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 Approved Main Studbook KWPN

Vlarina is a breathtaking black 16.1 hand KWPN approved mare that we imported from Holland. She is stunningly sculpted and feminine even if she is covered in mud! Vlarina has absolutely ideal conformation with perfect proportions. She has the most exquisite head and neck set on a gorgeous shoulder, with a short back, powerful hindend and long correct legs. She has a magnificent topline and self-carriage with the presence of a stallion. Vlarina has three fabulous athletic gaits with lovely lengthening and suspension. The judge uttered as she trotted towards him at the inspection......”Holy ---- nice trot!” (My husband grinned) She is forward moving and light in your hand – very easy to ride. She has the most kind, gentle and respectful temperament with both people and other animals. She is willing to do what ever you ask of her instantly, so responsive – never needing to be told twice. Vlarina is a young mare that had her first foal this summer, an outstanding top class filly. We are excited about the future as Vlarina is obviously producing foals with all of her magnificent qualities.

 

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Vlarina was bred for Dressage.  Her sire is the brilliant black 17 hand Trakehner stallion Gribaldi who has been approved and proclaimed Keur by the KWPN Verband. He is an Elite Sire for the Trakehner Verband and is also approved by the Danish Warmblood Society and Oldenburg Verband.  Based on the performance of Gribaldi's 6 and 7 year old offspring, the KWPN proclaimed him a Keur stallion in 2005.  In order to become a KWPN Keur stallion, a sire has to have a sport index of more than 140 points with a reliability of 75%, and his quality conformation has to be passed on to his offspring. Gribaldi produces very high caliber, uniform offspring.  He is an excellent sire of world class dressage ability and prepotent for the much sought after Trakehner beauty and charm. 

 Gribaldi is one of the most used stallions in the Netherlands and one of the top sires in Europe.  He was champion of the stallion selections in 1995 and the 1996 Champion of his stallion testing in Neumünster Germany, a very coveted position.  In 1997 he was the winner of the four year old stallion competition in Hertogenbosch, and reserve champion of the Pavo-Cup.  Under Dutch team rider Edward Gal, Gribaldi has been a top international Grand Prix dressage stallion with numerous wins.  More recently in March 2007 the pair won the title of Best Stallion with a total of 3179 points at the renowned Zwolle International Stallion Show in Zwolle, Holland.

Gribaldi already has 11 approved sons who are standing at stud. They are Anky van Grunsven's Grand Prix standout “Painted Black” (Gribaldi x Ferro) who happens to be a ¾ brother of Vlarina.  The 2004 VSN Trophy winner “Game Boy”.  Then there is “Hofrat” who was the Reserve Champion of the Trakehner Stallion Selections and also Reserve Champion of the Bundeschampionat for 3 year-old Trakehner offspring under the saddle. There is “Distelzar” - the most expensive Trakehner ever!  This 3 year-old stallion was sold after approval at the Trakehner Elite Auction in Medingen for the astronomical sum of $300,000 as a three year old! Later “Distelzar” was very highly placed in the “Bundeschampionat in Warendorf” and the World Championships for Young Horses in Verden.  Then there is “Hoftäenzer” the Trakehner licensing Reserve Champion, the Danish stallion “Zardin-Firfod” who was the overall Champion of the Stallion Selections in Denmark, the Danish stallion “Rivaldi”, the Belgian owned and French licensed “Rosenprinz D”, the stallion “Paulousa Convenace” the stallion “Rheinklang”, and the stallion “Galando”.

The successes of Gribaldi progeny are almost too many to mention.  A great number of Gribaldi offspring have participated in the PAVO CUP for four and five year-old dressage horses and many were selected for the Semi-Finals and the Finals.  A few more notable offspring are the gelding “Pasternak” ridden by Coby van Balen, and Edward Gal’s Champion Keur mare “Sisther de Jeu”, among many other international dressage stars.  Many mares are very highly placed at the Mare Selections, in the various performance tests in Deurne and Drachten and a great number are successful in their IBOP tests. Gribaldi mares are highly sought after as excellent producers of quality offspring, and have won too many mare competitions to count.

    

Gribaldi

Gribaldi’s sire, the 16.3 hand black approved Trakehner stallion Kostolany, has been a stellar progenitor siring many champion approved sons and champion mares, also offspring who have performed at Grand Prix level.  Kostolany was the champion at the Trakehner stallion selection at Neumünster in 1987. With a breeding value in the Trakehner Verband of 120 points and dressage index of 121 points Kostolany has been and continues to be one of the best sires of the Trakehner Association for years.  He combines his great talent for jumping, dressage and eventing with a wonderful temperament and character.  In 1995 Kostolany made history by siring both the Sieger (Federal) Champion stallion and the Sieger Champion mare.  Including Gribaldi, Kostolany is the sire of eight approved stallions - the premium stallions Silvermoon and Tolstoi, Bertone, Showmaster, Sans Souci and Polansky. Kostolany is also well known for his successful daughters such as Carara, Kandra, Chamonix, Herzlani, Vis-à-vis, Kassiopeia, Pretty Woman, Amazing and others.  In 1995, Gribaldi’s full sister Georgina was the best three year-old mare at the Central Mare Inspections in Hessen.

