CHEMISTRY

CONNAISSEUR has sired many top quality foals, consistently passing on his exceptional canter, top notch rideability, abundantly elastic gaits, and natural uphill balance. He also stamps his foals with his head and neck connection and beautiful face.

Fast forward a few years and Connaisseur now has several offspring competing and winning at FEI levels, including a few elite Grand Prix stars. ‘Haute Couture’ (Connaisseur x Krack C) scored 90 points at her KWPN mare inspection and received the prestigious Elite predicate. She then went on to have an incredibly successful career with Dinja Van Liere, including numerous Grand Prix accolades and being the Dutch Reserve for the 2020 Olympic Team. Another super son of Connaisseur, Harvest (Connaisseur x Ulft), owned and ridden by Alice Tarjan, won the North American Stallion Test in 2017 before becoming an accomplished Grand Prix horse a few short years later.  Chemistry (Connaisseur x Johnson), ridden by John Thompson, also made waves on the International stage by representing New Zealand and the World Equestrian Games in 2023.

JOHNSON The son of Jazz was overall champion of the KWPN stallion show in 2005 and went on to have a stellar career. He represented the Netherlands at the World Equestrian Games in Caen, and the last two Olympic games and was part of the Dutch team winning gold, and an individual bronze at the European Championships in Aachen. He is placed second on the FEI World Ranking. “His outstanding attitude has made the greatest difference at the highest level. Even if he is almost unable to do something, Johnson will do it for you anyhow”, Hans Peter Minderhoud has said about Johnson.

The offspring of Johnson himself include Meggle’s Boston, Hexagon’s Double Dutch, Ben Johnson, Breezer, Bretton Woods, Jacksparrow and Firestone. Closer to home, he is the sire of Melissa Galloway’s J’Obei, and Gaylene Lennard’s Jax Johnson who represented New Zealand at WEG 2022. John Thompson’s stallion Chemistry, also part of the NZ team, was out of a Johnson mare. Johnson has three excellent gaits. Fundamental for this stallion are his easy-going character and willingness to work under saddle.

ROUSSEAU is one of the top stallions for producing rideable offspring, with easy, kind temperaments. In 2007, he had the highest dressage index of any KWPN stallion on a score of 181. He is a tall, large-framed stallion with plenty of bone and a strong shoulder, with a well-connected topline.

Performance - Rousseau had a stellar young horse career; Dutch National Champion as a four-year-old, reserve the following year, and a silver medal at the World Young Horse Championships as a five-year-old. He also won the 2001 KWPN Stallion performance testing, and under Dutch rider Nicolette van Lierop, he won the 2002 Pavo Cup Finals and 2002 & 2003 KWPN Stallion Competitions.

Rousseau's offspring have been exceptional. From 2006-2008, Rousseau produced three successive KWPN licensing champions (Wamberto, Zack, and Ampere), a feat never accomplised by any stallion before or since. All three performed outstanding performance tests and are now successful stallions in their own right. He has also produced the Hanoverian performance test champion, Fiorano, who has scored +71% at international grand prix, and the Celle State Stud stallion Fürst Rousseau.

All of his offspring have scored fantastic marks for temperament, rideability, paces and type, with the KWPN noting that the trot is light-footed, balanced and with much cadence. Rousseau really stamps his foals with his type and character.