Reading a pedigree

Good genes are one part of any athlete’s story. Show jumper bloodlines stack the odds that a young horse will have the physical skills, mental aptitude and desire to jump fences, and the conformation (build) to do so without breaking down from years of full-time training, take-offs and landing.

Open the key points below to learn what to look for in a show jumping prospect’s pedigree.

• Sires are the first look

  Because stallions can donate semen or breed mares while competing professionally, top competitors are often top sires. Of course, a stallion who hasn’t achieved at the highest level of sport (for example, because of a career-ending injury) may still be a great sire. But if you’re evaluating a prospect’s pedigree at a glance, a sire who has won at the highest levels is a good sign. And a sire, dam-sire and great-dam-sire who have all achieved at that level? That’s a very, very good sign.

  Bottom line: if a prospect’s pedigree reads Stallion A x Stallion B x Stallion C, and stallions A, B and C all jumped at the top levels of sport, your first look at the prospect’s pedigree is officially exciting.

• Registries are quality control

  Show jumping sires are approved by breeding registries through a process that evaluates a stallion’s athletic ability, pedigree and the quality of their offspring. In the best registries, this process is rigorous and takes years: for example, a young stallion can earn KWPN approval by excelling in the registry’s annual young stallion competition but he will only be fully approved years later, on the basis of both his show jumping career and the quality of his offspring.

  Bottom line: when evaluating sires, approved stallions from top registries indicate a proven ability to pass good genes on.

• Predicates mean special

  Predicates are awarded by breeding registries for a variety of reasons but they always indicate quality.

  For example, here are some KWPN jumping predicates:

  • Ster: above average con­formation, movement and jumping. Awarded at studbook inspections (keurings) to horses that earn at least 70 points for conformation, 60 points for movement and 75 points for jumping, and stand at least 160 cm.

  • IBOP: indicates talent for sport as evidenced by jumping a test course under saddle. Awarded at keurings to horses who achieve at least 75 points in the IBOP test.

  • Keur: awarded at keurings to mares with top-level conformation who have also earned an IBOP.

  • Elite: keur mares who can also prove (by Xray evaluation and/or genetic screening) top quality bone health.

  • Sport: indicates a horse has successfully (i.e., maximum 4 points) jumped to at least 1.30 m, Level 6.

  • Prestatie (prest); preferent (pref): awarded to brood mares based on the achievements of their offspring.

  Bottom line: predicates indicate that a horses has met objective measures of quality established by a breeding registry.

• Mare lines are a difference maker

  A mare line is a prospect’s dam, her dam, her dam’s dam… you get the idea! With embryo transfer, mares can both compete and produce offspring - but the low success rate and high cost of embryo transfer means that it’s more practical for many breeders to keep a great filly as a brood mare and get consistent pregnancies. If you’re evaluating a dam line of brood mares who haven’t competed in sport, look for quality markers such as predicates (see above) or sport accomplishments by offspring of and siblings in the mare line.

  Bottom line: when evaluating a prospect’s dam line, look for predicates and sport achievements from offspring or close relatives of mares in the line, especially if the mares themselves didn’t compete in sport.