For the second year running, Pohlands Sport Horse Stud has been awarded the Duncan Asken Trophy for breeding the top South African bred show jumping horses.
For the second year running, Pohlands Sport Horse Stud has been awarded the Duncan Asken Trophy for breeding the top South African bred show jumping horses.
This trophy is awarded by the South African National Equestrian Federation and is based on the rankings of the highest-level show jumping horses, those competing in the international level (1.50m) classes, during the preceding twelve months. Pohlands Sport Horse Stud is owned by Dave and Pat Pohl.
The best show jumper in competition that Pohlands Stud has bred to date is Warrangal P, owned and ridden by Lisa Williams who is based in Johannesburg. Warrangal P has been the top the South African bred show jumper in the individual rankings for the past three years.
There are many aspects involved in producing a star competitor such as this. The stud farm chooses the matches of pedigree and provides the correct early environment and then it is up to the rider to correctly train and nurture the horse’s genetic potential. Often a horse showing obvious talent is sold on for financial gain and it is to Lisa’s credit that she turned down a R1000 000 offer from an overseas buyer when Warrangal reached A grade at the very young age of six years.
Like many top competition horses, Warrangal is quirky and was a difficult youngster to produce, often unseating his rider with a string of powerful bucks that would have been a credit to a rodeo horse! Lisa and Warrangal have many wins to their credit in top class competition against some very expensive imported horses with illustrious pedigrees and experienced riders but the best win for Lisa was the prestigious Avis Derby win in 2008.
The Avis Derby has always been a happy hunting ground for Pohlands’ bred horses with Windblue and Rogan Asken being placed second and Rayner Korber and Pohlands Wolf Winter being placed at first time out over this imposing track in earlier competitions. This is a proud record, indeed, for any stud.
Pohlands Stud’s stallion, the imported German horse, Wachmann III, has had a huge impact on the South African breeding scene and it is largely through his ability to pass on his jumping talent that Pohlands Stud has fared so well, breeding many top-quality competition horses mainly in show jumping but also in the disciplines of dressage and eventing.
Pohlands also has the distinction of being awarded the trophy for the best progenitor of show jumping horses in South Africa, thanks to this stallion which topped the country’s rankings for many years both as a direct sire of A grade horses and a dam sire of A grade horses. Last year Pohlands Witch Hazel and Carey Pohl, Pohlands Westcliff and Madeleine Venter and Pohlands Westpoint and Greg Scott all recorded major wins to contribute to Pohlands Stud’s proud record as the top breeding establishment for show jumping horses.
Do not forget the input of the mare either! Pohlands Stud has put together a band of mares which have a proud record with no less than nine mares having produced two or more A grade progeny and one mare which equals the country’s best by having produced four A grade horses.
Warrangal P and Lisa Williams are part of the squad currently undergoing training with top international Irish instructor, Gerrie Mullins, with the 2010 World Equestrian Games to be held in Kentucky, USA, and 2012 Olympics in London in mind. Now wouldn’t that be something – for a local sport horse breeder to watch proudly South African bred horses compete at the very pinnacle of the sport!
