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“Point Break is such a special horse for us. He has really lived up to our expectations every step of the way,” Anders Lagergréen of Nya Äppelvikens Ridskola – who bred and produced Point Break (Action-Breaker x Balou du Rouet) until the stallion was six – tells World of Showjumping. “I feel such gratitude towards Point Break. For sure I feel grateful for every horse we have in our lives, but Point Break has been an absolute dream horse.”

“Having produced a talented horse is one thing, but to be able to produce a horse in the best way possible is the key to it going all the way,” Lagergréen explains about the importance of a talented horse like Point Break ending in the right hands. “Ben has done an excellent job with Point Break,” Lagergréen says of how Maher has brought the stallion up the levels.

Pamela Wright and Charlotte Rossetter acquired the now 10-year-old SWB stallion for Ben Maher when the stallion was six and the British rider has taken him from the youngster classes up to five-star level. In March this year the two won the CSIO4* 1.60m Grand Prix in Wellington (USA). They then followed up with a clear round in the Longines League of Nations in Ocala (USA), and with a double clear in the Longines League of Nations in Rotterdam (NED). At the beginning of August, Maher and Point Break were nominated for the British team to travel to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. However, with his views set post-Paris, Maher made a last-minute decision to leave Point Break at home.

“I want to protect him as best I can, because he is very, very careful and I'm looking forward to a big future with him,” Maher said about his decision – and his patience was rewarded at the 30th edition of Longines Equita Lyon, where the impressive stallion topped Saturday night’s CSI5* 1.60m Equita Masters presented by Hermès Sellier as the only double clear.

While Lagergreen bred and produced Point Break himself, the story actually begins with the grandmother Lambretta. “We bought Lambretta as a yearling from our hay farmer,” Lagergréen – who runs a riding school in Stockholm, Sweden – explains. “She was a very nice horse and we covered her as a three-year-old. She had a filly, Beretta – the mother of Point Break – and when Beretta was three, we wanted to cover her as well.”

“I always liked the stallion Action-Breaker,” Lagergréen tells about the choice of sire. “To start with, I always liked Heartbreaker and then Action-Breaker came on the scene with Sergio Alvarez Moya. I saw Action-Breaker live in Aachen and I was impressed with his way of jumping; the technique, the scope – and he also had a powerful body. Therefore, we decided to use him for Beretta.”

And then there was Point Break… “Point Break was a really nice, athletic and good-looking colt,” Lagergréen recalls. “He has sort of been such a nice horse all the way, a really special one. He won the Swedish stallion test when he was four, he was the Champion Stallion, and at five, he was the best Swedish horse in Lanaken at the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses where he jumped clear throughout the competition and placed seventh in the final. Then came Covid, and at the end of his sixth year we sold him to Ben.”

“When I rode him as a youngster, he was a very sensitive and reactive horse – and at times very fresh,” Lagergréen continues. “But even though he had a lot of energy, he was not unpredictable. I think you can still see it; he can buck, he can play, and he did a lot more of that when he was younger. He was also very smart, you could trust him, and he was always a very kind horse.”

Following Point Break go from strength to strength with the 2021 Olympic Champion Maher has been a dream come true for Lagergréen. “I believed in him, but with horses, you never know. It's fantastic to see Point Break now, performing at the world stage. It is a dream come true for any breeder – and we are not big breeders. We do this as a hobby because breeding is our passion. At the moment, we only have one breeding mare. There are many bigger and more experienced breeders, and we are just really grateful to have had a horse like Point Break in our lives. I'm well aware of the fact that only very few horses reach the highest level!”

For Ben Maher, it was love at first sight with Point Break. “A few years ago, we were looking for a younger horse and I saw a video of Point Break,” Maher explains. “I was told that he was one of the best young horses in Sweden at the time and I really liked what I saw. I managed to try him in Stockholm and he was one of those outstanding horses; I liked him immediately. I'm very lucky to have had many special horses during my career, but I remember after five or six jumps – and he was only six back then – feeling sure that Point Break was a horse we would have to try and secure for us. He was very special already then.”

“There are always ups and downs with young horses in the journey of getting them to Grand Prix level, but there were not too many bumps in Point Break’s road,” Maher continues. “He is very talented and he has jumped mostly clear rounds all his life, he is just short of some big wins now. He is honestly the most gentle horse: I can take my son with me when I am on him. He is just a very cute stallion; you wouldn't actually know he is a stallion from his behaviour. He enjoys his paddock time and he can have a bit of a buck and a play every now and then, but that has gotten less as he has gotten older.”

“He is a very intelligent horse and has a near perfect technique, especially with his front legs. This has caused some mistakes, because he is sometimes a little bit late with his hind legs because his front is so good. However, it is all part of the process of him understanding and relaxing into his job at the bigger level,” Maher explains.

Earlier this year, Maher used the Longines League of Nations events in Ocala and Rotterdam to test Point Break at the highest level. “He was pushed a little bit in Ocala and then he went to Rotterdam. Prior to Paris, he jumped three rounds for the team and was clear three times. I believe that he just needs a little bit more time and we always have to do the right thing for the horse. His experience was my only concern before Paris, and my main goals with him go beyond this year. I think he is lined up to be my future top horse; I believe he will be an even better horse in six, eight to twelve months from now.”

6.11.2024 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.