European Dressage Championships 2009
The European Dressage Championships are over and no matter which news source you turn to, it seems that history was made in more than one way. There are of course the record breaking scores in both the Special and the Freestyle, and then the tremendous success story for the Dutch Team along with the fact that younger riders have made an entry in the world league, and from various Nations that is.

The European Dressage Championships are over and no matter which news source you turn to, it seems that history was made in more than one way. There are of course the record breaking scores in both the Special and the Freestyle, and then the tremendous success story for the Dutch Team along with the fact that younger riders have made an entry in the world league, and from various Nations that is.
With the exception of two Russian entries, the Trakehner breed was not represented in the "pure bred" division at these Championships. Insterburg TSF and his outstanding rider Carola Koppelmann came closest, but the very young age and lack of experience of this promising horse kept him home - and that's probably a good thing. Let him develop further, and make a German team later on. However, the impact of the Trakehner breed on other warmbloods was never as dramatic nor as successfully recorded as at these Championships. Obviously, we as a breed still have to work on getting more top level performance horses out and into the right hands - the quality is certainly there. But without wanting to take apart every pedigree of this European event, we should be proud of the stunning impact our breed has had in warmblood breeding. Bear in mind, the Trakehner breed worldwide produces around 2000 foals per year. This is one of the smallest breeds, and with a closed stud book on top of it (only TB, AA, ox and Shagyas are alloweed as outside sources of genetics).

German warmblood breeding continues to dominate the world of dressage - since designations of "breeds" are so easy to switch these days with cross breeding all over the board, the fact remains that even in most KWPN horses, the background is German, and heavily so. The fact that a lot of the basis is actually Trakehner should be a reason to celebrate - the Dutch have had the least prejudice against the Trakehner breed and they have started to use this particular resource decades ago, with success paying off now. Fact is that of the top 10 horses at the European Championships this year, not a single one would exist without the help from Trakehner bloodlines.

Let's break down the bloodlines here - for the educational fun of it. For a complete and most interesting coverage of the rides at Windsor, please see Eurodressage.com.

Photo with kind permission from Astrid Appels, eurodressage.com

There is the undisputed champion of them all, the black KWPN stallion Moorland's Totilas. Bred by the Schuils family in Friesland (an interview will follow shortly!!) and owned by Cees and Toska Visser of Moorland Stables, he won Silver in the Grand Prix Special and Gold in the Freestyle with a world record score. The stallion has been in training with Dutch Edward Gal for many years now - and Gal also produced his sire E.H. Gribaldi at international level and rides his full sister, Uusminka. Maybe the name-giving ceremony for Moorland's Totilas also took into consideration that the most important orginal Trakehner stallion that survived the trek in 1945 was the black foundation sire Totilas (by Pythagoras), without whom the modern Trakehner breed would not exist. Here is a look at the pedigree of Moorland's Totilas:

Highlighted in yellow is the Trakehner part of this pedigree. Note that Silja, the dam of Glendale, was not a full Trakehner mare, but by the Trakehner stallion Marco Polo, who played an important role in shaping the modern Dutch performance horse s- be it in dressage or show jumping! Even the dressage riders among our readers may remember a stunning grey show jumper called Milton, who won everything there was to win for his home Great Britain .... Milton was a grand son of Marco Polo. Marco Polo is present in a huge number of outstanding broodmares and sport horses in the KWPN breed and appears up close in the pedigrees of such stamping sires as Concorde. And interestingly, he often appears in connection with Nimmerdor blood. Another interesting fact: the dam line of Maro Polo is the private East Prussian line of O49A Mira II ( Ehlert-Harpstedt) - private East Prussian meaning it does not originate at the main stud Trakehnen, but with a private breeder in East Prussie prior to WWII. This is the same dam line as for such noteworthy stallions as Morgenglanz, Mozart*E* , E.H. Michelangelo and E.H. Monteverdi TSF, an internatinal Grand Prix dressage winner himself. More on MIchelangelo further down!

Silja then carries more Trakehner blood through the Holsteiner Polaris (by Polarfürst/Trak). Polaris (who btw is a grandson of the aforementioned Trakehner Totilas!) was one of the handful of Trakehner/Holsteiner crosses that were active breeding stallions at the Traventhal State Stud in Holstein in the late 50s. When the Holsteiner Verband decided to sell its last part-Trakehner stallion, he came to Holland. Like Marco Polo and others (Doruto for example), he had significant impact on breeding and sport horse production in the Netherlands (e.g. as dam sire of the influential Notaris). In the falling dam line we also find the Holsteiner stallion Amor, an equally important stamping sire in the KWPN breed, and a grand son of the Trakehner Heristal (by Hyperion o/o Heta by Paradox xx). That makes him a member of the truly outstanding stallion line of the major sire Dampfross.

