I’ve already bred to Quaterback for a June 2008 foal but would never “waste” a breeding of his to a hunter mare. It would just be a waste. There are many other stallions who can produce good hunters even if you just look at the jumpers.
Yes, but if you look at the lists the top performers do have pedigree info recorded.
I’ve never heard of any top hunters by Rubin Royal and his movement doesn’t seem to lend itself to producing hunters.
So can you name a few names of ‘top hunters’ by him. I’d like to see what mares produced them.
Again, it’s not the stallion himself that matters, it’s what he produces.
There is a farm called Aubrey Hill (don’t know them though) - but on their website they have several Rubin Royals that have been imported as AA hunters. I thought I saw videos there but I’ll have to look again. I know it sticks in my head for a reason. We saw one in person at a sporthorse sale which was imported, and moved like a freak (hunter).
I am not trying to argue - just learn and share experiences. We are all just trying to better the breed and the industry so any experience is valuable.
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Pinetree- Go to a show and ask a pro, or heck, even an owner what the breeding is of the horse they are sitting on that you just saw lay down a lovely trip… good luck getting the answer as most don’t have a clue. It is a sad reality.
There is SOME information at the USEF site - on sires for hunters - take it for what you will but most if not all are “jumper” bred - which is the direction I would go with a nice moving mare.
I saw a couple Rubin Royal’s in Gemany that would have won the hack anywhere. They weren’t the right sex for me so I didn’t buy them. I agree with Monomi most hunters don’t have their pedigree listed. Talk to people that import a lot, not just someone who only checks the USEF listings.
It all depends on what your goals are. Will a QB foal be a 4’ Working Hunter? Probably not.
We sell a lot of children’s and ammy horses and realize the market is strongest for a good 3’ hunter. Most people say they want to do the 3’6" but in reality never get there.
So, to breed a great tempered, fabulous moving, good jumping, fancy, rideable horse that can to the 3’ or perhaps the 3’6 being the goal, a lot of dressage stallions crossed with our mostly jumper-bred mares will result in the type of foal we are looking for. We have found that most people want the hack winner and will pick movement over jump for such divisions. Everyone likes to have the head turner when it trots around. What wins is different through the different divisions. But, the fabulous mover will always sell. So, it’s not surprising that pretty and good moving but athletic are at the tops of our list.
It is ok to have different opinions and it’s nice to be open minded and work WITH each other and not against. :yes:
He already has enough babies on the ground that we know that he DOES pass on a lot of his movement. His babies all have a ton of knee action.
I am not a hunter jumper person at all. I do dressage. But I board at a H/J barn and see what they consider great movement. I have a mare that I consider average at best and they LOVE LOVE LOVE her.
The two are not compatable at all. You’ll end up with a so so dressage horse and a horse that probably won’t jump.
This is a good question. I think NO is the answer but sometimes we are all proven wrong. Go with your heart on this one. Don’t decide just because he is “the one” this year.
I think you can find super stallions who are both talented movers and jumpers and might better suit your need. More proven names.
For instance… Go with Voltaire… he sired Popeye K.
This is where prepotency can be a blessing. I have only seen a few foals which are bred for dressage and noted they did get the “knee” but also the elasticity.
The issue is that he is a young stallion with not a ton of foal crops. If more foals are born out of a variety of mares and they are very clearly stamped with lots of action, then clearly it would not be a good choice. If, like some stallions, the knee is variable depending on the mare but the elasticity is common, then it’s a better gamble to take. Of course, this would be very excellent for dressage breeders so I hope it does happen.
I was merely saying not always does a stallion w/ lots of knee = foals with knee. You just have to watch what they produce. The proof is not in the pudding, but the pudding’s pudding.
It also seems that people forget the mare is at least 50% of the equation. There are some good prepotent stallions out there but likewise prepotent mares!
Thanks for all the replies! To answer a few questions…
I would not be selling the resulting foal, it would be for me and me alone. Yes I have ridden both posting and sitting those extravagent trots in my past as a saddleseat rider and having had the chance to ride quite a few baroque horse breeds in my time.
The mare is by Voltaire and usually gets a piece of the hack and will win over fences if the ride is accurate (not a mare I showed–pro showed her with lots of success).
