I’m with you there - Any 3 year old, stallion or no stallion, who could cope so well mentally with the atmopshere in that building, I think would surivive a hack, also. 
But, let’s face it, horses that hack well on trails are a dime a dozen, but horses that can move like Quaterback in the dressage ring are a bit harder to find!
Lovely!
And if he does all that at THREE, just exactly how long has been working under saddle, and how long will he stay sound?? Or is that why dressage horses commonly receive hock injections as part of normal and customary care?
And yeah, I suppose just about any 3 year old stallion in that kind of an electrifying atmosphere and men chasing him with whips would have his ass on fire too.
Lovely animal though - just wish the warmblood people would quit doing what the quarter horse people do. Get 'em turned out by 3.
Wow. I can’t wait to see that boy when he gets older and further along in his training! Now, must go find lovely lovely mare…and start saving lots of money for a stud fee…LOL!
Where, exactly, were the men chasing him with whips? I must of missed that part. I also saw no horse with “his ass on fire”…just a lovely, obedient 3 year old with natural breathtaking gaits.
The horse was walking, trotting and cantering…he wasn’t asked for undue collection or complicated lateral movements, or asked to jump a 4 foot course. A 3 year old should manage a basic walk/trot/canter under saddle without causing soundness issues as they grow older. They play in the field harder than that.
ewwwww laaaa laaa… NICE
HMM…
My mare is saying----- “bring it over big daddy”!! 
ha ha ha.
What an incredible horse!! What an incredible mind! What I find amazing, though is that some people seem to think that because he’s so talented he wouldn’t be any good for anything other than dressage. I would guess he is quite a good jumper with that natural “through” and elastisity. His movement is not “saddlebredy” in any way. He has much push from behind, is very over the back and gives me the impression of being easy to ride. And with a mind that solid and cooperative at 3 years old, I’d guess he would be just fine out on the trails.
Just because a horse is uber talented and has the ability to “turn it on” doesn’t make them difficult. Maybe not a horse for a greenie, but not a fire breathing dragon either.
You guys can have your all-rounders. That horse is dee-licious!
First video - at liberty. Then later in hand. One handler running alongside - another man running behind swinging a whip. I’ve seen my very ordinary mare piaffe and passage with the most incredible breathtaking movement when chased in a ring with a whip in unfamiliar circumstances. Most horses act that way. And especially 3 year olds.
And yeah, I didn’t see the under saddle video until just now. Yes, he does have exceptionally expressive gaits. But then I think a lot of warmbloods do. Lots of knee action. He looks excited. Likely in a few years when all this is old hat, he will probably settle a bit.
Maybe I was watching the wrong clip too. Like Two simple everything I saw was in-hand. I’ll look again.
Please don’t take my comments the wrong way…he is lovely as a dressage horse. He is not my cup of tea with his extravagant movement but I admire his quality. I would not want to ride him down a rocky steep mountain trail no matter how quiet he seems in that arena, and I still want to see how well he can collect those amazing gaits when he gets a little older.
OK, I just looked at the right clip. Doesn’t everyone’s horse move like that???
Dang, that is an unbelievable horse! Poetry in motion.
Yep, me too DB. Lovely boy, beautiful gaits, a beautiful horse to look at. But like I’ve said a thousand times before, arena pizazze just isn’t what I look for in a horse. And I mean specifically in a DRESSAGE horse, too. Dressage is about training and improvement. Dressage is not about who has the flashier horse with the bigger gaits. Just my opinion. Nobody has to agree. 
Daydream Believer… your post is like me saying your Spanish mustangs are nice going down a steep trail but I wouldn’t want to do dressage with them. But don’t take that the wrong way…
Quaterback is an extraordinary horse with excellent gaits and character. At 3 years old it’s a little early to say what he can and can’t do, but I would consider it a waste of talents to have him going down steep trails.
Siegi… Coming from you, I’ll take that as a complement. Enjoy your horses and I’ll enjoy mine but I have every bit the right to express my opinion on this thread as those who are singing nothing but praise and lust for this young horse. Some of us believe that a horse that is only good for one thing is a waste of talent.
Goodness what a beauty. What I absolutely love about this horse is his soft elastic, relaxed but expressiveness of his movement, that is almost impossible to train into a horse. Personally even my most ideal horse I don’t really look for such a fancy mover… but that softness and elasticity, sends me to heaven and back! Also absolutely love love his attitude who showed true enjoyment of the crowd and being worked… yes the rider is an art of perfection… I know the best of horses being ridden by best of riders who will stay with the rider and perform well… but he looked like he really soaked up the show atmosphere.
I don’t see that the horse is being worked beyond his ability. He doesn’t show a bit of strain, stress or tension. Very unique individual.
If I have a mare, I would definitely breed her to him.
i take your comments at face value, daydream believer. which was very negative and critical.
this is a great moving horse with tons of potential. if you think this is a bad mover with ‘too much knee action’ then i understand a lot of your other comments a lot better. all starting to fit into place now.
and yes, these horses do play around considerably at these things. their gaits at 4 or 5 will not be quite as airborn or as excited, but this one will still have great gaits. they are 3 for heaven’s sake they are going to be a little light in their loafers at these things.
generally these young horses come to these things with very, very little work under their belts, and go home and go back to being patio pets. they don’t work them much til 4 or 5, but also, a well balanced horse like this isn’t very hard on himself, and what work they get usually isn’t a problem for them. i haven’t tried any of these world beaters, but ones in the same system and of lesser ability, are even very green at FIVE, they just don’t always train the crap out of them. in fact, i’d say americans are far more guiltier of that on the whole.
yes, some people work the snot out of them at this age, but fact is, they don’t all make you happy and go terribly lame.
Incredible and so much fun to watch.
Someone who knows more than I do, doesn’t his trot seem a little too “passagey”, not when he lengthens but otherwise? Isn’t that sort of a flaw? Florencio seems that way too and he is a world champion so maybe it is not the flaw I thought it was.
He is absolutely amazing for a 3 year old. The rider is doing an amazing job.
Sort of with Two Simple a little here though. I think asking a three year old to do the lengthening, sitting the trot on them, etc may be asking for trouble down the line. I think the horse has a incredible amount of talent but I would not be surprised if he suffered a fate like Poetin herself and was washed up at 6. The stifles, the hocks, the yet very immature back, this intensity of riding often takes a toll on even the creme of the crop prospects. Just because they can go like that and you can sit on them at 3 doesn’t mean having them doing it is a wise thing longterm. With the FEI young horse tests and the outrageous prices super fancy young dressage prospects can fetch today, I think the pressure to push too hard too fast is getting scary. In a way it is like Quarterhorses or cutting horses or even race horses where the horse is a champion at 3 and 4 and done at 6 or 7.
Still I love the amazing dressage horses that are being produced today.
Only good for one thing?! Says who?! A horse with that mind and that athleticism is certainly good for more than one thing. Clearly, he has great potential as a dressage horse, so it makes sense point him in direction and develop him to the limits of his ability there…but “only good for one thing”?! WHAT, exactly, are you using for the basis of that determination?
Where did I say that? 
I think you forgot your medication this morning. I never said he was a bad mover at all. I said he was an incredible, ultimate mover for dressage but my only criticism was that I felt he might not be able to collect as well later in his training nor that he would be much of an all around type of horse. I am not the only person who wondered about the collection either if you go back and read for comprehension.
Sorry if I dared to offer any criticism of this horse along with my complements.
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