A preferent mare achieves what every breeder hopes for: passing her quality on to her offspring. She has proven her ability to produce multiple foals with good conformation and aptitude for sport. The fact that fewer than 7,000 dressage, jumping, and riding-type mares hold this predicate underlines its value.

Predicates make the quality of a mare measurable and therefore form an important tool for breeders. Most predicates say something about the horse’s own aptitude, but the preferent predicate is one of the exceptions. When a mare becomes preferent, it is because her offspring have performed well at inspections. This proves her ability to produce foals with correct conformation and the necessary talent. To obtain the preferent predicate, three of the mare’s offspring must have earned the ster, keur, or elite predicate, or must have been selected for the second viewing of the KWPN stallion selection. If a stallion has been approved by a KWPN-recognized studbook, this also counts toward his dam’s preferent status. A mare may also be declared preferent posthumously if her offspring achieve these results after she has passed away.

More dressage horses
The horses included in these figures and tables are registered in the dressage, jumping, or riding-type breeding directions. The vast majority of preferent mares, nearly 5,500 or 81% are registered as riding-type mares. This is explained by the fact that specialization was only introduced in 2006. Mares born in 2006 or later, or those presented at inspections from that point on, were assigned either the dressage or jumping breeding direction. This concerns a total of 1,212 mares, of which 777 are registered in the dressage direction and 435 in jumping. Notably, these proportions are the opposite of what we see among prestatie mares. After the introduction of specialization, more jumping mares than dressage mares have earned the prestatie predicate. Sport and breeding are inseparable and increasingly intertwined, yet this difference suggests that dressage breeders place greater value on inspection results, whereas the emphasis in jumping breeding lies more strongly on sport performance. Additionally, fewer jumping horses than dressage horses are presented at studbook inspections, giving jumping mares fewer opportunities to earn the preferent predicate.

Predicates
What a mare possesses, she can pass on. The preferent predicate therefore rarely stands alone, the vast majority of preferent mares also hold additional predicates. Nearly 92% of preferent mares are recorded in the studbook, while only 1% have never been presented at an inspection. The remaining 7% were entered through the former ZZ predicate, a predecessor of today’s sport predicate. This predicate was awarded to mares competing at ZZ level before the current sport predicate was introduced. Most preferent mares were successful at inspections themselves before beginning their breeding careers. Not only were the majority accepted into the studbook, many also earned additional predicates. Of the mares presented, nearly 34% hold the ster predicate, 35% earned the keur predicate, and 19% are elite, meaning that almost 90% possess a conformation-based predicate. Many breeders invest in future generations by using healthy mares for breeding. Over 20% of preferent mares have passed the PROK veterinary inspection, and 5% have earned the D-OC predicate. Remarkably, a significant number of preferent mares also hold the sport predicate. At just over 13%, this figure is only slightly lower than the percentage of prestatie mares that hold a sport predicate themselves. Preferent mares therefore excel not only in breeding, but also in sport, where they have delivered notable performances.

Sport results
The oldest mares included in these data were born in the 1930s a completely different era, with different sport levels and far less common overlap between breeding and sport than we see today. All the more remarkable, then, is the high number of preferent mares who not only contributed to breeding but were also successful sport horses themselves. In total, 875 preferent mares hold at least one sport predicate. Of these, 2% earned a sport predicate in both dressage and jumping. Among the sport-predicate mares, 65% achieved their predicate in dressage, and 32% in showjumping. A further 10% of preferent mares passed the IBOP or EPTM tests, an even higher percentage than among prestatie mares. There is considerable overlap between mares with strong IBOP/EPTM results and those with sport predicates. Over 29% of preferent mares that passed IBOP or EPTM later also earned a sport predicate. Most preferent mares were active at basic sport level, but a select group enjoyed truly impressive careers in both sport and breeding. 55 dressage mares competed at Light Tour level, 22 reached the Big Tour, 19 preferent mares competed at 1.50m level or higher, 2 even reached 1.60m, 7 jumping mares are classified as international Grand Prix, reflecting how international results in showjumping were recorded up until the year 2000. Just like the mares themselves, the offspring of preferent mares perform strongly both at inspections and in sport. More than 53% of preferent mares are also prestatie. On average, mares receive the prestatie predicate at an older age than the preferent predicate, because their offspring must first appear at inspections and only later in sport. The older the group of preferent mares you compare, the higher the percentage that also achieves the prestatie predicate.

Grand Prix genes
A number of mares have made their mark in both sport and breeding. These mares competed at the highest level themselves and passed their talent on to their offspring. One example of a preferent mare that jumped at 1.60m is Cantate, a daughter of Cantos. The well-known Elien, by Carambole, achieved the same. This mare, bred by the Greve family, produced only three offspring, yet all three were successful at inspections and are now continuing that success in sport. Sterrehof’s Pharna is another mare who excelled in sport and later became preferent. This Calvados daughter competed at the European Championships under Julia Houtzager-Kayser and produced, among others, the KWPN stallion Utopie. Several preferent dressage mares also competed at Grand Prix level. A relatively young example is Fynona (s.Ampère), who won numerous medals at international youth championships with Marten Luiten. Reine B (s.Rubinstein) also medaled in the youth championships under Lotje Schoots. The breeding success of Jan Greve is particularly notable, in addition to Elien he also bred the preferent Grand Prix dressage mare Inoraline W (s.Johnson). An older example is Finesse, a daughter of Aktion, who competed at Grand Prix level with Marian Dorresteijn and produced offspring that performed well at inspections, in sport, and in breeding. There are several additional mares who competed at Grand Prix dressage and went on to form the foundation of successful breeding programs, including Sisther de Jeu (s.Gribaldi), Niniek STV (s.Jazz), Latamanda (s.Matador), and Oogappel (s.Partout).

