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Anyone bred to Roc USA or Escudo II for hunters?

I posted another thread about my mare earlier, but hadn’t heard anything about Roc USA or Escudo II as hunter sires, and was wondering if anyone out there had a good or bad experience?

For reference, my mare is a Rio Grande grand baby, 16.1, warmblood huntery, 10 movement, heavier but refined head. Am looking to produce a calm, hunter baby, maybe slightly refined. Here is a barn photo and one of her jumping a couple years ago.

http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/uba2ba2Abc/media/get-attachmentaspx_zps19cd2454.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/uba2ba2Abc/media/get-attachment-1aspx_zpsf059307c.jpg.html?sort=3&o=2

http://s1081.photobucket.com/user/uba2ba2Abc/media/DSCN0068_zps39cc8f3c.jpg.html?sort=3&o=3

As I said in other post, I lost her papers in a move, and her breeding farm is being slow to return them. What I do know is her sire is Rio Bronco by Rio Grande, and her dam’s dam is Sandra. She is a Canadian Warmblood. Any info would be great! Thanks in advance!

I haven’t bred a mare to either but can tell you I’ve SEEN some mighty impressive ROC USA get out there doing their thing and LOVED what I’ve seen!! As a result, I’ve suggested/recommended him to several friends who asked for suggestions. He is scopy and beautiful and throws some fancy youngsters.

Good luck with whatever you decide! :slight_smile:

I suspect most people who used Escudo II were breeding for hunters, although I know someone who bred to him for dressage (picked him primarily to downsize her 18.1h mare). At any rate, he unfortunately passed away this year, so you would have to use frozen semen (assuming it is available and is good).

I would think pretty much everyone who used Roc USA was also breeding for hunters, although his sire Idocus was a GP dressage horse. Not sure which registries Roc is approved by, though - if registration papers for the foal are important to you, would need to find out his approval status, and make sure the registry will accept your mare. Even if you get her papers, I don’t believe her sire Rio Bronco was approved for breeding, so your mare may be relegated to the lowest mare book (or not accept at all, depending on registry).

We have a lovely 2 year old gelding by Escudo II out of a Budweiser mare bred by Jessica F. of Nani Lio farm. He is hunter type all they way. He however is not very tall so if you are looking to add height, not sure he would be an ideal choice. If your mare has size he could be a very god choice. He does have a huge stride for his size and when we put him through the jump chute he had a natural way of finding his own distance, made the lines easily and has lovely form. His temperament is wonderful too which is a blessing as his size will probably make him an ideal candidate for a young rider moving up from ponies one day.

I have bred two EII. One out of a WB mare and one out of a TB mare. Both were very similar in looks, except for some odd reason the one out of the TB mare is a giant (16.3 at two years old). You could def. see the EII in the look of the head and both had gorgeous ground covering canters. He can shorten the neck a bit so better with a mare with some length of neck. Both also showed talent and good style through the chute and were easy on the ground. Very smart though, which can be a good or bad characteristic depending on handling.

Here he is through the jump chute for the second time.

Jump.jpg

I have two E II mares. They are far and away the most level headed sensible horses I own. And did I mention brave? When someone spooks the others the E IIs naturally go investigate. Neither has put a step wrong in training and both have lovely hunter type movement. Both are smaller but my younger mare is still growing and might end up 16.1 or so. They are both exquisite conformationally and wrapped up in gorgeous dark seal brown coats.

Edgar does have frozen E2 and it is $1777 a dose per his website. Knowing Edgar, I doubt the frozen quality is anything less than exceptional.

The Escudo I stallion Eclipsed by Colour stands in Canada and is approved Canadian Warmblood and Canadian Sport Horse which might open up Canadian registration options. He is now standing at a barn which focuses on hunter breeding so would appear to be aiming towards that discipline.