Sire E.H. Gribaldi (stands for "Elitehengst" - elite stallion) needs little introduction - he was the champion of his approval in Neumünster in 1993, and enjoyed a stellar career as a performance horse and breeding stallion at the same time. And Moorland's Totilas is far more than just the odd one out - Gribaldi has a long list of upper level performance horses to his name, including Edward Gal's Sister de Jeu, Anky van Grunsven's Painted Black, and others. As a sire, he has produced approved sons in many registries, including the sensational E.H. Hofrat in Germany, whose son Hotline was approval champion in Hanover and a price highlight at their auction (800,000€). Gribaldi is one of the busiest stallions in the world, and in the early 2000s his book counted around 800 mares a season. Bred by Marika Werner of Mittenaar, Germany, he is the son of a twin (Gondola) and comes from another smaller East Prussian mare line that also produced the FEI dressage stallions Giorgio Armani and Goldino (a maternal half brother to Gribaldi, and by the TB Patricius xx).

The stallion line of this particular stallion was founded by the German TB Pasteur xx - a more than stamping sire! His sons Mahagoni and E.H. Michelangelo have re-written dressage breeding history not only for the Trakehner breed. Mahagoni is the sire of e.g. the internatinal and Olympic dressage horses Marlon (for France) and Peron TSF *Pg* for the US (team Bronze in 1996 with Michelle Gibson). Enrico Caruso *Ps*E* came to the US after a short breeding career in Germany, where he sired Kostolany, the champion in Neumünster and a S level dressage horse himself. Kostolany is one of the big names of the Trakehner breed, and again, consistency is key. His success with Gribaldi is not a singularity! Remember when we all drooled over this amazing grey mare Matine at the WEG 2006? The shooting star of the season, the female versin of Moorland's Totilas, whose movement seemd to defy gravity?? Her sire Silvermoon is a Trakehner son of Kostolany as well!! And Kostolany also sired a number of other FEI competitors, including the grey Shannon TSF who started out big for Germany under Peter Koch and then competed for Hungary for several years. It is without question the influence of the TB Pasteur xx paired with solid Trakehner foundation lines and a good dose of consodilated breeding (Ibikus, this multi-talent and most important sire of the 70s was closely inbred to Impuls, and also came from a TB line via Pindar xx!). The other magic mix that only the Trakehner can provide today is a certain amount of high quality Arabian blood - it comes here through Falke in heavy doses (inbreeding to Maharadscha). A word on Enrico Caruso: his line sees a revival in Germany right now. US breeder Debra Tylor sent her 3yr old Lord Luciano to Germany for a performance test, which he passed so well that he was later approved by the Trakehner Verband in Germany. This is a historic first! Not only is the stallion of impeccable breeding (dam sire Unkenruf *Pg*E* was an international dressage stallion with the late Herbert Rehbein, and a most important sire in the Oldenburg breed who you will see apeear ion the falling dam lines of such stallions as Don Schufro and Don Primero), but Lord Luciano is making his debut at S level dressage in Germany this year! Even more telling with regards to strong mare lines - Enrico's maternal half brother, the approved El Greco TSF (by Fontainbleau), is a CCI*** competitor with Alexa Bendtfeld in Europe. So much for "purpose-bred dressage horses" - nothing is more important than to never lose focus of the all-around athlete!

Moorland's Totilas is a lot more than just a look-alike to his sire. He is a horse whose background is dominated by Trakehner and TB blood, with a very good dose of action-packed Holsteiner foundation lines and also typical for Dutch breeding - with classic Dutch harness horse influence in the back. His dam comes from one of the best Dutch families, and she during her entire breeding career, she has been bred to Trakehners. Her E.H. Partout-son Ramon is a winner in the small tour with Jiska van de Akker, the above mentioned Uusminka (by E.H. Gribaldi) is already in training with Edward Gal and a thre year old full brother, Bussard, is now udner saddle. Coincidence? Bussard carries the same name as this legendary black foundation sire in Trakehnen, whose daughters Corrida, Herbstzeit, and Polarfahrt are among the very top foundation mares of the Trakehner breed after WWII. Lominka was also bred to the Trakehner Balzflug - the resulting foal is now a successful dressage horse in Sweden under the name Platini. By the way, Lominka is back iin foal to E.H. Gribaldi for 2010 ...