Kostolany’s sire, Enrico Caruso PsE was the reserve champion of the Stallion Performance Test for the Trakehner Verband, and the Champion stallion at the International riding Horse Champions in Warendorf.  He also was a I.S.R – Oldenburg NA 5 star stallion.  He became a successful show horse, competing at S level in all disciplines.  Enrico Caruso started his career as a breeding stallion at Gestut Hämelschenburg and became a foundation stallion.  He was later sold to Tylord Farm in Benson Vermont where he stood at stud and successfully competed in Grand Prix Dressage - which earned him the “Silver Level Performance” title. Enrico Caruso produced five licensed sons in Germany and five in the U.S as well as an elite mare. He was proclaimed Elite Stallion by the American Trakehner Association.   He was known to have an extremely gentle character and was very athletic.  He produced numerous dressage horses and show jumpers that have competed up to S level.

Enrico Caruso’s sire is the legendary approved Trakehner stallion Mahagoni who was Champion of his stallion performance test in Germany. He was ranked in the top ten in the world for many years for producing competitive CDI Grand Prix Dressage horses and he stands out as a top producer of stallions.  He was also the sire of Olympic bronze medalist Peron.  Mahagoni was later decorated with the title “Sire of the Century”

Gribaldi’s dam, Gondola II is an Elite Trakehner mare because of the quality of her offspring.  She is the dam of the approved stallion Goldino who was performing at Prix St. George level at the age of seven years old.  Gondola II was sired by the renowned Trakehner stallion Ibikus, who was known for passing on his amazing gaits and impeccable movements.  Ibikus was four times winner of the German Riding Horse Championship, 1st at his stallion Performance Test, and   DLG- Sieger Champion.  He was successful in dressage competitions up to the FEI level. In 1976 Ibikus was sold to Denmark as an improver for the Danish Warmblood and had a huge impact there. Ibikus is the sire of 13 approved sons.  Known as a “marker” stallion, Ibikus genetic traits are responsible for the performance capabilities of sport horses all over Europe.

 

Vlarina’s dam is the KWPN studbook mare Klarina.  She is also the dam of the KWPN registered black and white pinto stallion Presley who was sired by the renowned Samber. 

Klarina’s sire is the celebrated KWPN approved stallion Ferro – Keur Pref., also known as Olympic Ferro.  Dutch horses are given the title “Olympic” in front of their name at the time they compete in the Olympics.  Ferro competed in the 2000 Olympics held in Sydney with his long time partner Coby Van Baalen.  The Dutch rider Coby and Ferro won team silver medals at the 1998 World Equestrian Games, 1999 European Championships and 2000 Olympic Games.  Ferro also finished fifth individually in the 2000 Olympics with a fourth placed finish in the freestyle, and they placed second in the 2000 FEI World Cup Final scoring over 80% for their Kur to music.  Ferro has won many Grand Prix and Grand Prix Specials throughout his career. He is renowned for consistently achieving high scores for piaffe and passage.  As a three-year-old he was champion of his performance test at Ermelo.  Ferro was awarded the "Keur" predicate in 2000 and was also awarded the highly coveted “Preferent” predicate by the KWPN at the age of 17 in 2004.  Olympic Ferro held the #1 position of the BN World Stallion Rankings late into his career and maintained an outstanding dressage index of 153 with the KWPN, boasting an impressive 87% reliability index.  Ferro was also valued for his jumping influence with over 111 points in the KWPN's jumping index and an 80% reliability factor.

This elegant black 16.3 hand stallion is one of the KWPN’s foundation stallions, having sired 11 approved sons with the KWPN, of which Kennedy, Rousseau, Rhodium, Metall and Negro are the most famous.  Ferro was also approved for the Hanoverian Verband, Danish Warmblood Society, French and Oldenburg Verband, and has sired many approved stallions outside the Netherlands.  Olympic Ferro left over 35 Keur Preferent daughters, 145 Star daughters, 300 Studbook daughters and 150 1st Premium foals with the KWPN.  Ferro can be relied upon to produce beautiful, typy, talented offspring of the highest quality with fantastic toplines, elegance and presence. They show a lot of room in the trot with good use of the hind legs and fine elevation.  Ferro regularly produced the conformation for a Grand Prix horse!

     
Olympic Ferro

Ferro’s sire is the renowned KWPN approved stallion Ulft – Keur.  The name Ulft really needs no introduction.  He was and still is known around the world as a top sire of international winning dressage and jumping horses. At his performance test Ulft broke records for not only jumping, but also dressage.  He was the first stallion tested in Ermelo to receive a 9 for dressage.  At the 1983 and 1984 Stallion Championships in Holland he was Reserve Champion. 

