Colombia on cover of NZ Natural Equine
10,000 copies of the July 2009 Issue of NZ Natural Equine magazine features Colombia with Victoria Vallance at Longspring Stud. This magazine is free at all equine related shops around NZ and has a broad appeal in both the racing and equestrian market. The article as published is below.
Colombia wins new fans
Successful Sport Horse Stud goes into Racing
As of May 2009, 12 year old stallion Colombia (Zabeel – Eight Carat by Pieces of Eight) has a new home with Rupert and Anne Vallance at Longspring Stud in the Wairarapa.
The move could prove very timely for the Vallance’s who feel there is a real niche market producing the type of horse NZ made its early reputation on. With the future of jumps/hurdle racing currently under a major cloud in Australia, the calls for staying championships with races contested over 4000m to 5000m could mean a lucrative new market to breed and produce staying type horses – the stuff legends are made of! Many of the progeny of Colombia are already proving to be good longer distance horses with his winning distance index jumping to 1,610m for the current stallion register. An analysis of his winners however shows how versatile they are – winning at sprint and middle distance as well as the longer races.
To date Colombia progeny have earned over $2 million from 53 winners in the 4 crops racing as 4 year olds or older - including 3 stakewinners Valley Chief, Aimee’s Idol and Tiger King. 13 of these winners won at sprint distances of 1200m including Aimee’s Idol who won the Waikato RC Sprint L in 2006.
Colombia is by Zabeel out of the top producer Eight Carat which makes him a brother to five Group 1 winners including Octagonal (by Zabeel), 1996 Australian Horse of the Year, Marquise (dam of Gr 1 winner Shower of Roses by Zabeel), Diamond Lover (dam of Gr 1 winner Don Eduardo by Zabeel), Kaapstad, Champion Sire and Mouawad (by Zabeel). Colombia is unraced due to an injury, but there is no arguing about the quality of Colombia’s genetic potential to produce performers at all levels.
Longspring Stud, established in 1982, has been NZ’s most successful center for sport horse breeding with such top class horses as Super Moth (NZ Horse of the Year and NZ Showjumper of the Year five times), Duty Free (Norwood Gold Cup), Falcon (Norwood Gold Cup), Danzar LS, Denver, Blondini, and many more at top level in equestrian sport. But that is all about to undergo major expansion with a new interest in thoroughbreds for racing starting with Colombia this spring.
Interestingly enough, they join a group of elite equestrian competitors who now focus on thoroughbreds as a mid-life career or interest change – Jeff McVean, Ann & Harvey Wilson, Graeme Hart (Fernhill Stud), Blyth Tait and Merran Hain to name a few.
Since the deal was signed to stand Colombia at Longspring in late April, progeny of Colombia has posted another 4 wins and 6 good placings from almost as many horses with a win for Tiger King in the Macau Derby Trial L, Moonglow’s fourth win in Hong Kong, and two wins in a row at long odds for Kid Columbus who at 6 is now coming into the spotlight.
Stud Fee for 2009
Plans are to stand Colombia with a reduced stud fee at $3500 + gst to be competitive given the current climate and intending breeders can either contact the stud or talk directly with Norm Hawthorne in Matamata.
Longspring History
The interest in racehorses is not new to the family. The Vallances have a long tradition of producing race horses as well as jumpers and hunters. Their best race horse was Sturdee who won the Grand National Steeplechase in 1924 with trainer Miss G Maher and the ornate Silver cup is proudly on display in the homestead along with a complete set of NZ Studbooks starting from Vol 1 in 1899.
While racing was in the blood, current owners Rupert and Anne Vallance had a slightly different approach when they took over the farm in 1980 and focused on sport horses with the importation of a specialized Hanoverian jumping stallion Distelfink. He turned out to be a great success at stud producing more top sport horses than any other stallion to date in NZ. Their daughter Victoria however, who is now managing breeding on the stud farm is interested in racing so its back to thoroughbreds for the future alongside the sport horse operation.
“We couldn’t believe our luck in securing Colombia to kick start our thoroughbred breeding plans. We always admired Colombia as an overall type when we spotted him at John O’Brien’s Newmarket Lodge. He is a beautiful type and athletic looking horse and his pedigree is impeccable. He has a lot of appeal to the owner/breeder who isn’t targeting the yearling sales and wants to breed their own racehorse.”
Longspring Stud Facilities
Longspring is a 470 acre property about 15 minutes from Masterton in the Wairarapa. There is a full complement of stud facilities including 14 looseboxes, an assortment of yards and post and rail foaling paddocks. It even boasts a large animal operating theatre with padded recovery area. As a requirement for the sport horse breeding business, Longspring also have a modern lab facility for evaluating stallion semen and inseminating sport horse mares as well as training arenas for breaking in and working horses.
Victoria who has a degree in Animal Science, manages the breeding at Longspring and is a very experienced technician in equine reproduction. She worked with a specialist equine vet in the USA, and on her return to NZ in 2005, lectured students in Equine Reproduction at Massey University for 3 years. Her business Syenz is the agent for several European sport horse studs who ship frozen semen from their top proven sires into NZ for use in the sport horse industry on a limited basis. Through Syenz, the facility also operates as a “stallion station” and has a number of outside stallions that come in for the season from other owners.
Best bloodlines in the country!
“It is exciting for us to now have one of the best bred sires from true blue NZ bloodline to kick off our plans for a niche market in staying type racehorses that could be sold overseas as jumpers. If we are half as lucky with Colombia as we were with Distelfink, we expect to be right up there in the years to come too. A Melbourne cup winner would be the ultimate goal of course!”
“And if the progeny don’t work out on the race track, there is an excellent market in NZ and overseas for thoroughbred event horses overseas with the size, conformation and talent we can see in the Colombia progeny. He already has 3 youngsters that are just starting to make their way into eventing and turning a few heads. Either way we plan to win in this game. And we have the best bred and looking stallion in the country to do it.”
“We will probably use Colombia over a select few sport horse mares this season because we are confident he is the type to produce outstanding looking and performing horses for the sport. It is not often you get access to such bloodlines for equestrian sport at an earlier age. TB stallions seem to be ‘discovered’ when they are older and then it is too late to breed many.”
“Colombia certainly has that X factor that makes you really take notice of him. He is all stallion and shows off well. He has a great temperament and a good mind. Nothing seems to phase him but he certainly likes to know what is going on around him – as good stallions do!”
Black Beauty / No chestnuts
And if the pedigree and X factor wasn’t appeal enough, Colombia will never produce a chestnut foal so if you are after a ‘black beauty’ he is the horse for it!
FURTHER INFORMATION
Contact Rupert, Anne or Victoria Vallance at 06 378 2310 (office) or 06 378 8983 (home) or email rupert@longspring.co.nz .
