Neumünster Approvals 2006

2006 was the second year that TI had a partnership with the German Trakehner Verband. This resulted in an extensive online catalogue published in English on TI, and the very first (and successul) set-up of a live strem from the Holstenhallen in Neumünster. For the first time, our readers were able to follow the auctions on saturday and sunday. The database for the pedigree information can be accesed through the following link: Catalogues

Again, our partner Thorsten Kunst of Trakehneronline, has graciously agreed to allow access to his video database, so that from now on forward we will be able to bring you selected video clips of the approved stallions from Neumünster. Video links are added to each stallion's name, where available.

We would also like to thank Peter Richterich and Jutta Bauernschmitt for their generous supply of photos from Neumünster. Without you guys, our reports would be half as nice!! Trakehners International has a photo gallery from Neumünster online now so that you can see more shot of the horses and also more background photos from the Gala and Mare Shows. Enjoy!

Trakehners International also wrote a short editorial titled "Thoughts & Comments" about the stallion days in Neumünster. Please follow this link: Editorial

In 2006, it was virtually impossible to pick the champion early in the race. The hard surface performance didn't really yield a true champion, and to our greatest surprise, not even before the final walk round on sunday morning were we able to say who would end up in front. The overall quality of the crop of very good (18 approved stallions in total, a plus of 4 compared to 2005), but the one shining star was not there. In the end, it was Hämelschenburg's dark bay Songline (by Summertime out of PS Schwalbenspiel by Exclusiv) who was announced as champion. Songline is a classical Trakehner type with a large frame and very strong foundation with good sized feet. He impressed foremost with his outstanding calm temperament, his very good balance and rhythm in all gaits and the clear rectangular frame he stood in. Our big question mark was the formation of the hindquarters, which are rather steep at this point and have very soft pasterns, a trait that is questionable at best in a two year old colt who still has a lot of under saddle work ahead of him. Songline's movement was marked by good elasticity and suppleness, but we were missing a more effective step under his body with his haunches. Overall, this is critique at a very high level, the stallion deserved his premium without a doubt. Congratulations to the Langels family for yet again turning out a champion in Neumünster! Songline is a member of the O35A1a Schwarze Schwalbe family that originates at Gestüt Webelsgrund. His dam also produced the 2003 premium stallion Shavalou (by Freudenfest). Other noteworthy members of this family include the champions Seigneur and Santiago, as well as the stallions Schwadroneur, Shannon, Shooting Star, Showmaster, Sans Souci and Stradivari.

The reserve champion Donaugold (by Distelzar out of ES Donaufürsting v. Klosterhof by EH Sokrates) was a shining chestnut stallion of great type. Bred by the oldest breeder in the audience, Mrs. Gudrun Wahler of Klosterhof Medingen, the stallion was the best overall athlete of the field and impressed with exceptional hind end activity in his trot and canter, and also won the prize for the best jumper of all approved colts (the truly best jumpers were in the non-approved collection!). Donaugold could just as well have been the champion, and probably just lacked the Trakehner presence of Songline to compete with him over the top spot. He certainly stood on a much dryer, more pronounced foundation and was an exceptional mover overall. Donaugold is e member of the A3A3 Donaufürstin family (Wahler - Klosterhof Medingen). His dam was a National champion mare and also produced the approved Donaufels (by EH Hohenstein) and the approved, top show jumper Donauprints (by Almox Prints J). This family also produced Donaumonarch, Donautanz (Han.), Donaufischer, Donaukaiser, Donauzar and many more.

The field of premium stallions had something for everybody. It was to this particular author's personal delight to see the outstanding black Krokant in the premium ring. Krokant (by Lauries Crusador xx out of ES Kadenz by EH Hohenstein) was bred by the Holst family and was presented for his owners, Klosterhof Medingen, where he will stand at stud in the future. Krokant was a lovely example of what good a TB stallion can do to a solid mare base, and impressed with outstanding type and nobility, excellent movement over the board with possibly a weaker walk (a known trait in Lauris Crusador xx offspring), and also jumped with talent and good oversight. In fact, all the way to the end I was hoping for the right sign from the inspectors to announce him champion. It is now 14 years in the past that we had an Anglo Trakehner champion (Finley M in 1992) and it is more than time to have words followed by actions, as we say. Anglo colts hardly come better than this one. But even without a champion title, it was the weekend of Lauries Crusador xx. In Verden, where the Hanoverian Verband was hosting its approvals, every single LC son presented was approved, three of them with premiums, and in the end, the dressage champion stallion in Hanover was a Lauries Crusador xx - Raphael son. And to top it all off, Lauries was declared as the "Hanoverian Stallion of the Year". Krokant is a member of the O23A Kordel (Dohna-Schlobitten) family. His dam also produced the approved full brothers Karolinger I + II (both by EH Latimer). The family further stands for Korritt (AUS) and Korvo (USA) as well as Karwendelstein, Korado, Kupferberg-Gold, King Arthur TSF and many more.

