Leolita Ster

Leolita was bred and had her foal by Sir Donnerhall!

See "Lola's" 5-Generation pedigree here

We have applied for, and Leolita has received, the Sport Predicate! This is a very good predicate for this mare. The Sport predicate is awarded to mares who compete successfully - 1 dressage score of 60% or better at L4T2 OR 5 clear jumping rounds at 130cm OR 5 combined training events at preliminary level with a score of not more than 72.5 penalty points. For Dressage, in the USA, this means Fourth Level Test 3 or higher.

Leolita's dam is a Keur mare by the stallion Woldstreek. Woldstreek eventually lost his licensing with the KWPN, however he obviously produced some very nice offspring in the years he was breeding. Her dam Geolita Keur is the daugher of a Prestatie mare, Vodinka, by Makelaar. Prestatie is a predicate given to any foalbook, studbook, auxiliary foalbook, auxiliary studbook, or thoroughbred mare which has produced three WPN offspring which have achieved the equivalent of M + 5 sport levels in dressage, jumping or 3-day event. M level is the equivalent of 2nd/3rd level or jumps to 3'11".

Leolita's sire, Gershwin, is by the internationally famous sire Voltaire. Voltaire is the result of crossing two outstanding bloodlines: Furioso II and Gotthard. Furioso II produced 200 state premium mares and at least 70 approved stallions of which several are standing at stud in other continents. One can easily say that Furioso II has influenced the breeding industry worldwide. The full brother of Furioso II is the French stallion Mexico. His son Le Mexico is a familiar name in Dutch breeding and frequently appears in the pedigrees of successful showjumpers. The dam's sire Gotthard is, now more than fifteen years after his death, almost a legend in German sports horse breeding. Gotthard's strength is continued in his sons and grandsons. Vital in Voltaire's pedigree is the connection in the third generation to the thoroughbreds More Magic xx on one side and on the other side Furioso xx.

As an 8 year old Voltaire jumped 1.50 m. courses with a great deal of success. He showed his strength in international jumping in 1988 in Calgary, Stockholm, Lanaken, Helsinki, Wiesbaden and Wembley and in 1989 he brought his showjumping career to a successful ending by winning the Grand Prix of Berlin with Jos Lansink and 2nd in the Grand Prix of Leeuwarden. Voltaire was the sire with the most offspring at the Olympic Games of Atlanta in 1996. Moreover the worldfamous Voltaire is second on the World Breeding Ranking of Showjumping Sires. Voltaire has over 50 approved sons. Many of his offspring jump at Grand Prix level, i.e. Finesse, Altaire, Kahlua, Play it Again, Helios, Electro, Kannan, Especial etc. etc. Foltaire, ridden by Günther Seidel is a famous offspring of Voltaire in the international dressage ring. Voltaire has been awarded ‘Huntersire of the Year 2001, 2002 and 2003’ in the USA! At the moment Voltaire is one of the top sires in the KWPN Jumping Index with 151 points.

Gershwin's damsire is the Preferent stallion Nimmerdor, often referred to as a "Stallion of the Century."To name a few of Nimmerdor's wellknown progeny: Zadok, Goldenbridge, Garavola, Up to Date and Aldato. Nimmerdor himself earned his laurels in the jumping ring in the hands of Albert Voorn and Bert Romp. This legendary bay stallion was out of the Dutch WB ster mare Ramona, which featured thoroughbred on her sire’s side (Koridon) and Dutch warmblood (grandsire Senator) on the dam’s side. Nimmerdor’s sire was the Holstein stallion Farn, an old-fashioned type, and when he was graded it was hoped he would improve upon the Dutch breed by siring good brood mare daughters. This he clearly did, but only when he was given lighter mares did it became evident that he was also capable of producing excellent show jumpers amongst his offspring. Farn, and therefore Nimmerdor, traced his ancestry to Achil – founder of the Holstein breed.

Approved sons aside (well over 50 - Ahorn, Daimler, N-Aldato, DBH Heartbreaker, Zadock, Nandor Fortuna and Coronel are but a small example), Nimmerdor also produced over sixty international showjumpers including well-known names such as VDL Everest, Broere Goldenridge, Agrovorm’s Maywood, San Patrignano Avenir and Canadian Colours. Undoubtedly, Nimmerdor is one of the best show-jumper sires of the world.

Leolita was bred in 2006 to the Oldenburg stallion Sir Donnerhall, a spectacular son of Sandro Hit. "Following in his sire Sandro Hit’s footsteps, he reveals his top quality at all his appearances. A very good walk, his trot is so graceful, it swings through his whole body and a wonderfully supple and magnificent uphill bouncy canter. His first foal crop was outstanding."

Sir Donnerhall competed at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses, Verden, Germany August 3-6, 2006 in the 5-year old Division. He won Round 1 with a score of 9.1, had a few mistakes in the Final test and was second, with an overall impression score of 9.5! and a final score of 8.54.

Leolita delivered a gorgeous, leggy bay colt on June 6. Named Cartouche HF, "Artie" is a sweet guy who loves to chase the other foals around the field. His movement is everything we'd hoped for with this cross.