Show Commentary of the Haflinger World Show on ... - Haflinger Tirol

<strong>Haflinger</strong> Pferde <strong>Haflinger</strong> weltausstellung 2010and since <strong>the</strong>n our stallion Wolfgang has become a success story.And when I say he is a success story, I mean that this stallion is pro<strong>of</strong>that demeanor, feeding, care and above all <strong>the</strong> aura <strong>of</strong> contentmentthat a stallion has, is what makes him what he is: a beautiful stallion.Without <strong>the</strong> proper preparation, without affection and daily work, itis rare that you will produce a champion.Wolfgang has come into his own nicely and has a wonderful group<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>fspring; many, many mares from far away are lining up for him,also because he can prove that he is successful despite being somewhatup and down with breeding. But he is really a stallion that haspushed through to success; perhaps he hasn’t always had luck withbreeding with <strong>the</strong> right mares, but when he is bred to a mare witha respectively high level <strong>of</strong> quality, he has passed quality along tohis progeny.One champion, two reserve champions, two third places and a fourthplace: from his progeny that are presented here at this world show inhis group <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>fspring.Behind <strong>the</strong>m is <strong>the</strong> stallion Stainz, ano<strong>the</strong>r stallion that fills me withmuch joy.I can still remember when <strong>the</strong> ST-line was still in its infancy with<strong>the</strong> stallion Stürmer during <strong>the</strong> time <strong>of</strong> Midas and a little before, soat some point in <strong>the</strong> 70s; this stallion was actually <strong>the</strong> first modernstallion. At that time he was much more modern than <strong>the</strong> stallionAfghan. He was <strong>the</strong> first stallion <strong>of</strong> enormous size, very well-definedwi<strong>the</strong>rs and a light neckline. He was <strong>the</strong> first stallion that was lightand fine, but this stallion unfortunately died from poisoning onlya few years after he began to stand at stud. Two stallions came incontact with poison simultaneously; was it an accident, somethingin <strong>the</strong> food, but at any rate this stallion was taken from breeding fartoo early.Once again we come back to Ötztal. The former chairman from Ötztal,ÖR Erich Scheiber will be happy to see <strong>the</strong> name Ötztal come upso <strong>of</strong>ten; not just because <strong>the</strong>re was almost only a single family (<strong>the</strong>Scheiber family) who was in <strong>the</strong> association 20 years ago, whereastoday <strong>the</strong>re are over a hundred members, but also because this regionhas become one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most successful breeding areas. This ishow Stainz came to be from Ötztal, along with <strong>the</strong> stallion Nihilist,<strong>the</strong> reserve winner, who is from <strong>the</strong> stallion station Längenfeld byReinhold Hausegger. Congratulations to this horse as well, bred byAnnemarie Rauch in Kelchsau, one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most famous breeders in<strong>the</strong> country.He is also kept at an exemplary stud farm which holds sport activitiesall year round. Riding in <strong>the</strong> summertime, and you should alsocome to Längenfeld for <strong>Haflinger</strong> Winter on January 6th so that youcan experience <strong>Haflinger</strong>s in winter sport activities.From Skijoring, single or pairs, sleighs, expert riding and horse racing,<strong>Haflinger</strong> Winter features everything that <strong>the</strong> <strong>Haflinger</strong> can doin wintertime. Right <strong>the</strong>re on <strong>the</strong> stud farm, you can see <strong>Haflinger</strong>swith <strong>the</strong>ir winter coats, and you will see that a <strong>Haflinger</strong> with fullwinter coat is just as beautiful pulling a sleigh as he is here todayin <strong>the</strong> arena.But now we are four generations down <strong>the</strong> line and we have Stainzas overall reserve champion stallion standing in front <strong>of</strong> us. Stainzis perhaps not an only sporty stallion, but he is a very harmonioushorse; very similar in his model and aura to <strong>the</strong> stallion Abendstern:a very similar closeness, harmony, close lines and lots <strong>of</strong> movement,not just sportiness, but also charm and expression. He is also sporty,however, because we’ve seen him in <strong>the</strong> show: if you had <strong>the</strong> opportunityto see him in <strong>the</strong> arena on <strong>the</strong> long reins, or observed him witha sulky, you will know that Leiter August from Niederthai has bred astallion with all-around quality that promises much for <strong>the</strong> future.180Now we return to Annemarie Rauch whom we just spoke <strong>of</strong>, becauseshe is <strong>the</strong> breeder <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> next stallion, Alphonso, winner among <strong>the</strong>four and five year old stallions. Also bred by Annemarie Rauch, heis an <strong>of</strong>fspring <strong>of</strong> Abendstern. Fa<strong>the</strong>r and son are here toge<strong>the</strong>r in<strong>the</strong> ring as champion stallions and <strong>the</strong> son demonstrates a very similarmodel to <strong>the</strong> fa<strong>the</strong>r. The young stallion perhaps doesn’t have asstrong a stallion expression yet, but he may develop in this directionand due to <strong>the</strong> extreme feeding necessary at Fohlenh<strong>of</strong> in winter, hisground color may not be as bright as usual. But you can probablyimagine: stallions that stand at stud must service 60 to 70 mares, <strong>the</strong>mares are in foal, give birth and are <strong>the</strong>n in foal again. At <strong>the</strong> sametime all <strong>the</strong> horses must do show training for 2–3 hours per day,training in various disciplines, and must be fed accordingly. Lots<strong>of</strong> protein and pellets make <strong>the</strong> horses a little darker, which is probablywhat happened with Alphonso which likely cost him a pointor two from his chances at a higher placement. But overall he is agreat stallion, frequently used in breeding with over 70 covers, fine,light, elegant, and his first year <strong>of</strong> producing <strong>of</strong>fspring has been very,very promising. Congratulations to breeder Annemarie Rauch and<strong>of</strong> course <strong>the</strong> Tyrol Association as owner <strong>of</strong> all champion stallions.