De Martino, the 2010 Oldenburg Licensing Champion, has passed away. The 9-year old stallion caught a fatal virus at the equine clinic where he was being collected for frozen semen and could not be saved.
De Martino was a 2008 born Oldenburg stallion bred by Wilhelm Kochs. He was by Don Schufro out of E-Silveret (by Sandro Hit x Calypso x Tin Rod xx)
De Martino was presented at the 2010 Oldenburg stallion licensing by Hermann Lenders, who bought the colt as a foal, then named Droysen, at the 2008 Oldenburg Elite Foal Auction in Vechta. The grey stallion was proclaimed licensing champion and at the auction he sold for 210,000 euro to Andreas Helgstrand and Per Skjaerbaek of Priess Stutteri in Denmark. The Danish duo, however, returned the horse to Lenders almost straight after the auction for undisclosed reasons.
Since the licensing, De Martino disappeared from the scene. He briefly stood up for stud at Nordsee-Hengststation Folkers but soon returned to Hermann Lenders' station in Dötlingen. The grey did his 70-day stallion performance test in Adelheidsdorf in the autumn of 2011 and scored 8.4 for dressage and 8.65 for show jumping (total 8.55 points). His show career was very limited. Under Katrin Alkenings he only competed at four shows in the riding horse classes in 2012.
De Martino has bred to a very limited amount of mares, which is atypical for a licensing champion. The German equestrian federation has registered 6 broodmares sired by him. Thirteen of his offspring are registered for sport in Germany, all of them born in 2012.
De Martino was currently in training at Oliver Oelrich's yard in preparation of the show season. At the equine clinic where he was being collected for frozen semen, he got infected with a lethal virus.
"The vets carried out everything possible to save him but unfortunately it was impossible and he sadly died," Oelrich's head bereiter Ann Christin Wienkamp told Eurodressage. "We are all very hit by this tragic happenings as De Martino was a very special stallion which had everything for the top dressage sport. We had great plans for him during 2017!"
Photos © Petra Kerschbaum - private
Related Links
Don Schufro Son Captures Champion's Title at 2010 Oldenburg Stallion Licensing