Another black premium was Okavango (by Hibiskus out of PS,SPS+ES Olga III by EH Sixtus), a maternal half brother to the premium stallion Oliver Twist (by EH Monteverdi TSF). The stallion was bred by Insa Ruprecht of Bremen, Germany and co-owned by the Nissen stud in Denmark. Okavango was from Hibiskus' first crop in Neumünster and was a very typey stallion with excellent movement in all three paces, and a good jumping technique, who too had a bit too little angle in his haunches with a rather steep hock. Howevere, his conformation didn't prevent him from stepping under him with great ease and good impulsion. Okavango is a member of the O69A Oka (Dohna-Schlobitten) family. His dam also produced the approved premium stallion Oliver Twist (by EH Monteverdi TSF). The family also produced the ATA stallion Onassis, and the top eventer and approved stallion Octavio. The trio of the black premiums was completed by Elfenstein (by EH Hohenstein out of Elfennacht II by Waldvogt). Bred and owned by Gestüt Erdmannshausen in Schwaförden, Germany, this stallion was a classic member of the EH Caprimond-family. Elfenstein was very supple, more so than most other EH Hohenstein sons, and impressed with a very correct foundation and his very easy way of going. We would have asked for more dynamic movement in stepping under his center of gravity, but all in all, there was very little to complain about with this stallion. A classic Trakehner sire from head to toe. Elfenstein is a member of the O100A2 Etikette family that was founded by Dietrich von Lenski in his East Prussian home of Kattenau. This family was well represented in Neumünster this year, also yielding the approved Elfado. The dam of Elfenstein is also the third dam of the elite riding horse mare Eichenblüte, the Verband's outstanding representative at the 2006 Bundeschampionat in Warendorf. The line further produced Exclusiv and Extravagant.

The last premium stallion was Zauberfürst (by Interconti out of PS,SPS+ES Zaubernacht by EH Caprimond), bred and owned by Gestüt Elmarshausen in Hessia. The bay stallion was still lanky and green, but showed tremendous movement potential with modern knee action, nice shoulder freedom and good track from behind. He was very noble in his type and appearance and represented the modern sport horse type quite nicely. Zauberfürst's dam line is that of S61 Zauberfee (Hundsdörfer-Beckedorf), a family that had been out of the spotlight for some time. This is the family of the DLG-champion stallion Zauberklang *E*.

The crop of Anglo Trakehner colts was very strong this year, and of four presented Anglo colts, three were approved. Besides the premium Krokant, we saw the bay Chardonne (by Stravinsky xx out of Courage II by Tolstoi), who was bred by Gutsverwaltung Gut Schwaighof in Bavaria. He was the first offspring of Stravinsky xx presented in Neumünster and was a pleasing overall athletic colt, who sadly lacked any talent over jumps, but moved well enough and had the pedigree to be considered a good new addition to the stallionn line up. Knowing both parents in person, it was a bit disappointing to see that Chardonne moved like neither one of them, but as with any high blood-loaden 2 year old, we will sit back and allow him several years to mature. Chardonne's mare family is that of O133A1 Cornelia (Gut-Schwaighof). The dam also produced two Westfalian approved premium stallions in Münster-Handorf. The line further produced Chabrol and Chateauneuf. Iacocca, the other Anglo colt approved, was bred by Geert Brenninkmeyer of Hamburg, Germany, who had already produced the champion in 2004, Le Rouge. Iacocca (by Pret a Porter out of Irma la Douce xx by Local Suitor xx) impressed with his large frame and while he started out somewhat slow and not too impressive, he won over the days and stood out as a great overall performance horse. He also had a good foundation and exhibited great nerve and willingness. His dam line is a full TB line (E4 Layton Barb Mare) and produced the good TB stallions Ildefonso xx, Impulsivo xx and also Irish Stew xx, all of which had influence in the warmblood breeds.

Next in line was the black Ballzauber; renamed Bogosse (by Axis out of Ballnacht by EH Itaxerxes). Bred and owned by Vera Feist of Etgert, Germany, the black stallion stood out from the very beginning for his great overall athliciam, alert nature, and his very good jumping technique. The stallion is a lovely all around talent, and resembled a modern refinement type despite the lack of immediate blood in his pedigree. Ballzauber maybe lacked a bit of Trakehner beauty in his face, but was definitely one of the best all around sport horses of this approval. His dam line of O18B1 Blitzlicht (Baumgart-Verden; not to be mistaklen with the main stud family of Blinklicht!) also produced the approved Blizzard and Blinker, as well as the top young FEI dressage stallion Baron Verdi (ATA).

