Hunter Stallions for Quiet, Easy, Rideable Offspring

[Henley497]

Hey guys, I’d love to hear thoughts/suggestions/recommendations for stallions that consistently produce quiet, ammy friendly, personable, easy hunter prospects. Only interested in studs with kiddos going under saddle that are consistently easy, straight forward, rideable with nice movement and good jump.

Honourable mentions to anyone who produces winners on the line or hack winning movement, even in good company.

I know a lot depends on the mare you’re breeding to (and the old adage of don’t breed unless you’d be happy with a carbon copy of your mare), and that nurture will also play a part in temperament. This is more for my own education and to get a feel for what’s out there when looking at mare options (and custom foal options) and potential crosses next year.

I’ve perused a few lengthy threads on here that cover this topic but the few I’ve looked at were older and I’d love to see how people’s opinions have changed and evolved!

In one of the threads I read Diane of Laurel Leaf Hanoverians (Thanks Diane!) summed up everyone’s suggestions to include Landkoenig, Fabuleaux, Grandom, Fuerst Gotthard, Just the Best, Redwine, Popeye K, Don Alfredo, Papparazzo, Cunningham and Ironman. Silvio also got a few recommendations.

A few that have caught my eye personally are Ragtime (have heard positive things about the R line in general), Balta Czar, Apiro, and Lordanos (would prefer a comparable son with cooled available though).

Who else would you add to the list and why? Would you change any of the ones on the list?

Thanks guys, it’s always wonderful seeing how knowledgeable this community is!

[MadTrotter]

Following. I’m also considering breeding my heavy hunter type KWPN to ideally get something with a bit more gracefulness, esp a longer, more tapered neck, but if I got a carbon copy of her I would be 100% fine with that.

Bonus points for homozygous black. She’s bay, so I think it’s just 25% chance for black, but I’ve always wanted a black horse. But would be happy with another bay

[sigrid.sijtsma]

Jaloubet vdl

Jaloubet (Baloubet du Rouet x Polydor) - VDL Stud

he comes from famous mareline, his mother Krista sired by Polydor, also brought Taloubet k Z. and bigstar jr k z. and Krista is a mare that brings a lot horses that jump on the higest level GP 160 , and they are well build , good muscled and very well build,

The offspring of Krista and also of Taloubet Z, i saw in person Krista , her foals and offcourse Taloubet k z, and bigstar jr kz and 300 offspring of taloubet k z, and these young horses were very easy, calm mind, good caracter, but move well and jump good. Just like Krista and taloubet en bigstar jr kz.

they are not busy with everything around them while handling and riding, they concentrate on the work they have to do.

www.majesticgaits.com kathy Hickerson sells vdl semen in the USA, so you can contact her, if you are interest in buying frozen semen from stallion from vdlstud in the netherlands.

[GoodTimes]

Following as I’ve got a lovely mare who is coming five, I’d like to breed her once we’ve gotten a few years of showing behind us. Unfortunately she didn’t get to show on the line or do the Cup classes at RAWF because of Covid. The foal would ideally be my next hunter. As my horses get older they become my mom’s riding horses.

I don’t recommend Cabardino if you’re looking for something quiet and ammy friendly.
My coming 13yo gelding is by him (bought him as a yearling), lives out 24/7 in an 8acre hilly field to keep his explosive spooks and bucks to a minimum. He’s fine for the most part in the summer, but not very enjoyable in the winter.
Saying that, he’s scopey and is a hack winner.

Cabardino is the grandsire of my young mare (bought her as a weanling). Also a hack winner, a little more level headed.

[Henley497]

@MadTrotter please share pictures (if you’re comfortable)! Would love to follow along on your mare’s journey

Thanks for your input @sigrid.sijtsma! I will definitely check him out but I would prefer to not have to deal with frozen (in a perfect world lol).

@GoodTimes yes thank you! I’m from southern Ontario so Cab babies are relatively common here. Despite how marketable they are I’m not considering him. It’s been my experience that they’re quite the mixed bag as far as temperament goes and I’d prefer something a bit more predictably chilled out haha. Please feel free to share pictures of your mare as well!