Elsa, the second dam, produced Justien by Triton, a ster prestatie sport mare that comeped at ZZ level show jumping in the Netherlands, and then became dam of the approved Guiminko (by Guidam), the international junior show jumper Nominko (by Ezoliet) and the 1.30m show jumper Ominka (by Lux). She changed ownership to the Schuils and was bred to E.H. Gribaldi and produced the Z1-level dressage horses Talan and Uljanoff. In 2009, Elsa has a foal by the Trakehner top show jumper Hirtentanz(by Axis TSF - Kostolany) - with the family's background of doing equally well in producing top dressage horses and show jumpers this is an interesting choice and one to keep in mind for the future!

The reverse European Champion (Gold in the Special, Silver in the Freestyle) was the most impressive chestnut gelding Parzival. A son of the KWPN's leading dressage sire Jazz, he too carries a good dose of TB and Trakehner blood in the pedigree. The basis of his family tree is a Gelderlander family, which is a common sight in Dutch pedigrees and explains some of the higher knee movement displayed by the modern KWPN breed. The outstanding achievement of the Durch breeders is the fact that they have managed to channel that into a modern sport horse that excels in both dressage and show jumping. Over a span of 9 generations, Parzival's pedigree carries over 40% of thoroughbred blood - something to keep in mond for those that believe we're done refining our horses and TB is not needed anymore. Parzival's sire line traces back to the impeccable French Furioso xx, whose son Furioso II not only impacted the KWPN breed, but left a huge mark on the Oldenburg breed in Germany - in fact, this substantial Anglo-Normanne chestnut can certainly be called one of the big stamping sires of the Oldenburg during its phase of breeding riding horses from its farm horse stock. Noteably, Parzival shows line breeding to Furioso xx.

The Trakehner influence in Parzival's pedigree comes through two major branches. First of all, here is Amor again, and again in combination with Nimmerdor (see Morrland's Totilas). And with the Westfalian-bred Roemer, an interesting Trakehner line is added here: Roemer's dam Cronella was by the Warendorf State Stud stallion Cyrano. The C-line in Westfalia was founded by the Trakehner Cyklon (by Helikon o/o Cyklade by Landgraf xx - stallion line of Parsival, no kidding, another name game here!). Cyklon was born in 1943 and came to the West as a young stallion. He was stationed at the State Stud in Westfalia after a brief period in Hanover and soon made a name for himself as a top show jumper producer, whose offspring often bordered on the brink of genius and maniac. Interestingly, his impact on his own Trakehner population is marginal at best, a fate that many post-war State Stud Trakehner stallions shared, much to the disadvantage of the Trakehner breed as we know today. Foundation sires like Lateran, Abglanz and Semper Idem for example that shaped the Hanovernian breed to quite an extend, ended up with almost no Trakehner offspring.

The following pedigrees belong to the other shooting stars of these European Championships, namely Mistral Hojris, Augustin and Sterntaler Unicef. Not to forget though, the powerhouse of Dutch dressage in the past years, the Hanoverian Salinero, comes from the Trakehner foundation line of Semper Idem.

Mistral Hojris:

The energetic chestnut Mistral Hojris is a Danish Warmblood, but with heavy Swedish, Trakehner and KWPN influence. Ridden by young British Laura Bechtoltsheimer, the gelding won Bronze in the Grand Prix Special and finished 4th in the Freestyle.

