CHACCO-Blue makes it six leading show jumping sire titles in-a-row while there was a first-time time title for Diarado and Johnson TN regained his top place in the dressage rankings in this year’s World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) sire rankings.

Similar to the studbook and individual horse rankings, released back in October, the WBFSH sire rankings run from October 1st during each of its calendar years.

However, unlike the WBFSH studbook rankings, where only top-six results by horses registered with a member studbook count towards the end rankings result, the sire rankings are based on total points won by all recorded progeny.

There was good news in the eventing sires table with O.B.O.S Quality 004 (third), Camiro de Haar Z (eighth) and VDL Arkansas (10th) in the top-10 and two more Irish stallions - Womanizer (12th) and Shannondale Sarco (13th) - also appear in the top-20.

And there was a heartening result for Irish show jumping breeding too as James Kann Cruz was the best points earner for his sire Kannan, who makes this year’s top-10 leaderboard.

O.B.O.S Quality 004 and Pacino both appear in the top-100 eventing and show jumping sires while Luidam continues his reign as the highest-ranked show jumping stallion to have stood here.

Rankings raise the annual question: which is the better stallion? The one that breeds a superstar or a number of very consistent horses?

Factors such as progeny numbers, what level progeny of varying ages are competing at and major championship results can sway sire rankings.

Damlines too are a vital factor and the WBFSH Top 100 with Progeny link on its website lists the damsire and studbook too, a useful reference guide for breeders looking for the most successful match.

See www.wbfsh.com for the 2022 sire rankings.

Hans Peter Minderhoud and Johnson TN, the leading dressage sire in the WBFSH rankings, (pictured at the 2014 FEI World Cup in Lyon) \ FEI/Arnd Bronkhorst

DRESSAGE

Johnson TN nudged his sire Jazz off the top place in 2020 and after being deposed by Sandro Hit last year, Johnson TN is back again as number one.

Edison (34th) is the best of the seven top-100 offspring listed for Johnson TN, who fended off rivals such as Explosion W and Tangelo van Zuuthoeve to be voted the KWPN Horse of the Year in 2019.

Quaterback (Quaterman) and Sir Donnerhall (Sandro Hit) edge into the top-three this year, ahead of Totilas, the talking horse of 2010 after his gold medal run that season.

Jazz (Cocktail), sire of Totilas, slips down two places to fifth this year while the greatest leap in the top-10 is recorded by Blue Hors Zack (Rousseau) zooming up 21 places to sixth place.

Lord Leatherdale (Lord Loxley) sire of British team horses Glamourdale (2022 world champion) and Everdale, appears in 26th place, two places ahead of the Trakehner stallion Easy Game (Gribaldi). Although Easy Game has just two progeny listed, they are quite a pair in the WBFSH number-one ranked horse this year: TSF Dalera and Hermes N.O.P (ranked sixth).

With two top-10 horses from two offspring listed, Easy Game’s strike rate again triggers the debate: do rankings reflect consistency in numbers or a handful of brilliant individuals?

Piggy March's Vanir Kamira (ISH), winners of the 2022 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, helped her sire Camiro de Haar Z move into the top 10 eventing sire list \ EquusPix Photography

EVENTING

Just five points separated this year’s top-two eventing stallions, the closest-run race seen in this year’s results.

Like Sandro Hit’s short-lived reign, Jaguar Mail (Hand In Glove) enjoyed one year at the top of the WBFSH rankings in 2021 before now being replaced by Diarado (Diamant de Semilly). Best of the 17-year-old Diarado’s progeny is his North American campaigner QC Diamantaire, ranked 27th individually and who doubles up for the eventing job by having Sandro Hit as his damsire.

Birkhof’s Grafenstolz (Polarion) ended Contendro I’s five-year reign (2015-2019) after he took over the leading eventing sire crown two years ago. Third in last year’s rankings, the Trakehner stallion moves up one place to runner-up. His leading offspring is Ros Canter’s Lordships Graffalo, individual fourth at the World Equestrian Games in Pratoni del Vivaro, a result that matches his place in the WBFSH individual horse rankings.

O.B.O.S Quality (Quick Star), Kieran Kennedy’s Oldenburg stallion, continues to climb up the rankings too, moving from fifth in 2020, to fourth last year and now makes the top-three in 2022.

