19 november 2007

Unex Towerlands Masters

Quirifino Quainton won the big class of the evening on Friday night at the special Children in Need evening at Unex Towerlands. In a packed competition in front of TV cameras and a full house, Quirifino snatched the lead from Mark Armstrong who had held onto first place from an early draw. Mark could be seen pacing the stands as Ben who was drawn last came in on Quirifino. This truly magnificent stallion glided round the 1.50m fences in the fastest time to the delight of Quainton Stud and all of Ben and Quirfino's supporters.

Chateau De Brion was the highest placed 5 year old in the 5/6 year old handicap on Friday, he was narrowly beaten into second place by Laura Renwick on Beluga, the Horse of the Year Show 6 year old Champion.

Quainton Stud were the proud sponsors of the five year old championships on the final day, the Quainton jump looked magnificent in this great arena and to add to our delight of the previous wins Ben managed a double whammy! He beat a truly exceptional field of 5 year old horses when he came home in first and second place.

05 November 2007

Quainton Stud featured in Breeding News

Quainton Stud has featured in a recent issue of the worldwide publication, Breeding News for Sport Horses. Emma Philips was interviewed by Kyle Jones and the article stretched from the front page and across four sections. The interview delved into Quainton’s breeding plans, programmes, connections with the German State Stud and highlighted the phenomenal success the stud and stallions have enjoyed while Quainton Stud works at the forefront of breeding British Showjumpers.

You can read the article below or click here to download a pdf. Breeding News.pdf

Good horses speak for themselves
Great Britain (by Kyle Jones) Emma Phillips, Owner/Director of Quainton Stud Farm is a young, up-and-coming showjumping horse breeder in the UK. In a surprisingly short space of four years, she has not only built up top facilities, and acquired, stallions and breeding stock, but has also begun to host major sporting festivals offering top prize money in order to complement her breeding and production programme.

As it costs around £24,000 (€35,000) annually to train and compete a horse in the UK, her investment in both breeding and competition horses is substantial and noteworthy within the ever-improving UK sport horse market. Good judgment proved well, and the top selling foals auctioned at the Mannheim European Jumping Championships (August 14-19) recently fetched €21,000 ($28,962) and €19,000 euros ($26,204) respectively, and were by Quainton Stud stallions.

Tell us about Quainton Stud (near Aylesbury Southeast England), how it got started, your premises, numbers of stallions, mares and youngstock and your reasons behind it’s establishment, goals and objectives?
We have 250 acres on the original farm and have just acquired another 50 acres plus barns for wintering of all young stock and mares. We have an indoor school with a wax surface and dressage mirrors, and an outdoor arena which is actually a show ground complete with derby fences where we host our major events. We don't have gallops, but we do have a state of the art AI collection and mare insemination centre. We have a separate mare barn, stallion barn and competition training barn. We are very fortunate at Quainton as we benefit from some of the best grazing this country has to offer. Our young horses thrive here as did the prize-winning cattle before them. We have at any time between 90 and 150 horses on site; 90 horses are Quainton's and they consist of mares and young stock. We also have l0 licensed stallions who split their time between training, competing and stud duties. Some of these are in Germany, leased to the State Stud in Moritzburg, others are based with our rider Ben Maher. Each one of our horses has been selected on its bloodlines, type, movement and jump. We have tried to stick to the proven and popular lines that have become household names in Germany, so you will see in most of their pedigree's Landgraf, Contender Cor de la Bryere, Quidam De Revel [Selle Francais], Cassini, to name but a few. It is our intention to be a breeding centre of excellence in the UK as it is generally accepted that British sport horse breeding is years behind other European countries. We hope to close that gap and bring British breeding standards up to our European counterparts.

How did you come to lease four stallions back to the German State Stud at Moritzburg?
It was incredible as have purchased Kampfer at the Holstein sales at Celle and the bidding was very tough. Afterwards the State Stud at Moritzburg told us how disappointed they were not to purchase him and we struck a deal. We actually have an arrangement to lease four of our stallions to the Stud, which enables us to reach the large German market. As far as I am aware, this is the first time a non-German owner has done this. And incredibly because of this arrangement, breeders from Chateau de Brion and Lancelot produced foals that topped the recent foal auction in Mannheim.

All your stallions are very young. What went into the decision to set-up a stud with relatively unproven young stallions?
Well, it came down to economics. Good and proven stallions are very expensive and getting in at various younger ages was more economic.

What shows/events do you host throughout the year and especially can you recap any news from the most recent Grand Prix, stallion, and young horse event?
We have just held our first show here at Quainton (July 30,31). It was a combined Open Day and Grand Prix Show and a film of it was even shown on Sky TV in August. I am absolutely thrilled with how it all went, we have had positive feedback from everyone who was there, We had a break in the jumping and displayed all our stallions, and even had Stallone and Classic come over from Germany for the day. We had the top British riders here for two days, competing for a £24,000 prize fund. Geoff Luckett riding Monline won the Grand Prix for a £4,000 prize. We have our dares planned for 2008: May 21-25, for a young horse festival and auction of our young stock. July 29-31, Grand Prix Special and September 9-12, The Derby series.