With Hulian (by Connery out of Hilka by EH Ravel), a very interesting chestnut stallion was approved. Bred and owned by Dr. Eckhardt Lehmann of Fallingbostel, Germany, the stallion is a full brother to the outstanding horse of the 2006 elite riding horse auction in Neumünster, the impressive Harley. He is also a maternal brother to the ATA's 2005 HOY at Prix St. Georg level, Lemon, and a 3/4 brother to the S-level dressage gelding Hinnerck TSF (C. Koppelmann). The approval of Hulian was a great testimony to this horse's future, despite the fact that one needed to look twice to see his quality come through. The stallion was still very imature and had little stallion presence, but moved with exceptional rhythm and very good balance, clearly marking him as a top dressage prospect. Hulian is a member of the O388A Hulla family (Hundsdörfer-Meckelstedt). Besides the above mentioned dressage horses, this line also produced the CCI*** eventer and approved stallion Hannibald (UK) and the ATA's popular Heling. Another top talent for both dressage and jumping was the grey Lugani (by Guzzi out of Loryn P by EH Napoleon Quatre), bred and owned by Gestüt Wiesenhof in Krefeld, Germany. While his foundation was a bit wek in the "size of feet" department, the stallion made up for it by great elasticity over his back, excellent impulsion and a lovely work ethic. It was great to see a son of the multi-talent Guzzi approved, finally, and hopefully Lugani will have a shot at breeding in Germany. Lugani comes from the O235A2 Lorelei family (Jaeschke-Fresendorf), where the foundation family of Libelle stands for the stallions Lessen, Lossow and Lafayette.

The first crop of Hibiskus sons also had the very noble and elegant Stresemann up in Neumünster. Stresemann (by Hibiskus out of Sinfonie II by EH Charly Chaplin) displayed exceptional Trakehner type and lightness in his build and movement that stamped him as an interesting refinement option, also for other warmblood breeds. Your reporter here saw Stresemann a few days prior to the approval in his home barn in Holstein and despite missing braids and a lot of dirt in his coat, the overall quality was very apparent. The stallion could have a more modern front arm and possibly also more shoulder freedom, but has a lot of reach in his front and good impulsion from behind. Stresemann is a member of the T8A Suka family from the main stud Trakehnen. THis is the family of the approved premium stallions Schampus and Silvermoon. Another grey approved stallion was the sympathetic Contis, a crowd favorite. Contis (by Interconti out of PS+SPS Contessa V by EH Michelangelo) was bred and owned by Gestüt Elmarshausen in Hessia. Congratulations to Dr. Elke Söchtig and her team for this successful stallion market. And one word about Interconti. The premium stallion of 2002 is the last son ever approved of EH Consul. Being grey, he had a mere 10 foals on the ground from his very first foal crop. Of these 10, 7 were colts. 3 of them ended up selected for NMS and two were approved, one with a premium! Hopefully this will wake up more breeders!! Interconti came out of this approval as a clear refiner, producing horses much larger in frame and height than he is himself, without compromising type, elegance and the leggy look that is desired today. We were truly impressed! Contis comes from the T14L2 Corry family (Gestüt Hunnesrück). This line is very popular and stands for the stallions EH Consul, Connery, Checkpoint, Cornus, Cadeau, Couracius, Carel Deak and many more. Elfado was the next approved stallion, bred by Axel Hörmann of Halle, Germany and owned by Heidrun Brinkmann of Horn, together with Regina Hörmann. The big bay (by Kostolany out of Eris VI by Roncalli xx) was a super sport horse type and one of the more noticeably colts after the hard surface performance. Unfortunately, he has a less impressive day at free jumping, but nothing too serious. The stallion is a very substantial mover and we have no doubt that he will live up to his exceptional dam line (2nd dam was an advanced level eventer and produced Eos, a CCI*** eventer on the German Team). Like the approved premium Elfenstein, Elfado is from the O100A2 Etikette family that was founded by Dietrich von Lenski in his East Prussian home of Kattenau. The line further produced Exclusiv and Extravagant.

