The ‘Big Three’ no longer trot in the meadow, what about the offspring?

The ‘Big Three’ no longer trot through the meadow. After the death of Salinero earlier this month, the three most successful Dutch dressage horses Salinero, Bonfire and Totilas are no longer alive. Where did those top horses come from? And did someone safeguard their offspring?

“I thought he was really ugly”, thought Anky van Grunsven about Salinero when she saw the gelding for the first time. Once in the saddle she knew better within ten meters: this is it. Anky and ‘Salli’ turned out to be a two-time Olympic gold duo. In Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008).

Salinero succeeded ‘soulmate’ Bonfire, with whom Van Grunsven rode to dressage gold in Sydney, in a worthy way. Two exceptional horses. And then that one was yet to come. An almost mythical stallion, even before he had turned one pirouette. A Frisian steed that would break records: the ink-black Totilas.

“It was a bit like the first time you see a great footballer like Cruijff play,” says Laurens van Lieren, who runs his own dressage stable and co-commentates NOS. “There was something really magical about that horse. You’ll never get that again.”

Yet often enough attempts are made to breed a new Totilas. Even when the horse was crowned multiple world champion under Edward Gal at the World Equestrian Games in 2010, Totilas’ semen was already heavily traded on the market.

The trade in stallion seed is a lucrative one. Also saw the German horse dealer Paul Schockemöhle, who bought Totilas from the Dutch camp of owner Kees Visser in 2010, for reportedly ten to fifteen million euros.

Straws with Totilas seed flew around the world at the peak for about 8,000 euros each. That amount later dropped to about 2,500 euros, when the dream stallion had retired.

“Breeding is almost always born out of passion and hobby”, emphasizes Van Lieren. “It is certainly a living these days. Breeders get good prices for their foals. You certainly don’t have to feel sorry for them.”

Where one sees a graceful creature trotting through the bin, the other also hears a bag of money shaking. Two years after Totilas’ death, Schockemöhle and Visser are still fighting in court over Totilas’ breeding rights.

Totilas’ DNA can now be found everywhere. Joop van Uytert sells Totilas seed in the Netherlands on behalf of Schockemöhle and estimated in 2019 that there are about six hundred to seven hundred ‘Toto’ offspring. There is a good chance that the new top stallion is already walking around somewhere.

“They sometimes say: breeding is gambling. For the breeders it is a bit like buying a ticket from the lottery,” says Van Lieren. It remains to be seen what the breeding yields.

“It is not an exact science. That is also the beauty of breeding,” says the NOS co-commentator. “Most breeders know what qualities and shortcomings their mares have. And then you look for a stallion that you think: okay, he could improve the mare on certain points. How you make such a match differs per horse .”

It is not necessarily the graceful legs or the height of the withers, but also the character of a horse that appeals to the breeder. “With Salinero and Bonfire it was very clear the intrinsic qualities, the will to work,” says Van Lieren. “So much go, so much sharpness.” There are no descendants of Bonfire and Salinero: both stallions were gelded at a young age.

Van Lieren: “At Totilas, it was already clear to certain connoisseurs at a young age that the horse had an exceptional movement technique. That horse really stood out because it was able to move with a lot of balance and expression at a young age.”

The enchanting Totilas made the hearts of many breeders run wild. “The semen of such a top stallion is available to all breeders,” says Van Lieren. In theory, every breeder is just a straw seed away from having his own top stallion.

When does a breeder notice that his horse actually has talent? “You can see that at the annual stallion inspection of the KWPN,” says Van Lieren.

The Royal Warmblood Horse Netherlands (KWPN), the large breeding studbook, coordinates breeding in the Netherlands. “You can have your horses registered there, you will receive a horse passport and the foals will be chipped.”

During the inspection, the KWPN selects “the most promising young stallions that can be approved and used for breeding.” Whether or not a KWPN seal can have a huge influence on the sales value of a stallion.

The annual inspection is also a show. When Totilas has been deep into his horse pension for four years, the wonder horse suddenly jumps out of the trailer in 2019 during the KWPN inspection in the Brabanthallen full of moved fans. At that time, Totilas – still one of the few horses with its own biography – was already a full-time stud.

Until a horse is noticed as a potential Olympiad horse, the Royal Dutch Equestrian Sports Federation (KNHS), which mainly focuses on sport competitions, does not play a major role in the whole of breeding and testing.

Once a horse runs at grand prix level, it is important for Dutch equestrian sport that the new, young Totilas don’t just walk out of the stable. Then the Netherlands Olympiad Horse Foundation (NOP) should pay attention. They support owners in preserving their top horses for the Dutch sport.

Yet the NOP can do little against the millions of violence surrounding the sale of Totilas at the time.

Without descendants of Bonfire and Salinero, it is reassuring for fans of The Big Three that the Totilas DNA has spread considerably. Totilas sons Governor, Glock’s Toto Junior, Glock’s Trafalgar and Total US have already performed at the highest level.

“I dare say that Totilas has done very well in breeding. In the meantime, the sons and grandsons of Totilas have also been approved for breeding. That stallion is really becoming a legend,” says Van Lieren.