Chiming in since I have a 2 1/2 year old E II filly :slight_smile:

I bred my Prelim eventing mare (by Art Deco/TB), and got pretty much a carbon copy of E II. True black, cute pony head, LOVELY long and beautifully arched neck–from birth (I think this is what he generally throws, from all the research I’ve done and offspring I’ve seen, though Ranch Adobe may have had a different experience), lovely long lines of the body (her back is looooong, oy! and I don’t think this came from her mom, possibly from a great-great grandparent :wink: ), and flat, huntery movement. She has a fantastic walk, he really improved on that in my mare–a nice trot–and a lovely, balanced canter, though I wouldn’t call it “uphill.” I wasn’t breeding for a dressage horse, however (the plan is that she will be my LL event horse, since that’s all my elderly/effed up back will be able to handle.) She may want to do the hunters, though that’s my “backup discipline.” (She’s not been through a jumping chute, but when I’ve seen her jump “accidentally”, she has snapped her knees and folded her hocks, not much bascule, though this has been over tiny stuff; she jumped out of her pasture over a 4 1/2 foot gate when she was 4 months old, so I think she has plenty of scope.)

Temperamentally, she is more sensible than her mother (who is a reactive spook), but still a little wary until she has gotten used to things and unless she trusts the handler. She HATES water, and can be stubborn about things she doesn’t like, she doesn’t like to be forced, but responds well to correction and “gets over herself” with calm, consistent and positive handling. I think some of the opinions are her dam (and the Art Deco) coming out, though–not E2. She is wicked smart, very social and sweet and curious. There is another filly by E2 who is owned by an acquaintance nearby; they are pretty similar, though that filly looks WAY more “pony like.” They will both be smallish horses, though neither of their dams were big; however, I think the fillies by E2 tend to be smaller. This other filly also has nice gaits, flat huntery movement with a little suspension, and is curious, smart, and bold–as well as very pretty to look at. She can be a bit “rude” unless you put her in her place, but is not mean :wink: Another nice neck, though not as long as my filly’s.

IF you are looking for a smallish, smart, brave, curious, elegant and “pretty headed” horse with huntery gaits, I think this is what he pretty reliably throws; though I have seen some bigger offspring (most of whom are chestnuts!)

E 1 has a greater number of successful hunter offspring, IIRC, though he also has more offspring, period! I think his get tend to be a bit bigger than E2’s. Both are now only available frozen, but from what I gather the frozen is excellent. I was initially going to go with E1, but with my older maiden mare I was concerned that she wouldn’t conceive with frozen; I was right, and she was difficult to settle even with the fresh, which was excellent quality. Thank goodness for Edgar and his fantastic customer service! :slight_smile: Both E boys throw sensitive, smart, beautiful horses with good huntery movement, athletic, scopey, tidy jumping form, and lovely conformation. The brain is there, though–so they are not robots or deadheads, and benefit from fair treatment and clear boundaries. I adore my filly, FWIW!

Good luck :slight_smile:

I have two Roc USA babies. Both were bred for hunters.

The 7 year old ( wow can’t believe he is 7!!). Looks like a hunter all the way. Good mover, amazing rhythm. He just has a boat load of scope and tends to over jump. Easy lead change and bravest horse I have sat on. Could easily be a big time jumper ( in fact I have had some interest) but I only do hunters so I have tried to mold him into hunters. Just November I took him to a show by myself and schooled him by myself and did the AA hunters. It is a very competitive class and I got a couple thirds. Not bad for a horse that had only done the 3 foot for a couple shows in the last year!!!

The 3 year old is beautiful. Better trot then first one and very scopey when I free jumped him. He is special. He is a big boy and won’t do much as a three year old so he can grow up properly.

This spring I plan to dabble in the jumpers with the older one because I think he may like it better, but in a program and showing ( he lives in my backyard and I go to 2 shows a year) he could easily be competitive in the first years this year…

If I made more money I would have sent him to a good hunter trainer and I know he would be amazing.

I love my Roc’s. They are smart, brave and extremely athletic. My mare is only 15.3 and both are easily over 16.3. So baby will be bigger then momma.

Good luck! Let us know what you decide!!!

http://youtu.be/88no3GFGSIk

Here is the show from November.

He went to one show in July and that’s it for the whole year. I basically ride him at home in my tiny arena with one jump. That’s how sensible he is. His mom is a TB and so he does have some blood, but once he settle at the show he is the perfect amount of energy and very adjustable.

I grew up with TB’s and still am not totally used to how slow the hunters go now. So I still need to work on that but he walks the lines and could easily go slower if I wasn’t the jockey!! Ha ha.

