On Wednesday November 15, the 2003/2004 KWPN Stallion Licensing kicked off with its first viewing of entered colts. Five groups, which are split up based on the colts talent for dressage or show jumping, have passed the inspection committee's eyes so far.
After five days of these first viewings, the KWPN Stallion Selection Committee, presided by Mr. Hamoen, transferred approximately 50 colts out of 771 to the second round.
On day one "older" stallions were presented, sired by stallions such as Ferro, Gribaldi, Havidoff, Houston, Lord Sinclair, and Nourejev. Anky van Grunsven's Painted Black (Gribaldi x Ferro) participated in the day-one-review, but he was not accepted for the second round, despite carrying the title of Reserve Champion at the 2003 World Championships for Young Dressage Horses. The selection committee was not pleased with Painted Black's movements, which were "slow" and "unfunctional."
Van Grunsven felt insulted by this remark and said that, "modern sport horses are just not wanted by the KWPN." Being a good sport horse doesn't automatically equate into being a worthy sire. The seven older stallions that did make the cut were all by show jumping sires, except number 764, a Lord Sinclair x Weltmeyer colt.
Three groups of show jumping colts were presented over the past few days. The best impressions were made by offspring of Voltaire, Lux and Oramé. Especially the Holsteiner sire Lux (Lord Calando x Ahorn Z) appealed with seven sons, who will be shown again in the second round.
Twenty-three colts, who are destined to become dressage sires, out of the first dressage group are going to the second round. Extremely striking is that 14 out of 23 colts passed were sired by German stallions:
324 Jazz x Hofnar
606 Oscar x Apollonios xx
608 Oscar x Rossini
610 Oscar x Apollonios
624 Paddox x Haarlem
642 Polansky x Doruto
646 Polansky x Ferro
675 Ronaldo x Kennedy
678 Ronaldo x Pion
681 Royal Dance x May Sherif
684 Royal Dance x Cocktail
685 Royal Dance x Kennedy
688 Royal Dance x Astronaut
693 Sandro Hit x Jazz
704 Sunny Boy x Aktion
706 Sunny Boy x Classiker
708 Triton x Rossini ster
731 Welcome x Belisar
735 Welt Hit II x Wolfgang
738 Welt Hit II x TCN Partout
740 Welt Hit II x Flemmingh
Ronaldo (by Rubinstein), Royal Dance (by Rohdiamant), Sandr Hit (by Sandro Song), Sunny Boy (by Sandro Hit), Welcome (by World Cup I) and Welt Hit II (by Weltmeyer) represented German breeding in those colts passed for round two.
Related Links
Symfonie, 2002 KWPN Licensing Champion
2000 KWPN Stallion Keuring Days in Den Bosch