Stresemann	Contis	Elfado

The next big positive surprise of this stallion market was the quality of the K2 sons presented. Three were shown, two received the approval for the Verband. Prinz K3 (by K2 out of PS+SPS Perle XXVIII by EH Hohenstein) was bred by Ernst Albert Haack, Beidenfleth, Germany and owned by Eichenhof GmbH of Rosengarten, Germany. The stallion was a very supple and elastic mover and displayed a great deal of harmony in his body, with more maturation down the road. He was light on his feet and of noble expression, with equalkly pleasing and good free jumping. Prinz K3 is from the T1C Polarfahrt family (Hauptgestüt Trakehnen). This family currently is represented by Polarion and Polarpunkt in Germany, and several stallions in the US, e.g. the recently approved Pavarotti. The same can be said of Dorkas (by K2 out of Dakota v.d. Heide by EH Partout), bred and owned by Manfred Rüter of Dorsten, Germany. Dorkas had even more impulsion and push from his haunches, most likely due to dam sire Partout, and impressed with exceptional athleticism over all. One of the two K2 sons could just as easily have been in the premium squad of this crop. Dorkas comes from the A4A Duna ShA family (Gramatzki-Hamburg). This line goes back to a purebred Shagya Arabian mare and also produced the approved Dynamit as well as several, warmblood approved Anglo Arabians in Germany. And another grey stallion was Herzglanz (by Schiffon out of PS+SPS Herzflocke II by EH Tivano), a close maternal relative to last year's champion Herzensdieb. Herzglanz was bred and owned by Gestüt Panker in Holstein and was one of the biggest positive surprises of the days in Neumünster this year. Quietly, he made his way up and was a true talent over jumps with outstanding scope and bascule. The stallion moved very well, with good activity over his back, and was overall a nice refined, elegant type. What a great thing that after Schiffon's sale to the US, we now have a son of such excellent quality standing at stud in Europe! Herzglanz represents one of the biggest Trakehner mare families: T14O2 Herbstgold (Gestüt Schmoel-Panker). The direct maternal line produced the champion EH Herzzauber and the champion Herzensdieb, as well as the premium stallion Herzkristall and the approved Herzfunke.

Prinz K3	Dorkas	Herzglanz

The last approved stallion was Maxwell (by Solero TSF out of SPS Monabelle by EH Caprimond). The bay stallion, bred by Dr. August Leitl, Oberneukirchen, Germany and owned by Gestüt Bönninghardt, Issum, was a spectacular jumper and is the first approved son of the Grand Prix stallion Solero in the Trakehner breed. He impressed with his exceptional jumping and great overall athleticism, which was reflected by his high demand in the auction later. The stallion was correct, from a good dam line and offers a great deal of athleticism and refinement for the breed. Maxwell comes from the O115A2 Marquise family (Hoogen-Gestüt Vogelsangshof). The third dam Marquise is the foundation mare of Mahagoni, EH Mackensen, Marlon, and via Mata Hari, Matador!

Maxwell

The stallion lines split up as follows:

Bogosse (ex Ballzauber) and Hulian are Burnus AAH-Habicht descendants, both of them via EH Sixtus
Elfenstein belongs to the Flaneur-EH Arogno line, via EH Hohenstein; Iacocca goes straight back to EH Arogno via Ivernel
Okavango and Stresemann are from the Neuquen xx - Saint Cloud line, both via EH Latimer
Maxwell represents the Halali - EH Hyllos line as the first approved son of Solero TSF; the same line, but via the branch of Halali - EH Marduc, is represented by Lugani and Herzglanz
Donaugold and Elfado represent the Pasteur xx line through Kostolany; the champion Songline presents the Pasteur xx line through EH Michelangelo
Dorkas and Prinz K3 are the newest members of the Pancho II AA - Upan la Jarthe AA line
Zauberfürst and Contis represent the line of Swazi xx - EH Consul
new TB lines were established by Krokant (Lauries Crusador xx) and Chardonne (Stravinsky xx)

The Gala Show in 2006 was sadly not one of the best ones in recent years. Too few interesting showcases of horses, and three appearances of hard-to-follow shamane "sharp shooters" with bow and arrows aiming from the backs of ponies were somewhat boring considering that the evening still lasted a full three hours. However, some showcases were truly outstanding, and a very good one was used as the opener: young Trakehner show jumpers, all proven in competition up to Bundeschampionat levels. The group was made up of the approved Lichtblick by Nerv, the last representative of this very good stallion line from East Germany; Maurice TSF by Abisko, and the two Waitaki sons Wezaki and Der Dürer TSF (approved). While Lichtblick lacked a good rider, and had obvious connection problems (at least for a German-trained eye; we dare to say no American show jumper rider would have a problem with a horse whose head is pointing in a direction where it is actually moving....), the stallion was a most powerful jumper with a keen and altert nature and excellent technique. Maurice TSF, who is one of the breed's most successful younger show jumpers, handled the course with ease. The even younger Wezaki and Der Dürer (5 years old) were great testimony for the huge gap the breed suffered with the sudden and untimley death of Waitki this summer. His offspring are excellent show jumpers, who waste no time or effort on huge jumps, but "get the job done" beautifully and with a lot of will and nerve. The final round for these youngers was a good 4'5'', which says a lot about their athleticism.

