HAVE we seen future 1.60m and five-star superstars? That is always both the hope of and question about young horse finals, including the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) annual championships.

Le Lion d’Angers (October 21st-24th) takes place later this month when the WBFSH young event horse champions of 2021 will be crowned. The federation’s show jumping championships were hosted recently at Lanaken; was there another ‘Emerald’ or H&M All In amongst this year’s 676 starters?

Getting horses to the top of their sport involves multiple factors: the right matches in owners and riders, sponsorship opportunities, avoiding injury and loss of form. The attrition rate rises up along the grades and the reality is relatively few horses ever reach the top, yet the Lanaken championship line-ups have produced household names.

Again in these features, the focus is mainly on horses of this millennium. Better pedigree trails, substantiated performance records and more ‘live’ bloodlines of practical use to breeders today.

So, back 20 years to 2001, when, coincidentally, the first Irish medals were won by Master Ballinteskin (later sold to the States) and Windgates Mystique. From an Irish perspective, there was a lull in Lanaken results until the next decade when the first Irish Sport Horse gold medal was won by NLS Coole Al Clover in the six-year-old final in 2010. Sold on, fittingly to Belgium, he progressed to 1.45m level and according to his FEI record, his final show was at Vlamertinge four years later.

Renamed Billy Jean 20, Ballypatrick Mystique jumped in international 1.45m classes for a variety of Italian riders after her bronze medal that same year. She returned to Tipperary where she produced two Indoctro offspring in 2012 for Austin Broderick: BP Athena and BP Mystico.

Back to Irish-bred gold medallists and 2013, when Arraghbeg Clover won the five-year-old final. Sold that autumn for €400,000 at Holger Hetzel’s auction, she too competed at 1.45m level (with Austria’s Max Kuhner). Another Ballypatrick broodmare addition, she has two HSI-recorded progeny: a Mylord Carthago Z two-year-old filly and this year’s Rock ’N Roll Ter Putte colt.

Earlier ISH medallists include the Army Equitation School’s good servant Drumiller Lough and Ard Ginger Pop, whose breeder Heather Dean-Wright features in this week’s Breeders 10 series (page 93). Ard Ginger Pop was sold to the US rider Alison Robitaille in 2016 and this pair continue to compete on the 1.60m circuit there.

1.60m performers

Drumiller Lough, another US export in Killossery Kaiden and MHS Washington complete the group of four ISH medallists that went on to jump at 1.60m level. To date. Those numbers will increase as the most recent medal winners’ rise up the ranks, particularly as the Irish-breds tend to mature later than the more precocious continental-breds.

What other 1.60m performers have emerged from Lanaken? In 2010, the recently-retired Comme Il Faut was second in the five-year-old final to Always There, an Indoctro gelding that went off-radar after his sale to the States.

Comme Il Faut’s famous sire Cornet Obolensky did not compete at Lanaken but has become one of the leading sires in these championships. Nor was there a Lanaken medal opportunity for Comme Il Faut’s equally famed dam, Ratina Z as these championships, now in their 26th year, came on the scene after her heyday.

In the six-year-old final that year (2010) there was an interesting line-up after NLS Coole Al Clover, not least because the runner-up was the hugely popular sire Emerald van’t Ruytershof, ridden by Harrie Smolders (NED).

Two more Diamant de Semilly stallion sons in that final were Elvis Ter Putte (fifth) and none other than Clem McMahon’s other finalist: Pacino, sire of Bertram Allen’s sensational Pacino Amiro.

The seven-year-old final in 2012 saw Living The Dream (Toulon) finish 24th with Alex Duffy. Later riders included fellow Irishman Cameron Hanley, who enjoyed good results at 1.60m level with the Toulon son and Pius Schwizer (SUI), before the horse signed off on his international career in 2019.

Household names

One of the most fascinating finals has to be the vintage line up in the 2013 seven-year-old championship. Gold, silver and bronze went to Atlantic du Seigneur (now competing with Tom Wachman, then ridden by Belgium’s Gudrum Patteet), Bacardi VDL (Jos Lansink) and GC Atalanta Z (Rodrigo Pessoa).

Just outside the medals is a cluster of future Olympic horses: H&M All In (Nicola Philippaerts. Fourth), Clooney 51 (Jana Wargers. Sixth) and MHS Going Global (Greg Broderick. Seventh).

Athina Onassis on MHS Going Global, another successful Irish-bred Lanaken graduate who went on to jump at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games with Greg Broderick \ Stefano Grasso/GCL

Fifth-placed Gazelle (then ridden by Japan’s Eiken Sato) was part of Canada’s Pan-Am Games bronze medal team with Kent Farrington three years later.