His sire Michellino is the son of a Trakehner and a KWPN mare with heavy Gelderlander influence. Registered as a Danish Warmblood, he is a busy stallion in many European stud books today and has left quite a mark with his Grand Prix competing offspring. Michellino himself competed at advanced levels in dressage. His sire E.H. Michelangelo, the Trakehner Stallion of the Year in 2006, passed away in 2008 and had S level dressage success himself. The grifted Anglo-bred Trakehner was approved in Neumünster in 1987 and immediately left Germany for the Netherlands, where he stood at stud for many years, and very successfully! He clearly has a positive influence in the KWPN breed, and went back to Germany later in life. In 1992, his first crop of sons appeared at the approvals in NMS, and his son Kennedy became the undisputed champion. For over 400,000DM, he sold at the auction but only stiood at stud for 2 years. Barely 4yrs old, this outstanding stallion died. Today, his daughters rank among the best the bred has to offer and are considered their weight worth in gold. Over the years, Michelangelo sired 10 approved sons and has 91 registered daughters not only in the Trakehner breed. His offspring compete at advanced level in eventing and dressage. More interestingly, Michelangelo's dam Miami, a model mare in the Trakehner breed, also produced the international Grand Prix dressage stallion E.H. Monteverdi TSF, whom we already mentioned in Moorland's Totilas' write up. Even more imoprtantly, the stallion line that produced Mistral Hojris is the same as the one that produced Morrland's Totilas - and the foundation is a TB stallion! Pasteur xx raced for a total handicap of 98.5kg, which is substantial and would have allowed him into the TB breed as well. As a 9yr old, he came to stand for Gottfried Hoogen's famous Vogelsangshof Stud - a farm that had more impact on modern sport horse breeding than most others. Burnus AAH was stationed here, as well as Patron, Zauberklang *E* and Sir Shostakovich xx among others. The knowledge and impeccable taste of owner Gottfried Hoogen when it comes to picking stallions is really quite unique! Pasteur xx passed away in 1985, and by that time, he had produced almost 50 registered Trakehner daughters and 4 approved Trakehner sons. With Mahagoni and Michelangelo, he set the standard for decades.

Mistral Hohris' dam side is heavily stamped by Trakehner blood, mostly through the Swedish ancestors of his dam Virginia. Sweden made good use of several Trakehner stallion before and after WWII and the Trakehner is a most important factor in the development of the Swedish horse to a leading dressage breed today. Dam sire Ibsen's stallion line was founded by Humanist, a Trakehner by Tautropfen o/o Halbe by Obelisk. Humanist was born in 1916 at the Main Stud Trakehnen and imported to Sweden in 1929, where he was donated to the Swedish National Stud. As a foundation sire of the Swedish Warmblood, he produced the approved sons Juarez 121, Kokard 135, Locarno 150, Manco 156, Nagel 171, Nebro 173, Nero 175, Odeon 180, Onkel 182, Papaver 193, Parad 194, Pergamon 197, and Pommery 200. All that in addition to 33 mares in the Swedish Studbook! Ibsen's dam Efrodite (who btw appears twice in the background of this pedigree, she is also the 2nd dam of Elizar), comes from the stallion line of the East Prussian stallion Kyffhäuser and is out of the Swedish mare Edelweiss by the Trakehner Heinfried (yet another son of Paradox xx!). The second dam Vanesa by Elizar has the foundation sire Unikum up close. This pure-bred Trakehner by Traumgeist xx o/o Amadea by Aquavit was a major sire in Sweden and is known mostly as the grand sire of May Sherif (a son of Elizar). Via his son Matador II, an outstanding international dressage stallion himself, this line can be found in a number of the best Swedish and Danish pedigrees today. Remember Matine? Her dam was by Matador II ... and just for the fun of it we'd like to point out that Matador's dam was another part-Trakehner, by the Polish-bred Wersal. Just one more word on Unikumm and his dam line. He was a full sibling to the Trakehner mare Amadine. Her son Amagun (by Gunnar) was an impmortant sport horse producer in the Trakehner breed and also stood at stud in the Netherlands - his name does appear quite frequently in KWPN pedigrees. It is certainy more than just coincidence that he is the sam sire of Enrico Caruso *Ps*E* ... for the Trakehner breed, Amagun sired several approved sons, but none of the importance as Virgil. Through his son E.H. Leonardo alone, a line was founded that is represented in international Grand Prix dressage (Herzberg *Pg*) and show jumping (Kairos TSF) competition today!

Augustin:

Another young gun is Augustin, an Oldenburg stallion bred by Max Theurer family from Austria, and competed by Victoria Max Theurer.

Sire August der Starke was a highlight at the Vechta Elite Auction many years ago, and also competed internationally with Max Theurer. He comes from the outstanding Hanoverian stallion line of Absatz, which was founded by the orginal Trakehner Abglanz, a State Stud stallioin in Celle. While his influence in the Trakehner breed was limited, he still managed to sire 4 influential sons and his line remains active today, represented by E.H. Manrico (an Inter I winning stallion himself), and the younger Anlgo Trakehner United Kingdom. Through the dam sides, this line found some more entry, but is porbably best known currently for the multi champion Grafenstolz TSF, the first horse in history of qualify for all three major disciplines at the Bundeschampionat in one season. He won the eventing competition in Warendorf in 2004, and a few weeks later, became the FEI World Champion Young Event Horse iin Lion d'Angers/France. Grafenstolz competed through CIC*** level in Europe. August der Starke's sire Argentinus I, who stood at the Klatte Station in Oldenburg for his entire career, is one of the best all-around sport horse sires ever and produced absolute top performance horses in all disciplines. Through the dam Elinda, impeccable Holsteiner, Hanoverian and more Absatz-Abglanz blood is brought into this interesting pedigree. This is clearly not a "dressage only" paper - here, the very best of international show jumper blood is combined with dressage foundation lines, and more importantly, TB blood is the origin yet again.

