THERE’S an element of déjà vu again in this year’s World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) sire rankings, with Johnson and Diarado retaining their dressage and eventing titles.

And, although there was a change in the show jumping sires stakes, with Diamant de Semilly regaining his former title over six-time titleholder Chacco-Blue, it was a close-run race between these top-two stallions.

O.B.O.S Quality continued to climb the eventing sire rankings, having moved up one place each year in recent rankings to second now and is joined by a second Irish stallion, Puissance, back in the top-10 fold again.

Pacino jumped up the show jumping sire rankings from 81st last year to 41st this year, one place ahead of Luidam, a frequent sight in the top-100.

Sifting through the sire’s progeny, we see three Irish-born horses: Up Too Jacco Blue (ISH), James Kann Cruz (ISH) and Colorado Blue (SHB)(GB) listed as the top performers for their continental-based sires, Chacco-Blue, Kannan and Jaguar Mail.

There’s more sifting required in evaluating sire rankings. The WBFSH model is based on FEI points won by all recorded progeny during its calendar year, beginning on October 1st (so the recent big wins by the Irish-born trio above will now factor into the WBFSH 2024 rankings).

Hippomundo’s rankings, based on prize money won, are more closely aligned to the bloodstock world and are equally detailed, displaying the average amount won, number of competition starts etcetera.

The other variables - numbers of mares covered (which can often depend on how well a stallion is marketed and promoted), competition age offspring, the most successful damlines, fertility statistics - are perhaps too complex a field to be contained within annual sire rankings. However, rankings always rate as a very useful tool for breeders.

A one-hit wonder can skew prize money-based rankings; on the other hand, a popular stallion can benefit in the WBFSH rankings by having a large number of sometimes teenage horses continuing to gather points, Pacman-style, at two-star and 1.20m levels.

Should the WBFSH sire rankings, like their studbook rankings, be confined to the top-six offspring in each discipline or set with a minimum competition threshold?

There’s many answers as to which is the best stallion: the sire of a six-figure earning superstar or Olympic medal horse? One that breeds a number of consistent horses? Or the one that offers the best commercial return for breeders and producers? Or the rare magical stallion that can do all that?

Some of those clues and answers about the best stallions are found in this year’s sire rankings. See www.wbfsh.com for the complete results.

Billy Twomey and Luidam in the 2004 Nations Cup at the RDS \ Camilla Walter/EPS

Dressage

Sires-and-sons are a strong theme of the dressage and show jumping sire rankings this year, starting with Johnson TN, who replaced his sire Jazz in 2020 and is now back, for the second year running, as the number one dressage stallion.

Johnson’s top points earner is Hartsuijker, ranked equal-17th in the WBFSH dressage horse rankings released last month. Conversely, you have to go to 31st place to find Easy Game, sire of the number one-ranked dressage horse: TSF Dalera BB. The Trakehner sire covered small books of mares and accordingly, has just two offspring in the WBFSH rankings. The other, Hermes N.O.P. though is ranked 10th individually. Two top-10 horses by a less fashionable sire is a phenomenal strike rate.

Otherwise, there’s no major changes in this year’s dressage sires, with the greatest leap up the leaderboard recorded by Apache. Incidentally, his best offspring Jovian ties on 2,189 points with Hartsuijker for equal-17th place.

Eventing

Similarly, there’s little change at the business end of the eventing sires table, with Diarado ahead of three former number one stallions: Grafenstolz, Jaguar Mail and Contendro I.

Diarado notably has five offspring in the top-100 eventing horses, of which JL Dublin was his main points earner. His runner-up place at Lexington with Tom McEwen contributed the lion’s share of this Holsteiner gelding’s WBFSH points in 2023.

Badminton winner and European dual gold medal champion Lordships Graffalo and the Kate Jarvey-bred and Austin O’Connor-ridden Colorado Blue, five-star winners at Maryland, are Grafenstolz and Jaguar Mail’s best offspring.

With his main flagbearer horse, fischerChipmunk, having a quieter year results-wise, Contendro I has dropped to seventh this year, having previously enjoyed a five-year reign (2014-2019) as the WBFSH top eventing stallion.

Back to O.B.O.S Quality 004. Kieran Kennedy’s Oldenburg stallion moved to fifth place in 2020, fourth in 2021, third last year and now climbs one more place to second.

Again, numerically the strongest of the top-10 stallions by progeny numbers (77 this year, compared to 56 last year), his best performer is Class Affair, out of the Laughton’s Flight mare Ruby’s Rosshaven Flight. Bred by Maurice O’Brien and competed at two five-star events this year by Zara Tindall, his best result in 2023 was third at Bramham CCI4*-S, incidentally won by another Irish-bred Cooley Snapchat (Kannan. Breeder: Alan Wheeler).

Irish-based stallions dropped from three in last year’s top-10 to two this year. The second is Stephen Lanigan O’Keeffe’s late Puissance, who has moved up to eighth place from 34th, the second-highest climb within the top-10 eventing sires.

His top points earner from 13 listed progeny is another traditional-bred Oughterard Cooley, who recorded two top-10 places at Badminton and Burghley this year with Wills Oakden.