Could you summarise your impression of UK showjumping breeding and the market for young stock as opposed to the Continent? How has it changed in your view?
Four years ago, when we first set out to acquire our foundation stock, the gulf in the quality of horses available in the UK and those you could find in Europe was huge. The problem is that sport horse breeding has traditionally been a hobby or pastime that people entered into, not paying too much attention to the mares' bloodlines and choosing a stallion on his locality rather than his suitability. With the common use of AI, this has changed as stallions from all over Europe are now widely available to mare owners. The quality of the young stock being produced now, is definitely getting much higher; as more and more people are becoming aware of the importance of quality bloodlines for both the mare and stallion.

Explain how you purchased your foundation mares and also the stallions you stand?
We work closely with our German colleagues from both the State Stud and private business contacts. Every mare and stallion we select must meet with their approval and must be of good enough quality that their young stock can be sold back to European producers and graded accordingly. We plan to send our two-year-old colts to Germany for grading and possibly enter a couple into the Holsteiner Verband auction.

What was involved in grading your stallion this year with the Holstein studbook, and how much preparation, etc was needed?
Chateau de Brion's (Cassini I x Caribo ) grading in Holstein was a huge achievement for all concerned. It was the first time a British stud successfully presented a horse for grading. The real point is that the horse spoke for himself. He is of such high quality and carries all the Holstein Studbook's requirements that he actually did most of the work for us. It is an absolute seal of quality for him and one that breeders who use him will be able to pass down to their foals.

Do you maintain a philosophy about breeding good showjumping horses? A scientific mythology?
A good showjumper comes in many different packages, we always look for good paces on the flat, and a powerful and balanced canter is a must. All young horses are loose jumped and this is the best way you can evaluate a jumper at a very young age. However there are plenty of things to be aware of when looking at horses jumping free. Firstly, some horses have been over-prepared and present themselves over the fence in a very unnatural way. Also, a horse that shows great skill jumping free does not always maintain this under a rider.

What sort of scale do you wish to achieve, and what would you say about competing with the Continental breeders?
Currently we are producing 20 foals a year, which is a comfortable figure. I don't take the view that we are taking on the Europeans. On the contrary Quainton Stud is actually working together with our German colleages at the State Stud of Mortizburg. We are benefiting from their years of knowledge and expertise in horse breeding and they are benefiting from the use of the top German bloodlines available to them on lease from Quainton. Also the quantity of quality mares in Germany far exceeds the number of mares available in the UK so each of our young stallions returns to the UK with approximately 200 young stock already in the German system.

15 October 2007

Quainton Stud delighted by success at BSJA Stallion and Mare show

On Friday 12th October Quainton Stud enjoyed phenomenal success at the BSJA Stallion and Mare Show that was held at Unex Towerlands.

Chateau De Brion produced a wonderful double clear in the 5 year old class, finishing in fourth position and then another double clear in the Grade C class finishing in third place. Avanti Quainton had a double clear in the 1.30m class and was second, he was also awarded a BSJA rug for finishing as the highest placed stallion in the class. Kampfner Quainton produced a clear round in the 1.30m and was the fastest four faulter in jump off finishing in seventh place.

Then Quirifino Quainton had a fluent and beautiful double clear in the 1.40m and collected the blue rosette in second place, only just beaten by Qpportunity B who turned like a cat! Quirifno was also awarded a lovely BSJA rug for being the highest placed stallion in his class.

The show was a resounding success for Quainton Stud and their stallions who were all expertly ridden by Ben Maher.

08 October 2007

Quainton Stud at HOYS 2007

The Quainton Stud trade stand travelled to Birmingham’s NEC and pitched up for the world famous Horse Of the Year Show at the beginning of October. With a prime location and regular visits from the worlds greatest show jumpers, Quainton Stud enjoyed the attention of thousands of visitors.

Ben Maher who rides many of the Quainton stallions, competed Quirifino Quainton in the Seven Year Old Championship class and spent time on the Quainton Stud stand meeting people and signing stud cards for eager fans.

It was a great show for Quainton Stud as the stand attracted a lot of attention and helped to introduce the studs impressive string of stallions to budding show jumping stars. It was also a brilliant opportunity to explain and expand on the many services the stud offer and introduce the studs excellent staff and team.

05 October 2007

Ben’s Pony DiaryLancelot Quainton completes his 70 day grading

Lancelot Quainton has just finished his 70 day graded test in Germany. The young stallion, who is currently the most popular stallion standing at the German State Stud, passed his 70 day grading with amazing results and a very positive test sheet. This young stallion has enjoyed a fantastic couple of months, with an excellent grading and success with his offspring who have reached amazing prices at German auctions across the country.

Click here to view the Grading papers.