Strongest numerically by top-10 stallion’s progeny numbers, the best of O.B.O.S Quality’s 56 listed offspring is once again Brookfield Quality (161st. Bay Coffey Cavalier, by Cavalier Royale. Breeder: Sean Kelly), third at Blair Castle CSI4*-S on his most recent outing with latest jockey Tom McEwen.

Dropping to fourth place this year is last year’s titleholder: Jaguar Mail. Bred by Bernard le Courtois, he is once again the only stallion to have three progeny in the top-100 eventing horses.

The top horse amongst the trio - Maybach (52nd) and Box Leo (86th) being the other two - is the Irish-born Colorado Blue (40th. Rock Me Baby, by Rock King (TB). Breeder: Kate Jarvey).

Same as with Kannan and CSF James Kann Cruz, the Aga Khan-winning horse is another example of a continental-based stallion’s best performer being bred in Ireland.

Contendro I’s top horse FRH Chipmunk is ranked number one in the WBFSH results, although his sire has to settle for fifth place this year.

Nouma D’Auzay, (Carthago) the second of three Selle Français stallions in the top-10, records the greatest jump up this year’s rankings across the three categories. He moves up from 47th in 2021 to seventh, courtesy of world champion Banzai du Loir.

Kannan (ninth) separates the two top-10 newcomers: Camiro de Haar Z (Chellano Z) and VDL Arkansas (Acobat II).

Camiro de Haar Z, the Zangersheide stallion based for most of his stud career with the late Ronnie Hollinger, has seven offspring listed, of which the undoubted star is this year’s Burghley champion Vanir Kamira (Sixth. Fair Caledonian, by Dixi. Breeder: Kate Jackson).

Rounding off the three top-10 Irish stallions is VDL Arkansas with two of his eight progeny - Off The Record (Fifth. Drumagoland Bay, by Ard Ohio. Breeder: Peter G. Brady) and SRS Kan Do (38th. La Vie En Rose, by Touchdown. Michael Dooner) featuring in the top-100 event horses.

Off The Record and Will Coleman finished best (individual seventh) of the USA silver medal team at the World Equestrian Games this autumn and the horse was the best of the Irish Sport Horses that secured another studbook title in October.

VDL Arkansas’ one-time Kylemore Stud stable companion Womanizer (Heartbreaker) is the top Irish-based living sire this year in 12th place. He is another with two horses featuring in the top-100: Cooley Quicksilver (13th. Kylemore Crystal, by Creggan Diamond. Breeder: Alan O’Brien) and CHF Cooliser, (31st. Super Spring, by Ramiro B. Raymond Carroll).

Martin Walsh’s Shannondale Sarco (12th) is the fifth Irish-based stallion in the top-20. This Darco son also has a pair of top-100-ranked performers, headed by Capels Hollow Drift (Lucky Crest, by Lucky Gift. Breeder: Jenny Glynn), the horse that has rocketed up the WBFSH rankings this year to 23rd place from 130th last year.

The 10-year-old Coolparks Sarco (87th) Coolpark Lady Diamond, by Coolcorran Cool Diamond. Michael Burke) is the second of Shannondale Sarco’s top-100 horses.

‘Pachio’ puzzle

A mix-up with the name of Dondante’s sire appears to have affected Pacino’s place in the top-100. The Diamant de Semilly son is ranked in 95th place with 163 points, due chiefly to another of the Pratoni runners: Monbeg By Design (203rd. Eskerhills Lexis, by Puissance. Breeder: Fiona Molloy).

However, in 83rd place is ‘Pachio’ whose sole runner is in fact the Pacino-sired Dondante (32nd. Muckno Clover, by Euro Clover. Breeder: Francis Brennan). ‘Pachio’ is also listed as Dondante’s sire on the FEI database from where the WBFSH draw their data.

Adding ‘Pachio’ and Pacino’s points gives the real Pacino a provisional revised total of 338 points, which puts him in 23rd place.

How many other Irish-linked stallions are in the top-100 this year? Some 26 stood or stand here, according to the 2021 rankings. This year, the tally has increased to 30.

