2004 Oldenburg Keuring Hosted by German Dressage

German Dressage Hosts Third Annual Oldenburg Inspection
Reprinted from the Autumn 2004 Issue of The Oldenburg Horse

German Dressage of Encinitas, California played host to its 3^rd Annual Oldenburg Horse Breeders’ Society Inspection this year on August 1, 2004.

German Dressage is home of the Oldenburg stallion Pik’s Pride, the Trakehner stallion Herzberg, and the Dutch stallion Facet. All three stallions are approved for breeding by the Oldenburg Horse Breeders’ Society/German Oldenburg Verband.

This year, the German Dressage-hosted inspection was divided into two separate locations: German Dressage’s home at Rancho Los Amigos Equestrian Center, and also Red Hawk Ranch, owned by German Dressage’s good friends and fellow breeders, Bob and Lynn Randle DeGour. This was the first inspection for the DeGours, who decided to join in on “the Oldenburg Tradition” and become members with six mares, five foals and two yearlings.

Portofino, Premium Colt by Pik's Pride out of Elfentanz (Figaro/Goldstern/Luciano)

The day began with the inspection of mares under the wonderful California sun at the Rancho Los Amigos Dressage and Breeding caility owned by Bill and Gay Walker. The first of three mares to be presented was an American Hanoverian mare, La Belle by Lortzing out of Carlos Love xx. Owned by Cheryl Miller of Templeton, CA, this very elegant and feminine mare is in foal to Pik’s Pride for 2005, and was accepted into the Main Mare Book.

Jennifer and Jürgen Hoffmann bred the second mare, Elfenforrest, and imported her as a foal with her dam. Now three years old, Elfenforrest is a product of the now-deceased Oldenburg stallion Quantus (Quattro/Zeus), out of the Hoffmanns’ Oldenburg mare Elfentanz (Figaro/Goldstern/Luciano). Elfentanz descends from the famous mare dynasty line Elfie, and was bred by Oldenburg breeder Ewald Grotelueschen. Elfenforrest was accepted in the Main Mare Book. She is owned by Dr. Mark and Tiffany Silverman.

The final mare to be inspected was the Oldenburg mare Malena Lou (Marque H/Wenzel/Absatz). A true beauty owned Theresa Craychee, this mare was accepted into the Main Mare Book. Malena Lou also had a pretty black filly by her side, Rosalinda by Rubignon. The first of our 2004 foals to be inspected, this filly was registered in the Foalbook with the German Oldenburg Verband. Theresa Craychee is the owner/breeder.

The second foal was Portofino by Pik’s Pride out of Elfentanz by Figaro/Goldstern/Luciano. Bred and owned by Jennifer and Jürgen Hoffmann, this black-brown colt is extremely striking in type and has very impressive uphill movement. Portofino received a PREMIUM!

Picture Perfect, Premium FIlly by Pik's Pride out of Royal Dream (Rohdiamant/Weltmeyer)

Next on the triangle was Pik’s Margarita, a black filly by Pik’s Pride out of Tequila Sunrise by Top of Class/Der Radetsky, breeder Dirk Pundt. Tequila Sunrise was entered into the Main Mare Book last year at our inspection and was awarded a brilliant score of 7.5! Pik’s Margarita is a beautiful type with very elastic movement, and was registered in the Foalbook with the German Oldenburg Verband. Breeder/Owner of the filly and owner of the mare is Gay Walker.

Our last filly to go, Sandstorm, was a very cute filly by Ex Largo out of a Thoroughbred mare, Thunderstorm Royal. Her owner is Kelly Truxillo. She was registered in the Foalbook with the German Oldenburg Verband.

We then made our way to the second inspection site, Bob and Lynn DeGour’s Red Hawk Ranch about 40 minutes away in Murrieta, CA. With the slowly setting sun as a backdrop, their ranch proved to be a lovely place to finish off a very successful day. The first combination in the ring was the mare Royal Dream and her filly Picture Perfect. By Rohdiamant/Weltmeyer, Royal Dream was purchased and imported to the United States as a foal. Even at an early age this mare stood out, and was “siegerfohlen” in German for her Verband in 2000. She also appeared on the front cover of Reiter-Prisma, a German magazine, in October 2000. These are pure dressage bloodlines! A very feminine mare with long, gracious, uphill movement, Royal Dream was accepted into the Main Mare Book with an overall score of 6.8. Her filly, Picture Perfect, was a very typical Pik’s Pride filly. A real dressage diva, this filly had gorgeous type and really knew how to show herself off, with an enormous presence and very lofty uphill movement inherited from both sire and dam. Picture Perfect received a PREMIUM.

