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Contango Offspring Excel Coast to Coast
Posted: Apr 8, 2008
Coatesville, PA — Over the past decade Iron Spring Farm's Preferent KWPN stallion Contango has had a great impact on sport horse breeding for dressage and jumping. That influence was proven again when his progeny lit up the dressage rings from California to Florida earlier this month.
On the West Coast at the 2008 Burbank CDI-W/Y, Olympic medalist Steffen Peters rode Ravel to wins in both the FEI Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix with scores of 69.320 and 69.083 respectively. The gorgeous bay gelding out of a Democraat mare is recognized for his three solid gaits, including a fabulous canter. He was bred by Mr. H de Man and was previously ridden by Edward Gal. Peters continued his winning ways on Montango, a 14-year-old gelding by Contango out of Benellie by Joost. The duo claimed the blue ribbon in the Prix St. Georges class with a score of 70.083 and Intermediaire I with a score of 68.833. Both horses went on to win all of their classes at the two CDIs in California in March with scores as high as 76.450% for Ravel in the Grand Prix Freestyle at the Festival of the Horse CDI.
Three thousand miles away, six Contango sons and daughters turned in impressive performances at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI-W/Y. Jodie Stevens Kelly aboard Wencenza, bred and owned by Beth Godwin of Freeport, Florida, won the FEI 5-Year-Old class scoring an impressive 78.60. "She was awesome and the judges were very enthusiastic," Kelly says of the mare who has only been back to work since August, after having her first foal by Sir Sinclair. Kelly first spotted the flashy chestnut mare at Godwin's Jolly Bay Farm as a three year old. "I saw Beth ride her one time and said I had to have her. It's been our running joke that I stole her from them," she recalls. Godwin imported Wencenza's dam, Piacenza, sight unseen from Toine Hoefs. Eventually she selected Contango for the chestnut mare. "I thought he was absolutely stunning," she recalls of the bay stallion. Godwin has been thrilled with the result. She continues, "She has a really great brain. I started her under saddle myself." Wencenza has qualified for the Markel/USEF National Young Horse Dressage Championships, but plans also include a UB40 foal via embryo transfer.
Other Contango offspring competing in the Derby included New Tango, a gelding by Contango who previously competed in the Pavo Cup Finals in the Netherlands. The 13-year-old gelding placed ninth, with a score of 65.37%, out of 32 entries in the CDI Grand Prix with Tara Stegen, of Wellington, Florida, on board. Caballero 37 competed in the CDI Intermediaire I with his amateur owner Lisa Dufresne of Sarasota, Florida. The 11-year-old Contango daughter Claudia finished third in a Fourth Level Test One AA/JR/YR class with owner Katherine Murray of Wellington, Florida. Savoir Faire, a nine-year-old bay gelding by Contango, competed in the Young Rider Prix St. Georges class during the CDI with his owner Hannah Michaels of Stuart, Florida. And Ilsa Schwarz, of Wellington, Fl, showed her homebred Cadenza in the Developing Horse class.
"I couldn't be more pleased with the success of these very talented horses," says Mary Alice Malone, owner of Iron Spring Farm. "Contango was a wonderful partner for me in the dressage arena. It's equally inspiring to see so many of his offspring achieving great success throughout the U.S. and Europe."
This success was confirmed a week after the coast-to-coast run of Contango offspring when the KWPN announced the breeding index of approved stallions. Contango tied with Cocktail for first place with a breeding index score of 178, and with reliability score of 90%, just 1% below Cocktail's, secured second position overall on the index. The index is based on results from approximately 500 offspring Contango sired in the Netherlands in two breeding seasons in 1993 and 1994 before he was exported to the U.S. in 1995. It is a testament to Contango's reliability for siring dressage talent to be at the top of the index with so few offspring.
Contango is by Contender and out of the States Premium mare Adisa III by Kronprinz. He began his career with a championship title from his 100-day test in Germany, scoring 146 points. Earning nine on temperament and trainability, he received top honors in dressage and jumping, a very unusual accomplishment. The only Preferent stallion in North America at the time of his death in 2007, Contango was a celebrated athlete and competitor, earning over 33 first place wins at Grand Prix including Dressage at Devon CDI-W and multiple CBLM and ABIC/USDF Region 1 Championships. As a sire, he has two approved sons, Citango and Maestro and two approved grandsons, Tango and Westenwind. His many successful offspring also include international jumpers Carousel, Nouvelle, Broere Newton and Nada Penny.
