German Dressage Hosts GOV Inspection in 2003

German Dressage of California Hosts Oldenburg Inspection

by Gay Walker, MD



Clockwise from upper left: German Dressage's original stallions Pik's Pride, and the now-deceased Quantus, and the newly approved stallions Facet and Herzberg.

German Dressage of San Diego, CA played host to the German Oldenburg Breeders’ Society Inspection on August 4, 2003. Under the warm California sun at Bill and Gay Walker’s beautiful Rancho Los Amigos Equestrian Center in the middle of Rancho Santa Fe, the inspection may have been a bit small in quantity (2 stallions, 1 mare and 1 filly), but it was plenty big on quality and talent.

Already standing at stud here is the stallion Pik’s Pride, owned by Jürgen and Jennifer Hoffmann. Pik’s Pride is a 16.3 hd Black Oldenburg stallion by Pik Noir/Barsoi xx/Deichvogt (breeder Mr. Osterloh), who at his 100-Day Test in Zweibrücken received a 10 for character and 9’s for trot, canter and rideability. He was the Champion 5 year-old FEI young horse at the Del Mar CDI*** and Reserve Champion at the Regional Championships. He was ranked 3rd by USET for 5 year-olds, 3rd at the Regional Championships at 3rd Level and was the Oldenburg Horse of the Year at 3rd Level. Pik’s foals are very attractive with expressive gaits and conformation.

The Premium filly Querida was sired by Quantus out of a mare by Figaro/Goldstern.

Also standing here until last December was the Oldenburg stallion Quantus (Quattro/Zeus/Weinstern), also owned by Jürgen and Jennifer Hoffmann. Quantus was bred by Mr. J. Hannover, approved in the Weser-Ems Hall in Oldenburg, Germany, and went on to complete his 100-Day Test in Neustadt Dosse where he was 8th out of 47! Sadly, Quantus had to be put to rest on Christmas Eve 2002 after a suffering a fractured leg. Although having successfully recovered from a previous fracture, lengthy consultations with veterinarians both in the United States and Europe led to the unanimous conclusion that this was not possible a second time. It was a tragic and painful loss for all, but we are grateful that he lives on through his foals. We were blessed with a beautiful filly this year from Quantus, Querida, who was awarded a premium at the inspection. Querida is out of Elfentanz, a Figaro/Goldstern/Luciano mare descended from the great dam line of Elfe from breeder Ewald Grotelueschen. This mare dynasty has produced several proven licensed stallions: Elfentanz’s dam, Elfengold, from Goldstern/Luciano and Elfi, from Luciano/Efendi have been paired together with DeNiro to produce licensed stallions such as DeVito and Depardieu, currently standing at Stallion Station Böckman in Germany.

The Oldenburg mare Tequila Sunrise (Top of Class x der Radetzky) was accepted into the Main Mare Book.

Accepted in the Main Mare Book, with excellent comments from Dr. Vollstedt, was Tequila Sunrise, bred by Mr. Dirk Pundt, and owned by Gay M. Walker, MD. An imported Oldenburg by Top of Class out of a Der Radetzky mare, she is very feminine and true to type, and is in foal for 2004 to Pik’s Pride.

The two stallions presented here, both under saddle and in-hand were both approved and accepted into Stallion Book I. The first, an ever-so-elegant Trakehner stallion, Herzberg, is owned in partnership by Jennifer and Jürgen Hoffmann and Gay M. Walker, MD. Herzberg is a 16.2 h black/brown son of the Elite Stallion Leonardo (Persaldo/Prince Rouge XX). Bred by Mr. Anton Urnau, this Trakehner stallion showed himself extremely proudly and proved himself worthy of German Oldenburg approval with a very active hind-end, lots of knee expression in front, good uphill canter and a good walk with good overstep. Along with very true to Trakehner type facial features, this stallion will definitely add refinement and elegance to many different mare types. Herzberg’s success speaks for itself: 100-Day Test in Adelheidsdorf, winner of Materiale to M Level Jumping and Dressage in Germany, Winner of the South German Jumping Championships as a 4 Year-Old with a score of 9.0 (!), numerous placings and wins at Prix St. Georges and Intermediaire-1 in both national and international classes (including CDI***s, such as Del Mar, Rancho Murieta and Pebble Beach). Herzberg has also sired two Reserve Champion Mares with State’s Premium Status the last 2 consecutive years for the Rheinland-Pfalz-Saar Verband in Germany.

The second stallion to be approved was the Dutch Warmblood, Facet, bred by Mr. G.W. van Norel, and owned by Gay M. Walker, MD. Facet is an impressive 16.1 h chestnut stallion by Vanitas/Tolbert/Courville. Facet also presented himself with brilliance both under saddle and in-hand. Facet is well known in Europe as the former Grand Prix mount of Ellen Bontje and as a sire of top-quality dressage horses. Facet boasts the highest dressage breeding index of any Dutch stallion in the United States, and the seventh highest of any Dutch stallion in the world, even outranking that of Ferro. Facet’s son, the Dutch Warmblood gelding Kasper, has made it twice consecutively to the Intermediaire Championships in Gladstone, New Jersey, just this past year competing for a spot on the Pan Am Team. Facet’s offspring are claiming ribbons in both jumping and dressage competitions. His offspring have not only elastic and expressive movement, but have great rideability and superb attitudes.

With our newly approved stallions and a very select mare herd, we expect to have some very modern foals next year and a most definitely larger inspection. A sampling of some of our 2004 foals: Pik’s Pride x Elfentanz (Figaro/Goldstern/Luciano); Herzberg x Experiences (Ehrentusch x Duccio); Pik’s Pride x Tequila Sunrise (Top of Class x Der Radetzky); Pik’s Pride x Minuet (Rubinstein x Secret Runner xx); Pik’s Pride x Prada (Pikadero x Absatz); Pik’s Pride x Pregelsong (Pregelstrand x Bavaria xx).

We enjoyed the company of Dr. Evelyn Vollstedt and Mr. Thomas Rhinow very much and can’t wait to welcome them back in 2004. We also hope to visit them in Germany at the most prestigious Auction Center in the heart of Oldenburg, Vechta.

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