AA Friendly, Hunter Producing Stallions (TB Mare)

[jswin]

I have a 15.3 thoroughbred mare (Lion Hearted - Love is Kind, by Not for Love) who was a successful hunter up to 3’ winning all there was to win on our competitive local circuit and TB circuit while she was actively showing. She has been retired as pasture sound due to a lingering/now classified as degenerative injury. She is the kindest mare you could ask for with a 10+ jump every time and I really want to retain that. She has good enough bone and good feet (slightly toed in), but isn’t a SUPER fine boned TB.

My goal is to breed her to a stallion who could improve her trot a touch (even just give her a little more lift) and improve on her hip (she’s a bit light)/strengthen her hind end. While she has won the hack on multiple occasions, I would like to see more reach and a bit more lift/natural impulsion. I do think that most of my critiques of her stem from a long time hind end injury, if we’re being fair, and may even be resolved if the injury wasn’t there. Some “bling” would be a super perk (Ella is bay with a snip, 2 hind 1/2ish socks, and a little white coronet up front).

She has been completely unflappable and husband/grandma safe since day one. A great brain/quiet disposition (which the mare has) is most important as the resulting foal would ideally be a lifetime horse for myself and potentially my daughter in the future. I would love to produce a foal who is competitive as a hunter locally and at occasional rated shows yet still has the brain to trail ride, hunter derby, and compete in hunter trials (out of the ring across open fields) or paperchase. The mare has done all of these very successfully. I have shown heavily since I was 6 years old but now, at 32, have started a family of my own and have an 18 month old daughter so showing has taken a back seat, but I’m hoping to be able to get back to it once she’s a bit older. My homebred I intended for this has also been recently demoted to an easier job due to some navicular changes stemming from compensation after a pastern fusion surgery (if I didn’t have bad luck I wouldn’t have any luck at all).

I have been reading obsessively but most of the threads on here are older. I had been super interested in using Cunningham due to his babies personalities (they sound like exactly what I am after) but have heard (maybe true, maybe not?) that his viability has become questionable as he’s gotten older (and I haven’t yet received a response to my email to his owner), so I’m a bit discouraged by that as he checked a lot of boxes.

Any ideas of other stallions who may check these boxes?

[weixiao]

I haven’t seen many Cunningham babies in the last couple of years and his website and FB page haven’t been updated since 2018 so I think he may not be standing to the public anymore.

Assuming you’re looking for fresh semen options, I would look at Diktator van de Boslandhoeve for sure.

Balta’Czar would likely give you bling, great temperament and jump and correct legs but may not improve the trot as much as you’d like.

Light My Fire at Dreamscape would be worth a look too, as would Con Capilot. Con Capilot was very nice in person and his babies seem to be doing well in the hunters so far but I don’t have any personal experience with them or their temperaments. Light My Fire’s oldest crop of foals is 7 this year and seem to be doing well in Europe and I’ve seen a few with amateur riders.

[SusanO]

There are some Holsteiner stallions that were jumpers in Europe and ended up doing hunter derbies here successfully. Cosmeo and Ralando come to mind but I don’t know if they are still standing at stud. Lordanos has been represented really well in top hunters but he is no longer alive. However he does have sons and grandsons standing at stud. I would see if there is a nick with TB mares. I do not consider myself any kind of expert on hunter breeding but these horses came to mind.