Love the ROC hunters

I own a ROC baby that just came 6 in January. She was born on site and I have had her since 3. She is out of a small TB mare and we think will stay under 16 hands (mom is small). She jumps in perfect form every time, is perfectly balanced, and is simply the sanest, sweetest, smartest, and scopiest mare on the planet. My daughter (who was 12 when we got her) has brought her along slowly under a very careful training program and constant professional supervision. My daughter dream is to turn her into a big eq horse and so far it seems to be working.

As a 5 year old she rode her in a hunter derby (just to see the ring) and ended up wining out of 70 horses. At her first two shows in 2015 she got reserve champ in the junior hunters and has won 4 different medals classes. She is still very young and so mistakes happen, but when they do get it right the judges love her and always pin her first.

I personally love the hunter ROC’s. There is a lot around her and they pretty much all have fabulous form and talent - some just seem mentally to prefer the jumper ring while others are just natural hunters. Can’t say that difference comes from the mare as our girls mom is all jumper.

http://www.clrc.ca/cgi-bin/pedigree.cgi?_breedcode=WC&_countrycode=CAN&_association=27&_regnumberprefix=&_regnumber=8239&_regnumbersuffix=

Your Mare^^ If she is in your name, you just need to re-order the papers. If she isn’t you need a bill of sale.

I have just started riding my friend’s 4 yo Escudo II mare out of a hano approved TB mare. OMG! I am in love- she has the sweetest personality. A gorgeous engine on her and lots of go. She has a wonderful brain and she has all of daddy’s good looks! She is a lady’s horse for sure- 15.3 maybe 16H I think? She takes up a lot of my leg but I am 5’11".
Here is a cute video of our first canter together…it was her first day on the property, in the outdoor and our first ride together. Love this girl! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THUvOd-dzKo&feature=youtu.be

Roc USA was ranked #5 leading hunter sire of 2014:

https://www.usef.org/_IFrames/pointsAwards/points/leadingSiresM.aspx?year=2014&section=2000&viewCat=Hunter

I have a mare by Idocus (Roc’s sire) that did hunters and I would be happy to send video. She has the best temperament and her previous owner was an ammy that had a blast showing her in hunters. I have no experience with Roc or his get directly though. Best of luck in your breeding season :slight_smile:

A lot of people breed to Roc for jumpers too. He is leading sire year after year in the young jumper ranks.

Both of mine are pretty enough to be hunters. The 7 year old still over jumps and does have energy, but when he gets more miles ( my ammie wage only gets him to a couple a year) he will be a phenomenal junior or a/o hunter. He has so much scope though, that I think jumpers will be his forte.

The 3 year old is a bit spookier so. I think might use his front end better then his brother. ( brother has a hind end powerhouse!!)

Bottom line I love my Roc’s. They are so athletic that they really can do anything!!!

Good luck!

I have an Escudo II 2 yo mare. She’s out of a mare that is Donnerhall line on the top and her dam is by Art Deco. “Eiffel” our 2 yo has a super walk and canter and a lovely trot (not hunter). She’s 16H behind now so she will probably end up being 16.3. Her 3 siblings are all very tall and all are competing in Eventing. Eiffel is very pretty and very smart! We would definitely breed to Escudo II again. And as others have stated - Edgar is the best to work with.

I do think Roc USA is a very handsome and talented horse. We just don’t breed for the Hunters.

I have an 8 year old Roc Mare that I show in the 3’3" A/O hunters. She has been a little slow to mature mentally and physically but should be ready for the first years when it thaws this spring. She has a beautiful expression and is fairly refined in her bone structure at 16.2. She is incredibly scopy and usually wins the hack, however she is still perfecting her hunter jump since she practically steps over anything less than 3’6". One thing I’ve struggled with is that her ridability is not particularly ammy-friendly. You have to let go with the hand and keep her quiet with the seat. She does take some prep to get into the ring hunter quiet but is incredibly brave and honest and will do well in the derbies. I love the athleticism since even if I miss she can get out of a jam. I don’t know anything about her dam so I’m not sure what is Roc USA vs the mare line on the rideability.