Imported sires show worth

Jutta Rosenblatt puts Remi Lion King through his paces for the German inspector.

Whanganui horse breeders Berny Maubach and Jutta Rosenblatt have added to their stallion arsenal after a visit by a German breed inspector.

Established in 1982 on the outskirts of Whanganui in Kaikokopu Rd, Brunswick, Vollrath Stud has always been about breeding top-quality riding horses.

After years of carefully selecting broodmares and mating them with their own imported German bred sires, husband and wife team have built a formidable base of quality stock and are a respected and well-known force in the industry.

Quality control of warmblood horses within New Zealand is provided by the New Zealand Warmblood Association, who also run the studbook.

All New Zealand warmbloods can be registered with the society on a base that the animals are DNA-verified and also assessed by an independent inspector from Europe.

Yearly classification tours are held in autumn and breeders have the opportunity to have their mares and young stock inspected as well as presenting stallions for registration with the Warmblood Association.

This year's classification was headed by the highly qualified German breed inspector Matthias Alexander Werner, who toured both islands for two weeks, assessing horses under strict parameters.

While mares and young stock are simply presented in-hand, standing and moving at the walk and trot, the stallions also have to be shown running free and jumping through a lane of three jumps with the last jump an oxer of 1.10m.

Vollrath Stud presented the two young Hanoverian stallions, Gershwin and Remi Lion King, who both passed the test with flying colours.

Vollrath Gershwin is an attractive black stallion with four white socks, showing great athleticism and scope over the jumps.

"Jutta fell in love with him on a visit to Germany in 2010 when he was three months old and bought him on the spot," Berny said.

Now rising seven, Gershwin has already got progeny on the ground who are impressing with their father's power and athleticism and his wonderful nature, all of them black.

Remi Lion King, a tall and extremely handsome chestnut with flaxen mane and tail, was imported by Berny and Jutta as a two-year-old from Australia in 2013.

He is by the prolific sire Laurie's As out of Waltzing Matilda, a successful fusion of imported German Hanoverian and New Zealand thoroughbred blood.

Remi Lion King excels in dressage and stamps his progeny with his good looks and talent for the dressage arena.

Matthias Werner was very complimentary about the stallions and their offspring, commenting that he was taken by the quality of horses shown.

Gershwin and Remi Lion King join Vollrath Stud's Lessing, the multi-winning New Zealand dressage champion and sire of countless successful New Zealand competition horses, in the warmblood register.

All three sires are now officially approved with the New Zealand Warmblood Association which means offspring are eligible to be branded with the New Zealand brand. With three top quality sires in their paddocks, the future looks rosy.