Twin Embryos. Photo Supplied by Dr Lee Morris
EQUIBREED ART LEADING NZ EMBRYO SERIES
Winner: Benrose Stellar
There’s plenty to love about the new EquiBreed ART Leading Embryo Series, just ask sponsor Dr Lee Morris and winning breeders Glen and Sarah Beal.
The very in-form Benrose Stellar, in the hands of owner Sophie Scott, won the series, ahead of Olympic Cup winner LT Holst Freda and Julie Davey, and in third place was Gladiator ECPH with Logan Massie.
To qualify for the series, the horse had to be from an embryo created and born in New Zealand with the winners receiving a service fee to a VDL stallion.
“We wanted to recognise the breeder of the embryos,” says Lee. “They are breeding top horses and while it is an expensive process it is so worth doing for these elite horses. You are breeding the best with the best and we are absolutely delighted to see the embryos right up there. The proof is in the pudding!”
In the past five years there has been a rapid rise in embryo technology. “We want to raise awareness about embryos. There are so many reasons to do it – the mare can be a career woman and still have progeny on the ground. It is good to get some horses bred early in their careers through embryos, and they continue to add value to their progeny because they are still out there competing. These embryos have an out of body experience and come out as amazing horses!”
Her passion for equine reproduction is palpable and she has been at the forefront of the industry for decades, opening opportunities for New Zealand breeders many never even considered before. Her track record speaks for itself and she’s had a hand in hundreds of top-performing horses. Olympian Katie Laurie has a string of embryo horses in her yard and Tokyo Olympic horse Fiber Fresh Popeye is another one.
“We only make champions,” she says proudly.
Lee has been sponsoring showjumping since 2002 and never tires of being swept up in the excitement of the sport. “We like to keep our fingers on the pulse of it all,” she says. “We want to see who our breeders are breeding and how they are performing.”
Benrose Stellar’s breeder Glen Beal was absolutely chuffed to win the series.
“It is amazing,” he says. “Stellar has been incredible but to be fair, Sophie has ridden her very well. She is a great little jockey and done a fantastic job. Other horses I have bred have been great jumpers but you need those good riders on them. The best thing ever was Sophie getting Stellar – it has been magic to watch.”
He breeds a horse every second year or so – sometimes more. “Back then I was producing for myself but I am getting a bit old now and finding it harder to ride,” says Glen.
For years he had “played” with horses at a “reasonable level” before selling them. But at 47 he decided he wanted to do better than that and bought Solano and went on to ride his first Grand Prix at 50.
Solano was out of Vicki Prendergast’s mare Sanderson who went to the Olympic Games in Sydney as an eventer for the Brazilian team. She was her first foal post the Games.
Glen won the Pro-Am Series with Solano and with things going so well he decided to breed from her. He sent her to local stallion Lordano for the first time and “fluked” twin – Stellar and Soprano who became Glen’s Grand Prix horse.
Later he would swap Stellar when in foal to Kannan back to Vicki for Sacramento who was Solano’s younger brother.
Glen says he opted to use an embryo transfer purely because he didn’t want to take Solano out of competition. The twins were transferred into separate surrogate mares, both of which had conceived with the foals born a day apart.
“The thing is you don’t want to leave it too late to breed from your good mares and this way you can have both – competition mares with a breeding option,” he says.
“It is really hard as a small scale breeder to get recognition so it is fantastic Lee has put this up so people like me can have a crack at it.”
Results – Benrose Stellar (by Lordano out of Solano who is by Senator VDL – bred by Glen and Sarah Beal) 181 points 1, LT Holst Freda (by Colman out of LT Holst Andrea who is by Casall – bred by Ewen McIntosh) 175 points 2, Gladiator ECPH (by Grand Slam VDL out of Ephebe For Ever mare – bred by East Coast Performance Horses) 49 points 3, Millionaire VWNZ (by VDL Emillion out of Showtym Girl who is by Green Perfume – bred by Vicki Wilson) 36 points 4.
Diana Dobson