H&M All In and Clooney 51, by now with Peder Fredericson and Martin Fuchs, plus MHS Going Global, (the sole horse with his original Lanaken rider), became Olympic horses; twice in the case of Rio and Tokyo individual silver medallist H&M All In and Clooney 51 (ninth at Rio, 16th at Tokyo).

The individual gold medal winner at the 2019 European championships with Fuchs, Clooney 51 won individual silver at the Alltech World Equestrian Games in Tryon and was runner-up in the World Cup final at Gothenburg the following year.

Eighth in that stellar Lanaken group was Shane Sweetnam’s future team horse Chaqui Z, making this particular final the best at producing future household names.

Most successful graduates

Most successful Lanaken graduate? My vote is for H&M All In, a super-consistent medal winner. Team gold at Tokyo, plus his pair of hard-won Olympic silver medals and a European individual gold medal champion (2017) as a bonus.

Best Irish-bred Lanaken graduate? It has to be Carling King. Bred in Glenamaddy by the late Dr Pat Geraghty and sold as a foal at Ballinasloe, he went to Lanaken twice as a six and seven-year-old with Waterford’s Mike Buckley.

“It was the rider! I had a time fault and that kept us out of the six-year-old final,” said Mike.

The following year, four faults in the opening round put paid to their final chances. However, as Paddy Hughes, who brokered the deal for the horse to go to America, recalled, the pair won the seven-year-old consolation class.

With Kevin Babington, the pair were on the Irish gold medal team at the European championships at Arnhem 20 years ago, placed individual eighth at the 2002 World Equestrian Games at Jerez and secured Ireland’s place at the Athens Olympics with their round at the 2003 Europeans in Donaueschingen.

Joint-fourth at Athens, the best result by an Irish rider and horse combination at the Olympics, plus a major win in the La Baule Grand Prix that summer, meant Carling King set the bar high for other Lanaken graduates to emulate.

Time will tell what all of the 2021 Lanaken finalists achieve in the future.

Time and luck.

DID YOU KNOW

  • Killossery Karma (SIEC Livello), fourth with Jason Foley in the five-year-old final this year, is a half-sister to Killossery Kaiden (Lux Z). A gold medal winner five years ago, Kaiden competes at 1.60m level with Adrienne Dixon (USA). Another from this family, all bred by Frank and Laura Glynn, is FTS Killossery Konfusion (SIEC Livello), recently sold by Bertram Allen to Belgium’s Jos Verlooy.
  • Lisa Rosbotham’s stallion Valent has enjoyed a run of success with his progeny in recent weeks. Jewelent was best of the Irish eventing team at the European championships, several Balmoral show jumping prize winners were by him, Cooley Rosalent was selected with Oliver Townend for the upcoming championships at Le Lion d’Angers and Valanna placed second in the seven-year-old qualifier on the opening day at Lanaken.
  • Valanna is out of Cruisann (Cruising) and was bred by Mary McCann at Hartwell Stud, where the now-retired Valent stood. Sold as a youngster to Neil Gilchrist, through Lisa Rosbotham, Valanna was a finalist in the RDS three-year-old loose jumping and was sold earlier this year to Karel Cox. Now competing with Italy’s Giampiero Garafolo, she won the seven-year-old final at De Kraal International en-route to Lanaken.
  • Her full brothers include PayCash, competing at 1.35m level in Italy; the two-star event horse Excelstar First Class in the USA and a four-year-old with Peter Charles. As well as Valent frozen semen supplies, Hartwell also have two Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z half-siblings to Valenna; a yearling filly, retained as a broodmare and a “wonderful colt foal.”
  • Christian Ahlmann, married to Gestüt Zangersheide manager Judy-Ann Melchior, competed the Irish Sport Horse Mr Lincoln B (Aganix Du Seigneur. Breeder: Etter Sportpferde AG) in the seven-year-old championship.
  • More international riders with Irish-breds at Lanaken this year included Ard Flash Of Gold (Ard Golden Crisp. Breeder: Heather and Conan Wright) for Dutch rider Thalessa De Jong; Bennys Kelly (Tullibard Bennys Legacy. Thomas Hutchinson) with John Crippen (GB); Portugal’s Molly Hughes Bravo with HHS India (Z Seven Ascot. Marion Hughes) and Tipperary-based US rider Charlotte Jacobs lined out at Lanaken with Boleybawn Bella (Capri Van Overis Z. Ronan Rothwell) and Thomascourt Ballypatrick (Balou Du Rouet. Seamus Casey).
  • Zangersheide’s elite foal auction had some beautifully bred lots including the top-priced Especial For Fun Z. By Eldorado van de Zeshoek, his dam is Luciana Diniz’s 1.70m performer Fit For Fun (For Pleasure) and this sales topper was sold to Germany for €160,000.
  • Other well-related lots included Kall In H5 Des Premices Z (Kashmir Van Schuttershof) a full brother to Tokyo gold medallist H&M All In (sold for €72,000). Foals were sold throughout Europe and as far afield as Brazil, South Africa, the USA and Ireland as the third-highest lot Amaro 2000 Z, a brother of Dominator 2000 Z, was bought by KPCM Sport Horses Ltd (€66,000).
  • German eventing Olympic medallist Sandra Auffarth competed at Lanaken with the seven-year-old Comcador OLD (Comme Il Faut). Her future London and Rio Olympics horse Opgun Louvo finished third at Le Lion d’Angers in 2009.

