Stallion options: Saint Tropez X Labrador mare

[GPB]

I have this GORGEOUS Westfalen mare. Imported chestnut mare, USEF record with great placings in the hunters and hunter derbies. Chestnut mare with Chrome, pretty head and solid build. She’s the dream mare, and I am so lucky to have her. She had a stunning filly by Aloha in 2020 who sold, and she’s currently in foal to Lordanos for 2021.

Also interested in learning more about Trakehner lines. She is by Saint Tropez, out of a Labrador mare. (Landgraf)

I don’t have the greatest conformation shots, but can include a link to a video of her walking around and one of her showing. I’m looking to produce a higher-level performance hunter. Prefer fresh, but not afraid of frozen because she caught with the frozen Lordanos that was not great looking under a microscope.

Thanks everyone, interested in any crosses. I just want somewhere to start. I’ve hit my dream pairings already, and looking for other options

[ElementFarm]

I’m still a novice breeder, so take my comments accordingly

You might want to change your title. Since warmblood registries are pretty mixed up/interchangeable with several of the bloodlines, many readers will think you’re looking for stallion suggestions for a W-line mare (Weltmeyer). Better to say “hunter stallion for Saint Tropez mare” or “trak x holst mare” or similar.

Conformation pictures would be helpful, but at least say what you’re looing to improve. e.g. longer neck, or flatter trot, add/decrease height, or better feet. Are there any temperament traits you’re looking to improve? e.g. more ammie friendly, quieter, etc.

Good to know your mare can take with frozen. Do you have a registry you’d prefer to work with? Assuming the mare is already approved with xxx, do you want to stay with that? Is a different association’s inspections more convenient?

When I’m looking for possible stallion choices, I’ll peruse the USEF sire rankings for hunters and hunter breeding. If I know or have seen a horse I really like, I’ll look it up in USEF and see who it’s by.

I can’t wait to see pictures of the coming Lordanos foal. I love him as a stallion, and would love to use him if I had the right mare.

[GPB]

Of course. I am open to all ideas, she caught to fresh and frozen. I have no direction, because she’s pretty perfect in my eyes, not much I’d change on her. She is quite nice, hack winner, I think a great jump. Maybe a little more power is all. She’s a chestnut mare, which comes with its own fun, but I love a chestnut mare so I don’t mind it.

I have no preferred registries. She is registered Westfalen, and approved CSHA so I can register the foals CSHA. I’ve done the search, and nothing has moved me. After falling in love with Private Practice, I did my research and I had to try my own Lordanos breeding. I’m stuck on ideas. I need to start watching some more live stream of WEF this winter, find something that inspires me!

[TKR]

Without seeing your mare and knowing her strengths and where she needs help, it’s hard to recommend a stallion. That said, if I were breeding to a Trakehner for jumping, I would take a hard look at Hirtentanz, now in the US. He is a lovely type and mover, has won in the jumpers in Europe consistently. However, he goes around like a hunter, maintaining balance and pace with great scope. Good luck!

[GPB]

In my original post, I have a video of her walking and one of her in the ring. I don’t have decent conformation photos.

[Maren]

Since you asked to learn a bit about her Trakehner lines, I can fill you in on that. Knew her sire well, used to live down the road from his breeding station at the Gevelsberg outpost of the Westfalian State Stud in Germany. He was approved as a premium stallion at the Trakehner approvals in Neumünster in 1995 and made big news because he was the first Trakehner bought at auction by the State Stud in decades. His sire Tolstoi was a son of the great Kostolany (whom you probably know as the grandsire of Totilas, the dressage horse). Saint Tropez’s dam Schwarzach was by a stallion called Herzbube, a pretty successful and sire of important daughters and sport horses at his time. The mare family, like so many in the Trakehner breed, traced back to English and Arabian TB roots (in 3 generations from Saint Tropez himself). He was a spectacularly beautiful animal; even for a Trakehner, this one stood out.
As a young stallion, he didn’t take too well to the monotone life as one of many at the State Stud, didn’t really convince under saddle and ironically barely passed his 100 day test - he kept his approval status with the Westfalen and Rhienland breeds, but at the time, lost his approval with the Trakehner Verband proper because of his fairly low score. Of course the critics were out in full, blaming the Stud to have wasted a 6 digit amount of money on this auction acquisition and then the horse wasn’t even up to the task.
Well.
As a sire, he was certainly one to take note of. Although regrettably, he barely produced any purebred Trakehners, in the Westfalian and Rhineland breeds, he had offspring competing at S level (which is Germany’s highest National level, Advanced) in both show jumping and dressage; in fact more show jumpers at 1.40 m and higher than dressage horses (although they made it to Grand Prix too). And throw in the occasional eventer as well and you get the picture of a truly versatile Trakehner stallion who, despite a shaky beginning and a bad reputation (and hence probably not a full book of mares), managed to outperform many of his peers as a sire. I am not in the least surprised to see your mare doing so well as a Hunter.

If you want to reinforce some of this Trakehner influence, let me point you in the direction of the currently ongoing Trakehner Stallion Auction at the ATA (http://americantrakehner.com/SSA/Auction/search_results.asp) where several versatile stallions with complenetary bloodlines to Saint Tropez are being offered.
Best of luck with your breeding!