In addition to O.B.O.S Quality, Camiro de Haar Z, VDL Arkansas, Womanizer, Shannondale Sarco, Ramiro B (22nd) and Pacino (provisional 23rd), in the top-25, we also have Cobra (28th), Master Imp (29th), Tolan R (33rd), Puissance (34th), Jack of Diamonds (37th), Courage II (39th), Sligo Candy Boy (43rd), Limmerick (50th), Lux Z (51st), Ars Vivendi (61st), Orestus VDL (63rd), Tinarana’s Inspector (64th), Valent (65th), Future Trend (66th), Chillout (68th), Ricardo Z (71st), Iroko (76th), Cavalier Royale (equal 78th), Royal Concorde (80th), Vechta (87th), Natal (90th), CSF Mr Kroon (97th) and Capitalist (99th).

It’s interesting to see Master Imp and Cavalier Royale, two stalwarts of past rankings, still featuring in the ever-changing sires tables.

Master Imp, whose best horse was another US silver medal team horse in Leamore Master Plan (18th. Ardragh Bash, by Golden Bash. Breeder: Michael Byrne), is the sole thoroughbred amongst the Irish group and one of just four in this year’s top-100 eventing sires.

SHOW JUMPING

Not only did Paul Schockemöhle breed O.B.O.S Quality but two of the three leading sires - Chacco-Blue and Diarado - number among his stallion roster.

This is the sixth successive year that Chacco-Blue (Chambertin) is the leading show jumping sire, holding a comfortable 2,000-plus points lead over Diamant de Semilly. Mylord Carthago completes the top-three.

H5 Chaganus (61st) replaces Explosion W (819th) as Chacco-Blue’s number one horse, with the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist horse enjoying a quieter season in 2022.

Chacco-Blue’s third-ranked offspring, behind Stardust (66th), is the Irish Sport Horse Sea Topblue (86th. Sea Top Lady, by Lux Z. Breeder: James and John Meade), one of the six horses that secured the ISH studbook’s 10th place in the WBFSH rankings this year.

Vital Chance de la Roque (sixth) and Truman (47th) are the best of Diamant de Semilly and Mylord Carthago’s respective progeny.

Kannan recorded the greatest climb amongst the show jumping stallions, moving up 10 places to take fourth place this year. His best performer, a result relished by Irish show jumping breeders, is James Kann Cruz (37th. CSF Telly Cruz. Breeder: Patrick Connolly) and Shane Sweetnam’s Aga Khan horse is one of four Kannan offspring to feature in the WBFSH top-100 show jumping horses.

BBS McGregor (81st. Random Chance, by Mark Twain. Breeder: Marguerite Ryan) came close to matching James Kann Cruz’s top performer for his sire achievement. Jack Ryan’s home-bred was pipped by Katanga van het Dingeshof (20th), the best of seventh-ranked stallion Cardento’s 80 listed offspring.

Honours are divided with three stallions apiece for Belgium’s BWP and France’s Selle Français studbooks, although the French pair of Diamant de Semilly and Mylord Carthago, backed up by top-10 newcomer VDL Zirocco Blue, finish higher up the leaderboard than the Belgian trio of the consistent Toulon, Eldorado van de Zeshoek and another old reliable in Nabab de Reve.

Leading event sire Diarado (11th) narrowly misses out on a dual top-10 appearance.

Irish-based

Highest-placed of any Irish-based stallion? That’s Luidam, who dropped 22 places to 50th this year. Of 20 offspring, registered with various studbooks, half are Irish Sport Horses and best of these is once again Javas Miss Jordan (682nd. Ally’s Angel, by O.B.O.S Quality. Breeder: Judy Murphy), the fourth-highest points earner for the Guidam son.

Nine places behind Luidam is the dressage stallion Edward 28 with just four show jumping horses listed, included the phenomenal King Edward (1st).

Back to Irish-based horses and O.B.O.S Quality (72nd) comes next with ABC Quantum Cruise (131st. Ardnehue Diamond Cruise, by Cruising. Breeder: Pat Kehoe) rating as the highest-ranked of his sire’s 11 progeny.

Je T’Aime Flamenco (74th) also has the same number listed of which Ballypatrick Flamenco (447th. Cruise Leaf, by Cruising. Breeder: Noel Cawley) is the highest-placed Irish Sport Horse.

More Irish-born offspring of Quality Time TN (75th) will come on stream in future rankings now that he is based with Hughes Horse Stud, while rounding off the Irish connections in the stallion rankings is Pacino (79th).

Not surprisingly his best performer is Pacino Amiro (83rd. Carnone Dancing Queen, by NC Amiro. Breeder: Simon Scott).