The Holsteiner Verband stallions wowed the crowd with their presentation and were celebrated in the sold out Fritz-Thiedemann-indoor arena at Elmshorn.
The tree-year-old newcomers, the younger stallions already experienced in competition as well as the established star sires – they had all come to make sure the Sunday afternoon was entertaining and just flew by. Executive director Sebastian Rohde and his team had been determined to provide a comprehensive overview of the studs stood by the stallion keeping GmbH. In front of an approximately 1,000 crowd they succeeded with a programme showcasing the youngsters’ free jumping followed by the sport stallions performing a short course in turn with the top-flight stallions such as Casall by Caretino, Clarimo by Clearway or Diarado by Diamant de Semilly shown in-hand. It goes without saying that team European champion Zuccero HV by Zirocco Blue and Rolf Göran Bengtsson were also there, as were Keaton HV by Kannan and Charaktervoll HV by Comme il faut, all of whom had been taken to Elmshorn by the Swede. Nano Healy, a rider employed at the stable of stallion trainer Hilmar Meyer, Marten Witt and Arne van Heel provided excellent support to the Elmshorn rider team around Lucas Wenz and Jayke Junge, presenting stallions such as Cahil by Cornet Obolensky, Chezarro by Casall, Corfu de la Vie by Cumano, Daikon by Dominator, Deichkind by Don or Million’s Way by Million Dollar and United Way by Uriko. The famous sires of the next generation stallions celebrated their appearances as well. High-flying Million Dollar under the saddle of Jayke Junge was arguably a special highlight – top fit and cheerful, the Plot-Blue son enjoyed the thunderous applause. Expectations were high for the final display showcasing the 2023 Milan team European champion, Zuccero HV and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, which received standing ovations. Also afterwards, as he was honoured for decades of excellent work and sporting achievements surrounded by “his” Verband stallions Casall, Clarimo, and Zuccero, Rolf-Göran Bengtsson was celebrated with frenetic applause.
Zuccero by Zirocco Blue and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson
For some years now, the stallion keeping GmbH has been awarding prizes to the breeders of the most successful Verband stallion offspring, with the most successful four-, five- and six-year-olds as well seven-year-olds and older horses each ranked according to their earnings in competition. Sebastian Rohde not only presented the first ranked horse in each category with the Casall statuette as a valuable challenge trophy but also handed out prize money in the range of up to 1000 euros per horse. “All in all, it has been a very successful afternoon”, Sebastian Rohde summed up the event. Trainer Hilmar Meyer agreed and added: “We as a team are now motivated to start into the showing and breeding season with the stallions.”
Million Dollar and Jayke Junge
Photos by Janne Bugtrup (Title: Cahil by Cornet Obolensky)
