybe we should have a stallion from Hanover jump the chute after every 5th Trakehner, just to get a sense of perspective here ….. We have a majority of horses with stiff shoulders and backs, no “opening” of the body for a good bascule. Some horses lack even the most basic athleticism to make it through the jump chute and every year, I have a couple of stallions that leave me with sweaty palms (not from excitement!!). Exceptions to the rule apply.
Now, we should not forget why we free jump stallions in the first place. This is not so much for determining actual jumping potential – there are way too many horses with crappy free jumping that go on to be winning jumpers under saddle. Far more important is the general attitude of the stallion candidate in this task – we are jumping very young horses that all react in their own unique way. But what I simply expect to see from a future approved animal is a positive attitude, the willingness to try, the ability to learn from mistakes and other such “intrinsic” traits. Free jumping is a measure of all the above mentioned traits, and those are desirable also in dressage horses. A consequent selection according to these parameters has not been taking place for years now, or else certain premium dressage stallions would have never made the final ring. Some of their free jumping rounds were thrillers at best – me wondering if the stallion will manage to break his neck over 1m jumps. It really should not matter how great a horse trots, swings his front, wiggles his back or prepares your coffee in the morning – those horses should not be approved.
We don’t need to compare our horses with Holsteiner free jumping rounds – that’s apples and oranges - because this particular breed (Holsteiner) has been selected for jumping ability, scope and power for decades. But …. surprise, surprise ….. the Holsteiner breed regularly produces international team horses in dressage, eventing and driving as well.

Of course, stallion approvals are not everything. Without question, the Trakehner breed can generate top sport horses in all disciplines. Unfortunately, those are almost not present in the approval lot anymore. Or who believes for one second that the sensational Gala show jumper Peron (from Estonia) would stand any chance at a stallion pre-selection event? In 2013 one of the most striking facts was the huge mismatch between the quality sport horses at the gala Show and the TSF Dressage Championships finals, and the 2yr old future stallions for the breed. See the chapter on “breed improvement” above.

Fact: in the two exceptional show jumper showcases at this Gala, almost no modern Trakehner pedigrees were observed. See for youself.

Fact: The entire list of horse pedigrees in the TSF Finals reads like the Who’s Who of times long gone.  Mostly “old” sires and dam sires in this mix of excellent 7-9yr old future Grand Prix dressage horses. For pedigrees and pictures of the finalists in the TSF Championships, check out this link.

So let’s finish on a positive note – one year does not mark the end of the world. Although symptomatic for the past, NMS 2013 could become a great chance to change procedures for the better. We have outstanding horses in our midst, we just need to give them the chance they – and future Trakehner sport horse production - deserves. Overlooking them in the selection process due to supposedly non-trendy attributes is just not the way to give the breed a long-lasting reputation. Time to go back to our roots!