Bred by Gerard Lynch in Co. Clare, Oughterard Cooley is out of the Cruising mare Oughterard Sky Cruise.

The Alan Robertson, Justin Burke and Team Roelofs-owned stallion Tolan R (12th) hovers just outside the top-10. A position that will improve in next year’s rankings if the likes of his Pan Am gold medal winner HSH Blake and Cooley Nutcracker, bred by Justin Burke and Gary Doherty, continue their recent form.

More of the 28 Irish-based stallions in the eventing sires top-100. They include Jack of Diamonds (16th), Shannondale Sarco (17th), Ramiro B (21st), Ars Vivendi (23rd), Womanizer (25th), Royal Concorde (26th), VDL Arkansas (30th), Future Trend (35th), Tinarana’s Inspector (36th), Courage II (39th), Querleybet Hero (49th), Bonmahon Master Blue (51st), Valent (55th), Cavalier Royale (56th), Sligo Candy Boy (57th), Vechta (58th), Dignified Van’t Zorgvliet (65th), Cavalier Carnival (66th), Master Imp (71st), Clover Brigade (80th), Lux Z and Quality Time (equal 87th), Livello (94th), Waldo Van Dungen (96th) and Porter Rhodes (98th).

Are continental-based stallions and bloodlines taking over eventing breeding? Looking at this year’s competition and rankings results, they are certainly having a major influence and impact, however Irish-breds made their mark too in 2023. The 2033 sire rankings will give a clearer answer.

JUDY Reynolds set a new Irish international Grand Prix record score of 73.88% with the Jazz gelding Vancouver K at Rotterdam

Show jumping

After six years, Chacco-Blue has been deposed from his leading show jumping sire title. Not by a young pretender, although a number of those hover outside the top-10, but by the omnipresent Diamant de Semilly. This Selle Français stallion regains his number one place for a third time.

As Bernard le Courtois pointed out in last week’s article, there is a striking reliance on the same bloodlines in show jumping breeding and dynasties, however, when stallions yield results for breeders, commercial breeders will use these stallions.

Best of Diamant de Semilly’s performers? That’s Christian Kukuk’s Global Champions Tour and European champions campaigner Mumbai (ranked 52nd individually).

The Mark Sherry-bred Up Too Jacco Blue (ranked 28th) is the leading offspring of second-ranked sire Chacco-Blue, a major accomplishment for Irish Sport Horse breeding.

So too is the fact that James Kann Cruz, bred by Patrick Connolly, is the top points earner for his third-placed sire Kannan. This is the second year that 12th-ranked James Kann Cruz has starred as the best of the Kannans.

And what about the sire of Pacino Amiro, the top-ranked Irish Sport Horse in the show jumping rankings? Pacino himself has skyrocketed right up the sires charts, from 81st in 2022 to 41st this year, due mainly to Pacino Amiro’s fourth place in the WBFSH rankings.

There are seven other Pacino performers listed, with BP Wakita (Ranked 120th. Breeder: Greg Broderick) and EIC Cooley Jump The Q (381st. Breeder: Pam Walshe) next in line. From just eight performers, Pacino, another Diamant de Semilly son, has an exceptional strike rate within the top-ranked WBFSH stallions.

Any other Irish-based show jumping stallions? Luidam, one place behind Pacino and Quality Time (72nd) are the only other connections.

How do the WBFSH sire rankings correlate to the Hippomundo rankings? There are still some five-star shows to run in the international dressage and show jumping calendars before December 31st, however, the eventing sires will remain relatively unchanged.

Quite a difference here from the WBFSH results as Grafenstolz is in the lead on the Hippomundo leaderboard, followed by Courage II who takes second place after Ballaghmor Class’ magnificent season. There is no other Irish sire in the Hippomundo top-10 with Puissance, (13th), listed next after Courage II.

Those Hippomundo results in full in the New Year. For now, it’s all hail Diamant de Semilly, Diarado and Johnson, the number one stallions in this year’s WBFSH sire rankings.

