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Does the apple fall far from the tree? Chacco-Blue and some of his offspring

Wednesday, 20 February 2019
Does the apple fall far from the tree

Chacco-Blue

Photo (c) Jenny Abrahamsson Chacco-Blue with Andreas Kreuzer in the saddle in Aachen back in 2011. Photo (c) Jenny Abrahamsson.

The late Chacco-Blue has for two consecutive years topped the prestigious Rolex WBFSH Showjumping Sire Ranking. His offspring are present in Grand Prix classes all over the world, and in 2018 it was Explosion W, Chacna and Chacclana that were ranked as his three top ambassadors.

Chacco-Blue was successful with Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst until 2010, before Andreas Kreuzer took over the reins while working for Paul Schockemöhle. Together, Chacco-Blue and Kreuzer finished 3rd in the Grand Prix of Aachen in 2011 and won the CSI3* Grand Prix of Neumünster the year after. Unfortunately, Chacco-Blue passed away in 2014 but his legacy lives on through his many daughters and sons that jump at the very top level of the sport. 

World of Showjumping spoke to Kreuzer about Chacco-Blue, his qualities as well as his many successful offspring:

“Chacco-Blue is one of the nicest horses I met throughout my career, he simply had a really good character. He was gentle and smart, more like a human than a horse in many ways. At home, he was easy and quiet – he never acted as a stallion can. You could only like him really, he was just lovely. 

Although Chacco-Blue might be described as a bit casual at home, he was everything else in the ring. And the more atmosphere it was, and the bigger the ring – the more he grew. You have two kind of horses, those who grow with the occasion and those who tend to get a lot smaller. Chacco-Blue was definitely in the first category. When you came in the ring, he grew five centimetres. It felt like you pushed a button and he was on. Everything was there then. His mentality was fantastic, and it made him really special. Not many horses have that, it was something unique to feel.

Chacco-Blue had a great technique in front. No matter what, he would always manage to mind himself with his front legs. He was always very clever as well, even when you came really fast to the jump he would adjust and give himself space – on his own. He was also very, very quick in front – no matter what. Due to his fantastic front technique, he never struggled – everything was so easy for him. He had lots of scope as well, and did everything effortlessly. 

I have seen many Chacco-Blue offspring over the years. Small, big, beautiful, not so beautiful – they all have one thing in common and that is the mentality. This they have inherited from their father. They all seem to have an incredible attitude and willingness to clear the jumps. The one challenge with them can be to make them use their energy in the right way, but if they are produced correctly this turns into an advantage. The Chacco-Blue offspring I have ridden have all been brave, lions in the ring – just like their father. Sometimes, I would perhaps doubt some of them a bit at home but once you got them to the show they gave everything. 

Chacco-Blue has worked well with any kind of mare pairing, that I think has been proved already. However, my personal opinion is that he works really well with mares that have blood and perhaps are a little bit special. If you for example have the blood of Baloubet du Rouet or Balou du Rouet on the mother side, it tends to work out very well. Then you have that special energy on the one side, and his incredible mentality combined with quality on both sides. Ben Maher’s Explosion W is a good example of this combination, he was outstanding last year!”

Explosion W

Photo (c) Jenny Abrahamsson "Everything about him I like," Ben Maher says of Explosion W. Photo (c) Jenny Abrahamsson.

In 2018, Explosion W was Chacco-Blue's highest ranked offspring on the Rolex WBFSH Showjumping Sire Ranking. With Ben Maher in the saddle, the now 10-year old KWPN gelding – that has Baloubet du Rouet on the mother side and is bred by Willy and Bets Wijnen – won the CSI5* LGCT Grand Prix of Madrid, Rome and Doha, came second in the CSI5* LGCT Grand Prix of Shanghai, finished fourth in the CSI5* LGCT Grand Prix of Paris and London, fifth in the CSI5* LGCT Grand Prix of Chantilly as well as taking other big LGCT wins in Shanghai and Paris. WoSJ spoke with Ben Maher about this extremely talented horse, and what makes him such a winner. 

“We have had Explosion since early on in his 7th year. He was always a very friendly horse with a great character. In some ways he is a little bit shy though. Still to this day, he is difficult to get on, I can’t change my jacket when I am on him, he can’t have a rug when I’m on him because he always gets anxious and he runs away – so he is a very sensitive horse and he has not changed the older he got. At the same time, he is very brave. When he comes to the jump, he really enjoys what he does. I think the reason he is so good is because he has such an incredible attitude to his every-day life.