This year's "Stallion of the Year" was the 22 year old Trakehner grand seigneur EH Michelangelo by Pasteur xx out of PS,SPS+ES Miami by Matador - Kosmos. Michelangelo had come from his home Gestüt Webelsgrund and looked great, displaying beautifully where TB blood has its strong points. The stallion was paraded around by Gestüt Webelsgrund's stud manager Eckhard Rönneforth and breed director Lars Gehrmann announcced why the selection this year had resulted in the stunning dark bay. Michelangelo sired some of the breed's most influential stallions, from the champion Kennedy and the Canadian based premium Guy Laroche to the reserve champimn Hirtenruf, the CCI** eventer Hölderlin and the popular Summertime. Nobody knew yet that Summertime's son Songline would be named champion the next morning. But Michelangelo also contributed to the breed through his outstanding daughters. Since 4 years, he is the breed's best, most consistent mare producer (based on inspectioon scores of his daughters), and even in America, Michelangelo's daughters have left a footprint at recent Annual Meetings: the champion mares in Conroe, TX, 2005 and now Columbus, OH 2006 were daughters of Michelangelo: PS Kolomba in Texas, and Sixtine *M* in Ohio! Michelangelo offspring win at FEI levels in dressage, and CCI levels in eventing. He is a great example of a good allaround sport horse producer who also manages to sire breeding stock of the highest quality.

Since 2006 was the year of the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, the Gala hosted Silvermoon by Kostolany, the sire of the shooting star Matine, a Danish warmblood mare by Silvermoon. Seeing him move after such a long time hidden from the public (the stallion gets little attention in his home in Bavaria) was nice and the mechanics he displays clearly show where a lot of Matine's excuberant movement comes from. Sadly, Silvermoon appeared as if he had just been thrown back under saddle and his rider did only a fair job of presenting him nicely. Hopefully, the stallion will get more attgention now. Apparently, Ammerland Stud, the owners, farm seem to think the same, since his breeding fees just skyrocketged from a sane 600 Euros to 1500 Euros, which in the Europan market, is a tough call.

A great dressage demonstration was shown by the 2000 champion and reserve champion from Neumünster, King Arthur TSF and Hofrat. King Arthur by Buddenbrock, who had a most amazing 2006 show season all the way up to Inter I levels, impressed in his collected work with a lot of power and sit in his piaffes and passages, while Hofrat, clearly the lighter and more refined of the two, impressed with his lofty movement and the exceptional uphill canter. Another exhibition showed young Trakehner stallions that just finished their performance tests under saddle. This was a great opportunity to see the 3 year old 70 day test winner Herzog by Tambour and his stable mate Kasimir by Ivernel under saddle. The most interesting horse of the showcase though, from an athletic point of view, was the bay approved Impetus by Vivus, who was approved in Neumünster in 2004. The stallion had placed very high in his 70 day test with outstanding scores way over 100 points in both dressage and show jumping and displayed beautifully what an exceptional athlete he truly is. One to watch for the future! Equally impressive was Gestüt Birkhof's massive, 17.1h chestnut Meraldik by EH Münchhausen TSF out of the full sister to the TB star stallion Heraldik xx. Meraldik is a lovely supple mover, and won the South German Riding Horse Championat in the summer of 2006. He was in the ring together with another EH Münchhausen TSF son: Mon Baron, celebrated premium stallion in 2005. We couldn't help it but see our "vision" from 2005 fulfilled: the stallion has a very old style, mediocre top line with a very flat croup that now, under saddle, showd quite dramatically. While his canter work is still at the top of its game (and granted, good uphill dressage canters are much needed in our breed), he lost overall compared to Meraldik.

A truly touching moment was the presentation of three special grey mares in the Holstenhallen. 23 year old elite mare Kandia by Mahagoni trotted around the ring like a 10 year old and was in impeccable shape. A great testimony to the positive influence of TB and Arabian blood, and the expert care her owners, the Schümann family in Hessia, take of her! Kandia is the dam of the premium stallion and Grand Prix dressage competitor Kaiser Wilhelm, his full brother and elite auction horse Kronprinz, the elite mare, S-level winner and ruling State Champion mare in Hessia, Kandela, and the premium mares Kaiserweiss and Kaiserin. And all of the horses were sired by Hörstein's EH Lehndorffs. Talk about a truly "best match"! Kandia was then joined by 26 year old elite mare Regatta by Seeadler, who too, was in simply astonishing shape, didn't take one wrong step and just got everybody's skin crawl. Regatta had many foals in her life, and only one was a filly. But what a filly...we all remember the shining grey star Renaissance Fleur TSF (by EH Tuareg) with Monica Theodorescu, who had just won the World Cup Dressage CDI in Neumünster in February of 2003 when a few days later, a freak accident at her barn shattered her fron right pastern in multiple pieces and her career had ended upruptly. A career that many knowledgeable horsefolks in Germany saw her going straight for a spot in Germany's prestigious A-Team. Renaissance underwent a complicated surgery long before the world would talk about Barbero, and survived. Little news came from her owner, Elke von Lingelsheim, until it was a photo in a recent "Der Trakehner" magazine that showed her with her filly from 2006 (another female to continue the line!). So the Gala in 2006 was special in many ways when Renaissance Fleur TSF came back into the very same arena that 3 years ago had been the last spot of her victory!