Wills Oakden and Oughterard Cooley at the 2022 Burghley Horse Trials

WBFSH LEADING SIRES 2023

DRESSAGE

Place Name Points 2022 place

1 Johnson TN (KWPN) 31,541 1

2 Blue Hors Zack (KWPN) 23,001 6

3 Jazz (KWPN) 21,929 5

4 Quaterback (BRAND) 21.356 2

5 Ampere (KWPN) 19,715 13

6 Totilas (KWPN) 19,048 4

7 Vivaldi (KWPN) 17,880 10

8 Apache (KWPN) 17,401 14

9 Bordeaux 28 (KWPN) 15,358 9

10 Sir Donnerhall (OLD) 13,695 3

EVENTING

Place Name Points 2022 place

1 Diarado (HOLST) 1,662 1

2 O.B.O.S Quality 004 (OLD) 1,138 3

2 Birkhof’s Graenstolz (TRAK) 1,091 2

4 Jaguar Mail (SF) 1,084 4

5 Kannan (KWPN) 728 9

6 Zavall VDL (KWPN) 640 53

7 Contendro I (HOLST) 626 5

8 Puissance (ISH) (TIH) 625 34

9 Upsilon (AA) 576 38

10 Diamant de Semilly (SF) 574 14

SHOW JUMPING

Place Name Points 2022 place

1 Diamant de Semilly (SF) 26,077 2

2 Chacco-Blue (MECKL) 26,000 1

3 Kannan (KWPN) 22.013 4

4 Mylord Carthago (SF) 16,906 3

5 VDL Zirocco Blue (KWPN) 13,523 10

6 Toulon (BWP) 13,291 5

7 Casall (HOLST) 12,904 6

8 Cardento (HOLST) 12,764 7

9 Eldorado van de Zeshoek (BWP) 12,534 8

10 Comme Il Faut 5 (WESTF) 10,294 16

By the numbers

77 – points separating Diamant de Semilly and Chacco-Blue in this year’s top show jumping sire race.

58th – place for O.B.O.S. Quality OO4 in the 2012 show jumping sire rankings, the year Castlefield Eclipse jumped on the Swiss Olympic team at the London Olympics.

50 – per cent of the 2014 top-10 eventing sires were thoroughbreds; Master Imp (first), Heraldik (second), Ghareeb (fourth), Cult Hero (seventh) and Ituango (ninth).

47th – place for Duke of Hearts, the highest-ranked thoroughbred stallion amongst this year’s eventing sires.

19 x 2 – Cruising’s highest result in the show jumping sire rankings (2009 and 2010)

Five – Irish-based stallions in the inaugural eventing sires rankings (2008): Cavalier Royale (first), Cruising (third), Master Imp (fourth), Highland King (fifth) and Pallas Digion (10th).

Three – Diamant de Semilly sons amongst the top-20 show jumping sires: Emerald (11th), Diarado (12th) and Elvis Ter Putte (18th).

Two – Irish-based stallions held the WBFSH leading sire title: Cavalier Royale (2008) and Master Imp (2014) in eventing.

One – stallion appears in the top-10 eventing and show jumping rankings: Diamant de Semilly.

Did you know

  • *The David Cameron-like comeback of the WBFSH sire rankings? Jazz regained his leading dressage sire rankings in 2019 after a seven-year gap. Diamant de Semilly made a similar return in 2023 after Chacco-Blue took over the top show jumping sire title for six years.
  • *Diamant de Semilly (26th) and his sire Le Tot de Semilly (22nd) both appear in the inaugural WBFSH show jumping sire rankings.
  • *The O.B.O.S. prefix stands for O’Brien Office Systems, the Cork city-based business. Marie O’Brien bought O.B.O.S. Quality 004 from his breeder Paul Schokemöhle. Both Chacco-Blue and Diarado were based at his Gestut Lewitz.
  • *Denis Coakley competed O.B.O.S. Quality Internationally before the Quick Star stallion retired to stud and was later bought by Kieran Kennedy, who stood the late Oldenburg stallion at Coolballyshan Stud in Adare.
  • *O.B.O.S. Quality 004 and another rankings stalwart Cruising are rated as five-star stallions for both their eventing and show jumping progeny.
  • * Guidam and Luidam rate as the most successful Irish-based sire and son combination in the show jumping rankings.
  • *Both Grafenstolz and Upsilon competed at the WBFSH young eventing horse championships at Le Lions d’Angers. Grafenstolz won the six-year-old championship with Michael Jung in 2004, while a seven-year-old Upsilon and Thomas Carlile took home a silver medal from the 2015 championships.
  • *Puissance (ninth in 2010) made his first top-10 appearance in the eventing sires leaderboard that year.
  • *Rock King, the damsire of Colorado Blue and Lordships Graffalo was ranked ninth in the 2008 eventing sire rankings.
  • *The most consistent Irish stallion in the WBFSH rankings? Slyguff Stud’s home-bred Master Imp notched up 11 top-10 places since these rankings began in 2008. The number one sire in 2014, the Imperius son finished second for four years (2010-2013), third twice (2009, 2017), fourth twice (2008, 2015), sixth in 2016 and his final top-10 appearance was in 2018 (eighth).

    • WBFSH LEADING SIRES ROLL OF HONOUR

    2008 - Jazz (dressage), Cavalier Royale (eventing) and Darco (show jumping).

    2009 - Jazz, Heraldik and Darco.

    2010 - Jazz, Heraldik and Darco.

    2011 - Jazz, Heraldik and Darco.

    2012 - De Niro, Heraldik and Baloubet du Rouet.

    2013 - De Niro, Heraldik and Baloubet du Rouet.

    2014 - Gribaldi, Contendro I and Kannan.

    2015 - De Niro, Contendro I and Diamant de Semilly.

    2016 - De Niro, Contendro I and Diamant de Semilly.

    2017 - De Niro, Contendro I and Chacco-Blue.

    2018 - De Niro, Contendro I and Chacco-Blue.

    2019 - Jazz, Contendro I and Chacco-Blue.

    2020 - Johnson, Grafenstolz and Chacco-Blue.

    2021 - Sandro Hit, Jaguar Mail and Chacco-Blue.

    2022 - Johnson, Diarado and Chacco-Blue.

    2023 - Johnson, Diarado and Diamant de Semilly.