I’m wondering if anyone here has bred to Viva Voltaire, or have offspring of his, and I’d love to hear your thoughts -
At the recent Pan Am games he had a gelding out of an A Fine Romance daughter competing (in dressage!) - but he is more of a jumper bred horse.
This has made me think about him as a possible candidate to be bred to one of my AFR daughters, and wonder about others’ experiences.
Thanks in advance.
Wow, what a pedigree! I for one hope you decide on that cross, I’d like to see the resulting foal.
I don’t have any of his kids (yet), but I’m looking at him closely, especially because I like his pedigree and he is Hanoverian Verband approved. He is also a very lovely boy. His pedigree is interesting - Grannus produced both dressage and show jumper kids, as did Argentinus. Grande also had the highest number of grandkids attending the 1996 and 2000 Olympics in both dressage and show jumping and a lot of them medalled. Grannus, in particular, pairs extremely well with thoroughbred mares, so I’d be very surprised if a pairing between your AFR mare and Viva didn’t live up to your expectations.
I have run in to several Voltaires that are back at the knee and toe out quite a bit…something to keep in mind if you are breeding for the market.
I’ve been intriqued by him for awhile. A friend has 3 in the barn; I know one is a very legit and successful 3’6" horse, and has nothing but good things to say about the other 2. Haven’t seen them in person…
Have heard many good things about working with Charlot farm, perhaps they could also offer some insight on that cross.
Good luck with your choice, it seems a nice option!!
[QUOTE=not again;6091068]
I have run in to several Voltaires that are back at the knee and toe out quite a bit…something to keep in mind if you are breeding for the market.[/QUOTE]
Can anyone else validate this? If so, this scares me. I do like the stallion a lot and have him on the list for my Hanoverian mare.
Fred, I have seen the A.F.R. cross at competitions and he is lovely! I have know 3 other Viva Voltaire’s and would reccomend him as a sire from what I have seen. They all are multi-talented athletic horses (2 are dressage horses and 1 is an eventer) with well above average canters, elastic trots and ok to good walks. Conformationally, the ones I have known have all had good straight legs and ok feet. The main negatives would be a bit more of an old fashioned head (although the AFR cross is pretty) and slightly butt high build (and this said they do not move like downhill built horses). Most have lots of white and the temperment on Tom Dvorak’s V.V. son is beyond amazing; he is a very, very kind horse. The eventer mare I know is a bit more of a handful but her rider loves it as she can jump anything.
Fred, I have seen several VV foals at our Hano inspections - well above average. Also, a 3 year old mare doing her MPT - 8 rideability if I recall, and good gaits and jumping. (And I know breeders who have repeated - so they must have been pleased)
Two from Canada at the 2011 PanAm Games include a silver medal team win and individual 4th place for Tom Dvorak, while the highest scoring dressage horse from Guatamala was also by Viva Voltaire.
VV is in the Cdn Hanoverian Society stallion service auction, which starts Feb 3.
Good luck with your decision.
I considered him a few years back when I bred my mare and what I heard (from the breeders) that he is somewhat inconsistent. Some of his babies are really nice but others not so nice (and of course, you need a really nice mare to get a really nice baby IMHO), so I passed on him as I wanted more consistency. Seems to be true what I read here.
I worked for Charlot Farms for a number of years and I now have two Viva Voltaire yearlings (One out of my Hanoverian Mare & the other out of a CSHA mare by Pilot). After working closely with Viva Voltaire & his offspring at Charlot Farms I cannot say enough good things about them. He passes on his great mind and his offspring are a pleasure to work with. I find that his offspring are very versitile - you can train them hunter/jumper or dressage as he creates the whole package.
I will be keeping my yearling filly as part of my broodmare herd because she is just THAT nice.
I wouldn’t hesitate to breed to him again.
Thank you very much to everyone for taking the time to respond, and for your thoughtful, informed responses. I greatly appreciate it.
Emy,thank you for the kind words about the VV/AFR cross - I have not seen him in person (yet) - but he does look lovely from his pictures.
Sunnydays, the VV on the Guatemalan team, Viva’s Veroveraar, is the one out of the AFR daughter. :yes:
One of my main concerns was the low % of TB blood, but from what I can see the offspring,and VV himself seem to be quite modern and refined.
W.Charlot is a short drive for me,so I think a road trip is in order.
Thank you again to everyone for your input.
[QUOTE=Fred;6092525]
W.Charlot is a short drive for me,so I think a road trip is in order.[/QUOTE]
Did you visit VV? I would love to hear what you thought of him in the flesh. He looks short coupled and a little short backed in the conf picture I saw but some of his offspring look weak in the loin. Any thoughts about his topline?
I have been advised that the G line Hanoverians are the soundest and sanest, though not the fanciest Hanoverians. My dressage coach trained up a G line (through Grande) Hanoverian to Grand Prix and was our region’s GP champion one year with him. He was a wonderful horse.
I’d love to know what people think, I’ve seen videos of VV’s Pan Am horses and drool over them. Someone up there has posted that the Viva’s are too hot, which is why I backed off from him for my AFR mare this year.
Viva’s mind is very sane and he passes that to his kids. Viva’s solid leg structure comes via the extremely heritable Grannus. Viva’s mareline is exceptional and solid, a mareline that is proven multiple times for not only performance, but ridability, and competitive spirit and athleticism and is a mareline that has proven itself exceedingly well in the breeding shed as well.
As with any stallion, he cannot be expected to fix a mediocre mare and pairing him with a mediocre mare will produce a mediocre foal - even Toto would produce a mediocre foal when paired with a mediocre mare. However, pair him to a quality mare who suits his type and the results will meet to exceed expectations.
I am a long time fan of this stallion. I have never understood why there was never much hype around him. He has always been in my top ten list.
If I were to breed my Hanoverian FEI mare (Santorini/Akzent II/Lanthan), I would breed to Viva Voltaire.
[QUOTE=TrinitySporthorses;6403471]
Did you visit VV? I would love to hear what you thought of him in the flesh. [/QUOTE]
Unfortunately we were dealing with a very difficult,on-going crisis situation with my husband’s elderly parents, which just kept getting worse - and there just was not one day that I was able/felt comfortable to get away to go to visit VV.
I am still very interested in him for next year though, and appreciate the comments and insight from people on this thread.
As far as I know, the owner of the AFR daughter who is the dam of Viva’s Veroveraar has bred back to Viva Voltaire.
How exciting!
[QUOTE=Renascence;6408438]
How exciting!:)[/QUOTE]
:yes:
I only personally know one Viva Voltaire child, and Im not impressed 
He jumps decent for the hunter ring, but has the most gawd awful canter I have ever seen. He isnt really jumper type, although I think they have tried him in some jumper classes. Nice horse, sweet and playful.
The other vivas that I have seen (videos etc) have been stellar.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
