We spend a lot of time discussing and comparing the famous, popular stallions who are bred to hundreds of mares a year. But what about the stallions that, due to a variety of circumstances, haven't covered as many mares or just don't have that many offspring compete internationally at this time, but still produce great sport horses?
Let us take a look at some of these "underrated" stallions, by discussing the most successful stallions with a minimum of 5, 10 and 25 descendants active in the sport in 2021 based on the average amount of prize money won by their offspring.
Among the stallions with a minimum of five offspring active in the international sport in 2021, the descendants of Edward 28 won on average the most prize money, almost €117,000 each.
The Hanoverian stallion by Embassy I out of a mare by Fabriano had seven products compete in the international showjumping ring last year. Remarkable, as Edward 28 himself mostly competed in the dressage arena. The average amount of prize money won by Edward 28's offspring was largely influenced by outlier King Edward, who was the second highest-earning horses of 2021 under the saddle of Henrik von Eckermann. Two more of his offspring competed at 1.50m+ level: Ernie III and El Zorro 9 out of a mare by Wolkentanz I.
The offspring of the Selle Francais stallion Open Up Semilly won on average almost €91,000. By far, his most successful representative in the ring was Venard de Cerisy, out of a mare by Djalisco du Guet. Also Uno de Cerisy, out of a mare by Siego, and Urican, out of a mare by Prince Ig'Or, had a strong season in 2021.
Count Grannus' offspring won on average around €53,000, thanks to outlier Count Me In, out of a mare by Sherlock Holmes.
Check out the entire ranking here.
When we take a look at the ranking of stallions with a minimum of 10 offspring active in the international sport in 2021, we see that Contagio takes the gold, with on average almost €37,000 won by his offspring.
The Holsteiner stallion was born in 2004 to breeder Wolfgang Harjes as a son of Colman out of a mare by Lordanos. Contagio himself competed up to 1.60m level under the saddle of Gerrit Nieberg. The pair had several top five finishes in three and four-star Grand Prix and represented Germany on several occasions in five-star Nations Cups. Contagio had a total of 24 descendants active internationally in 2021 of which Coby 8, out of a mare by Escudo I, was the most successful. Under the saddle of Philipp Weishaupt, Coby 8 took the win in the World Cup competition of Riyadh late last year. Also McLain Ward's ride, Contagious, out of a mare by For Keeps, had a fruitful year in 2021, just like Catch Me Imperio Egipcio did under Francisco José Mesquita Musa.
Dulf van den Bisschop's offspring won on average almost €34,000 each in 2021. Both Jasco vd Bisschop and Harley vd Bisschop represented Ireland at the European Championships in Riesenbeck last year.
The descendants of Carabas vd Wateringhoeve won a little over €29,000 each. Idalville d'Esprit, Indus van het Keysereyk and Kielekoo van T&L were his best representatives.
Check out the entire ranking here.
Finally, among the stallions with a minimum of 25 offspring competing internationally in 2021, it is Cooper van de Heffinck who leads the way.
Born in 2004 to breeder Hinnerk Clausen, Cooper van de Heffinck is a son of Caretino out of a mare by Landlord. Cooper van de Heffinck himself competed up to 1.60m level, with several successes at two and three-star level under Olivier Philippaerts and Vincent Lambrecht. A total of 38 Cooper van de Heffick-offspring competed internationally in 2021, where they won on average around €28,000 each. His most successful product last year was Hello Jefferson, out of a mare by Irco Mena, who won the five-star Grand Prix of Valkenswaard and Stockholm under Scott Brash. Igor van de Wittemoere, out of a mare by Orlando, and Kriskras DV out of a mare by Kashmir van Schuttershof were also active at the highest level.
Cartani 4's offspring won on average around €22,000, mostly thanks to outlier VDL Cartello, while Bustique's offspring won an average of around €19,000 with outlier Beauville Z.
Check out the entire ranking here.