Only one Trakehner stallion was awarded the prestigious elite title in 2006: Manrico, the bay son of Gipsy King out of ES Marcia by Vincent. Another beautiful example that a non-popular stallion can succeed and actually outdo many of his colleagues with much higher mare counts. Manrico stood briefly at Gestüt Hämelschenburg, where he left a number of very good daughters for the breed. For several years now, the bay stallion lives with Stefanie Herken-Wendt in Germany, where he is shown at Inter I levels in dressage and also breeds. He is one of the very last descendants of the impeccable Abglanz-line in the Trakehner breed, which has shaped a good portion of the modern Hanoverian breed via Absatz, but never got much attention in the Trakehner breed, much to our loss. Manrico's sire is the very good performance horse sire Gipsy King. Gipsy King is a full brother to Gipsy Lady, the dam of Birkhof's Grafenstolz TSF. He is also the sire of the exceptional 2004 premium stallion United Kingdom. Manrico's dam line also produced the very good Märchenprinz. The 2006 elite mare collection in Neumünster also contained the Manrico-daughter Charisma, a double premium and champion of her inspection and mare performance test; and without a doubt one of the best mares this year. Manrico is a well established movement producer aqnd it showed beautifully in Charisma.

The "Trakehner of the Year 2006" was the dark bay eventer Birkhof's Grafenstolz TSF by Polarion. The stallion was approved with a premium in Neumünster in 2000 and after a late start in both competition and breeding (an accident left him unrideable and unbreedable for over 1 year) emerged as Germany's hottest younger eventing star. As a 6 year old, he was the first horse in the history of the Bundeschampionat to qualify in all three major disciplines (dressage, show jumping and eventing). He moved on to win the Bundeschampionat in eventing with a close to perfect score of 97%. Only a few weeks later, he won the FEI Young Horse World Championships in Lion d'Angers/FRA at CIC** level. What an accomplishment for a 6 year old! In 2005, he resumed his career with almost spotless performance results from all over Europe and ran his first full CCI*** as a barely 8 year old in the spring season in 2006, winning the individual bronze medal at the German Eventing Championships. It is not hard to picture this perfect athlete in the German Olympic Team in 2008....Grafenstolz, while a busy sport horse, also managed to breed 250 mares in 2006! And because all of that praise is not enough, when he came into the ring at the Gala, his superb rider Michael Jung made a show out of jumping a man-high obstacle made up of Trakehner flags, whil every other round, he showed off truly picture perfect one tempi changes and a lovely passage with rhythm, cadence and balance in his jumper saddle and short stirrups. What can we say...there is hopefully no end to this unique success story.

The 2006 National Mare Championship was won by the bay premium mare Zaubermelodie III by Tambour out of PS,SPS+ES Zaubernacht by EH Caprimond, who came from Gestüt Elmarshausen. She is a full sister to the 2006 approved premium Zauberfürst and impressed the judges with her brilliant Trakehner type, motherly expression and good overall movement and body harmony. The selection in 2006 was clearlyone based on type versus athleticism, since especially the black Buddenbrock daughter PS In Vita was far superior in impulsion, sit and elasticity over the back. The Reserve Champion mare met our full approval: Incar's Tochter by King Arthur TSF out of the full Tb mare Incavillea xx by Frontal xx impressed with her great movement, excellent conformation and brilliant type. She is bred and owned by Pius Harlacher, Oberhausen-Rheinhausen. It was the year of Ango Trakehners, for sure. Third placed was Kreta II, a lovely bay daughter of the great riding horse producer Ivernel out of the late former National champion mare Karissima by EH Charly Chaplin. Sadly, Karissima passed away last summer, but left her home stud with this exceptional daughter. Kreta II, who is a full brother to the premium stallion Kasimir, is bred and owned by Gestüt Tasdorf, Tasdorf. A fourth place was awarded to PS In Vita, the best mover of this group of high quality mares, by Buddenbrock out of PS+SPS+ES Insterfee by Kennedy. She was bred by Hans-Joachim Scharfetter, Schwanewede, and is owned by Veronique Walentiny, Alzingen, Luxemburg.

