Gribaldi by Arnd Bronkhorst

From the just released “The Making of the Modern Warmblood – From Gotthard to Gribaldi” a 662 page book featuring 144 stallions, major studbooks profiled, and beautiful photos and interviews with key players in the industry. A must have for students of the Warmblood Breed. A limited amount of books are now being offered on shophorsesdaily.com

Gribaldi – Born 1993 Died February 2010Height 172cm Breeder Marika Werner, Mittenaar

Gribaldi by Arnd Bronkhorst

Gribaldi is out of a mare by Ibikus, a successful sire in Germany and then in Denmark – and has another cross of the same stallion on his sire’s dam line. Ibikus – like Kostolany (by Enrico Caruso) stood at the Stud of Otto Landgels, and he rode the stallion to the title Champion Riding Horse in Wiesbaden and Hamburg. Dutch stallion owners Mr. De Jong and Joop van Uytert purchased Gribaldi after he had been proclaimed champion of the 1995 Trakehner Licensing in Neumunster. Standing in Holland, Gribaldi was approved by the KWPN, Oldenburg and Danish Warmblood society. He benefitted from a massive and glossy advertising and publicity campaign – although his progeny were also doing a pretty good job in promoting him at the same time with many of them starring in young horse classes. Gribaldi was also doing his bit, competing at grand prix Level with Edward Gal with considerable success. The combination won the Zwolle International Stallion Show Kur with 73.70 and the Kur at the CHIO Rotterdam.

Gribaldi was proclaimed Elite Stallion by the Trakehner society in 3003 and in 2005, based on the performance of his 6 and 7 year-old offspring, the KWPN decided to proclaim Gribaldi a ‘Keur’ Stallion. In order to become a KWPN Keir stallion, a sire has to have a sport index of more than 140 points with a reliability of 75%, and has to be passing superior conformation on to the offspring.At the time of his death in 2010 (due to a ruptured aorta) there were 707 KWPN registered Gribaldi mares, over 300 of which had received ‘star’ predicate.

Edward Gal and Totilas

He sired Grand Prix horses and Dutch A-team horses Totilas, Sisther de Jeu and Painted Black. He produced 16 licensed sons including: Anky vs. Grunsven’s Painted Black (Ferro), 2004 VSN Trophy winner Game Boy (Pion), Hofrat (Guter Planet) Distelzar (Arogo) and the record selling Trakehner at the Medingen Auction, Hoftanzer (Guter Planet), Rheinklang (TCN Partout), Galando (Ulft) , the Danish Stallion , Zardin-Firfod (Schwadroneur), the Belgian owned and French Licensed Rosenpronz D (Rosenkavalier) and Paulousa Convenace (Texas Jack).As Jan Toines points out, in Germany it is his grand-son, Hotline that generated great excitement: “Gribaldi’s best offspring in Germany is Hofrat, runner up at the 2000 grading and sire of the 2005 Hanoverian champion stallion Hotline (out of a DeNiro Dam). The gorgeous dark bay, Hotline, is from a different kind. His movements are outstanding, his willingness to work unbelievable. When Paul Schockemohle and Danish premier stud Blue Hors decided to join and bid €800,000 for Hotline, Germany’s horse world was turned upside down. 800,000 Euros – unbelievable! The following February, Hotline was shown the first time under saddle. Even experienced breeders couldn’t believe their eyes. Totally relaxed with maximum activity from behind, the Hanoverian champion took his laps. The people in the stands were so thrilled that they forgot to applaud! Of course the Trakehners are also proud of Hotline because they always see improvement of Warmblood breeds as part of their breeding philosophy. And if Paul Schockemohle who never made it a secret out of his general distaste for Trakhener horses buys such a horse, then the Trakheners must have changed.”

Edward Gal and Totilas

In Holland it is Totilas who has astonished the dressage world with a series of record scores at Grand Prix level in the world’s top dressage championships with Edward gal in the saddle. Up until his victory at the European Dressage Championships, Totilas had not been used for breeding, but in response to world wide demand, it was decided to release his semen onto the world market. According to Edward, his time in the collecting shed has not affected his attitude, at the KWPN stallion show in February he told me: “Totilas has now been covering for one and a half months, and I haven’t noticed any change with him, no change – so that is good.”Please note, this section in the book ‘The Making of the Modern Warmblood – From Gotthard to Gribaldi’ was published prior to the World Record win of Totilas at the Alltech/FEI World Equestrian Games, Kentucky 2010, and the subsequent announcement of the purchase of Totilas by Paul Schockemohle MPHMare owners have been invited to apply for the right to breed to the stallion, with the 500 best to be chosen. It is the kind of situation where any stallion would have to produce at least some very special foals, just on the basis of the good mares he covered, but Totilas has an interesting – if not classically dressage – blood to offer. Like his sensational teammate Parzival, he carries the blood of two Dutch stalwarts, Armor and Nimmerdor. Totilas is out of a mare by the Nimmerdor son, Glendale who was in turn out of a mare by the Amor son, Akteur.Q: Chris Hector – I asked Edward if he found the father (Gribaldi) in the son (Totilas)A: Edward Gal – “A lot, not only in his appearance but also in his ability for collecting, for piaffe and passage, and the pirouettes – Gribaldi had it too.”Q: Chris Hector – Totilas seems so strong – every time you see footage of him doing the canter pirouettes at Windsor, it seems so perfect, so effortless for him.A: Edward Gal – “You just say, now pirouette and turn and he starts doing it and it’s so easy with him. Most of the things are easy with him. In the arena, when there is a lot happening, at the prize giving, you can let him walk normal and he just stands there, and when you want him to do something, he immediately reacts, and that is good.”At the 2010 KWPN Stallion show, the official retirement of Gribaldi from competition was made at a moving ceremony that featured his grand Prix sons, painted Black and Totilas, and a final farewell Kur with Edward. A day later, he was loaded on the truck, headed for Paul Schockemohle’s stallion show. He was to stay for a whole at the PSI barn before returning to Holland. Alas that was not to be, within a week the stallion was dead from a tear in his heart.In this case we can safely say that he has sons to carry his line.

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