Is anyone breeding to either of these boys this year? Who would you choose and why?
We just confirmed in foal our mare Serenti this morning to Bon Balou. So far, she is pregnant. 
More than excellent service again from Jennifer (always had!!) and it was our first attempt of the season with this mare.
Iām a fan of Balou du Rouet from the first time Iāve seen him on PS dvd. Argentinus is one stallion I love as well, but Iām not courageous enough to try his semen nowhere soon.
I like both stallion, I took Bon Balou over Banderas because I like the fact that his gaits are strong enough to probably give something good for dressage as well. Of course he is jumper bred, but I liked his wonderful athletism. He caught my eye from the first time I saw a video. But I really like the two of them. All of Jenniferās stallions are top notch imho. Itās like picking candies in a candy store.
Thanks I love hearing stuff like that! Iām definitely team Bon Balou for my mare.:winkgrin:
Iām breeding my mare to Banderas. I chose him because I like the lineage combination of Balou Du Rouet - Grannus - Beach Boy and type for type he matched my mare. My mare competed to 1.4 meter and has produced very successful hunter/jumper foals, so Iām looking for another hunter/jumper from her.
As well, Balou du Rouet is noted for exceptional temperament and rideability, exceptional jumping ability (the boy has springs instead of legs) and even decent gaits, all traits he passes along. Banderas is the same in every way in this capacity and is passing it along. Banderas can sometimes pass on some crazy white markings, which I donāt mind one way or the other.
On another note, I bred a dressage mare to their stallion, Freestyle, and Jennifer bent over backwards to help us out as we had to rush semen and she was very accommodating. Both she and Armin are top notch people to talk on the phone and do business with. First class all the way.
Amazing by Balou du Rouet
We bred our mare to Amazing who is another Balou du Rouet son. His dam line adds in Voltaire too The colt we got from the cross is everything and more than we could have ever asked for. Even though we had our mare booked to a different stallion, one look at this colt and it was a must repeat cross, so we are breeding her next week in hopes of a keeper filly to add to our program. We also just sent out a contract for the 2014 foal from this cross. Ahna was great to work with and Amazing settled my mare in foal on the first try, even though she was trying to be a pita LOL
http://www.cornerstonefarmpa.com/amazing.html
Here is our colt Aut of the Balou by Amazing
In my opinion, Banderas has a better jumpā¦ but Bon Balou will definitely add some exceptional movement too! Depends on what you want baby to do and what the mare needs.
I have a Balou du Rouet Iām in love with so I definitely love all of the sonās Iāve seen!
I would think Bon Balou should throw some of that bling too!
I bred my Sempatico mare Spring Silk to Bon Balou. I got to snuggle with him afer he completed his quarentine. I like his āduel purposeā breeding and his temperament. Very big fluid moving stallion. He will hopefully add a bit of size as well.
Plus I am breeding a Fuhler I daughter later this month to Banderas. If she ever dicides to develop a breedable follicle! She is jumper bredā¦dam is F line Hanno. I had a Banderas colt last year from a different mare and the colt was fabulous. He sold shortly after weaning.
So different qualitiesā¦both very nice.
Martha
I bred my Escapade mare to Banderas. Really excited about this match! Should be a great moving, super jumping fool wrapped up in a pretty package. She will be 60 days on Monday. Already thinking I will repeat this match next year too.
Oh, and you canāt beat Jenniferās service either!
A friend of mine just had a gorgeous black sabino colt by Banderas!
I bred a mare to eachā¦one took. My Lordanos/Landor S/Zeus mare is in foal to Bon Balou! I like that he should add size and keep her movement. I bred the Picaro mare to Banderas because despite the Grannus in his pedigree, he does seem to refine (must be the Balou!). Unfortunately, she lost that one before the 30day check, but as everyone has said, Jennifer is perfect in the customer service department.
I have two mares bred to Banderas this year, a Pilot granddaughter and a Rio Grande daughter. Banderas was love at first sight for me. I had the mares booked before Dreamscape farm purchased Bon Balou. I feel that Banderas has a better jump but I will definitely be keeping an eye on Bon Balou. It would also be nice to see a few more foals from Bon Balou on the ground before breeding to him.
