Amatcho by Matcho AA out of SPS,PS Anna Karenina by Flaneur - Apollonius xx - Hill Gail xx (photos by Countess Dohna (1,2) and Stephan Bischoff (3))

Damline: E Arcticonius xx (Wenzel - Hückeswagen)

Breeder: Th. Bieger, Zülpich-Enzen, Germany

Owner: same

Amatcho is the only approved son of the Hanoverian State Stud stallion Matcho AA in the Trakehner breed. Matcho AA was an especially noteworthy broodmare producer in Hanover and for a long time it seemed the Trakehner Amatcho would not leave much to talk about in his own breed. How very wrong ...

Amatcho's dam Anna Karenina was a full sister to the major sire EH Arogno (and the ATA's Avignon II), as well as the highly decorated mare Arktis II, who ended up having a son in NMS a year later as well (see 1992 report). Amatcho actually needed two attaempts to pass his performance test, and never competed and since he was also only available via live cover, he soon dropped off the radar screen. Several years later, he sent his first son as a stallion prospect to Neumünster.

The grey stallion didn't get approved, but ended up with American Jane Cleveland who develped the prmising youngster with the huge trot as a dressage horse. In 2003, he was America's No.1 young dressage horse and not only represented the US at the FEI World Championships in Verden, but did really well! In 2007, the grey gelding Kavalier and his rider are members of the USDF Developing List, and more importantly, have an outstanding performance record at FEI levels.

So Amatcho had managed the one big hit? Sure, if it wasn't for his daughter Miss Meller, a black Trakehner mare that had to be named the shooting star of the German eveing world in 2005. Under Micheal Jung, the mare moved from training level to CCI* in one season. And in late 2005, Amatcho's son Canzler was the quite star of the approvals in Neumünster. The stallion impressed with the most supple, elastic movement with an engaged back end and endelss suspension. No premium title for him, but in 2006 and 2007, he won and placed at championships all over the country and all of a sudden, everybody talks about Amatcho again. Maybe it is time to give credit where it is due, and give the old man a chance. After all, we could certainly use the influx of this excellent Angoarabian blood he provides!

Stradivari by Upan la Jarthe AA out of SPS,PS+ES Schwalbenburg by Ibikus - Impuls - Traumgeist xx (photos by Wolfgang Grützner (1) and Werner Ernst (2))

Damline: O35A1 Schwarze Schwalbe (Gestüt Webelsgrund)

Breeder: Otto Langels, Trakehner Gestüt Hämeleschenburg, Germany

Owner: Dr. Dirl Längle, France

Stradivari was the second son of the famous mare Schwalbenburg to appear in NMS. His older maternal half brother Schwadroneur had been approved a few years earlier and was already impressing as a performance horse. Stradivari's sire Upan la Jarthe AA was a half brother to the above mentioned Matcho AA as well as to the South German-stationed Pancho II AA. Three half brothers, all by Panchero AA, at stud in Germany. Coincidence? Hardly so. Otto Langels had travelled to France looking for a good AA stallion and spotted Upan la Jarthe AA in a field of 2 year olds. He brought him home, and without knowing at that point, had imported one of the best jumper producers in the Trakehner and Westfalian breed.

Stradivari was a smallish stallion and clearly a late bloomer at his approval. He passed his 100 day test in Medingen with exceptional results, and was sold to the Baden-Württemberg stud farm Brettachthal of the Wöhrl family. Here, he spent most of his active breeding life, and here, he also was developed as a show jumper in competition - with excellent results. Stradivari only competed two seasons, but went from zero to M levels, and a qualification for the Bundeschampionat. That might not sound like much, but keep in mind that qualifying means to finish a M level course with an overall score of at least 80% at a selected qualification show, and in Germany, that is 99% a Holsteiner and Hanoverian show. Not many Trakehner stallions have achieved this qualification in show jumping over the years.

As a sire, Stradivari, who only serviced via live cover, bred very little numbers of mares, and mostly the farm's own mares tracing back to the Kassette line. With the Inschallah AA-daughter Kateja, he found his match. His son Key West was an exceptionally athletic stallion and a great producer and met an untimley end in 2007 (TI reported). His son K2 became the undisputed champion in Neumünster in 2001, and you will be able to read more about him in that report. After Gestüt Brettachthal was closed 2003, he found a new home in France, where he is also approved for the French breeds. With Stradivari, one of the most interesting and overlooked Trakehner of the past years has left Germany.

V.I.P. by Karon out of PS Venus VI by Mozart - Admiral xx - Julmond (photo by Countess Dohna)

Damline: O373 Vera (Brinkhaus - Hohenheide)

Breeder: R. Lessat, Salzhemmendorf

Owner: same

V.I.P. was probably the most colorful chestnut the crowd in Neumünster had seen to that day. The lovely stallion was the fourth approved son of Karon in the breed besides EH Caprimond, Schampus and Beaujolais II. V.I.P. shared the same dam family with EH Van Deyk, Velasquez, Valerian and Vincent, and his damline also produced the eventer Vilano by EH Consul, who represented Germany at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez de la Frontera/Spain in 2002. Unfortunately, he failed his 100 day test and then never stood at stud or competed at noteworthy levels, so that his story began and ended in Neumünster that year.

Miami Vice by Iglesias out of SPS,PS+ES Miami by Matador - Kosmos - Poet xx (photo by Countess Dohna)

Damline: O49A Mira (Ehlert - Harpstedt)

Breeder: Gestüt Heinen-Bönnighardt, Issum, Germany

Owner: same

Miami Vice shared his most famous dam with the elite stallions Michelangelo and Monteverdi. So maybe, the 1991 approval crop really was the year of Miami, not her son Michelangelo ...

Miami Vice's sire was the grey EH Tanor son Iglesias, who stood at stud at the Bönnighardt farm at that time. Today, he lives in France. Miami Vice, like V.I.P., didn't pass his 100 day test in Warendorf, and never entered the breed to any notworthy extends.

Handryk was approved as a stallion with very versatile talents. he jumped well, and moved with modern knee action and great thrust from behind. He ended up at Klosterhof Medingen as a young stallion and competed in young sport horse classes in dressage and show jumping. When East German breeders Peter and Silke Kunath were looking to start their own stallion station, they bought the grey stallion from Medingen.

For the majority of his career, Handryk lived in East Germany, at beautiful, but very remote Gestüt am Kirschberg. That, the fact that he only stood via live cover and his color didn't help his breeding numbers, and he was soon "forgotten". However, the Kunaths believed in their stallion, and over the years, bred some incredible mares to the stallion, producing one hit after another, from the international Grand Prix winner Sachsenkönig and his approved brother Sachsenwald to many auction highlights, and even several Bundeschampionat qualifiers in eventing! Handryk came back, and after a most noteworthy appearance at the 2005 Gala Show in Neumünster in honor of his sire, the "Stallion of the Year" EH Van Deyk, was in such high demand that he now stands at stud in Graditz, where he is now available via fresh cooled semen and hopefully will get a chance to do more good for the breed.

Handryk is one of 9 approved Van Deyk sons worldwide, and in terms of offspring, probably his best one (at this point). His dam Habiana, an elite mare, was sired by Dr. Reiner Klimke's famous Grand Prix stallion Fabian, a 3/4 brother to Abdullah!