Image : Astrix – World Champion 6 year old in 2011 and from NL-ML27
Each year the calculations are made by those with infinite knowledge of the blood lines of the top 300 dressage horses in the world.
The results of this latest table, covering the 12 months to 30th Sept 2011 make for interesting reading.
Previous dominant force NL-ML2 and the Jazz offspring including the likes of Parzival has dropped to 4th place.
The new number one is more a number one combination than motherline.
Westfalian line 218 is dominated by the Breitling W / Devisa cross which has produced no less than 4 horses featuring in the list. What is more, this cross has been successful 3 more times resulting in one small tour horse and two others yet to make the FEI circuit.
This could result in the most successful cross in dressage history – if this is not already the case now.
But does this make 218 the top motherline in the world at the moment – not in my book.
Second placed NL-ML27 takes that title for me and mainly because of the diversity of crosses that have lead to World class performance.
Even NL-ML2, the former champion, was dominated by the very successful stallion Jazz.
NL-ML27 takes its 6 representatives from 6 different crosses and for that reason it is the strongest from which to select both.
Of course, only certain mares in that line carry the performance genes – and they need to be matched to the correct stallions. but on the whole this gives us a direction to aim in.
This line is, of course, that of Carl Hester’s Uthopia and the none less formidable double world champion young horse Astrix.
That being said, this is all figures and not an analysis of the characteristics of horses – but it does give us something to do now the breeding season is finished and the weather not so nice!