Ah that’s so interesting, I wasn’t aware of the “no Jazz” decision criteria but it makes a ton of sense and as an ammy who does sometimes buy young horses, but who also wants to continue to live, I appreciate the introduction of a stallion with the A++ fanciness but a very stable temperament as well. Seeing these Guadi kids really challenged my view of Totilas. He was on my “bad boys for pros” list (and still kind of is) but it’s compelling to see that the right dam line seems to have corrected some of his trickier tendencies.
Regarding the Sir Donnerhalls, I’ve only seen two, but owned one of them. Not a line I will pursue again, found them both very distracted but also very dominant. It takes a lot to get their focus and submission. For a wonderful pro rider it’s probably no biggie, but for little old me it wasn’t a great match. I think they’re a very smart line, the mare I owned was a delight as long as you didn’t ask her to do anything she didn’t want to do. Neither horse was an “I see dead people!” loose cannon, but both were very dominant and definitely saw themselves as the shot caller in the relationship, the effort it took to get in the driver’s seat and stay there was above my skill level. But, these are just the very anecdotal musings of one rando on the internet!