[GoodTimes]

Ah I’m also in Ontario!

This is my mare as a 3yo. Cabardino and Futurist on the dam side, by the stallion Colour Guard (Escudo I).
She was Champion Premium filly at her foal inspection with Westfalen NA. If I recall correctly her full sister who is very similar in looks and movement was awarded premium status at her mare inspection.

[Henley497]

Haha hey neighbour! To my amateur eye it looks like Colour Guard really stamped her! Did you breed her yourself or purchase her later on?

[GoodTimes]

@Henley497

Haha hey neighbour! To my amateur eye it looks like Colour Guard really stamped her! Did you breed her yourself or purchase her later on?

Yes, she’s similar in type to him. She’s a better mover than he is, similar jump.

We bought her as a weanling from Northern Legacy. We missed our chance at the Cup classes since RAWF was canceled. I’d like to breed her in a few years so we can try again.

As far as stallions, Cunningham has always been a favourite of mine, but I don’t personally know any of his babies.

I saw Creme de la Creme and Party in de Hus at Angelstone this past summer. Both are gorgeous, and were so well behaved. But are young, so not many babies on the ground yet.

[sigrid.sijtsma]

it is your own choice, if you use frozen semen or not,

quality is top.

it is your choice , but there is a possibility to use stallions from europe, from the higest quality there is, as the best stallions at VDLSTUD, are never sold , and never go alive to the USA. only Farrington and Jus de pommes were older proven KWPN aproved stallions who went to USA they went to Kathy Hickerson majesticgaits, from VDLstud.

Majesticgaits has also fresh semen for sale from aproved stallion, so you can always look at her website.

I used frozen semen on my dam as well in 2020, inseminated at VDLSTUD, i wanted to use a proven champion stallion aproved Hannoverian, Wolkentanz. is his name… he died in 2010 , so i knew i had to use semen, and 1st try frozen semen, she was in foal and 11 months later she gave me a pretty filly.

[wanderlust]

Most of the list you have are not ones I’d pick and/or are only available by frozen at this point if at all.

Top of my list in the US would be Cabalito (not Cabardino) and Westporte. Both consistently produce really, really nice hunter-type horses with good brains. Looking to Europe, I’d go straight to Tangelo vd Zuuthoove, Quaterback or Casall. There are a ton of Diarados out showing but they aren’t always easy.

[Henley497]

Thank you @wanderlust, I don’t know how I forgot Westporte, I really like what I’ve seen of his kids. I have also liked Quaterback but haven’t heard much about what he throws temperament wise!
Do you mind sharing why you wouldn’t pick from the list above/what you don’t like about those studs? I’m alway trying to improve my knowledge when it comes to breeding and any insight you have would be great

[DiamondJubilee]

I’ve been watching and waiting to breed a mare to Sir Wanabi as his offspring are soooo quiet. I was looking for that easy ammy attitude and he really checked all my boxes. He has tons on the ground and I’m sure you’ve seen quite a few of his around if you are in Ontario.

I was told to breed my mare to Cabardino but he has a quit a few “hot” ones around and I’m not getting any younger (not saying they are all like that of course!). I just wanted that easy going attitude the Sir Wanabi tends to produce.

Unfortunately he did pass away last year (my mare was one of the last he bred) but I did buy some frozen from him as well. Would you be interested in frozen?

[Henley497]

@DiamondJubilee I actually have a Sir Wanabi baby due end of April/early May! Fingers crossed for a healthy filly! I purchased in utero just days before he passed. I’m going to echo what you’ve just said, I know there are more spectacular studs out there but I really really enjoy how quiet and ammy friendly his babies are. This is my first foal and I’ve followed Sir Wanabi for quite some time so the temperament he consistently passes on really sealed the deal for me! That being said I haven’t seen any of his kids at the top of USEF rankings lol. For the purpose of this foal that was totally fine for me though!