Influential sires
Several influential sires have left a significant mark on Dutch riding horse breeding. One of the most notable is the preferent stallion Nimmerdor. With 160 preferent daughters, he has produced the highest number of preferent mares. Nearly 19% of his female offspring earned the predicate. In absolute numbers, no stallion surpasses Nimmerdor in producing preferent daughters. However, in percentage terms, one stallion exceeds him: Amor, born in 1959. Amor produced 131 preferent mares, which accounts for over 22% of his female offspring. With 142 preferent daughters, Jazz secures a place between these two stallions in the overall top three. Looking solely at percentages, Lucky Boy rises to the top. From a relatively small number of offspring, he produced 68 preferent mares, meaning 16% of his female progeny received the predicate. The same trio also stands out as damsires. Amor appears as the damsire of 168 preferent mares. Nimmerdor holds this position 145 times, while Lucky Boy follows in third place with 106 preferent granddaughters.

Foundation mares
Not only stallions leave a lasting mark on breeding, several mares have passed on their quality for generations. Four mares produced no fewer than six preferent daughters each. One of them is the well-known Karin, a daughter of Apollo. This keur preferent prestatie mare, born in 1969, is the foundation mare behind many of today’s sport horses. The KWPN stallions Beltrum and Irvington VDL descend from her line, as do the Grand Prix horse Moedwil (s.Goodwill) and UTV champion Dolly. Another mare who produced six preferent daughters is Viola B, by Farn. She is the dam of the KWPN stallion Topas and stands at the root of the extensive Minka dam line. Born in 1965, Viola B herself held the model, preferent and prestatie predicates. That same year, Gelita (s.Amor) was born. She, too, produced six preferent daughters, as well as a KWPN-approved stallion: Obelisk, by Talisman. Her offspring also form a broad and influential family, Gelita contributed greatly to the international recognition of the Bryolieta dam line. The mare Bryolieta, by Kroonprins, produced only a small number of foals herself, but appears frequently in the dam lines of modern preferent mares. The fourth mare with six preferent daughters is Murona, by Vincent, born in 1994. She is the dam of the Grand Prix horse Axel (s.Sandreo) and is also well known through stallions such as High Five U.S., Princedale, and Knock Out. Her granddaughter Odi Murona (s.Blue Hors Farrell) was crowned reserve champion at the Pavo Cup this summer.

Preferent for generations
Just like the Bryolieta line and the descendants of Karin, several other dam lines are richly infused with preferent mares. Many preferent mares trace back to the Nomana line, also known from the Utopia horses. The Bottie line and the Lady Reveil line have likewise produced a remarkable number of mares that earned the preferent predicate. Preferent mares often pass their quality on in breeding. 53% of preferent mares were themselves bred out of a preferent dam. In 31% of cases, both the dam and the granddam hold the same predicate, resulting in three consecutive generations of preferent mares. For 17%, this extends to yet another generation, and 9% of preferent mares come from lines with five consecutive generations of preferents. Further back in the dam line, the percentages decrease, but the numbers remain striking. In 312 mares, the preferent predicate has been passed down six generations, in 141 mares, even seven generations strong.

Mares of the future
Alongside the mares that form the foundation of generations of breeding, a new group is emerging mares poised to build a strong foundation for the future. The youngest preferent mares were born in 2017. One of them is Moulin Rouge BEK, a daughter of Bojengel, who carries the valuable genes of the renowned De Niro daughter Annabel. She therefore belongs to the same dam line as the KWPN stallions Four Legends KS, Le Formidable, Chagall D&R, and Bretton Woods. The preferent mare Melrose (s.Dream Boy) was born in the same year and is likewise a granddaughter of Annabel. The youngest preferent jumping mares were born in 2015. The well-tested Kamille, by Comme Il Faut, competes at 1.40m level herself and has produced several offspring via embryo transfer. K.Amelusiena (s.Zirocco Blue VDL) and Kianca (s.Numero Uno) carried their foals themselves and have already proven their ability to pass on their qualities to the next generation.

Stallions with the highest number of preferent daughters

Stallion	Number of preferent mares*
Nimmerdor	160 (18,9%)
Jazz	142 (8,7%)
Amor	131 (22,4%)
G.Ramiro Z	116 (10,9%)
Voltaire	114 (8,1%)
Ferro	80 (7,6%)
Indoctro	78 (3,5%)
Burggraaf	70 (4,0%)
Flemmingh	69 (4,5%)
Lucky Boy	68 (16,0%)

*The percentage indicates how many of a stallion’s female offspring later became preferent.

Mares with the highest number of preferent daughters

Mare	Number
Gelita (s.Amor)	6
Karin (s.Apollo)	6
Murona (s.Vincent)	6
Viola B (s.Farn)	6
Charites (s.Roemer)	5
Endy (s.Ulft)	5
Fidora (s.Ulft)	5
Jelinda M (s.Recruut)	5
Lonnevanck (s.Donnerhall)	5
Olien (s.Pericles)	5
Passe (s.Erdball)	5
Shoraya (s.Ladykiller)	5
Tamora (s.Amor)	5
Tina D (s.Ordonnans)	5
Unette (s.Cadmus)	5
Wieni (s.Exkurs)	5

Text: Milou van Engeland
Photography: Dirk Caremans