Explosion is obviously talented, he has scope, he is very athletic in the way he does it – but his greatest strength is his brain. He believes that he can do anything, and I think as a rider you look for a horse that believes that they are really that good. 

He is the first Chacco-Blue I had. A few of the German riders have said that he is not a typical Chacco-Blue style, but I would not really know much about that – everything about him I like. His blood and his sharpness, I think is from his Baloubet du Rouet mother side.

The amazing season we had last year was just by luck. Like I said, we had him since he was seven and I sat on him a few times back then. However, I never went back on him until my first show with him which was in Shanghai. So, I had not ridden him since he was seven until he turned up straight in Shanghai – he was with our stable rider until then. So, it was totally unexpected – even though he had jumped some bigger classes it was a bit of a risk but straightaway he was second in the Grand Prix in Shanghai. From that moment on, my whole world changed and I was able to rely on him throughout the season which was not an expectation we had. 

I have been lucky to ride many good horses, Tripple X, Cella, Eurico, but I don’t think I will ever ride a horse – a 9-year-old – that could do what he did in his first season. I just hope he has a long career. I think our sport does not really have one or two horses that really stand out right now – like with Shutterfly or Hickstead did – and I really believe that he has the potential to become one of these horses. And I hope I can help him along the way.”

VDL Groep Miss Untouchable

Photo (c) Jenny Abrahamsson VDL Groep Miss Untouchable with Leopold van Asten in the saddle. "She always wants to do good and be clear," van Asten says. Photo (c) Jenny Abrahamsson.

VDL Groep Miss Untouchable is a 12-year-old Oldenburger mare bred by Manuela Lachnit, out of the Aldatus-mare Lindauway. During the last three years, she has won several five-star classes and is a regular on the podium with Leopold van Asten. We spoke with the Dutch rider about this super competetive mare: 

“Miss has an unbelievable mentality. When she is in the ring she always wants to do good and be clear. She is extremely careful and fast, a very complete and lovely horse.

As an 8-year-old, she was still quite green and had only jumped 1.30m classes at the beginning of the season so back then she was a bit behind. However, she caught up quickly and at the end of the summer season she jumped at the European Championships for Young Riders to finish 5th individually with Ireland’s Michael Duffy. What has helped her to catch up quickly with others in her age group is that she is eager to learn and picks up on new things fast. 

If there has been one challenge with her, it must be that she was pretty hot when she arrived. On top of that energy, she wanted to do too good – going too high on the jumps. I had to work a lot on getting her relaxed, making her do it more simple rather than extreme. 

By now she is one of the best and most consistent horses in our stable, having won big classes in Brussels, Oslo and Paris. At the highest Grand Prix level she still needs a bit more experience though. 

I also have another very good Chacco-Blue mare, an 8-year-old called VDL Groep Chaccola. She is out of a Lawito-mare bred at Gestüt Lewitz. She looks pretty much the same as Miss, but is less extreme than Miss used to be and a bit easier. Similar to Miss, she is a very quick learner and nice to work with. I hope she will be one of my Grand Prix horses in the future, she has a good record of clear rounds until now and is a very good jumper.”

Chacco’s Son

Photo (c) Jenny Abrahamsson Chacco’s Son and Maurice Tebbel. "I think Chacco’s Son got his ambition from his dad," Tebbel tells. Photo (c) Jenny Abrahamsson.

Chacco’s Son is a 12-year-old Westphalia stallion out of the mare Lancley by Falkenhof’s Lancer, bred by Wilhelm Schwenker. Since an 8-year-old, Chacco’s Son has been a regular on the German teams with his rider Maurice Tebbel jumping at the European Championships for Young Riders in 2015, and the European Championships for Seniors in 2017 in addition to several Nations Cup teams.

Here Maurice Tebbel tells about Chacco’s Son, and what the stallion has inherited from his famous father: 

“Chacco’s Son is two totally different horses: One at a show, and one at home. 

At shows he is not impressed by anything, and it doesn’t matter what ring we are in – the bigger the better. At shows he also likes to show everyone that he is a stallion and that he is there. Then we need to be a bit careful, even though he never did anything stupid – he really only shows off.