Photocopy, Premium Pik's Pride Filly out of Dopplershift (D'Olympic/Dobrock)

The next combination was the mare Dopplershift and her Pik’s Pride filly, Photocopy. Dopplershift was also imported from Germany as a premium foal from Mecklenburg, Germany, and is herself an amazing mare – beautiful in type, with enormous elasticity, particularly in trot, for which she received the score of 8 for impulsion and elasticity! Dopplershift also received 8’s for her Head, Breed and Type, as well as for General Impression and Development. Her overall score was 7.3! Dopplershift’s sire, D’Olympic is by Donnerhall/Cor de la Bryere, and her dam’s sire, Dobrock, was the highest dressage-indexed stallion in East Germany until D’Olympic, who then ranked 13^th in 2002. Dopplershift was accepted into the Main Mare Book. Her filly by Pik’s Pride, Photocopy, inherited superlative gaits, character and feminine good looks. Photocopy received a PREMIUM.

The next combination was the mare Lucienne and her blood bay filly, Penelope, by Pik’s Pride. Lucienne was imported as a premium filly, and was the Reserve Champion foal of her Verband in Wolfstein, Germany. Her sire, Lanthano, descends from the influential “Der Lowe” line. Lucienne’s other genetic influences come from the very refining Trakehner stallion, Akzent I, as well as Gotthard. Lucienne was entered into the Main mare Book. Her fill Penelope, by Pik’s Pride, was a very leggy foal with attractive movement. Penelope was registered in the Foalbook with the German Oldenburg Verband.

Next up was Glestrina, a black mare imported from Holland. Glestrina is by Gladstone (by Grosso Z, a famous Grand Prix dressage stallion in Germany), out of Damocles by Voltaire. Glestrina attracted abundant attention during the 2001 Pavo Cup, Holland’s Nation Young Horse Championship. Her superb gaits are attributed to the genes she inherited from Furioso II, Abgar, Gotthard and G Ramiro Z. This mare was accepted into the Main Mare Book, and her spectacular black filly, Rosebud, by Rubino Bellisimo (Rubinstein/Bergkristall) received a PREMIUM.

Harmony, Premium Herzberg Colt out of Russian Wry (Rubicell/Landfalk/Landgraf)
2004 GOV Inspection Site Champion

The last mare/foal combination in the ring was Russian Wry and her colt Harmony. Russian Wry (Rubicell/Landfalk/Landgraf) was selected for import to the United States because of the extra “jump” in her gaits that she inherited from her dam’s side. Through her sire Rubicell by Ruvinstein, she inherits rideability and trainability. This mare received 8’s for Neck and Impulsion and Elasticity (trot), and was entered into the Main Mare Book. The movement sequence of this colt’s trot was truly amazing, standing out above and beyond because of the activity coming from behind, with enormously defined “takt”, power and thrust. Harmony was a truly masculine colt, and was a true pleasure to watch – he will definitely remain a stallion prospect. He was awarded a PREMIUM, and was also the Site Champion.

The mares who descend from the Rubinstein line have proven to be very nice crosses with the German Dressage stallions, Pik’s Pride and Herzberg, who seem to add just that little bit more action and movement needed, along with great rideability, trainability and character – what an outstanding combination!

Two yearlings were also entered into the German Oldenburg Verband Book at this site: an exceptional black filly, Haverford’s Redhawk by Hohenstein/Grandus, and a chestnut colt by Wonderful/Volkmar.

Wow! That makes 5 PREMIUMS between the two locations! Each year this inspection site gets bigger, and with the help of such educated mare owners, the quality of foals has been outstanding. It is hoped that together, warmblood breeders here in the United States will start to see just how important good quality mares really are. The mares do play a large part in determining the quality of the offspring – the stallions cannot get the job done all by themselves! We are getting better and better each and every year in our breeding programs, but we have to continue to work hard at it. German Dressage works hard with the mare owners to make sure that the stallion they choose is a suitable match for their mare, with everyone working for the same outcome—outstanding offspring.