Would it be worth standing a thoroughbred for jumping sports, or do you think warmbloods have enough “blood” now and a Thoroughbred wouldn’t get much interest?
An indication, the RDS (Dublin Horse Show) runs the “Croker Cup” specifically for TB stallions as they are deemed to be crucial in producing horses at the highest level. The Traditional Irish Horse Association (TIHA) was established to maintain the iconic Irish performance and leisure horse, which is TB on ID or Connemara or ISH “bred on traditional lines”. The TIHA are concerned that the introduction of European WB stallions has diluted the immensely valuable Irish gene pool that produced some of the best horses of the 20th century. Many ISH today have a pedigree indistinguishable from the mish-mash of top European performance horses, where stallions have multiple “approvals” from multiple stud books. The Irish Stud Book now uses “TIH” to help identify traditional Irish breeding.
When a TB stallion does well, such as Hand In Glove or Haraldik, they tend to be very good across multiple disciplines. Top stallion farms in the UK are now actively promoting TB stallions for Eventing in particular.
Whether or not there is a market in the USA is a slightly different question but I have a feeling that the attitude towards European WBs is changing a bit as complex health issues become more apparent and the prices for horses remain so high.
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Thank you for your thoughtful and helpful response. Much appreciated.
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Perhaps @EventerAJ will chime in? She stands this lovely eventing stallion for sport: https://saketinistallion.com/
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Economically, it makes no sense to stand a TB stallion for sport. The demand is not there to be sustainable long-term financially. But, I do it anyway. Because I believe very very strongly in the merits of the TB, and the quality of my stallion specifically. I have spent a fortune in time and finances supporting my stallion. To realistically breed less than 10 outside mares a year. I do it because my stallion’s pedigree is exceptional (from every perspective) and heritable. I do it because he has proven himself in sport, and his offspring are proving themselves too (two FEH champions, YEH winner qualified for championships). He has a lot to offer physically and mentally to improve sport horse mares.
But it’s still a (mostly) losing battle. Your stallion gets lost among hundreds of WB stallions with European pedigrees, that sport horse WB breeders are more familiar with. And you fight against the “average” TB stereotype…there are a handful of TB stallions standing for sport, some without any sport performance record themselves, who honestly don’t offer much improve their mares. Their owners don’t know enough about TB pedigrees, think they have something special (that really isn’t), but advertise well. The offspring of those stallions is…unremarkable…especially compared to WB sires, and breeders see this, and hold it against ALL Thoroughbred stallions out there.
You also have to contend with the unproven but popular Colored TB crowd… a TB stallion with no significant performance record, no significant offspring performance records, a forgettable pedigree, and average conformation/movement who will get dozens more mares because SPOTS! CHROME! DILUTE!
And then there is the question of the stallion itself. It is A LOT of work and effort to stand a stallion, and do it right. You must have safe facilities and experience. You must be able to train, ride, and compete the stallion to a high performance level. You must be able to source quality mares, raise quality foals, and be prepared to get them started under saddle to help show off your stallion and justify his testicles. I am fortunate that I can do ALL of this myself; I am an upper level rider, capable of bringing a horse along from scratch to Advanced. I can cover my own stallion to my own mares, foal them out myself, I have a place to raise and keep them. I can show them in hand. I can start them under saddle myself. I have extensive knowledge and experience with TB pedigrees, I know which genetics are most likely to be heritable or not. All these things most breeders must pay for someone else to accomplish; and as such, they want the best stallion possible to maximize the return on that investment. I firmly believe there are TB stallions to improve the sport horse gene pool, but selling it to other sport horse breeders is difficult.
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If you have warmblood mares that have been inspected and graded well, you will take a hit financially trying to sell a foal from an unlicensed stallion. Maybe not if you keep it long enough to be under saddle and it shows promise as a performance horse. Geldings it probably doesn’t matter but a mare with only a COP is worth a lot less than one that is eligible for the registry. And even then you will not get top dollar.
There are a few TB stallions that are licensed in the US. Avalon Equine stands a few that have gone through the testing. I would ask her your question because she has some real world experience in the marketing and sales of a TB stallion. I think if you are focusing on eventing and the stallion shows ability and he has a track record then there will be higher demand. Especially at the higher levels of the sport where TB blood is so valuable on the cross country phase.
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Thank you for the reference. I will look them up. I had a feeling it would be mostly a labor of love and not financially justifiable. I come from the hunter world and I think they are less enthusiastic about riding TBs, except for the good riders who often prefer them.
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Thanks, you make a lot of good points. The warmbloods still seem so lumbering to me, but I guess it’s what you grow up getting used to. Undeniably, they are powerful and put up with more bad riding than more sensitive Thoroughbreds. The hunter world in particular has gotten increasingly “dumbed down”. I bred to the German Thoroughbred Asagao and got a lovely foal, but physical problems took him in his first year. I guess I will resign myself to breeding the occasional mare to this colt I have now, although I know it will mean proving it in the ring, so to speak, as he won’t be a familiar marketable name. Your stallion is lovely. We used to have a Bernardini in Wa. state but the Canadians came down and took him up north. He was gorgeous too.
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I debated last breeding my APHA (het tobi) for a sport horse and if I wanted a registerable APHA foal, even solid, then I needed a APHA, AQHA, or TB stallion and the options are limited for something well-built and proven somewhat athletic. The list for sport stallions that fit my needs was pretty limited: Saketini (you’ve been good about showing what he produces), Baatesh (but I can’t find a lot on his progeny), Peanut Butter Fever (local but I don’t think Sabrina has done a lot with him, although she seems confident in what he produces) or looking to frozen like Mystic Replica. I wasn’t impressed with the colored TB options, and most of the colored APHA are downhill and/or post-legged and/or too tall for me (aside, I noticed one colored TB colt previously marketed as “promising” as a stallion is being sold by the breeder). I’ll be curious in the next few years who the Appendix breeders will be using since tall is definitely in or if the trend will be AQHA/APHA stallions and TB mares.
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Do you know his name or where he went? I would like to see if he is still available.
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His name was Car Talk. He’s standing in Alberta somewhere.
Wow. LOVE your stallion! Of COURSE he’s a Bernardini. Most of the OTTBs I look at and am impressed by are either Bernardini or Fappiano. I guess I have a type.
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I am so sorry to hear you lost your foal. I loved Asagao.
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Thank you! Saketini lives up to the sireline in talent and class.
AP Indy over Fappiano line mares was a good nick, producing both Bernardini (AP Indy over Quiet American) and Tapit (Pulpit over Rubiano).
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Take some time, with a cup of coffee, and have a look at the Stallion AI Services website www.stallionai.co.uk and just enjoy a vast smorgasbord of beautiful horses. (They do export to the USA for some horses).
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He stands at Empire Equestrian in Ardrossan, Alberta. Just outside of Edmonton. Lori Neyka is the owner. I used to board there as they also have a large group of hunter jumpers on site with a coach.
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Your guy is very nice!
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Thank you! I am very fortunate to be his person.
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Thank you for sharing this. I hadn’t realized his person was a COTHer. He seems like such a lovely horse.
Making notes for future self… 
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@EventerAJ, he is indeed gorgeous. I have yet to meet a horse w In Reality I didn’t love. If I’m ever in the market to breed a mare, I’m calling you!!!
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