Other mares in the finals were SPS Prettiness by EH Van Deyk out of PS+SPS Pretty Flower by EH Tuareg, PS+SPS Bitter Lemon by by Hofrat out of PS+SPS Bellaria by EH Tivano, PS+SPS Charisma III by EH Manrico out of Coralle III by Donaumonarch, PS Umbra VIII by Herzkristall out of Ulana by EH Louidor, Alina VI by EH Gribaldi out of Aysha-Karina by Buddenborck, PS+SPS Karena III by Freudenfest out of PS Kalmar III by Exclusiv, and PS+SPS Safina by by Finley M out of Schalmei by Valerian.

Yet again, the new model of auctioning the mares and foals on saturday and the stallions and riding horses on sunday helped tremendously to release stress and pressure on all involved. Here, we will begin with the stallion auctions.

For the approved stallion, we saw a better result than in 2005 despite the fact the more stallions were approved and thus needed to find a new home. The champion Songline by Summertime, bred by Gestüt Hämelschenburg, set a new record when he was sold for 320,000 Euro to Canadian Gustav Schickedanz, a brother of Gerhard Schickedanz of Galten Farms in Ontario. Songline will remain at stud in Germany with the Poll family at Gestüt Hörem. Not much has been published regarding the plans later in life for the stallion. Wether he will remain in Europe or make the trip oversees, or possibly even end up being Mr. Schickedanz' master field hunter (Mr. Schickedanz is a big fan of that sport) remains to be seen. For now, Songline will most likely be prepared for the 30 and 70 day tests in Germany.

The Reserve Champion Donaugold by Distelzar, bred by Gudrun Wahler of Klosterhof Medingen, was sold for 100,000 Euro to Tony Pidgley fom Great Britain. Mr. Pidgley is a known sponsor of other warmblood auctions in Germany and his first trip to Neumünster ended with the acquision of the top sport horse model Donaugold for the training barn of Johann Hinnemann in Voerde, Germany. Johann Hinnemann is one of Germany's top dressage trainer, a "Reitmeister" and member of several medal winning dressage teams from European and World Championships. Some of his biggest success he owes to the part Trakehner Ideaal by Doruto/Trak. We were thrilled to see such a high quality trainer picking out a young Trakehner stallion.

The next two most expensive stallions were the premium Okavango by Hibiskus and Maxwell by Solero TSF. Both sold for 50,000 Euro. Okavango was partially sold back to his co-owners, the Nissen family in Denmark, and while his future remains mostly unknown to us, Maxwell sold to another top dressage enthusiast, Mrs. Esseling, who is relocating from Westfalia to Holstein right now. Premium stallion Zauberfürst by Interconti was sold to the Bavarian based Gestüt Heise in Seeon, which recently also acquired the Anglo Trakehner Spirding by Katamaran xx. The farm, which as produced a number of stallions, elite foals and premium mares for the breed in the past 25 years, now stands two interesti8ng stallion after their last dressage sire Gortus passed away untimley just this past summer.

The most "affordable" premium stallion was the black EH Hohenstein son Elfenstein, who sold at auction for 40,000 Euro to the British based Blue Wood Stud, Sian Read. Blue Wood already stands the outstanding Tycoon, the 1996 reserve champion Trocadero and the up and coming Axis. Axis is in training in Germany and also stands at stud there, so that we assume Elfenstein will remain in Germany for his stallion performance test and initial breeding season.

The Anglo Trakehner Chardonne by Stravinsky xx sold for 21,000 Euros to Gestüt Waldfried, who are based in Frankfurt, Germany, and already acquired the stallions Union Jack and Canzler at the auction in 2005. Gestüt Waldfried has an ongoing, very successful relationship with the Hessia State Stud in Dillenburg so that Chardonne will most likely find his way into the warmblood breeds via Dillenburg. Since the Hessia Stud Books were recently taken over completely by the Hanoverian breed, and Hessia branded horses that are approved can now be breeding in Hanover and sold via Verden, the stallions at Gestüt Waldfried will most likely also be available to Hanoverian breeders (granted they pass adequate perfomance tests and approval in Verden).

The black Ballzauber by Axis was sold for 23,000 Euro to the US. USET Team member and Pan Am Gold medalist Darren Chiacchia found himself really surprised when he ended up with an approved stallion, but he was heard saying that "things happen for a purpose". Ballzauber, who was renamed Bogosse, will remain in Germany for the 2006 breeding season and is now leased to Gestüt Gorlo in Melle, Westfalia, where he will find an outstanding mare base and at the same time, will be prepared for his 30 day test in 2006. For his future, all the signs say "eventing", and the stallion will without a doubt have all the chances one can get at that sport.