    • BY THE NUMBERS

  • 160,000 – euros. The new world record price for a foal: Especial For Fun Z.
  • 43,895 – euros. The average price at Zangersheide’s Saturday foal auction.
  • 25 – years of Irish Sport Horse teams at Lanaken.
  • 12 – Kannan offspring in the 2021 Lanaken finals, the most of any sire this year.
  • 7 - Gold medals won at Lanaken by Irish-breds since 2010.
  • 6 – Lanaken medallists bred between the Brennan and Hughes families.
  • 5 – FEI/Hippomundo-registered horses with ‘Lanaken’ in their name.
  • 4 – Lanaken medallists ridden by Mikey Pender.
  • 3 - generations of breeders/owners/riders from Anne Hughes, her daughter Marion and granddaughter Molly Hughes Bravo.
  • 2 – Lanaken gold medals won by Ger O’Neill.
  • 1 – Tokyo individual medallist (H&M All In) competed in the Lanaken young horse finals.

    • ISH Lanaken roll of honour

    Gold

    2010 – NLS Coole Al Clover (Aldatus Z – Laurel Lodge, by Clover Hill. Breeder: Eamon Kenny. Rider: Clem McMahon).

    2013 – Arraghbeg Clover (Captain Clover – Blidsworth Lion Queen, by Bonnie Prince. Breeder: Agata Leonard. Rider: Greg Broderick).

    2016 – Killossery Kaiden (Lux Z – Killossery Kruisette, by Cruising. Breeder: Frank & Laura Glynn. Rider: Ger O’Neill).

    2017 – Columbcille Gipsy (Toulon – Gipsy III, by Grundyman. Breeder: Eamonn Murphy. Rider: Ger O’Neill).

    2018 – Uppercourt Cappuccino (Pacino – Uppercourt Posh, by O.B.O.S Quality. Breeder: Paul O’Byrne. Rider: Richard Howley).

    2019 – Rockwell RC (Kannan – Urban Sea, by Guidam. Breeder: Ronan Byrne. Rider: Jason Foley).

    2019 – Cuffesgrange Cavadora (Wellie 72 – Cuffesgrange Cavalidam, by Luidam. Breeder: Eamon Sheahan. Rider: Seamus Hughes-Kennedy).

    Silver

    2001 – Master Ballinteskin (Master Imp– Cushinstown Glory, by Hail Titan. Breeder: Simon McCarthy. Rider: Eddie Moloney).

    2009 – Drumiller Lough (Heartbreaker – Pearl Diver, by Mountain Pearl. Breeder: Paul Dillon. Capt. David O’Brien).

    2014 – Ard Ginger Pop (Luidam – Derrylea Grey Lady, by Cruising. Breeder: Heather Dean-Wright. Rider: Angelica Augustsson Zanotelli (SWE)).

    2015 – MHS Washington (O.B.O.S Quality 004 – Mill Royale, by Cavalier Royale. Breeder: Ita Brennan. Rider: Laura Renwick (GB)).

    2016 – Z Seven Caretina (Coltaire Z – Caretina, by Caretino. Breeder: Marion Hughes. Rider: Mikey Pender).

    2018 – CSF Sir George (Sir Shutterfly – Norrira, by Cavalier Royale. Breeder: Shane Connolly. Rider: Darragh Ryan).

    2019 - MHS Cardenta (Cardento – Willow Point, by Diamond Serpent. Breeder: Tom Brennan. Rider: Mikey Pender).

    Bronze

    2001 – Windgates Mystique (Cruising – Winning Promise xx, by Roi Guillaume. Breeder: William Fenelon. Rider: Conor Swail).

    2010 – Ballypatrick Mystique (Heritage Fortunus – Lady Ligustra, by Cavalier Royale. Breeder: Ita Brennan. Rider: Greg Broderick).

    2016 – Z Seven Canya Dance (Canya Makan – HHS Chantilly Lace, by Cavalier Royale. Breeder: Anne Hughes. Rider: Mikey Pender).

    2018 – HHS Vancouver (Indoctro – La Juanita, by Don Juan de la Bouverie. Breeder: Marion Hughes. Rider: Mikey Pender