The 2009 Baileys Horse Feeds/British Equestrian Federation (BEF) Futurity Evaluations have witnessed a high quality entry at venues throughout the country with over 900 entries and 52 horses earning an elusive and coveted Elite Premium, a good indication that there are some exciting prospects for the future. This series of evaluations helps to identify British bred, young potential sport horses that are destined for careers as dressage horses, eventers, show jumpers, endurance horses and sports ponies, and could discover horses and ponies that become future Olympic or British Team stars.
Entries are categorised by discipline with age groups for foals, yearlings, two and three year olds and each horse is evaluated in hand and loose in a safe indoor environment as well as undergoing a vet’s assessment. An Elite Premium is awarded to those with an average score of over 90% for vet assessment, conformation, paces in hand, athleticism, type and temperament, indicating the potential to reach international competition level. With 14 venues and entries limited to 60 at each venue, places have been quickly filled. In previous years half the entries have been foals but as breeders recognise the value of a good premium, more are bringing them back for the older age groups and this year just over a third of the entries were foals.
The overall top score across all the disciplines and age groups went to the foal, Ettonia, who scored 9.61 in the show jumping section at the Solihull venue for owners and breeders, Sam and Nicola Burton of Wrestow Stud, Warwickshire. This chestnut filly is by the internationally successful, Holstein show jumping stallion, Carolus. Her dam is Phonia V.S keur, who was awarded a keur predicate at the KWPN gradings in Holland and whose sire is Nimmerdor who was voted best show jumping stallion of the 21st Century. Sam and Nicola bought the mare 3 years ago and since coming to the UK she has competed to advanced medium dressage and is now one of the 13 brood mares at Wrestow Stud. Sam and Nicola began breeding horses for dressage, show jumping and eventing 3 years ago and are very pleased with their results this year. “We have had 2 Elite Premiums, 3 First Premiums and a second premium. The Futurity Evaluations are great way to support British Breeding. There is a lot to learn from the vet and the evaluators. We plan to put Ettonia up for sale although she would make a superb foundation mare”, said Nicola.
The top yearling was Janet Keith’s MFS Dandyman in show jumping section. Bred by the Morayfirth Stud (MFS) of Gamrie, Dandyman scored 9.21 for an Elite Premium. “I bought him when he was just a month old and he is the first youngster I have had”, explained Janet, who wanted a quality horse for the future. Dandyman is by the jumping sire, Marlon, and his dam, Why Bella, also has an impeccable jumping pedigree. Janet heard about the BEF Futurity Evaluations from MFS and Janet thought it would be good experience. “I think it is a really good thing to have your horse evaluated for soundness and ability to cope with the future”, she said. Janet plans to keep Dandyman until he is broken and ridden. “I will do as much as I can myself, but if he turns out to be a real star then I might need to pass him on to a professional rider to reach his potential”, she said.
The top 2 year old, highest score in the Dressage section and equal second highest score overall was the filly, Flamingo, who scored 9.54 for owner and breeder, Christine Trednell of Chalfont-St-Giles. Shown by dressage rider and trainer, Paul Friday, this filly is a British bred Oldenburg by the renowned dressage stallion, Flemmingh KWPN. His tall, long lined and athletic offspring have been competing internationally for many years, and include Anky van Grunsven’s Grand Prix Dressage horse, Krack C. The dam, Hawaii, is a Verband Premium Oldenburg by Harvard, a renowned Oldenburg sire of talented dressage progeny with excellent conformation. “Unfortunately, her breeding is often given inaccurately as there is no British register for Oldenburgs, so I have to decide whether to register her with BHHS (British Hanoverian Horse Society) or as a British Warmblood”, says Christine. “I bought the dam as 3 year old out of the Brightwells sale to use as broodmare to produce dressage horses. I had researched her breeding background carefully, as I firmly believe that good mares will consistently produce good stock and their breeding is as important as that of the stallion”. Christine’s horses are now with Paul Friday in Warwickshire who is a dressage trainer and excellent producer of young horses. He also stands the Hanoverian, former advanced dressage stallion, Cardinar, the top British based dressage stallion in the 2009 BEF Stallion Rankings with 4 progeny scores and an average top 3 score of 8.81.
The impressive 3 year old colt, Handels Classic, was the highest 3 year old overall with a score of 9.32 in the show jumping section. Owned and bred by Vikki Evans of Chailey Stud in Sussex, Handels Classic is by the well known show jumping stallion, Handel II, who enjoyed tremendous success with Michael Whitaker and accumulated over £300,000 in prize money. The dam is Sasja, a Danish Hanoverian who is a phenomenal jumper but did not have a show jumping career due to injury. “Broom” as the colt is known, will be competing in young horse show jumping classes with Vikki’s husband, Adrian, soon. “He is so easy to do and I hope we can keep him entire as we would like to use him as a stallion”, says Vikki.