Ulft was an extraordinary KWPN “Keur” sire. Other than Olympic Ferro, he produced such international stars as Caesar, Disney, and Utopia to name a few.  Ulft has produced 7 approved stallions including Boston, Dublin, Dukaat, Fair Play and again Olympic Ferro.  He also has numerous Keur and Star daughters. The KWPN authorities have always had the greatest confidence in this lineage. Ulft has a high breeding reliability in jumping (91%) and a high dressage reliability as well.  Ulft's offspring are recognized for their great temperament, athleticism, and their impressing gaits, especially the trot. 

Ulft was sired by the legendary chestnut Selle Francais stallion Le Mexico.  Born in Normandy, France, Le Mexico was the grandson of the legendary Irish Thoroughbred foundation sire Furioso.   Le Mexico’s sire – Mexico was the full brother of the famous Furioso ll.   Le Mexico, who also possessed phenomenal jumping ability was Champion in his performance test in HLP Sleen in 1974 with a total of 174.86 points.  As a resident of Holland, Le Mexico sired 10 approved sons including Silvano, Zonneglans, Beau Le Mexico, C Diamond, Le Mexico II, Lester, Astronaut, Expert, Zelhem and of course Ulft.  He also had 23 offspring in International Show Jumping including Olympic Briljant, Olympic Pride, Olympic Rad Boy, Comex, and Notorius.  Le Mexico died in 1987, only a few months after his upgrading to the rare “Keur” predicate with the Dutch registry. The year he died, Le Mexico had a phenomenal jumping index of 146, and in the ranking of dressage sires he was 21st among over 200 stallions.  Even eight years after his death his jumping index was still above average with a reliability of 96%.  

        Ulft was out of the Keur Preferent Dutch mare Pia, who was sired by the legendary stallion Pericles (TB) - the sire of the renowned pinto KWPN stallion Samber.

 

        Back to Ferro and his dam – the KWPN Ster Preferent Prestatie mare Brenda.   Brenda was a Prix St.Georges dressage champion herself.  She then produced spectacular offspring that competed at high levels in sport, which earned her the KWPN Preferent and Prestatie predicates.  A Preferent predicate indicates she produced at least three KWPN Star, Approved (sons) or Keur offspring.  A Prestatie predicate indicates she produced at least three KWPN offspring competing in sport at M+5 level or above (dressage 3rd level or jumping 4’).

      Brenda was the daughter of the legendary Holstein stallion Farn.  Farn was one of the most influential foundation stallions of the last decades in Dutch sport horse breeding.  He was used by the Dutch to improve their sport horses, primarily their jumping horses.  Farn had a jumping index of 146 points.  In 1978 the KWPN awarded him the Keur predicate and in 1991 he was declared Preferent, seven years after his death.  He produced 13 approved sons, the most well known are Nimmerdor (jumping index of 155 points), Wolfgang, Amulet, and Ufarno.  Farn also notably produced 123 Ster, 31 Keur, 14 Preferent and 6 Prestatie mares who we find in the pedigrees of numerous successful sport horses and influential stallions. 

       Brenda’s dam was the Keur Preferent KWPN mare Upianna who was also a Prix St. Georges champion.  Upianna also produced Briano, Dahonia and Gold Star – all three where winners at Prix St. Georges and Gold Star was a Grand Prix champion.

       Back to Vlarina’s dam Klarina.  Klarina was out of the KWPN mare Garina who was sired by the well-known KWPN approved Keur stallion Wolfgang.  Wolfgang was a beautiful athletic "all round" stallion with fabulous movement.  He gave an outstanding performance in Ermelo at the KWPN Performance Test in 1983.  He earned 9’s for jumping under saddle, stable manners, and training behavior and for both the cross-country and the driving test he was awarded an 8.5, which made him one of the best in his age group.  In the national stallion competition he was also extremely successful with Henk van den Broek.  Wolfgang's offspring includes many approved sons in Europe such as Esteban, Jester, Whinny Jackson, Kigali, What's In A Name and Oscar, as well as many International show jumpers such as Extreme (with Lesley Burr), Frederic, Goldrun II, Fior, Freedom and World Champions Lanaken, Illussion and Kigali.  One of Wolfgang’s most famous offspring is Michael Whitaker’s Handel II. The pair achieved the unimaginable results in Stuttgart by winning both the Grand Prix and the Masters.  Wolfgang also has several offspring doing well in dressage.  Both Jester and Whinny Jackson compete at Prix St. Georges level.

       Wolfgang was sired by the legendary Holstein stallion Farn.  You have seen what a spectacular stallion Farn was above.  Wolfgang’s dam was the Keur Preferent Prestatie mare Jolanda who was known for her exceptional beauty.

       As you can see Vlarina has the bloodlines of many, many champions and the spectacular qualities that we believe will be passed on to her champion offspring.