I had a big, beautiful black filly by Banderas, out of a States Premium Weltmeyer mare this year. So far looking to be a hunter extraordinaire, which was the goal! The filly was sold within a week! I have a Rio Grande mare in foal to Banderas for next year. I love the athleticism and freakish jump that Banderas provides. Iāve also got one confirmed in foal to Checkmate, and another bred to Checkmate whoās getting preg checked Monday. So far, all one cycle pregnancies, even with Fed Ex delays leading to post-ovulation inseminations! Jennifer is a fantastic stallion owner to work with, and definitely goes the extra mile! Sheās putting together quite a string of impressive stallions!
We have bred 2 mares to Bon Balou this season. Iām in love with his mare line and the fact that he is the complete package. I chose him because I feel he will complment my mares very well. They are both similar in type, and outstanding producers and performace horses.
I have also bred to Banderas and have a perfect filly from him on the ground this year and used him on our Cardento mare for next year, this foal should be a jumping machine.
We also own 2 Balou Du Rouet offspring, and they are beyond exceptional! I love this bloodline and have used it many times.
They seem to be the whole package, conformation, movement, atheltic ability, and of course outstanding jumping ability. The crome doesnāt hurt either!
Will be exciting to see what Bon Balou produces.
Also Jennifer is amazing to work with, never had better service from a SO.
I am very curious as to how people think Bon Balou would cross on a TB mare. I donāt think I have the right match for him right now, but I would love to know what people think the best type of mare for him is. As a disclaimer, I am aware there is a wide range of TB mares out thereā¦ Just looking for a general opinion : )
Hummmmā¦ Bon Balou is bigā¦16.3hh, good bone with out being coarse, and from what I saw in person mellow and sensible. Big loose powerful movement. I would think a nice big turf bred TB mare should produce well with him. I would not go too small a mare, he is a big stallion.
Depends on what you are looking to produce and so very much on the mare. The mare I bred to himā¦checking for the āblack dotā on Tuesdayā¦is not big tho, 16.1ish She is by Sempatico and out of a Canadian Pinto mare with a ton of TB and Arabian blood back two generations so needs a bit more substance, an I wouldnāt mind an inch or two more in height<smile>
Not sure if that helps at all!
Martha
While it depends on the TB mareās personal type, pedigree-wise I would think Banderas would probably cross better with a TB mare simply because he carries the all important Grannus blood. The G-line hanoverians tend to cross extremely well with TB because they improve the various weaknesses the TB brings in, namely power, the shoulder and the neck connection. Dreamscape has a few of his foals posted. In 2010, there are at least 3 or 4 posted out of TB mares. Heās pretty consistent and he stamps his foals well. He has also already thrown quite a few premium foals, a stallion prospect, and is the leading N.A. hunter/jumper sire listed by GOV right now.
Thatās not to say Bon Balou wouldnāt - if the mare was right. He is also yet another extremely well-bred stallion standing at Dreamscape in their whole line up of extremely well-bred, talented stallions - one could get lost for days in the Dreamscape Candy Store. Bon Balou has the legendary Argentinus and Landadel in his mareline. Argentinus was the worldās youngest millionaire showjumper, but in the breeding shed he threw both dressage and show jumpers, FEI quality the vast majority.
In both stallions, they have 3 good basic quality gaits, spectacular temperament as inherited from their pedigrees on both sides and along with that, exceptional rideability. Both have enormous jumping talent. Both boys jump like they have springs on their toes and would probably put in a gallant effort to jump the moon if you asked them to.
Whichever way you go, good luck in that decision! LOL It will be a hard choice, but ultimately it will be pairing your mareās type to the stallions as they are both slightly different.
I have bred Bon Balou to a TB mare. See some pics here: http://springblut.de/ben-2010.html
I know of two more german breeders who have done so as well, with good results. He adds bone and size, passes on his own sweet temper and lots of ability for both jumping and dressage. He stems from a brilliant damline with so many top class competition horses (Albatros, Cocktailparty, Coeur de Caramel, Quintus I-III, Liza Minelli etc - for more Details: http://www.horsetelex.de/horses/family/376819).
I was very sorry to hear about his death at such a young age.
