MORE accolades for Mighty Nice and Master Imp as European breeders continue to supply the majority of performance horses for the American market - they’re the standout points from the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and United States Eventing Association’s (USEA) 2016 leaderboards.
From an Irish perspective, it is the eventing rankings that once again provide the best news.
Olympic years can differ from others with owners and riders priming their big guns towards selection, however Mighty Nice, who started 2016 as Philip Dutton’s number two choice for the US team, ended the year as both USEF and USEA’s top horse. The now 13-year-old is part of an Irish Sport Horse trio amongst the USEA’s top-10 performers, with the Bromont CCI three-star winner Woodstock Bennett (third) and Welcome Shadow (eighth) also featuring prominently.
Interestingly, William Kells and Sean Cunningham, the breeders of Mighty Nice and Woodstock Bennett, chose Ard Ohio and Shannondale Sarco, then classified as S1 stallions under the former system, as covering sires. This pattern of Irish breeders opting for non-fully approved sires, was also seen in the Balda Beau-sired Cambalda, the USEA’s 2010 Horse of the Year.
Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan, who stands with Martin Walsh, featured well in British Eventing’s 2016 sire rankings (last week’s The Irish Field) and in the same week as Woodstock Bennett’s Canadian win, the Darco son produced the Copper Meadows CIC*** winner Charlie Tango, another bred in Co Clare by Michael & Sheila Murphy.
Taking eighth place, ahead of her thoroughbred stable companion, Blackfoot Mystery bred in Kentucky by Tipperary man John O’Meara, is Welcome Shadow. Bred by James Keville on traditional lines (Boyd Martin’s Pau runner is by the Irish Draught sire Welcome Flagmount out of a Good Thyne dam) she doubled up with a third place in the USEA’s top mare leaderboard, topped by Under Suspection and Rolex Kentucky runner-up, Veronica.
Another mare, Fischerrocana FST became only the second horse to win back-to-back Rolex titles with the all-conquering Michael Jung last year at Lexington.
Another four-star event is now on the cards for North America as Fair Hill International and Great Meadow International have made USEF’s short list, from five submitted venues. The successful candidate fixture is set to take place in autumn 2019 and will bring the number of four-star events worldwide to seven.
RETIREMENT PARTY
Next year’s Rolex will also be the scene for Ballynoecastle RM’s ‘retirement party’ when Buck Davidson’s longtime campaigner officially retires there. Bred by Sylvester Cullen, the Ramiro B gelding, together with Rich Fellers’ evergreen winner Flexible, are true walking advertisements for the Irish Sport Horse on the American scene.
Under Suspection’s solid 2016 form saw her sire Contender top the USEF eventing sires’ table, although she is the Holsteiner stallion’s sole offspring recorded in the federation’s rankings.
And in a week when US President Donald Trump pledged during his inauguration speech to put ‘America First’, the appearance of three American-based stallions: Riverman, Pablito and Black Fox Farm Incognito (sire of Covert Rights) - after Contender will hearten homegrown breeders.
The Lux Z son Lupicor has two progeny listed: the Philip Dutton-campaigned I’m Sew Ready and fifth-ranked lady rider Kylie Lyman-Dermody’s Bromont CCI*** runner-up Lup The Loop, bred by Rachel Sterling.
MASTER IMP
Master Imp is once again the only stallion to feature across the board in the latest World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses, British Eventing and now the United States Equestrian Federation eventing sire rankings.
He took sixth place with his leading points earner being another of Lyman-Dermody’s string; Da Vinci Code, bred by James White.
The Imperius son, whose last crop are now seven-year-olds, is the sole thoroughbred in the eventing sires’ table. Black Fox Farm Incognito is a Clydesdale/TB cross, who both evented and hunted, while the TB-sired Aberjack was bred on New Zealand sporthorse lines.
Another late stalwart White Clover (12th) is the only other Irish-based stallion to feature in the top-20, according to figures supplied by USEF’s Ken Ball.
Compared to the eventing sires list, the show jumping sires are all, bar the appropriately-named Roc USA, European-based.
Leading the way is Chellano Z, who was cloned by Zangersheide Stud after the Contender son’s premature death and his top offspring are McLain Ward’s Carlos Z, closely followed by Charlie Jayne’s ex-horse Chill R Z, sold last spring to Eve Jobs.
Indoctro (second) has the highest number of progeny (33) recorded in the US sire rankings which unsurprisingly feature a range of European household names. The only Irish-based stallion to break into this year’s top-20 sires is OBOS Quality 004 (15th), while Cruising appears in 23rd.
Although the Argentinus stallion Thunder Van De Zuuthoeve doesn’t appear in the leaderboard, his HH Azur was the talking horse of 2016 on the US circuit.
Bred in Belgium by Nathalie Beaufort, the now 11-year-old won Grand Prix classes at Rome, the Winter Equestrian Festival and Royal Agricultural Fair in Toronto.
With McLain Ward, she also earned team silver at the Rio Olympics and was in the running for USEF’s International Horse of the Year title, recently won by Mighty Nice.
The continental bloodlines of the other leading horses, including Lauren Tisbo’s Italian-bred Coriandola di Ribano, serve as a reminder of the might of European studbooks and are an indicator that North America, as with other markets, remains a net importer of top level show jumping horses.
2016 USEF TOP 10 SHOW JUMPING SIRES
1. Chellano Z (HOLST)
2. Indoctro (HOLST)
3. Catoki (HOLST)
4. Quidam’s Rubin (HOLST)
5. Roc USA (KWPN)
6. Corland (HOLST)
7. Toulon (BWP)
8. Quite Easy I (HOLST)
9. Baloubet Du Rouet (SF)
10. Cardento (HOLST)
2016 ROLEX USEF TOP 10 SHOW JUMPING HORSES
1. HH Azur (SBS)
2. Creedance (KWPN)
3. Ohlala (SWB)
4. Voyeur (KWPN)
5. Zeremonie (HOLST)
6. Cynar VA (ZANG)
7. Confu (HOLST)
8. Coriandolo Di Ribano (MIPAAF)
9. Cassinja S (ZWEI)
10. VDL Wizard (KWPN)
2016 USEF TOP 10 EVENTING SIRES
1. Contender (HOLST)
2. Riverman (HOLST)
3. Pablito (HOLST)
4. Black Fox Farm Incognito
5. Lupicor (KWPN)
6. Master Imp (TB)
7. Aberjack
8. Legendar (HOLST)
9. Contucci (HANN)
10. Bugatti Hilltop (HANN)
USEA 2016 TOP HORSES
1. Mighty Nice (ISH)
2. Under Suspection (HOLST)
3. Powell (OLD)
4. Woodstock Bennett (ISH)
5. Doesn’t Play Fair (HOLST)
6. Vandiver (TRAK)
7. Veronica (KWPN)
8. Welcome Shadow (ISH) (TIH)
9. Blackfoot Mystery (TB)
10. Landioso (HOLST)