Valentino Z!! I have my first is a 2 1/2 yr old that is 16.1 already and is out of a 16 hand mare, 2nd is a yearling that is 14.3 out of a 15.2 hand mare, 3rd is a 5 month old weanling that is 13 hands out of a 16 hand mare. 4th is on it’s way next year and it’s mom is 16.3.
I have another Valentino Z I am bringing along for the stallion owner and she is 16.1 and 4 yrs old out of a 15.3 hand mare.
His babies have great minds and are fabulous jumpers!
Thank you all I had completely forgotten about the “L” line! It’s good to know there are some steady eddies out there that throw a little more rideability along with the talent.
I was also starting to thing the Balou du Rouet sons threw nicer horses than Balou himself but it’s good to get a few extra opinions. I really like Bon Balou but I also like the idea of a well proven stallion.
I like the idea of a little more size mostly because riding to a 1.60 oxer on something “15.3hh on a good day” is a lot to ask. She has a lot of TB influence so she’s a bit lighter and I would prefer a jumper with a little thicker landing gear (not necessarily heavy all-around just more bone). She’s got scope and “try” and an 8/9 canter and will hopefully pass her good qualities on to her babies. I just like setting up the horse to make it easier if possible (you know, breed for “perfect” like everyone lol).
Ironman is very well known for throwing size, and a great temperament. His foals as many say are “born broke”. Very ami friendly.
Nancy
I have a 15.2 ish mare with a lot of blood. She acts and rides acordingly. She is a lovely mover, an athletic talented jumper and very opinionated to ride.
I wanted something taller and more quiet without losing scope so I bred her to Apiro.
The resulting filly has a lot of bone, and was tall-ish as a yearling and two year old. She was taller than her mother at 2, and string tested to 17 hands but she has slowed down quite a bit and will likely end up around 16.1 (perfect size in my opinion). She is a very classy athletic filly and I am pleased with her, she actually has exceeded my expectations. She is very very quiet and unflappable, much different from her mother. She is a dreamy mover and a very athletic intuitive jumper.
I wanted to breed the mare back to Apiro because I was so happy with this filly but since Apiro was only available only frozen I bred her to Bon Balou this year. I feel like he offered a lot of the same things that Apiro did: size, Argentinus influence, nice movement with a good jump as well as good work ethic. I am really looking forward to seeing my Bon Balou in 2014.
Incidentally, I have a Banderas 2 year old (out of a different mare) who is very small. We hope he will have a late growth spurt but by the looks of things he will be well under 16 hands and maybe not even as big as his mother, he is smaller than her other foals. His personality is excellent though, very easy young horse.
I also agree with the above suggestion for Landkoenig. When I was riding in Europe and inquiring about stallions, I was told that the Balou du Rouet’s had a reputation for being pretty difficult around a course like his father Baloubet du Rouet as did Q de R offspring so be careful as to what is on the mare side of the pedigree. I would suggest that you look at C-line Holsteiner stallions to add both rideability and scope, however I am not of the mind that a bigger horse is more capable of jumping 1.60m, especially in today’s courses when time allowed as well as the technical aspect of the courses is much more demanding than the courses of several years ago.
We just got a young mare out of a Sir Caletto mare… She is quite tall and seems to be very nice… So what about Sir Caletto?
In response to Sir Caletto, I can’t answer to adding size, because I have seen various sizes and haven’t seen their dams or know height in the pedigree.
But the rideability seems quite consistently good. They’re athletic and respond easy to do their job. I haven’t seen one that wasnt elastic and scopey over jumps and responsive to the aids on the flat.
But people interpret rideability differently. My take on rideability doesn’t translate to born broke easy amateur ride. Rideability is a feel for high performance horse capabilities. In this case, jumping.
And we all have different tastes.
Thank you Huntcup for that educated and well stated response. I quit the Boards a while back and am just now browsing comments…so thank you and I believe I would agree with your comment.
We just signed a contact for Jade with Sir Caletto, for many of the reasons you have mentioned , trying to add height while keeping her jump and movement. I am thrilled with the decision and Barb has been great to work with.
Congratulations!! and Good luck for a healthy foal:)
As I was the one who first mentioned this stallion, because we have a young horse out of his line, here the video of her first free jumping. She is out of a Calido / Accorado stallion and her mother was by Sir Caletto.
It doesn’t sound like you need more encouragement for Bon Balou but fwiw I was playing on horsetelex a few weeks ago and looked up his female family. His dam has seven foals listed (including Bon Balou). A gelding competing to 1.6m, a states premium mare that is a full sister to Bon Balou, and four licensed stallions (including Bon Balou). Couer de Caramel by Cordalme Z is competing here in the US. There are a couple of videos of him on YouTube. She also produced Quattro and Quidam’s Son both by Quidam de Revel, both born in 2009 and both licensed Hanoverian.
His grand dam, Larika by Landadel, has six foals listed, a licensed stallion that competed to 1.55m, two other offspring that competed to 1.4m, plus two more that have predicates listed (but I don’t know what they mean).
His third dam, Morika by Grannus, has three licensed stallions, two mares with predicates, and a gelding competing at grand prix (he is by Sandro Hit).
Add to that dam line Balou du Rouet and it makes for one impressive stallion. Then you add his presence, wonderful disposition, talent in both jumping and gaits and the fact that he has a wonderful owner. He is definitely at the top of my list for my next foal 
Best of luck to you with whatever you decide to do with your mare.
Lovely, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for posting that Sheila. I have a mare in foal to Bon Balou for 2014 but didn’t even realize that his dam line was so incredibly strong. It makes me like him even more - the mares make all the difference!!
When breeding the first thing we do is look at the motherlines of both the sires and dams…Bon Balou comes from a very good motherline and, in terms of fresh stallions available in NA, can be counted among the top in regard to strength of mare family in both breeding and sport.
