Donnerhall
Encyclopedia
Donnerhall was a dressage
stallion
who was known not only for having a fantastic career as a sport horse
, but also passing on his abilities to his offspring to become an incredibly influential sire.
Donnerhall's dam, Ninette, also produced the mare Noblesse (by Pik Bube I). Ninette was from the Nagate line of mares. Her sire, Markus, was half-Thoroughbred and his sire Manolete xx is also found in the great eventing
horse Volturno, winner of 2 Olympic silver medals and a silver medal at the 1978 World Championships in Lexington.
, piaffe
, and extended trot.
Donnerhall had a stellar career as a dressage
horse, winning some of the most prestigious competitions, including over 65 FEI
Grand Prix Dressage classes and a life earning of D.M. 640,000. He was 1986 German DLG Champion in Hanover, beating out the very athletic Hanoverian stallion World Cup I. In 1994 German Champion (Mannheim), won the team gold and individual bronze at the Dressage World Championship
in 1994 and at the European Dressage Championship
in 1997 in Verden. In 1997, he also won the World Cup European League. Donnerhall earned his third team gold while finishing 4th individually at the 1998 Dressage World Championship. He was also named Oldenburg Stallion of the Year in 1998.
The stallion then went on a "farewell tour" that same year, retiring from competitive sport at the age of 17. He died January 2002 of acute intestinal toxicopathy.
Like his sire, Donnerhall stood at Grönwohldhof. His first few years produced only a few offspring, as the stud was a good distance from the main Oldenburg breeding areas. Within a few years, however, his popularity grew immensely. At the 1998 Federal Championship in Warendorf, more than 50% of the horses had Donnerhall in their pedigree http://www.horse-gate.com/donnerhall/index7_en.html.
Donnerhall passes on his flowing gait, presence, trainability, and excellent temperament.
The 2007 Hanoverian Stallion had Donnerhall offspring 763 winning dressage competitors (84 as show jumpers), with prize money totaling Euro 1,502,302.
Offspring include:
Dressage
Dressage is a competitive equestrian sport, defined by the International Equestrian Federation as "the highest expression of horse training." Competitions are held at all levels from amateur to the World Equestrian Games...
stallion
Stallion
A Stallion is a male horse.Stallion may also refer to:* Stallion , an American pop rock group* Stallion , a figure in the Gobot toyline* Stallion , a character in the console role-playing game series...
who was known not only for having a fantastic career as a sport horse
Sport horse
Sport horse, or Sporthorse, is a term used to describe a type of horse, rather than any particular breed. The term generally refers to horses bred for the traditional Olympic equestrian sporting events of dressage, eventing, show jumping, and combined driving. The precise definition varies...
, but also passing on his abilities to his offspring to become an incredibly influential sire.
- Color: Dark ChestnutChestnut (coat)Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...
- Markings: stripe into snip, sock on LF, half-cannon RF
- Sex: StallionStallion (horse)A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded .Stallions will follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck, as well as a somewhat more muscular physique as compared to...
- Breed: Oldenburg (horse)Oldenburg (horse)The Oldenburg is a warmblood horse from the north-western corner of Lower Saxony, what was formerly the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg. The breed was built on a mare base of all-purpose farm and carriage horses, today called the Alt-Oldenburger...
(registration #33-08870-81) - Approved For: HanovarianHanoverian (horse)A Hanoverian is a warmblood horse originating in Germany, which is often seen in the Olympic Games and other competitive English riding styles, and have won gold medals in all three equestrian Olympic competitions. It is one of the oldest, most numerous, and most successful of the warmbloods...
, WestphalianWestphalianWestphalian may refer to:* The culture or people of the Westphalia region of Germany* Westphalian language, one of the major dialect groups of West Low German* Westphalian sovereignty, a concept in international relations* Westphalian , in geology...
, HolsteinHolsteinHolstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
, Bavarian, Baden-Wurttemberg, Hessen, KWPNDutch WarmbloodA Dutch Warmblood is a warmblood type of horse registered with the Koninklijk Warmbloed Paardenstamboek Nederland A Dutch Warmblood is a warmblood type of horse registered with the Koninklijk Warmbloed Paardenstamboek Nederland A Dutch Warmblood is a warmblood type of horse registered with the...
, Danish Warmblood studbooks - Breeding: by Donnerwetter; out of Ninette, by Markus
- Breeder: Otto Gärtner (sometimes spelled Gaetner), East Holstein (Germany)
- Height: 16.3 hhHand (unit)The hand is a non-SI unit of measurement of length, now used only for the measurement of the height of horses in some English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. With origins in ancient Egypt, it was originally based on the breadth of a human hand...
(172 cm) - Rider: Karin Rehbein
Breeding
Donnerhall was by Donnerwetter, a stallion who stood at Grönwohldhof and competed at Grand Prix level with Herbert and Karin Rehbin before he was sold to the United States in 1990. His other approved sons include Donnerkiel, Dobrock and Don Wienero L.Donnerhall's dam, Ninette, also produced the mare Noblesse (by Pik Bube I). Ninette was from the Nagate line of mares. Her sire, Markus, was half-Thoroughbred and his sire Manolete xx is also found in the great eventing
Eventing
Eventing is an equestrian event comprising dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This event has its roots in a comprehensive cavalry test requiring mastery of several types of riding...
horse Volturno, winner of 2 Olympic silver medals and a silver medal at the 1978 World Championships in Lexington.