Dam Weinrubina is a daughter of the celebrated Oldenburg Rohdiamant, a Grand Prix competitor in dressage and one of many important Rubinstein I sons. The line is highlighted yellow because again, the origin is East Prussian. Rubinstein's line goes back to the grey Westfalian State Stud stallion Radetzky, who was bred at Gestüt Vornholz, this most important stud operated by Baron von Nagel before, during and after WWII. Nagel stood the tremendously important Ramzes AA, a stallion that combined straight TB and Shagya Arabian blood and proved to be an essential asset in re-shaping modern riding horses after WWII. In combination with the mare Malta, a daughter of the Trakehner Oxyd, the grey Radtzeky was born. Anything "R" in Westfalian and Oldenburg dressage comes from this line, along with the full brother to Radetzky, Josef Neckermann's Olympic champion Mariano. Oxyd also sired the German post-war Olympic dressage horses Adular and Afrika.

Then more straight Trakehner blood is added via Traumdeuter, a son of yet another legendary Trakehner dressage sire: E.H. Arogno. Like Mahagoni and Michelangelo, he was an Anglo-Trakehner, inly in his case the TB came through his dam, the elite mare Arcticonius xx by Apollonius xx, bred in Ireland. She founded a very strong performance line in the Trakehner breed, and besides Arogno, produced the approved Avignon II (full brother to Arogno), the 3/4 brother Acajou, and the outstanding State and Verband premium mares Arktis and Anna Karenina. The latter is dam of the stallion Amatcho, one of the most versatile sires of the Trakehner breed today, whose offspring compete at FEI levels in eventing and dressage. Arogno's sire Flaneur, the Trakehner equivalent of Rubinstein if you will, was heavily influenced by his Arabian background - make no mistake, this stallion line was founded by the purebred Arabian Fetysz ox in Trakehnen! Flaneur's dam Flocke contributed with more TB blood (Go Go xx) and Arogno's heritage clearly showed in his offspring for generations to come. Some examples of well known outcorss Trakehner stallions from this line with impact in other warmblood breeds: E.H. Partout, Anky van Grunsven's international Grand Prix stallion in the KWPN; E.H. Caprimond and his son E.H. Hohenstein in the Hanoverian breed, Karon and Traumdeuter in Oldenburg and Schwadroneur and his son Blue Hors Hertug in Denmark.

Sterntaler Unicef :

Sterntaler Unicef is an Oldenburg gelding ridden by German Matthias Rath in this competition. Although this was the pair's first international championships, they turned out to be the ancor for the German Team with whom they won Bronze.

Another horse with a heavy dose of TB blood in the background (especially considering that both Consul and Adlerblick are also 50% TB!). The mix here is that of Dutch warmblood with Selle Francais background, along with Holsteiner and Hanovarian lines. Even the Hessia in the falling dam line is mostly Hanoverian. The Trakehner impact comes with Manstein, another Celle State Stud stallion, who was out of the Marcio xx-stallion line. His sire Matrose carried Abglanz in his dam, and Manstein's dam Heike was by the Trakehner Hessenstein. Hessenstein was a very popular stallion of his time in the Trakehner breed and sired over 10 approved sons for the breed. He stood at Stud in Celle for some time, where his influence in Hanover originates, altough it is rather marginal today. Hessenstein's stallion line is almost gone entirely, but a few of his sons turned out to be excellent brood mare sires, among them Karwendelstein, Märchenstein and especially Persaldo. In competition, the line contributed to international dressage and eventing through various branches.

And the rest?