The full brother to the riding horse highlight Harley, the approved Hulian by Connery, was sold to France for 40,000 Euro, even though the bidder against the French would have offered a superb home as well: German National Dressage Team coach Holger Schmetzer lost his last bid on this fascinating dressage prospect. The very impressive grey Lugani by Guzzi sold at auction to a team from Ukraine, a first for the Trakehners in Neumünster. In fact, it was rather refreshing to see the entourage follow its leader with a nice little suitcase to pay the stallion in cash... The lovely black Hibiskus son Stresemann sold at auction for 34,000 Euros to Gestüt Eicke in Lower Saxony, a farm that emerges more and more as a top training and breeding facility, now also standing Chateauneuf, Offenbach and the 2005 premium Mon Baron. The grey athletic Contis by Interconti sold at auction for 21,500 Euros to the UK, while one of the most interesting sport horse models of this approval, the bay Elfado by Kostolany, was sold for 40,000 Euro to the well known Waldhof stud in Sweden. And nother stallion left Germany: Prinz K3 by K2 was sold for 30,000 Euro to Denmark.

Gestüt Waldfried in Frankfurt also got lucky with Dorkas by K2, a great overall athlete, who sold for 28,000 Euro. And finally, the very good Schiffon son Herzglanz sold for 23,000 Euro to Fred Rötschke's stud in Rhineland-Palatinate, which is already the home of EH Tivano and the Angloarabian eventer Benedict N AA. Great for Germany to secure this promising youngster since the sire Schiffon left Germany for the US only a few months ago.

The top seller in the section of non-approved colts was Corelli, a black Connery-son, who will leave Germany for Canada at a price of 26,000 Euro. Three other colts sold at 20,000 Euro and higher, and we're delighted to report that this "gelding" sale was one of the best in many years, with a new top average price. Finally this emerges as a good place to get good money for a 2 year old colt with little to no future in breeding. It was about time, although we regret that maybe the times of "stealing" a super sport horse might come to an end....all for the better of the breed!

The foal auction was a big success this year. The top seller was the dark bay Iskander out of Le Rouge's first foal crop, selling for the top price of 25,000 Euro to the Hamburg-based Fontana Syndikat with clear plans to turn him out as a stallion in 2008. That can also be said of the second most expensive colt, the exceptional Immens by Lauries Crusador xx (and again a success for the TB people among us...). Immens was sold to Denmark for 20,000 Euro and will be raised as a stallion candidate as well. Two other sales abroad had the same incentive: Hofherr by Heops was sold to David Beattie of Watertown, WI, USA, who is looking for top jumper pedigrees for his impressive breeding program, and one of the most interesting "pedigrees" seen in NMS in a long time, Tequila by Elkadi II, was sold to Shawnda Nadeau from Canada, who later told us that Tequila will remain in Germany for the same purpose as the above mentioned colts: becoming a stallion candidate in Neumünster in 2008. Maybe you should book your tickets now...

The mare auction, once more, were a complete highlight, both in terms of quality up for sale and prices achieved. Not only the champion stallion set a new record in Neumünster. 2006 was the year with the highest price ever for a 2 year old filly. Until recently, that spot was held by the bay mare Lantana, who cost her owners 110,000DM in 1999 (as a two year old). She did well for them though, winning the National Mare Champioship in 2000 and producing the champion in Neumünster in 2004, Le Rouge. However, in 2006, it was the black Buddenbrock daughter Gute Nacht, bred by Ferdinand Poll, the third generation at Hörem, who was sold for 65,000 Euro to Gestüt Wiesenhof in Krefeld, Germany. An interesting side note is the fact that no other but Johann Hinnemann, above mentioned trainer for Mr. Pidgley from Great Britain, held the last bit against Wiesenhof. The other top seller was the exceptional black premium mare Corne, again by Buddenbrock, whose price was worth every penny of its 55,000 Euro. The marte's dam is legendary Grand Prix winner Corna, a direct daughter of the dam of EH Consul. And Corne carried a precious load: she is in foal to the 2005 Bundeschampion Kaiserdom TSF.

The riding horse auctions were the best so far as well. The quality of the crop of horses was simply the best since the auctions started in Neumünster in 2002. TI tested 5 horses, and it was pretty hard to pick only one favorite. Top seller was the international caliber mover Harley at 34,000 Euro. The big chestnut gelding is a a full brother to the newly approved Hulian, and a 3/4 brother to the S-level dressage gelding Hinnerck TSF, who is just 7, ridden by Carola Koppelmann and owned by the German National Dressage Team coach, above mentioned Holger Schmetzer. A video clip of Harley is available further down next to his photo.

We can only conclude that the auctions in Neumünster in 2006 were a huge success for the Verband and the horse owners. Hopefully this trend will continue in the future. It was also a great development to see how many of the approved stallions ended up selling to foreign Nations. Trakehners worldwide....not a big surprise for us!

The catalogue numbers 7, 8, 9, 22, 27, 31, 33, 36, 50, 51, 56, 60 and 61 were not for sale!

Editor's note: The stallions Döblin (by Bardolino), and Herzenbrecher (by Tambour) were invited back after their performance tests are completed.