At home on the other hand he is very spooky, afraid of everything and is behaving more like a gelding than like a stallion.

We bought him as a foal, and I started him up as a 4-year-old. He was spooky already back then. We didn’t even want to take him to shows, because we couldn’t get around an easy course at home. But when we did take him to his first show, he won straight away. I have no idea why he is so different in the ring, but I’m very happy it is that way around.

When Chacco’s Son was five and six years old we couldn’t see that he had so much quality. He was always very careful, but we thought he was a 1.40m horse, maybe 1.45m. At that time, we could never have guessed he would compete in Aachen. 

Then as a 7- and 8-year-old he got to do some bigger classes and started going against the clock. That was really good for him. He got a better manner over the fences and he really grew with the task.

When Chacco’s Son was eight my best horse was sold four weeks ahead of the Europeans, so he got to do some bigger classes and qualified for the team. There he was double clear for the team and we ended with the silver medal. The same year we won the German Championship for Young Riders. As a 9-year-old he competed in Aachen and was second in the Prize of Nordrhein-Westfahlen. He also did his first senior Nations Cup that year, when the German team won in Lummen. At that time he really proved he had way more quality that we could have guessed when he was young. 

If I compare him with his father Chacco-Blue, I think both of them have a lot of jumping capacity and none of them is or was impressed of anything at shows. And I think Chacco’s Son got his ambition from his dad. A lot of Chacco-Blue offspring can jump really well and some are very special. But most of the best horses are special in one way or another. 

Chacco’s Son is not breeding anymore, but his full brother Chacco’s Son II is a breeding stallion at our place.”

Chaqui Z

Photo (c) Jenny Abrahamsson A lot like his dad: Chaqui Z, here with Shane Sweetnam in the saddle. Photo (c) Jenny Abrahamsson.

The now 13-year-old stallion Chaqui Z helped Ireland to team gold at the European Championships in 2017 with Shane Sweetnam in the saddle after jumping three clear rounds in a row in Gothenburg. He won the CSIO4* Grand Prix and Nations Cup in Wellington back in 2017 as well as the CSI4* Grand Prix at the CP National Horse Show in 2016. 

American-owned, Irish-ridden, Zangersheide-registered – but it all started in De Lutte, in the northern part of Holland. Born at the Morsink-family’s stables in May 2006, Chaqui Z was something special right from the beginning. A son of Chacco-Blue and the grand-son of Gerben Morsink’s mare Calina Z, Chaqui Z was anything from an ordinary foal.

As a 4-year-old, he was the best in his age group from the beginning. “We had three other horses at his age, and they were all good – but Chaqui was special,” Gerben Morsink told WoSJ in our series 'From youngster to international Grand Prix horse'. “He had to learn, but you could feel jumping a 1.10 course that he knew what he was doing. It was always a pleasure to ride him; he was balanced, pulled you to the jump, was quick in front even if you came fast and was in general a really nice horse to have in the ring. And of course, he was careful and scopey. I guess he got the best from both his parents, but the balance and canter he definitely got from Chacco-Blue.”

Chacclana

 

The 10-year-old Oldenburger mare had a fantastic 2018. With Poland's Jarosław Skrzyczyński in the saddle, she won the CSI4* World Cup of Poznan, the CSI4* Grand Prix of Samorin, the CSI3* Grand Prix World Cup of Warsaw, the CSI3* Grand Prix of Jakubowize, the CSI2* World Cup of Lezno, the CSI2* World Cup of Pezinok, the CSI2* Grand Prix of Michalowice as well as many other classes. 

Chacclana is bred by Gestüt Lewitz, and is out of the mare Ramilana by Capilano. 

Crazy Quick

Jarosław Skrzyczyński was also the one who brough Crazy Quick up to the highest level. Crazy Quick and Skrzyczyński took part at the World Equestrian Games in Caen in 2014, the European Championships in Aachen in 2015 and at the World Cup Finals in Gothenburg in 2016 as well as winning numerous classes together. In 2017, Crazy Quick was sold to Abdullah Al Sharbatly who also recorded many big wins with the gelding that unfortunately passed away at the beginning of 2018.

Out of the mare Doxanna by Quick Star, Crazy Quick was also bred by Gestüt Lewitz. 