The remaining field of horses again had several among them with Trakehner ties in the back. Lancet, Emma Hindle's wonderful Hanoverian stallion, comes from the noteworthy combination of the outstanding Hanoverian line of Woehler on top with a mix of the TB Shogun xx and the Trakehner Abglanz-line on the bottom. Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven's delightful chestnut Rhineland gelding Favourit is a son of the exceptinal dressage sire Fidermark. A member of the popular Florest I-stallion line, this major stallion at the State Stud Warendorf carries Trakehner blood through Florestan's dam sire Rheingold (R-line from above, Abendregen/Trak from the bottom) and the 2nd dam Gode was by the Trakehner Garamond, an exceptional Gabriel - Pindar xx offspring. Monica Theodorescu's ride Whisper, a Baden-Württemberg branded gelding, is really of Hanoverian origin and through Welt Hit I as his sire, carries both Abglanz and Semper Idem blood via Hanover's major sire Weltmeyer. More importantly, his second dam is the mare Eszra by the Trakehner Elfenglanz. Patrick Kittel's ride Scandic, a KWPN stallion by Solos Carex, carries yet another interestring mix of Swedish, Holsteiner and Trakehner blood. We find again the aforementioned mare Edelweiss by the Trakehner Heinfried in the background of Scandic's dam sire Amiral/SWE, and the second dam Joline, a KWPN keur mare, is by E.H. Michelangelo who was discussed in length in the Mistral Hojris write-up!

Max, Kyra Kyrklund's impressive black gelding, is a Swedish bred gelding with the Trakehner lines of Humanist and Immer (another Dampfross grand son) in the background. Potomac, this most impressive gelding on the German team, is an Anglo Hanoverian by Prince Orac xx out of a Wenzel I - Absatz - Valentino xx dam. You want a good example of what TB blood can do for your breeding program? Take a second look. Ellen Schulten-Baumer's Donatha S by Donnerhall carries yet again the Absatz-Abglanz/Trak lines through her dam sire Pik Bube I (which is another line founded by a TB stallion, in this case Pik As xx).

For Austria, Peter Gmoser produced the stallion Cointreau, a son of the Oldenburg Canaster I. Canaster I is a son of the Trakehner elite stallion Caprimond, and out of one of the best mare lines Oldenburg has to offer: with Vollkorn xx, Futuro and Chronos in the following generation this pedigree boasts top performance blood from various disciplines at international level. For Sweden, Minna Telde rode the lovely chestnut stallion Don Charly by Don Gregory. The 2nd dam Aufnahme was a 3/4 Trakehner by Anteil - Humboldt. Anne van Olst rode Exquis Clearwater, a Danish Warmblood gelding by the Holsteiner Carpaccio with Abglanz and Semper Idem lines in his dam. Jordi Domingo Coll represented Spain aboard Prestige, a KWPN gelding by Ferro out of a dam by Farmer - this Voltaire son is out of an Amor-dam (see Moorland's Totilas and Parzival for Amor).

The Silver medal winning British team also featured Two Sox (with Maria Eilberg). This Westfalian gelding by Ehrentusch - Foxtrott again carries a good dose of Trakehner blood through the sire Ehrentusch, a famed former State Stud stallion in Warendorf, but actually bred Rhineland. His dam was by Rheingold (another R-line connectioin here) out of Prinzess by Pasternak, a son of the Trakehner Patron. Maria Erikkson rode Galliano, a Swedish gelding who just like most other Swedish horses carries Trakehner blood in his background as well. Corinth, an Oldenburg gelding ridden by Marcela Krinke Susmelj for Switzerland, is a son of the Holsteiner Cheenook. Cheenook, although born past the time when Trakehners were removed from the Holsteiner breed, actually carries Herbstglanz as his 2nd dam sire. This Komet - Sempter Idem - Bussard stallion produced a number of excellent daughters, as well as several sons, of which Ordensglanz clearly stands out the most. He produced the international Grand prix stallion Glanzlicht/Trak. and is the sire of the elite stallion Argument, whose Hanoverian son Anthony FRH, for many years, belonged to the top of European dressage horses under Germany's Isabelle Werth.

The Belgium Warmblood Apollo van het Vijverhof (with Jeroen Devroe) is another Welt Hit II son, hence boasting the same influence as Whisper wth Welt Hit I as the sire. For Italy, Pierluigi Sangiorgi presented Flourian, a gelding by the Trakehner Savoy (by Dr. Reiner Klimke's former Grand Priy stallion Fabian). Also on the Belgium team was the stallion Withney van't Genthof, a grand son of the Trakehner stallion Balzflug (by Habicht o/o Ballyvergin Lady xx by Seminole II xx). Austria's Ellis by Grundstein II carries Semper Idem, Tarski van de Zuuthoeve for France is a son of Weltmeyer (hence more Abglanz and Semper Idem), the Russain Highlight with Olga Klimko is a part Trakehner by Habicht from the Burnus AAH-line. The list continues. I guess our point is made