With the amount of expertise on this forum, I was wondering if we could do an informal head count on dressage breeding success. Who here has produced a foal that has competed at grand prix? Since this is the pinnacle of dressage breeding, I am always interested in what bloodlines are grand prix makers, as opposed to foal makers or young horse division makers. Any comments?
Madeline Austin bred Olivier
So much comes into play here in the US for a horse to make it to GP. Health, talent are all fine, but you also need ooddles of cash to get there. So many talented horses are sold to amatuers(great homes) and never get the opportunity to climb the levels.
Nothing wrong with that, but unless you are the breeder and can afford to take the horse all the way, you will find very few breeders able to claim breeding a GP horse if they have sold it on.
The Austins are a good example as is Horses Unlimited. There are a couple more like Watch Me coming up, but I am hard pressed to think of more? There has to be a few more?
I think the better question is who are the Grand Prix trainers? Who makes a Grand Prix horse?
Paragon was breed in the US At Oak Hill Ranch and they may have breed Otto as well? I believe Otto is by Rambo
[QUOTE=dudleyc;6383753]
Madeline Austin bred Olivier[/QUOTE]
She has also bred NUMEROUS other FEI horses. Olivier’s dam, Rowillie, was a prolific producer of FEI mounts.
If I was shopping for a foal, Imajica would be one of the first places I would look.
Oak Hill as bred a couple FEI horses and I know of two others that are GP horses not including Paragon.
I did. It was the first horse I bred (I’m on number four.) I bred a TB mare who had produced some really nice babies with warmbloods with really nice lines to Zorn, a stallion I knew, competing GP, with babies competing GP that I knew.
[QUOTE=MysticOakRanch;6383804]
… Who makes a Grand Prix horse?[/QUOTE]
THIS!
I have.
He was the first foal I ever bred and the reason I caught the breeding bug bad. He was the result of a tiny, uber-refined TB show mare and a massive clumpy old F-line Hanoverian cart horse from Germany (this was pre-frozen days and there was not a lot to choose from in New Zealand!). In hindsight, the result should have been hideous but was far from it. He was tall, beautiful and had electric movement with presence to burn.
He won nearly everything in the dressage ring. Did a bit in the hunter ring and some small events too. He reached GP at 12 but shortly afterward had a career ending injury.
Only a fool would ever try that cross again!
Mo Swanson at Rolling Stone Farm.
It would be great to have names of the grand prix offspring…I know in Europe breeders get a lot of credit, and was hoping this thread might highlight some breeders and their elite horses by name.
Well I am only familiar with Oak Hill considering I just visited there. But there is of course Paragon. Then there are a few they bred from Rambo… Ricotta, Arabella, Gambler that all are GP dressage horses. They also have two other listed that I can’t find a score too but at least showed FEI. I doubt these are it, they really don’t advertise all the FEI horses they have bred.
Suzanne Quarles, Some Day Soon Farm (MD) - Lymrix (Loerke/Wertherson), competed for Canada by Crystal Kroetch.
Doug and Louise Leatherdale, Leatherdale Farms (MN) - Devon L (DeNiro/Wolkenstein II), competed for Canada by Diane Creech
I know that Mo bred Rhavel, owned by Nancy Lewis-Stanton, who has been competed at GP for several years in a row now.
Mo probably has others at GP, but that is the one I know of off the top of my head.
I know has multiple horses that have competed in the small tour (PSG/I-1).
[QUOTE=DennisM;6385945]
Suzanne Quarles, Some Day Soon Farm (MD) - Lymrix (Loerke/Wertherson), competed for Canada by Crystal Kroetch.
Doug and Louise Leatherdale, Leatherdale Farms (MN) - Devon L (DeNiro/Wolkenstein II), competed for Canada by Diane Creech[/QUOTE]
I believe Devon L was bred in Germany by Hans Decken.
I have not yet, but I believe I have bred horses physically and mentally capable of the grand prix work. My main market is middle aged ammy riders. I personally don’t have the finances to get a horse to GP, and many of the riders I sell to are not the likely candidates to get that done either…and I’m O.K. with that. Someday I’m sure it will happen and will sell a horse that ends up in a home that will develop them to their fullest potential.
And I wanted to add how very unfortunate it is that we do not have access to a RELIABLE database that would allow us to search for this kind of info. :sigh:
Not my breeding as I didn’t own the dam then but my mares 2003 filly is definitely headed to GP. She’s competing PSG with her ammy owner and went to Regionals with her. (she is a Deniro/Rubinstein)
This question definitely applies to older breeders and having just started breeding myself I have to lay claim to the mare that produces excellent horses. 
My Mom Linda Seybold bred several, one that comes to mind is Gretta, recently deceased, who showed Grand Prix, and was also the highest scoring American Bred mare EVER at the time of her AHS MPT, and was entered into the Jumper Breeding Program, She is the half sister ( mareline) to three of my broodmares.
Like many say, breeding the potential is one thing. Even when you manage to get them in the right hands, so much can happen. For example Gold Luck, whom we bred, suffered Lymes disease, ending a promising career. His half sister Gold Katze was being groomed for an upper level career with Eike Von Veltheim, but injured her shoulder in a freak pasture accident and was never right again. There have been 3 or 4 others who , over the years almost made it. Another by Weltmeister, made it, but at age 19 as a schoolmaster for a 15 year old very talented young rider. Our stallion Beste Gold suffered a breeding shed injury, while showing great promise beginning some of the GP movements at home. His full sibling Beloved MRF is almost there, competing PSG, with Katherine Nelson. With just these two , I have had to dedicate over 12 years.
And these numbers are out of the 70 or more we bred over 35 years, of which probably 40/45 had the necessary talent. Currently, we have sold three young horses that are in homes with this sort of potential, if all goes well. I guess we will know more in 5 years or so.
The Rawles have been breeding quite awhile and had the ability to bring many of their offspring along themselves, ensuring the talent was showcased. This is a long road, requiring immense determination ( again - approx 10 years per horse?)
I hope Anne or Elly will pipe in and let us know their numbers… I know some of their homebreds that DID compete at GP are gone, from old age…
