“The Foal Auction Prinsjesdag was the first auction that paid proper attention to the foal's dam line”
Breeder: Ronald Nowee
1. What was Alicante like as a foal?
“Alicante (born at Stoeterij 't Maalwater as Casares M) was already very beautiful as a foal. He was strong and correctly built. He was the second foal out of my Texas M mare. Her first foal was a colt by Contender.”
2. How is his mother?
“His dam Texas M is a normal, inconspicuous mare with a bit of an idiosyncratic character. She is not the prettiest type but correct . The reason why we bred with her was her pedigree. Her dam U-Laester was a maternal sister to Cantus, Calvin Z and Lansing. Cantus in particular has contributed to the Holstein performance breeding (including Come On, Calido, Canaletto, Colbert GTI). Even before Horsetelex existed, I was already working with databases of Holstein horses (with approved stallions and sport horses). After extensive analyzes it appeared that sport horses are produced by only a limited number of tribes. Breeding mares from those strains gives the highest chance of results. Texas M's oldest offspring are doing well. Cointreau (2004) is approved in England and two other descendants of Casall, Floyd (2010) and Granada (2011), are also doing very well.”
3. Why did you choose Casall at the time?
“I thought he was a beautiful, good jumping stallion and I was very charmed by his sire Caretino. At that time you could only cover with Caretino yourself if you brought the mare to Holstein. At that time, Casall's frozen semen was sold and it turned out to be of exceptional quality. I have bred several foals, four of which with Texas M.”
4. When did you see that Alicante was a winner?
“After the sale through Foal Auction Prinsjesdag I saw him again, at the stallion presentation of the HBC stable. As a young stallion he jumped correctly, with enough scope and good manners. But then there is still a long way to go, a road whose result is largely determined by health and the right click with the rider/amazon. I have followed Alicante's career through the news, but I could not conclude that he would develop into a top athlete in the Netherlands. He couldn't distinguish himself in the USA either, but then came the luck factor, the right rider for the right horse, at least that's how I see it. Current rider Jérôme Guéry is able to fully utilize his qualities.”
5. Why did you decide to enter Alicante for the Prinsjesdag auction at the time and do you advise other breeders to sell their foals through the Prinsjesdag Auction?
“The Foal Auction Prinsjesdag was the first auction to pay proper attention to the foal's dam line when selecting it. Other foal auctions selected beautiful, well-moving foals, preferably with a spectacular trot. The Prinsjesdag auction added an extra dimension to this: the dam's line must produce sport horses, otherwise the foal, however beautiful and well-moving, will not be selected! That has always particularly appealed to me. The Foal Auction Prinsjesdag originated from the brains of a few North Holland breeders, that also appealed to me. I have had various foals auctioned by Prinsjesdag, always to my complete satisfaction. And that was apparently mutual, in 2009 we were proclaimed "Breeder of the Year". I can therefore wholeheartedly recommend The Prinsjesdag Auction.”
read HERE the interview with buyers Jan and Egbert Schep
read HERE the interview with rider Jérôme Guéry
