World Breeding Dressage
Championships for Young Horses
in Verden
The best young dressage horses always meet in Verden at the beginning of August. Denario and Nicole Casper competed for Germany for the first time. With an incredibly fantastic performance, they ranked second in the final qualifier. They were the last duo in the Final and rode another fantastic test, finally placing fourth at these World Championships.
Federal Championships
in Warendorf
The Federal Championships were again a highlight for Gestüt Birkhof. They celebrated the fourth Birkhof Federal Champion: Denario with Nicole Casper. With a mark of 8.6, she already won the final qualifier in the division of six-year-old dressage horses. In the Final, she was the last competitor and scored a fantastic 9 for her excellent performance. FN-head instructor Christoph Hess was enthusiastic: “Harmony of rider and horse in perfection.”
The unfortunately far too early deceased Birkhof-stallion Denaro subscribed to the list of placed competitors with a second son: the South German Champion Dave FBW (breeder: Michaela Sterzer, Küps) was in top form in Warendorf and placed sixth in the Final. Our thoroughbred stallion Heraldik xx drew again attention to himself, like almost every year. In 2009, three direct progeny of Heraldik xx competed in the Final in the divisions of five- and six-year-old horses.
South German Stallion Days
in Munich
A superb moving Acordelli/Ladinos-son (breeder: Martin Schmalbach, Schrozberg) was licensed at the 2009 Stallion Days. A chestnut stallion by Köpenick/Rotspon (breeder: Norbert Humpf, Lauchheim) with an excellent technique of movements was also accepted for stud purposes. Meanwhile, both stallions are stabled with well-known dressage stables. FS Delamanga by Dr. Jackson became first reserve Champion. Like more and more horses, he descends out of a dam by Heraldik xx and is standing at the Wilbers service station in Weeze.
23rd Birkhof Foal Championships
The 23rd Birkhof Foal Championships at the beginning of August were a festival for Don Diamond. 12 of the 20 foals in the Final were progeny of the fantastic all-round stallion. No wonder that his offspring dominated the awards ceremony, too: the Champion colt (dam by Life is Life), bred by Josef Kober from Kötz, was already the celebrated Vice Champion at the German Foal Championships in Lienen. The Champion filly came from Bavaria, too, and was bred by Ludwig Ost from Rögling out of a Campari-dam.
Champion colt by Don Diamond
Champion filly by Don Diamond
The judges, Hans-Heinrich Brüning, Norbert Freistedt, Horst von Lengermann and Dr. Ingo Nörenberg, were impressed by the overall quality of the almost 200 foals. And many prospective buyers shared their opinion as lots of foals still changed owner during this event.
South German Championships in
Nördlingen and Laupheim
Another hat-trick for Birkhof-horses at the South German Championships. Nicole Casper returned with two South German Champions from Nördlingen: Don Diamond was the outstanding Champion in the division of five-year-old dressage horses, Dave FBW achieved the victory at the Championships for six-year-old dressage. Hero Edition de Luxe with Dorothee Schmid earned the third title in Laupheim in the division of four-year-old event horses. The Heraldik xx/Rubicell-son was bred by Volker Mai from Ettlingen.
German Eventing Championships
in Schenefeld
The German Eventing Championships in Schenefeld at the end of August were a sensational success for Gestüt Birkhof. All three medallists in the senior division were progeny of Birkhof-stallions!
FRH Butts Abraxxas by Heraldik xx, ridden by Ingrid Klimke, won the gold medal. Breeder of the team Olympic Champion is the Butt-family from Bülkau, Madeleine Winter-Schulze is his owner. Weidezaunprofi’s River of Joy by Rubicell out of a dam by Pageno xx, ridden by World Cup Champion Michael Jung from Horb, earned the silver medal. Elke Wachter from Donzdorf is his breeder. The Master of Equine Management is responsible for the shipment of semen on Birkhof. Renate and Ralf Renner from Gundelfinger are the owners of Weidezaunprofi’s River of Joy. And Heraldik xx, leading stud stallion for event horses, was responsible for the bronze medal, too: Kai-Steffen Meier rode the home-bred Trakehner mare TSF Karascada (dam by Anduc) to a third place.
Stuttgart German Masters
Two important victories for Birkhof-horses at the international tournament in the Schleyerhalle in Stuttgart. Birkhof’s Haakon by Heraldik xx (breeder: Stankus-family from Altenkrempe) won the iWest Dressage Cup, the Baden-Württemberg Indoor Championships, with Falk Stankus. The only nine-year-old stallion already shined in the show season 2009 with more advanced level victories. Another highlight was the victory in the qualifier for the Nuremberg Cup on the occasion of the tournament in Donaueschingen. Weidezaunprofi’s River of Joy by Rubicell with Michael Jung earned the second important victory with Michael Jung. They won the Indoor Eventing on late Wednesday evening in the sold out Stuttgart Schleyerhalle.
Heraldik xx heads the
World Rankings
The countless numbers of internationally successful offspring at highest level brought Heraldik xx to the top of the WBFSH-rankings for event horses.
Regional foal shows
Birkhof-breeders were again very successful at foal shows of the Baden-Württemberg horse breeders club: 42 gold foals in total descended from a Birkhof-stallion.
South German Foal Championships
Don Diamond’s offspring convinced at the South German Foal Championships in Heuchlingen. He was the first stallion to present the Champion filly and Champion colt of one crop. Champion colt became Birkhof-Champion and German Vice Champion in Lienen out of a dam by Life is Life. Hubertus Birkenmayer from Ulm presented the Champion filly. The foal out of a Lanthano-mare was Vice Champion on Birkhof.
