Venard de Cerisy, winner of this year's Rolex Grand Slam in Calgary, has enabled his breeder Laurent Vincent and his daughter Gabrielle to top the Hippomundo ranking of the best French breeders based on prize money won by their breeding products. Hippomundo had the chance to meet Laurent Vincent to tell us the story of this extraordinary horse.
When we contacted Laurent Vincent to ask him to do an interview on Venard, he replied with great warmth: "Oh, you'll laugh, because Venard's story is really quite unusual"!
Son of farmers, Laurent Vincent cared for the cows on his parents' farm and the small horse stud. Brother of Emmanuel, a professional rider, he himself has ridden the breeding products from the stud as well as horses for owners at the young horse shows. Passionate about breeding, he took up his parents' passion and wanted to set up his own breeding operation using the mares he had ridden himself and the mares he was able to get from his friend Jules Mesnildrey (breeder of Le Tot de Semilly and Diamant de Semilly).
How was Venard de Cerisy born?
"I bought Kaline de Cavilly, Venard's grandmother, as a three year old and rode her until she was five years old. In that year she suffered a tendon injury and could no longer be ridden. I put her in foal to different stallions like Djalisco du Guet. That's how Rosée (de Cerisy), the dam of Venard de Cerisy, was born. She had a hock accident at 3 years old and I used her as an carrier mare. In 2008, I still had straws left from Open Up Semilly whose dam I was a fan of. Rosée was not pregnant at the time, so I decided to breed her to this stallion who matched her well.
Laurent Vincent on Lorette de Cerisy
Difficult first years!
"Venard was born in June-July. He was ugly and had nothing going for him. His mother was wild and so was he. I left them for six months without really looking at them until he was weaned. His character was really strong, he became almost unmanageable. He had to be completely sedated to be castrated, because he was throwing himself into the walls, which I had never seen happen before! I raised him until he was 3 years old and we took special care of him. When we broke him in, he was a monster!
I wanted to send him to the Nash sales but he was refused because he wasn't good-looking enough. I was well aware that he was not beautiful, but he was already jumping well. So I continued to work on him but it was hard work because he was really difficult and could become unmanageable when he was afraid of something. I didn't know what to do with him because I had broken my leg 2 years earlier and quit riding. One of my good clients came to my yard and took Venard for his son, an amateur rider.
I entrusted him with the horse for a year and a half. One day, this customer called me back to tell me that the horse was good but way too complicated for an amateur. So I went to pick him up. I could see that we would never manage to sell him. I offered him to 2-3 riders in the Normandy region at the end of his five-year-old year, everyone laughed at me and nobody wanted him. I was aware that he was difficult but he jumped and was very careful. I told them that in the future it could make a difference but they didn't want to know.
I finally found a solution by sending him to a rider in Toulouse. A month later, she made me an offer to buy him for €5,000. I accepted it because I was getting tired of the situation.
Venard did very few competitions until he was 7 years old. How did he show himself?
"Indeed, he did very few shows and I even think that he never jumped a clear round until he was 6 years old! During his 7th year, I met Axel Van Colen (French professional rider) at the show who approached me and said "I have a horse that comes from you! He has never jumped on the circuit before, but he's catching up in the seven-year-old classes. He's not easy but he's a hell of a horse! His name? Venard de Cerisy!" That's how I found him and I was happy that a rider saw the potential in him that I did. I went to see him at the French seven-year-old championships in Fontainebleau where he finished 13th. Axel then sold him to Steve Guerdat who took him to the highest level. His victory in the Calgary GP showed everyone that I had not made a mistake with this horse but it took time!
MH Blanchet - Steve Guerdat & Venard de Cerisy
During an interview after the Calgary Grand Prix, Steve Guerdat said that Venard had an exceptional mind, is this true?
"I have always said that this horse could jump anything, but his mind could take him either way. Even Steve Guerdat admitted to me that he still lunged him every day before riding. And whenever he feels that the horse might throw him off, he still dismounts!"
He's an unexpected ambassador for your breeding, isn't he?
"Yes, it amuses me when people come to congratulate me on my horse. I'm delighted of course. For this one, I had a real stroke of luck because it is the foal I had taken care of the least! He was lucky to fall into good homes with people that took the time with him because given his character he could have ended badly. With experience now, I am particularly careful with the professionals who will manage the horses especially in their young years. They can be burnt out very quickly and horses like Venard can miss out on their career because of that."
Speaking of your current horses, do you have any other horses from this line like Uno de Cerisy?
" Uno de Cerisy is indeed from the same line. It is the cross of Venard's grandmother, Kaline de Cavilly, with Open Up Semilly again. It's almost the same cross but they are two completely different horses. I loved him from the age of 2. Uno de Cerisy has always had a good character, easy to ride and very classic in his jumping. He has had a few health problems but he is regularly ranked in CSI5* (under the saddle of Edward Lévy). Venard has always had more resources than Uno but he was less practical! Concerning the mother line, I didn't keep any horses from this line. I separated from Kaline and Rosée a few years after the birth of Venard and Uno.
MH Blanchet - Uno de Cerisy & Edward Levy
Speaking of breeding, what criteria do you use to choose your stallions?
"I must say, I am very Selle Français oriented. I still have pure Selle Français mares and I try to keep it that way, even if it is becoming more and more complicated. I try to cross my mares according to their qualities of course but I try to favour blood and respect without forgetting strength. Horses need more and more blood these days, but if we neglect strength, they can't jump the biggest courses at the highest level. The choice of stallions is always difficult, as I think is is for every breeder! It changes 20 times before the final result. Among the stallions I use, I like Chrome d'Ivraie and Cyann d'Ivraie. This year, having the mares of Mr Berthol (the owner of Ryan des Hayettes), I will use his stallion Black Ceira DK Z.
Today, how many broodmares do you have at the stud?
"I have 30 mares at the stud, including 13 broodmares that I own. We currently have 100 hectares and we are in the process of buying 20 hectares more so that my daughter Gabrielle (Venard's co-breeder) can set up and join forces with me to take over the breeding. At 20, she is really passionate about breeding. Moreover, following Venard's progress on TV was a real revelation for her. I'm very proud of her and I'm really pleased!
Gabrielle et Laurent Vincent, breeders of Venard
Venard de Cerisy, this exceptional horse with an atypical background, has made the Cerisy stud known throughout the world and has given allowed Gabrielle to continue the breeding programme created by her father... a sign of destiny perhaps!