I would love to keep in touch and see how our foals develop! Sending jingles your way for an easy birth and a healthy foal!

[sigrid.sijtsma]

Quaterback is a real dressage bred stallion, he is a very good stallion, but i thought for hunter, you need a horse that has jumpingabbilties. with good movement.

So why quaterback if i may ask?

I bred myself a very good hunter competing in north america on the highest level and winning on big shows, Winner sired by Haarlem came from an allround bred stallion, breeding very good jumpers with good movement, and the dam had type, good willing caracter and good brains too work, but not easy going.

Winner is kind of the same horse, if you are treating him good and with respect, he works with you the best, and shows at the best he can do.

Winning Comes With the Name For Winner and Daryl Portela (phelpssports.com)

I always thought that breeding a high quality hunter, is not easy, it is just in time, as they mature and work on levels, that you can know its gonna be a good hunter or not.

cause it has nothing to do with the hight of the jumps, here in the netherlands it is hunter class not something that is very known, and not a lot of shows.

[bingbingbing]

@wanderlust

Top of my list in the US would be Cabalito (not Cabardino) and Westporte.

Depending on the mare and your goals, I would choose Cabalito over Westporte. Cabalito is scopier IMO. Both have very good temperaments.

[Henley497]

@sigrid.sijtsma As I understand it Quaterback has some high quality jumping blood in his pedigree, especially from his damline. I believe he scored around an 8.5 for his jump at his licensing as well. There is a very interesting thread on here from 2008 about someone wanting to cross Quaterback with their hunter mare for a hunter foal. At that point Quaterback’s oldest foal crop were only yearlings and MANY people on that thread commented on how it would be wasteful to breed him to a hunter and that it was unlikely he would produce any of quality since he has such extravagant movement. Funnily enough, a few people came back to that thread 10+ years later to comment that they had been wrong and the few people from the thread that proposed crossing him with a huntery mare would make for nice hunter offspring were vindicated and have had great success using him since that original post.

@bingbingbing as of now I prefer the type of Westporte but to be fair I haven’t been able to find conformation photos of Cabalito that aren’t from when he was 20+ years old (and I’m assuming out of work). Based on those pictures I’m not super fond of how he’s put together but there’s no denying he brings desirable traits to the table!

[wanderlust]

@sigrid.sijtsma

Quaterback is a real dressage bred stallion, he is a very good stallion, but i thought for hunter, you need a horse that has jumpingabbilties. with good movement.

So why quaterback if i may ask?

Quaterback has sired many very good hunters, I’ve sat on a couple and know a couple others. They are good moving and have great jumps. Quaterback has plenty of jumping blood a couple generations back- Quattro B, Galoubet A, Alme, on top, all 1.60m. Beach Boy on the bottom.

A lot of hunters imported these days are dressage-bred. They have the big sweeping movement hunter people like, and since most won’t compete above 3’, scope is just not that important as long as they have a tidy front end.

[Henley497]

@sigrid.sijtsma

Here is the thread Stallion Quaterback--for a hunter?

And here is an explanation of the jumping lines in Quaterback’s pedigree

Why QUATERBACK produces such awesome hunters!

[sigrid.sijtsma]

ok, dressage bred stallions, but the dressagebred stallion, thats comes from the old german lines, the "old fashioned"type stallion.

not the modern dressage type stallion.

i know the jumpinglines in the old fashioned dressagestallion, they are more allround, and bring good movement with jumpingquality. and have a well balanced type with the power from behind.

Quattro b, galoubet a en alme, french bred horses, and they are here in holland known for not good collection in mouth, heavy in hands, and or moving downwards. instead of upwards. if bred to dam that have that quality as well, then for dressage you dont have a lot of joy, but for jumping they are remarkeble.

Thanks for the info…

[MsRidiculous]

Your chances for black depend on the agoui status of both her and whatever stallion you choose, which you would have to test for in order to know. If she is homozygous agouti or if you breed to a stallion that is homozygous agouti then you’ll never get a black foal.