Chacco Kid

 

Chacco Kid was a part of the 2018 Canadian team at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon. The 13-year-old Oldenburger gelding has won countless of major classes, in Aachen, Rome, London, Wellington and Spruce Meadows – all with Canada’s Eric Lamaze in the saddle.

Chacco Kid is out of the mare Solara, by Come On and bred by Gestüt Lewitz. 

Chacanno

 

 

With Sweden's Henrik von Eckermann in the saddle, the now 12-year-old Chacanno had huge success winning classes in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, La Baule, Madrid, Rotterdam and Sharjah. The two also picked up podium placings in Geneva, Madrid and at Spruce Meadows. 

Out of the mare Siljanna by Kannan, Chacanno is another Chacco-Blue offspring bred by Gestüt Lewitz. 

 

Blue Movie

 

With Australia's Rowan Willis in the saddle, Blue Movie impressed everybody at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon last year. Blue Movie won the CSIO5* Grand Prix of Ocala in 2018, and the CSI3*-W Grand Prix of Bratislava as well as the CSI4* Grand Prix of Samorin in 2017 – all with Rowan Willis. 

This 13-year-old AES mare is British bred by Sue Welch, and out of Nick Skelton’s former top mare Showtime by Pilot.

Chalou

 

 

Bred by Gestüt Lewitz, this 10-year-old gelding out of Gremlina by Baloubet du Rouet has a very peculiar style when jumping. Ridden by Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano, the chestnut gelding has recorded several top Grand Prix results and recently finished second in the CSI5* World Cup in A Coruña. 

Chacna

 

Chacna is like many, many other Chacco-Blue offspring bred by Gestüt Lewitz. The 12-year-old Hannoveraner mare is out of Karewa by Narew XX. 

With Enrique Gonzalez in the saddle, Chacna has had huge success jumping to victory in last year's CSI4* Grand Prix in Samorin, as well as taking the runner-up spots in CSI5* Grand Prix classes at Spruce Meadows and Coapexpan. The two also represented Mexico at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon in 2018. 

Chadino

The 14-year-old stallion Chadino has had much success with France's Simon Delestre in the saddle, winning five-star classes in Bordeaux, Leipzig, Paris and Waregem as well as recording several top five results in major Grand Prix classes around the world. Before Delestre took over the reins, Chadino was seen under Ferenc Szentirmai who competed him at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Caen for Team Ukraine. 

Chadino is also bred by Gestüt Lewitz, and is just like Chacna out of the mare Karewa by Narew XX. 

Tailormade Chaloubet

Tailormade Chaloubet has jumped at two European Championships with Denmark's Sören Pederen in the saddle, and won the CSI3* Grand Prix of Spangenberg in 2018. The pair have many international wins to look back at, such as in Herning, Herlufmagle, Kronenberg, Lier, München, Neumünster and Sommerstedt. 

The 14-year-old Oldenburg stallion is out of the mare Baloupetra by Baloubet du Rouet, and is bred by Gestüt Lewitz. Baloupetra is also the mother of Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Markus Beerbaum's Comanche 28 by Coupe de Coeur.

Calisto Blue

 

 

Calisto Blue can be seen under Germany's Daniel Deusser, who rode the 12-year-old Oldenburger gelding to victory in last year's CSI5* Longines FEI World Cup of Verona as well as in the CSI5* 1.55m Trophée de Genève at CHI Geneva.

Calisto Blue is also bred by Gestüt Lewitz, out of the mare Fontara by Con Air. 

Chacco Blue II

 

Chacco Blue II competed at last year's World Equestrian Games in Tryon with Szabolcs Krucso in the saddle. The pair has several top results all the way up to 1.60m Grand Prix and World Cup level. 

Chacco Blue II is also bred by Gestüt Lewitz, and the 12-year-old Oldenburg stallion is out of the mare Naiti Rouge by Cincaba Rouge.

Chacommo

 

 

Chaccomo jumped at the European Championships in Aachen in 2015 for Turkey, ridden by Cagri Basel. In 2016, Luiz Felipe De Azevedo took over the reins competing Chaccomo up to five-star level.

The 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding is out of the mare Courage by Contender.

 


Text © World of Showjumping

Photos © World of Showjumping by Jenny Abrahamsson 

No reproduction without permission, copyright © World of Showjumping



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