The highest scoring eventer this year was the 2 year old gelding, Prosper II, by Pro Set, with a score of 9.32 for owners, Charles Bosanquet and Sheila Baker, who bought him as a foal from breeder, Sharon Baldwin. He is by the KWPN grand prix dressage stallion, Pro Set, out of a dutch bred mare. “The Futurity Evaluation was Prosper II’s first ever outing and I was very pleased with the result”, said Charles, who breaks and schools event and dressage horses and handled him on the day.
The Endurance section was a new addition at 4 venues this year and proved to be popular and well supported. The top endurance score went to the yearling, Bint Matra, an 18 month old grey, Arab filly and the only endurance entry to earn an elusive and coveted Elite Premium. Bint Matra was bred by UAE endurance horse breeder and trainer, Aziz Al-Redha and is out of an international endurance mare called Brenta 3. This mare competed at international junior level in both Europe and the Middle East by Aziz’s daughter, Layla, now a senior endurance rider for the United Arab Emirates. Bint Matra’s sire is the Argentinian bred Arabian, SM Matra, who had a very successful International endurance career. The filly was presented at the second Solihull evaluations by Layla’s sister, Claire Al Redha, who is based at the family farm, Lynaire Sport Horses, in Shropshire. “Bint Matra will stay in the UK and I will back her. She will then go on to be my sister, Layla’s endurance horse and will spend the winters competing in the UAE and the summer months in Europe”, says Claire.
The top sport pony was the un-named foal, by Littledale Bright Star out of Catherston Goldburg, who scored 9.36 for the Catherston Stud.
SIRE RANKINGS
The BEF Futurity Evaluations also provide Stallion Rankings, enabling breeders to see which stallions have proved popular and which have sired high scoring offspring. The international dressage stallion, Fidertanz, by the Westfalen stallion Fidermark and out of a Ravallo mare heads the BEF Sire rankings in 2009 for all disciplines. He was a sensation at the 14th Westphalian stallion licensing in 2004 where he became champion stallion, showing “exceptional basic paces, brilliant jumping manner, balanced nature and perfect conformation”. Fidertanz has 6 progeny scores included in the BEF Sire Rankings and an average top 3 scores of 9.12. Based abroad, his chilled or frozen semen is available to breeders. Fidertanz sired the British Hanoverian colt foal, Forever Amadeus, who earned an Elite Premium with a score of 9.54 and was the highest scoring dressage foal and equal highest score in the dressage in the dressage section for owner and breeder Jayne Willis of Mousley End, Warwickshire.
The highest placed British based sire on aggregate of all disciplines is Silvester, who stands at Hazel and John Offord’s Wendlebury Gate Stables near Bicester. He is a dual purpose eventing and show jumping sire and has proved popular this year, with 14 progeny scores and an average score for the top 3 of 9.04. Among his progeny at the Evaluations was Silver Fox, a filly bred by Hazel and John, who was the second highest yearling this year, with a score of 9.18.
Future Illusion is the leading sire of event horses and the highest ranked British bred sire across all disciplines in the 2009 BEF Futurity Stallion Rankings, with a total of 9 progeny scores and an average score of 9.00 for the top three progeny. This young stallion was bred by Julia Hodkin of Future Sport Horses Stud and is by the successful eventing sire, Fleetwater Opposition, out of the stud’s well bred eventing mare, Future Illicit Affair, a daughter of their foundation mare, Classic Fayre. Future Illusion is now 5 years old and has just started eventing with Jeanette Brakewell having already won at county level in showing classes. Julia bought Classic Fayre, her first horse, in 1994 and competed with her. She needed time off due to an injury so Julia decided to put her in foal and their breeding programme developed from there. “I only like to breed from proven mares, or mares with proven progeny”, says Julia. Among Future Illusion’s progeny at this year’s evaluations was Future Cornish Illusion, a filly foal who scored 9.07 and was the third highest scoring eventer. Future Coeur de Reine. Owned and bred by Julia, this was the highest scoring foal and second highest eventer across all ages with a score of 9.21 and an Elite Premium.
BEF’s Head of Equine Development, Jan Rogers, was delighted with the results. “The Futurity’s support has exceeded all expectations this year and the standard has so far been excellent. The Futurity is showing itself to be an assessment system which British breeders value, because it enables them to demonstrate, long before a horse is able to compete, that it has performance potential. It is serving as a valuable marketing tool for British breeders and I am delighted that so many breeders are keen to be a part of it”.
The BEF Futurity Evaluations were held at 14 venues throughout the UK and young horses go home with a BEF Premium (grade), a stylish rosette and a detailed, informative score sheet. An attractive certificate to keep and frame follows on after the event. All results are published on the fully searchable Futurity site, and afterwards feature with those horses’ performance records on NED, the National Equine Database. For more information, visit
www.bef.co.uk/british_breeding.
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