I think Clinton’s Heart has been in the US for a little while now. I haven’t seen any of his offspring so I can’t comment but maybe others have used him.
I like Cordess a lot and from what I’ve seen he brings a good temperament. He has quite a few approved sons and a few of his older foals are jumping at 1.50m now. He was also still jumping 1.40m last year at 16, which is nice to see.
Utrillo has been a very good sire. His son Basje was excellent. He is supposed to have had a much better temperament than Cornet Obolenksy, despite being a 3/4 sibling. I think he gives scope and good technique but his rider did say he didn’t have the best mouth, like many Clinton offspring.
Cornado I and II are both a better bet for a smaller mare than the other stallions mentioned here, in my opinion. Zangersheide says Cornado II does add size and Cornado I was a very big horse too. Both very scopey with good technique.
Cornet’s Prinz is a very pretty stallion and seems to be producing hunters as well, so maybe the rideability is good. I’m not a big fan of Polydor and so I didn’t look at him very carefully, but I was told he does cross well with Grannus and Argentinus mares (I’ve got a Graf Top mare I was looking at stallions for), despite not having much blood himself, so maybe he doesn’t need a mare with as much blood. New Normandy would be a good resource if you’re interested in him and in Utrillo.
In a general sense, I’d want a mare with enough size and a very good mouth and rideability for these stallions. Also a fertile one. I’m not sure about Cornado II. I think Cornado I’s fertility improved once he stopped competing but I was told it wasn’t so good at one point. I’ve heard Cordess is good, but I haven’t used him. I think Utrillo per dose through New Normandy is quite a generous number of straws, which is good.
A few other younger stallions to consider by Cornet Obolensky, if you haven’t already. I believe all are available frozen in the US:
- Coros
- Corsini
- Corlou
- Kensington
If you are looking for fresh options, Ryan Pedigo has Galant du Mesnil, but I don’t know much about him.