And I am not interested in him because he is “the” thing to breed to right now–I am interested because he gives me goosebumps. Nothing scientific about it–I am not a breeder nor do I want to be, but I have an opportunity to breed a mare I could never afford to a stallion, thus getting a far nicer horse than I could ever afford (and yes I am counting all the care, nutrition, and upbringing versus a 3yr old for sale). Hence the reason for my query.
Thanks again for all of your thoughts and replies–everyone’s opinions are gratefully taken into consideration.
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The issue is that he is a young stallion with not a ton of foal crops. If more foals are born out of a variety of mares and they are very clearly stamped with lots of action, then clearly it would not be a good choice. .[/QUOTE]
This is a stallion that gets several hundred breedings a year. There are MANY foals of his around. Obviously, we don’t know yet how they will mature, but to date he has been bred to many more mares than most very good stallions will see in a lifetime.
Hmm when I responded I thought you were talking about making a jumper, in which case it might work because of the pedigree. But yeah, I wouldn’t dream of using him to make a hunter.
I doubt he is a real easy horse to ride as well with that extravagant movement.
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This is a stallion that gets several hundred breedings a year. There are MANY foals of his around. Obviously, we don’t know yet how they will mature, but to date he has been bred to many more mares than most very good stallions will see in a lifetime.[/QUOTE]
He is just coming 5 this year. I just personally haven’t seen a ton of foals to look at. Before I would ever attempt to breed to him I would have to do a lot more research on what he is producing. Since none of riding age yet it does make footage of them harder to find. I have looked! So, I was just saying he is interesting but more research is required to truly determine if it would be smart to use him to produce a hunter. Obviously other people have thought of this too if this post came about, so we are not the only ones.
I have seen a few Rubin Royal offspring that could win the hunter hack anywhere - I don;t know the type of mares these hunter offspring were out of, but I have have also seen a few!!
Take a look at this video of Rubin Royal:
http://elevagechevaux.free.fr/videos/RubinRoyal2005.wmv
Doesn’t take a stallion who has ever set foot in the hunter ring or one that moves like a hunter for that matter to produce one. All it takes is open minded people with a bit of vision! 
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He is just coming 5 this year. I just personally haven’t seen a ton of foals to look at. Before I would ever attempt to breed to him I would have to do a lot more research on what he is producing. Since none of riding age yet it does make footage of them harder to find. I have looked! So, I was just saying he is interesting but more research is required to truly determine if it would be smart to use him to produce a hunter. Obviously other people have thought of this too if this post came about, so we are not the only ones.[/QUOTE]
QB’s oldest foals are YEARLINGS this year. And since most breeders hide the yearlings in the back pasture, it is no wonder there isn’t much video footage of his first foal crop.
I think people should be free to follow their dreams and breed to the stallion that “floats their boat”, but my personal opinion is that it would be a bit of a shame to waste a QB breeding trying to produce a hunter. This is one of the most sensational young dressage stallions in Europe and his frozen semen is expensive and in limited supply. It makes far more sense to me to utilize him in a dressage breeding program, and use a proven hunter type stallion to produce your hunter.
I don’t disagree with you - if you are a one-time breeder with limited funds I would probably pick something else more proven as a hunter producer. But of course, do what you want, above all else! Often wonderful discoveries are the results of risk taking! That is why I keep saying “experiment” when talking about QB producing a hunter. If you have more resources and time it might be worth trying but for someone with one shot, I probably would not do it.
Even with the best laid plans, breeding is still a crapshoot.
I did it…
I bred my hunter mare to a dressage stallion.
My mare as a #1 hunter jump but could have more elasticity in her trot and more roundness in her canter. I bred her to a grandson of Rubinstein (Royal T)out of a Figaro mare that as a lot of knee action and elevation in his gates (not as much as QB thought).
Result: I got exactly what I was looking for. My colt as the most regular, cute, round and balance canter I could have asked for and THE trot I was expecting. The stallion improved my mare exactly where I wanted to. The only thing I did not test yet is his ability o/f as he is only 12 months old. Will test this at the end of the summer in free jumping…
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Someone that posted on this forum a while back was breeding to QB for a hunter foal.