Grafenstolz victorious in
Great Britain
Grafenstolz, successful in ***-level eventing competitions, won his first advanced level dressage test in Great Britain where he is also a very popular breed stallion.
Baden-Württemberg Champion-
ships
in Tübingen
Acordelli-offspring successfully participated at the Baden-Württemberg Championships in Tübingen. His son Acordinos out of a dam by Ladinos, licensed in South Germany, won the Vice Championship title of three-year-old stallions. Acordinos was presented by Nicola Haug who also earned a fantastic third place with Acoro (breeder: Karl-Theo Ostertag, Bad Grönenbach), also licensed in South Germany.
Köpenik, meanwhile victorious at advanced level, presented his first progeny under the saddle in the division of three-year-old mares and geldings: Kir Royal out of a dam by Rotspon was successfully presented by Elke Wächter and ranked third in the Final. The Grafenstolz/Grafenstein-son Graf G (breeder: Franz Sandmaier, Ellrichsbronn) was presented by Holger Zeiske, and they placed fourth in the Final. Dave FBW by Denaro/Rehberg, ridden by Nicole Casper, won the Black-Golden-Badge (“Schwarz-Goldenes Band”) as best six-year-old dressage horse in Baden-Württemberg, an award he had also won the preceding year, too. Nicole Casper had another great moment in Tübingen as she scored 9 with Don Diamond, the highest mark of the day, winning the title in the division of five-year-old horses.
And Birkhof celebrated another fantastic success in Tübingen, this time for the training division: Anica Eckstein-Unger, Stephanie Carras and Nicola Haug are former Birkhof- apprentices who presented two Baden-Württemberg Champions and one Vice Champion!
Franz-Strahl-Schäfer-Show
Merit is the name of the Baden-Württemberg Champion of two-year-old mares at the Franz-Strahl-Schäfer-Show in 2009. The black-brown mare, bred by Ilke Seeger (Dettingen), is out of the first crop of foals of Meraldik who presented more interesting mares at this event. A fantastic debut for the big-framed chestnut stallion who was shown for the first time at advanced level by Falk Stankus. And the duo frequently left the arena as winner. Capitol Gold by Chambertin/Calypso II (breeder: Manfred Wöllmer, Nördlingen) became Reserve Champion in the division of three-year-old mares.
Heraldik xx presents the
Trakehner Horse of the Year 2009
Every year, a horse with the most important success in individual competition tests is awarded “Trakehner Horse of the Year” on the occasion of the Trakehner Stallion Market in Neumünster. In 2009, the Heraldik xx-daughter TSF Karascada M with her rider Kai-Steffen Meier won the desired title. They won i. a. the bronze medal at the German Championships in Schenefeld.
Hoyos de Monterey by Heraldik xx
best “halfbred jumper”
Hoyos de Monterey by Heraldik xx/Cascavelle, bred by Hans Egenter, Switzerland, was awarded “Best Halfbred Jumper in 2009” on the occasion of the Holstein Sallion Licensing. He was 2001 Premium Stallion of the Holstein Stallion Licensing (under the name Heraldicus), and meanwhile, he is very successful in international show jumping sport under his owner Stein Andresen.
More internationally successful
Heraldik xx-progeny Besides the already mentioned Butts Abraxxas (Ingrid Klimke) and TSF Karascada M (Kai-Steffen Meier), the following two horses were very successful in eventing competitions at CIC*** and CIC****-level: Butts Leon (Andreas Dibowski) and Happy Times (Sam Griffiths, Australia). Apart from the already mentioned Hoyos de Monterey (Stein Andresen, Norway), the also licensed Herald, ridden by the Spanish Pilar Lucrecia Cordon Muro captivated the audience in international jumper classes, winning lots of important championships and Nations Cup events. A Heraldik xx-son was also very successful in advanced level dressage competitions in 2009: Ekwador, a licensed stallion, too. He was victorious in various Grand Prix, Grand Prix freestyle and World Cup-tests with his Polish owner.
Three stallions out of
Heraldik xx-dams licensed
The list of successful horses in breeding and sport, descending from Heraldik xx-mares, becomes longer and longer. Examples are the Luhmühlen-champion Sam and the approved Premium stallions Alassio’s Boy, Arctic and FS Delamanga. And more stallions followed in 2009: Premium stallion Contano by Coriano and Premium stallion Araldik by Askari in Brandenburg.
Alassio’s Boy in Austria
In the future, dressage Champion Alassio’s Boy will be presented by Franziska Fries, competitor at the European Junior Championships in Ermelo in 2009. The duo is trained by Alfons Friedberger from Deggendorf/Bavaria.
Grafenstolz victorious in
Great Britain
Grafenstolz, successful in ***-level eventing competitions, won his first advanced level dressage test in Great Britain where he is also a very popular breed stallion.
South German Stallion Days
in 2010
Seven offspring of Birkhof-stallions qualified for the South German Stallion Days in Munich (2 x Acordelli, 2 x Sir Alfred, 1 x Chambertin, 1 x Wolkenstern, 1 x Grafenstolz). The following four young stallions will be trained on Birkhof:
Typey and eagerly moving young stallion by Sorento/Sion/Luxus
Above-average quality of movement: young stallion by Hotline/Sandro Hit/Argentinus
First-class dressage and show jumping qualities: young stallion by Sir Alfred/Wall Street/Arthus
Sport horse with a striking talent for both disciplines: young stallion by Acordelli/Ricardo/Golfstrom xx
Sabine Gruber has been successfully preparing young Birkhof-stallions for Munich for years.
