Last week we disclosed which 9-year-old show jumpers are well on their way to the highest level. Of course, this can also be done for the dressage horses. Curious which 8-, 9- and 10-year-old dressage horses are paving their way to the top, which sires are the top producers and more? Find out on this week’s Trivia Thursday. 

Out of the 9- and 10-year-old dressage horses, 305 are active in Small Tour level or above. Where 40% of the showjumpers that jump 1.40m or higher is a mare, in the dressage area the mares account for 30% in the top levels.

Grand Prix
The majority of this group of 305 9- and 10-year-olds are competing in the Small Tour/Prix St. Georges/Inter I, namely 267 horses. In the Big Tour/Inter II/U25/Grand Prix we find 38 horses of this age category. 

Six of them are active in the international Grand Prix ring. The two 9-year-olds are Florento Fortuna (Sorento x Rubiquil), ridden by the Russian Tatiana Miloserdova, and Farrington (Jazz x Samba Hit), he competes with the American Michael Pino. The E-year gave the KWPN-approved Expression (s.Vivaldi), Emando (Delatio x Goodtimes), Evito (Sir Oldenburg x Jackson) and Elegance N (Jazz x Obelisk). The 10-year-old Enzos (Tuschinski x Tango) can be spotted in the international U25 classes with Jill Huybregts. 

Main supplier
Counting 38 offspring, it is Jazz that is comfortably in the lead as main supplier of the 305 Small Tour-and-up-horses. Followed by Vivaldi with 25 offspring, Johnson with 19, Wynton with 16 and the new keur stallion Apache has 12 9- and 10-year-old children competing at Small Tour level or higher. On the dam side, Jazz is also in the lead. He signs for dam’s paternity 26 times, Ferro does this 14 times, Gribaldi 11 times, Negro 10 times and Flemmingh is the 9 times the maternal father. 

Young stallions
Out of the first two crops of Apache, already twelve horses are active at Small Tour-level or above. Figaro (ds.Zichem) was already active in the Big Tour with Sandy van Boxmeer at 8 years of age, Edeem (ds.Democraat), the appointed stallion Cum Laude (ds.Weltmeyer), Ferrari-STH (ds.Jazz), Flanell (ds.Don Schufro) and Florence (ds.Wellington) compete in Inter-I. The other six offspring are active in the Small Tour. Ampère has nine of his offspring competing in minimally Small Tour level, amongst them the appointed stallion All At Once (ds.Gribaldi) and the well-tested mare Farzana (ds.Florencio). Armani follows with five offspring and Bordeaux with three. Andretti and the Gelder stallion Alexandro P both have two offspring that compete in Small Tour level or up and Adamo has one. 

Approved stallions
In the E- and F-years we see 14 approved stallions in the Small Tour-or-higher dressage ring. Above, we already mentioned the Grand Prix stallion Expression. Etoile is doing Grand Prix in Russia with Evgeniy Sharangovich. Everdale and Foreign Affair are both competing at international Inter I-levels. Eye catcher, Ebony, El Capone, Fashion Hill, Feel Good, Four Legends KS, Fleau de Baian, Fellini, Ferdeaux and Ferdinand are all ridden in the Small Tour. Just as the now gelded For Gribaldi. 

Well-tested mares
36 of the 85 mares possess the elite predicate. The highest classed mare is the in Inter II active Elvive (Tuschinski x Don Schufro). As a young horse she scored 80.5 points for her IBOP test. The mares Evita (Vivaldi x Gabor) and Etwoolya PB (Painted Black x Jazz) matched this score and both compete in the Small Tour. The nine-year-old Funfun EB (Sorento x Jazz) scored 81 points in her IBOP and is also active at the Small Tour level. 81.5 points in the IBOP were scored by Apache-daughter Electra (ds.Jazz) and Felissirana (Belissimo M x Prestige VDL), both now compete in the Small Tour.

Jazz has five well-tested daughters: Electra (ds.Ferro) obtained 80 points at the time and is now active in the small tour, Feline (ds.Belisar) scored 82.5 points, Eskara de Jeu (ds.Jetset-D) 83,5 points and the two top scorers are Erludine DVB (ds.Ferro) and Evita Utopia (ds.Gribaldi). Both mares scored 86 points and are now at Small Tour-level. The second Vivaldi-daughter Engel D’Ottie (ds.Sunny Boy) obtained 83 points and the last mare in this overview is Fabiola (Sir Oldenburg x Ro-Lex), she received 85,5 points. Both horses are active in the Small Tour-classes. 

Eight-year-olds
In addition to the nine-year-old up-and-coming talents, there are several 8-year-olds on the right path to the highest level. No less than 38 8-year-olds are active at Small Tour-level. For instance, the KWPN-approved Governor (s.Totilas) will soon battle Gaudi-Vita (s.Apache) at the National Championships in the Small Tour class. The appointed Crosby (s.Chippendale) is classified in the international Inter I with Franka Loos, just as Go Legend (s.Totilas) and Marlies van Baalen, Ghana (s.Rousseau) under Marjo Timmermans, Grand-Charmeur (s.Apache) with Jonna Schelstraete and the Jazz-son Gibson. Next to Governor, we see the KWPN-approved stallions George Clooney, Giovanni, Ferguson, Ghandi, Grappa and Glamourdale in the Small Tour. The latter was crowned world champion of the seven-year-olds at the World Breeding Dressage Championships for Young Horses with Charlotte Fry.