The stallion who produces superstars

Bordeaux has produced numerous championship horses and licensed stallions. Alice Collins discovers what makes him unique

- Alice Collins

DUTCH stallion supremo and equestrian entrepreneur Joop van Uytert clearly remembers the impact a certain sparky KWPN colt had on him in 2007. He has raised youngsters for the Lisman family - Bordeaux's breeders - for many years, and at 18 months old, their quality is already beginning to be assessed.

"I remember it well," he recalls. "There was a small bay one with extraordinary movements - it turned out to be Bordeaux. The first moment I saw him in the paddock he was a horse that packaged his stride so effortlessly and had a smooth flowing topline, showing ample technique and interconnection between his forehand and hindquarters, which also emerged in his later training."

Bordeaux's quality radiated from the beginning. He was the champion of his 2009 KWPN stallion licensing and then won the performance test in Ermelo.

"He was such a special horse on the lunge line," adds Joop. "He could collect and extend, retain his connection, and he showed a great technique in his front and hind limbs. Those qualities have always endured, and led to great accomplishments in sport."

That is certainly true. Bordeaux went on to become an international grand prix star. In 2023 he was proclaimed Preferent, a predicate reserved for the KWPN's very best stallions and the highest honour a stallion can receive. These special horses show excellence in their own movement and conformation, as well as that of their offspring.

A horse like Bordeaux - a top-drawer competition stallion and producer of talented offspring with notable quality and results is rare. Don Schufro, Jazz and Donnerhall immediately spring to mind and, latterly, Blue Hors Zack, Totilas and Apache - but the list is not long.