Breeding evolves constantly, but…
The Roelofs Formula always remains the same!
In 2010 39 years of performance breeding was rewarded with the highest honor. Roelofs Stud was proclaimed ‘KWPN Breeder of the Year’. This was a recognition of perseverance, of sticking to a very personal breeding vision.
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In order to breed a long list of Grand Prix show jumpers and approved stallions and to be awarded with the highest honor, Roelofs Stud went through several phases.
Herman Roelofs, who laid the foundation of our breeding successes, started transforming the best dam lines from the north of Holland into modern sport horses, using one of the best Thoroughbred stallions of the 20-th century Abgar xx and the top Holstein stallion Joost. Afterwards, we broadened our genetic basis using only the best European performance stallions.
We set the highest demands for performance and genetic value. For the sires we used, but also for our beautiful northern dam lines. And we continued breeding only the best of them.
Valuable KWPN approved stallions were the result of our strict selection for performance, soundness and pedigree (especially looking for a high percentage of thoroughbred blood). This breeding strategy produced sires such as Germus R and Odermus R and the influential ‘keur’ stallions Mermus R and Namelus R. Using these stallions to our brood mares, we doubled the genetic value of the Roelofs dam lines, producing the proven sires Sam R and Tolan R and the great promise for the future Zazou R. The last – and most excellent – fruit of the Roelofs selection is KWPN champion stallion Arthos R, who concluded his performance testing in the autumn of 2008 with high marks.
Stal Roelofs was very successful at the KWPN Stallion Show 2011.
Three home bred colts, from distinguished bloodlines, were invited for the performance test: two sons of Mr. Blue and the second Reserve Champion of the KWPN Stallion Show by Namelus R out of a Contender dam.
Looking at the phases Roelofs Stud has gone through, we see that breeding is a continuous process of change. But what remains the same, even after 39 years, is:
The Roelofs Formula
Breeding blood type performance horses with maximum ability for international show jumping, who are sound and long-lasting.
The blood type shows in the conformation. We like to breed horses with a noble expression. But foremost our tendency towards blood shows in the temperament and agility of our horses. They jump with quick reflexes and a lot of quality, they are light and easy to ride and keep up doing the tough job also at the last day.
Training and sales are left to the care of BWG Stables (Ben and Wim Schröder).
We wish you all the best for the upcoming breeding season.
Herman Roelofs
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Abgar xx keur
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Joost pref
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The Formula for Succesful Breeding
Foundation sire Abgar xx is the ‘modernizer’ who laid the fundament of each and every Roelofs-product. Already in the seventies and eighties of the last century, this tremendously sound thoroughbred stallion sired up to 80 show jumpers at national and international level, 17 of which became top FEI-horses.
The Abgar xx dams were crossed with a foundation sire from Holstein: Joost. Soon the Joost x Abgar xx combination turned out to be a golden cross, that produced top show jumpers such as VIP, Blue Chip, Osta Carpets Carrera, Attent ZB, Jogger and Hay Guy.
Afterwards Roelofs combined the finest of his female Joost x Abgar generation with the European elite, the outstanding sires of international show jumper breeding: Cor de la Bryère, Landgraf, Voltaire, Ramiro Z, Zeus, Almé Z or their successful (grand)sons Calido, Contender, Calando I, Burggraaf and Concorde.
We work very systematically, according to the IQRS (International Quality Rating System), licensed by the Norwegian "Det Norkse Veritas" Quality Certification Agency, with our breeding, rearing, selecting and training up to International level.
