| The 2009 Baileys Horse
Feeds/British Equestrian Federation (BEF) Futurity
Evaluations have witnessed a high quality entry
of young stock 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.
The BEF Sire and Dam Rankings are created from
the Evaluation results data and provide an invaluable
insight, enabling breeders to see which stallions
have proved popular with successful progeny and
which dams are consistently producing high scoring
offspring. |
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The international dressage stallion,
Fidertanz, by the Westfalen stallion Fidermark
and out of a Ravallo mare heads the BEF Sire rankings
in 2009 across 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,
was the highest scoring dressage foal and equal
highest score in the dressage section for owner
and breeder Jayne Willis of Mousley End, Warwickshire.
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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.
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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.
The top Sports Pony Stallion is FS Don't
Worry, one of Germany's most outstanding
pony stallions, with 4 progeny scores included and
an average top 3 score of 8.86. He was reserve champion
of the riding pony keuring in Aachen in 1998, the
same year he won the NRW riding pony Championship
for the first time, and which he repeated in 1999.
Don't Worry won the Bundeschampionat for riding ponies
in 1998 and 1999, receiving six perfect 10's. FS Don’t
Worry is the sire of Rosewater Danny Boy, who scored
8.86 and Rosewater Mr Darcy, who scored 8.71, both
earning a First Premium for owner and breeder, Sarah
Eberle of Rosewater Sports Ponies near Stockbridge
in Hampshire.
BEF’s Head of Equine Development, Jan Rogers,
is 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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