Dressage career
Donnerhall began his career in 1984, placing second out of 70 horses at his Stallion Performance Test held in Adelheidsdorf, with a score of 131.92. According to his rider, he was very easy to train, reaching the Grand Prix level of training in 2 years http://www.horse-gate.com/donnerhall/index4_en.html. He was especially known for his expressive passagePassage (dressage)
The passage is a movement seen in upper-level dressage, in which the horse performs a highly elevated and extremely powerful trot. The horse is very collected and moves with great impulsion....
, piaffe
Piaffe
The piaffe[p] is a dressage movement where the horse is in a highly collected and cadenced trot, in place or nearly in place. The center of gravity of the horse should be more towards the hind end, with the hindquarters slightly lowered and great bending of the joints in the hind legs...
, and extended trot.
Donnerhall had a stellar career as a dressage
Dressage
Dressage is a competitive equestrian sport, defined by the International Equestrian Federation as "the highest expression of horse training." Competitions are held at all levels from amateur to the World Equestrian Games...
horse, winning some of the most prestigious competitions, including over 65 FEI
International Federation for Equestrian Sports
The Fédération Équestre Internationale or in English, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, is the international governing body of equestrian sports. It recognizes ten international disciplines...
Grand Prix Dressage classes and a life earning of D.M. 640,000. He was 1986 German DLG Champion in Hanover, beating out the very athletic Hanoverian stallion World Cup I. In 1994 German Champion (Mannheim), won the team gold and individual bronze at the Dressage World Championship
Dressage World Championship
The Dressage World Championship is held every four years. The best horse and rider competitions in the world compete for individual and team titles. The Dressage World Championship is since 1990, held at the World Equestrian Games in conjunction with other equestrian world championships.-Individual...
in 1994 and at the European Dressage Championship
European Dressage Championship
The European Dressage Championship are the European Championship for the equestrian discipline of dressage. They are now held every 2 years, in odd-numbered years. Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals are awarded in both an individual and team competition...
in 1997 in Verden. In 1997, he also won the World Cup European League. Donnerhall earned his third team gold while finishing 4th individually at the 1998 Dressage World Championship. He was also named Oldenburg Stallion of the Year in 1998.
The stallion then went on a "farewell tour" that same year, retiring from competitive sport at the age of 17. He died January 2002 of acute intestinal toxicopathy.
Breeding career
Donnerhall has the highest dressage breeding value of all stallions at 271, and has produced over 77 approved sons, 450 broodmares (84 State Premium), and over 636 competition horses http://www.westbrookhanoverians.com/stallions.htm.Like his sire, Donnerhall stood at Grönwohldhof. His first few years produced only a few offspring, as the stud was a good distance from the main Oldenburg breeding areas. Within a few years, however, his popularity grew immensely. At the 1998 Federal Championship in Warendorf, more than 50% of the horses had Donnerhall in their pedigree http://www.horse-gate.com/donnerhall/index7_en.html.
Donnerhall passes on his flowing gait, presence, trainability, and excellent temperament.
The 2007 Hanoverian Stallion had Donnerhall offspring 763 winning dressage competitors (84 as show jumpers), with prize money totaling Euro 1,502,302.
Offspring include:
- Don Primero: Champion 5-year old German dressage horse in Verden at the 1990 Bundeschampionate (score of 9.3), now a Grand Prix level dressage horse, siring offspring which sell at 6-figures.
- Don Schufro: exported to Denmark, successful at Grand Prix with Andreas Helgstrand
- Don Frederico: Champion of 1999 Hanovarian stallion licensing and considered second most valuable sport horse stallion with a Breeding Value Index of 174 points.
- Donnerschlag
- Donnerschwee: sold for DM 220.000, the highest price up to that time paid for a horse at a German Breeding Association auction. Now competes at Grand Prix.
- Primavera: Champion Mare of the Oldenburg elite mare show in 1992, Champion Riding Horse in 1992, and third in the federal championships
- Deutsche Einheit: second in the Federal Championships in Verden in 1992. Sold for what was at that time a record price at the German Breed Societies auctions reaching DM420,000 (£147,000).
- Rastede Schloßpark: 4th place at the German Dressage Horse Championships
- De Niro
- Davignon I: Federal Riding Horse Champion of 1992.
- Hallo: won the elite mare show in Rastede in 1994.
- Duntroon: vice-champion stallion of the Oldenburg approvals in 1993; won the stallion performance test in Adelheidsdorf in 1994.
- High Noon 15: top dressage mare, full sister to Hallo.
- Donatello: Germany’s highest priced auction horse at the time he was sold (1996).
- Deinhard: sold to The Netherlands for DM 155,000 (£54,500) at the Vechta foal auction in 1998, a record price for a foal.