I guess my brain is just stuck in the breeding groove this week but I found myself sitting here thinking “if I could have any mare in the world, who would it be, and who would I breed her to”? Admittedly, I do this probably at least once a year. I’m a weirdo like that. It’s kinda like that classic “what’s your dream horse” question, but with another layer of critical thinking, because now you have to come up with the recipe, not just the end result.
So here are the rules: if you were breeding for yourself, a horse that you would keep and raise and eventually ride – what parents would you pick? Preferably something well known, since that makes it more fun, but hey… go wild.
I believe very strongly that the most important part of the breeding equation is the mare. I also know that if I was breeding for something for me to keep and ride myself, I’d pick different crosses than I would if I was breeding to sell/for 5* level. So I’ll start with the mares. Yes plural, because I have 2 that I can’t pick between: Classic Moet and Fischerrocana. They are a bit similar in that neither of them is particularly remarkable or flashy. They’re both plain, they’re both average movers and jumpers (ie something I could actually stand a chance of being able to ride), and they both have a lot of thoroughbred blood. But what they also both have is rideability, trainability, grit, and a lot of heart. The description of Classic Moet on Janelle Price’s website is enough to seal the deal for me:
Molly would, if she were a person, come from Swindon ( Or West Auckland for our NZ followers), be a couple of stone overweight, have several tattoos, wear a too tight leather jacket over skintight leopard skin pants and have a boyfriend with an IQ of 10 who is a club bouncer and 4 children by 4 different fathers. Molly is a legend but a kind of rock and roll one like Mick Jagger as opposed to the Princess type!
I mean.
And since, in this particular fantasy, I’m breeding for something to keep for myself, that means I’m not looking to make a 5* horse. I’m looking for something that can forgive mistakes, get me out of trouble, and is always forward-thinking and looking for the flags. Something with 3* talent, with cross country as it’s strongest phase because I don’t want to die.
For Classic Moet, I’m thinking Irish. Classic Moet has a bit of an odd jumping style, so I’m going to stick with one that produces more conventional horses stylistically, and one who’s offspring seem to be pretty rideable on the flat. I’m also gonna go for the weird color, and I generally DETEST breeding for color as a general rule but this is one I would pick even if he was plain bay. Tullabeg Fusion is also about half TB, so I’d still have a horse with a lot of blood.
And since I’m in charge here in this fantasy, I’m gonna go ahead and say that the resulting foal looks like this
and grows up to jump like this
and have Classic Moet’s bad bitch mentality.
Fischerrocana is a really fun one, too. She’s more conventional than Classic Moet, with a bit less thoroughbred blood. I love that she seems like she would absolutely turn herself inside out for her rider – those are the best kind of horses, especially when it’s a mare.
Again, if I was breeding her for 5* I would make a different choice, but since we’re still playing by the rules of “something I have to be able to ride”, I’m going to go with my favorite boy Mighty Magic. Y’all know I’m biased, and he produces really good cross country horses. They’re just my type, from goofy temperament to how they’re built. He should add a little size, and it might end up a little chunky, but it should also be a heat-seeking missile for cross country fences and happy to jump them with or without my assistance.
Naturally, it’s gonna look like this:
Interestingly, Classic Moet has already had an Upsilon foal (via ET), an excellent choice for 5* IMO, and one that I probably wouldn’t have a chance in hell of being able to ride myself.
So, who would your choices be? A hunter? A showjumper? An eventer? A western horse maybe? Tell me your recipe!
breedrideevent.com 
I’m not as educated as you are on bloodlines, but I’ll play along. I love everything about my mare, Coco, with the exception of her size (I really need a taller horse) and her baditude the past few years (although that seems to be improving dramatically). She moves beautifully and is super athletic. She’s just the right amount of sensitive, but she likes to jump. I’ll brag on her a bit, she was the highest scoring filly in North America as a weanling for the RPSI registry in 2012.
I would breed her to Lordanos. He’s put umpteen lovely hunters on the ground and is known for offpsring with really good brains and his babies tend to be on the taller side. I’m looking for like 16.2h, not 17h. Coco’s damsire was 17h so I know there is height back there. Her dam’s 1/2 brother by a 16.1h stud is over 17h. If, however, the foal isn’t “pretty” enough to hunter, it should dang sure be athletic enough to be a nice jumper.
My primary hesitation in breeding Coco is that I bred her when she was 3 and it didn’t go well. To breed her again would require an embryo transfer and I worry that I’d be putting another mare in the world that might have trouble foaling. Other than that, this would pretty much be my dream horse.
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Oh man…. I love the pick of Fischerrocana. She’s one of those 5* horses that you see go around and makes even a weenie like me think “well that looks fun.” Even if her baby tops out at Prelim, it would be a fun ride.
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I really like Diarado. And I really like Peyton. So now you know what custom foal I’m ordering if I win the lottery.
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That’s not a bad idea….hummmm… 🤔 I actually quite like that… I do love Diarado on ALMOST everyone 😉 but really he might cross very nicely with her… let’s see what she throws this year and you may be onto something 🥰
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As soon as I saw her, I thought Diarado would be perfect for her BUT I know zilch about breeding and figured people would think I was crazy … but now I feel much better about it! Still couldn’t actually afford it yet but maybe one day lol
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I’d probably try for one of those awesome jumpers that winds up stepping down into the hunters when it’s older… You know, like Rio! So like you, I’d want ride-ability because I’m not all that good nor brave any more. But with the right partner those things do get better. So I would actually choose a totally non famous mare by the name of Candy. My trainer showed her successfully at the grand prix level and I got to ride her around the low adult jumpers at WEF several years ago. She jumps a ten with her knees every time. She thinks mistakes are no big deal. And she knows her job 100%. I have no idea how she’s bred, because I’m not good with such things. But she’s pretty perfect for someone like me. I think I’d breed her maybe to Indoctro, who is not so ironically, Rio’s sire. Indoctro is beautiful and jumps well. He can sometimes throw idiot babies, but a lot of them are lovely too. I think mixed with Candy, the chance of a non idiot is pretty good. And said baby would be SO PRETTY!
Also that description of the first mare is awesome. And kind of exactly what I think you’d want in a cross country horse.
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oh man I am totally in on this.
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For a show jumper, for myself, with something that could do the 1.20m with scope to get me out of trouble but isn’t a massive German tank – Ohlala x Catoki. Small, opinionated but huge trier of a mare who has one of my favorites, Heartbreaker, and C-line Holsteiner via Capitol I. And Catoki, who I adore both for himself and the fact that I see a lot of his get in both upper levels and in the AO rings. They all seem very reasonably minded, and I think Ohlala would bring the spice that I worry some of them lack. And there’s about a 0.01% chance of it hitting 17hh!
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How about the Price’s Ascona M?
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That one’s a bit too tricky for me!
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I honestly bred my dream foal (I probably just would have opted for it to be a bay colt instead of a chestnut filly).
I love the Brilliant Invader and Souvenir TB blood and Contenda has been my dream for as long as breeding has even been on my mind. The resultant foal… (2 year old now)…. is so far everything I could ask her to be. She is brave and honest and people oriented. She is unfazed and up for any challenge.
Let’s just hope she breaks in nicely.
If I was to pick ANNNNNNNY mare in the world ever I think Hostein Park Leilani was just sensational. The ways she made time but looked like she was never trying… I loved her. Higher % TB too. I wouldn’t even know what stallion to put her too… too many options and I don’t know her well enough!
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I just want a clone of United Europ (Upsi) who is ridden by Nicolabaur. He is from Uphill lines and I just adore him and want a carbon copy 😂
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