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EUROCOMMERCE SAMORANO

In November 2006, in his 70-days-test in Adelheidsdorf, Samorano got 113.34 points for dressage and 122.78 points for jumping where he came eighth and sixth respectively in these two disciplines. His total index was even a bit better: with 123.47 points he came in as fourth out of 33 participants. Exactly one year previously, in Verden at the autumn approvals, he got the green light from the jury and at a price of 32,000 euros he moved to Holland. At the time he was the most expensive of four Stakkato sons of which three were licensed.

In Hannover, Stakkato is a sort of national hero- at least amongst show jumper breeders- because this young foundation sire (b.1993) has since been responsible for the revival of the nearly defunct S lineage. This was founded in 1946 by the immigrant asylum seeker Semper Idem- a chestnut, born in 1934 in the for ever lost horse paradise of Trakehnen; in the winter of 1944/45 he was evacuated to the Neustadt/Dosse stud farm and in April 1945 to the safer, more westerly, state stud Celle. Semper Idem (“unchanging”) was out of Dampfross (‘steam locomotive’) from a daughter of Parsival. Powerful stallions all, the name Dampfross speaks volumes: “Let the locomotive stamp and snort, Flying shrilly on the track, For us, waving it on, The sound is as music to the ears.” Actually, Semper Idem himself fits the bill: at a height of 167, a chest width of 198 and a long bone of 22.5 cm he seems, on paper, to be more of a classic Geldersman than a modern Trakehner. In 1951, his son Senator was born and it is from him that the two branches originate- albeit small branches that still remain. Although Semper Idem’s pedigree contained a lot of thoroughbred in the background he was, as conforming to today’s Trakehner standards, rather big: apparantly not a pedigree horse.

And seeing that Senator’s dam was a powerful, heavy mare with an ugly- Germans say more prettily:“unbeautiful” – head, it is not surprising that the remaining traces of Trakehner nobility was quickly watered down in following generations. Thus the illogical fact that out of a half Trakehner Senator two jumping lineages emerged: via hi son Sender, the Salvano line (via his son Salieri the grand sire of Anky van Grunsven’s Salinero) and via Sesam I, the line that ultimately, when the market was divided, produced Stakkato.

Here we come at last to Samorano’s sire who himself performs at the CSIs under Eva Bitter and who has been, for several years already, leading the breeding ratings for show jumpers of all German sires.

Samorano’s dam is slightly less well known although she must rank highly among those with idiotic names: Wienerwürstchen (Vienna sausage)- what a name for a horse! Nevertheless in the mare tests for the special Hanoverian show jumping horse programme she got a 7 for walk, a 9 for trot, an 8 for canter, a 7 for ease of riding and for free jumping a 9.5. She is out of Wienerwald out of Domina, s. Donn Juan-Servus; her full sister Wienna has her own winnings of 7,500 euros and who had her mare test in Texas, USA. The American Hanoverian Society awarded Wienna with an 8 for technique and a 10 (!) for suitability and a 9 for overall impression. With all the above-mentioned included, that10 lets us presume that our Samorano could grow up to become a real pichichi. Besides the footballer whose other nickname is “Ivan el Terrible” (Ivan the Terrible), he has a number of equestrian namesakes: a dressage horse (Voltaire-Creool) of the American horsewoman Elizabeth Harris, a seven year old show jumper (Concorde-Burggraaf) of Niels Tacken- also loaned now and then to nephew Emile, and finally the trotter Samorano JB (Park Ridge Lobell-Noble Darby).