Remember The Thoroughbred Option - Seven
Captain Alberto Larraguibel, who guided his Thoroughbred stallion Huaso xx over an 8’1″ jump in 1949, setting a world high jump record which still stands today
High Jump, Long Jump, Athleticism & Thoroughbred Gold
STUDY SUCCESS!
“OK” many say “Thoroughbreds are fast but they just don’t have sufficient jump.”
This is the root cause of the demise of the thoroughbred in sport horse breeding, because the industry is dominated by show jumping, as a result of it’s huge popularity and the high values of show jumpers.
Eventers end up using the horses that are available and increasingly they are horses bred for showjumping.
However it may surprise many to know that Thoroughbred horses hold all the records for both long jump and high jump.
HIGH JUMP
The official Fédération Equestre Internationale record for the high jump is 2.47 m (8 ft 1.25 in) by the Thoroughbred stallion Huaso xx ex-Faithful xx, ridden by Capt. Alberto Larraguibel Morales (Chile) at Viña del Mar, Santiago, Chile on 5 February 1949.
LONG JUMP
Do you know how wide the massive open water is in the Hickstead Derby…….it’s 15ft ….and at Cheltenham in March at the big National Hunt festival most of these horses in the steeplechases will jump almost double that length over each fence… 26ft or 8m and many will jump even further.
Let me explain: Under the rules each steeplechase fence has to be a minimum of 1.37m (4’ 6”) high and at Cheltenham they are closer to height 1.50m (4’ 11”).
And don’t let anyone tell you they brush through the top six inches. They can do this over the Grand National fences now, but not over the stiff birch of National Hunt tracks.
Then each fence has to have a 2m ‘apron’ or slope in front of the fence. Getting tight to this apron will not produce a super fluent jump but being a metre or two metres away on take off is normal.
So adding this up …… there is a 2m standoff, plus 2m apron plus 4m away from the fence for landing…a total of 8m or 26’ 3”. Then early on in the race special horses like Altior xx will take off 3m to 4m away from the fence!
In these instances they are clearing 30ft, twice the length of the Hickstead Open water jump!
“It’s at a gallop” people will respond “any horse can do it at a gallop.” But I can assure you that even at a flat out gallop there are few show jumpers that can do this.
Of course not every Thoroughbred can do this either, but currently there are approximately 2,500 horses steeplechasing in Ireland and the UK and that is a huge body of horses achieving this long jump several times in every race.
THERE’S ALWAYS HOPE
The top rated National Hunt chaser of all time was the legendary Arkle xx, but the second rated chaser, only 1lb behind was the magnificent jumper Flyingbolt xx. Ted Walsh, the Irish racing guru has no doubt that Flyingbolt xx was the better horse, being a champion from 2 miles to 3 ½ miles and able to win with huge weights. He regularly jumped 33ft over his fences!
To give hope to all breeders Flyingbolt xx was out of a barren mare who was turned out with an infertile stallion to see if something might happen! The stallion was Airborne xx, who had won the Epsom Derby and was by Precipition xx.
Precipitation xx (and his sire Hurry On xx) are in my very select group of jumping supersires, having produced both the warmblood jumping God, Furioso xx, and Irish show jumping star stallion Prefairy xx.
Furioso xx is the sire of the full brothers and European jumping supersires Mexico and Furioso II.
Precipitation
Precipitation Pedigree Chart by SporthorseData
Precipitation Pedigree Chart by SporthorseData
Hurry On
Hurry On Pedigree Chart by SporthorseData
Hurry On Pedigree Chart by SporthorseData
THOROUGHBRED GOLD
Precipitation xx and Hurry On xx feature in many of the Australian and New Zealand sport horse greats, especially because of the Thoroughbred sire Brilliant Invader xx.
Brilliant Invader xx was sire of Blyth Tait’s double gold individual medalist Ready Teddy xx, dam sire of William Fox Pitt’s Parklane Hawk xx, winner of Blenheim, Burghley, Rolex, & twice third at Burghley, and sire of Andrew Nicholson’s Mister Maori xx, who won Luhmuhlen and was second at Saumur…not forgetting Wendy Schaffer’s Koyuna Sun Dancer xx, winner of Adelaide 5*.
He also sired a string of World Cup jumpers including Jeff McVean’s wonderful Grand Prix mare Dunstan Flower Power xx, the dam of the exceptional jumper Dunstan Delphi.
Brilliant Invader
Showjumping: 6-Olympic/World Championships 1.70m
Brilliant Invader Pedigree Chart by SporthorseData
Brilliant Invader Pedigree Chart by SporthorseData
Precipitation xx is a half brother of the superb jumping sire Persian Gulf xx. As well as sire of Furioso xx and Prefairy xx he also produced the Thoroughbred sires Admirals Luck xx, Agricola xx, Airborne xx, Chamossaire xx, Count Rendered xx, Court Command xx, Preciptic xx, Premonition xx, Sheshoon xx (Sire Of Sassafras xx), Summertime xx & Supreme Court xx.
For good measure he was damsire of Irish showjumping Thoroughbred favourite Bahrain xx, who in turn was grandsire of David O’Connor’s eventing multi-medalist Giltedge.
Preciitation xx’s sire Hurry On xx was also sire of Coronach xx, Defoe xx & Call Boy xx, and grandsire of the superbly bred Court Martial xx who features in so many jumping pedigrees both in Europe and the USA. So you can see an extraordinary jumping dynasty.
There is only one sire that I would argue has a bigger influence on jumpers, eventers, and racehorses in Ireland, the UK and USA and that is Hyperion xx.
Hyperion
Hyperion Pedigree Chart by SporthorseData
Hyperion Pedigree Chart by SporthorseData
But as with Arkle xx and Flyingbolt xx there is little between them, and for sport horse breeders we are fortunate that we can search the back breeding of our horses and bring together these two Thoroughbred jumping giants in our youngstock.
In addition as I mentioned before there are the five great Thoroughbred stallion Gods of the European Warmblood show jumping world.
The Thoroughbred stallions that feature in virtually every great showjumping line from Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium & France: Furioso xx, Rantzau xx, Ladykiller xx, Cottage Son xx & Lucky Boy xx.
Created By
William Micklem
21/Apr/2021
Best selling author International coach & speaker Breeder of WBFSH horse of the Year Mandiba, & Olympic medalist High Kingdom Finder of Team O’Connor’s Olympic medalists, Bico, Custom Made & Gilt Edge Inventor of the MICKLEM BRIDLE, MICKLEM GIRTH & The GO! Rules & The Winning EDGE for performance improvement
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Comments
Well done William, spreading the truth is hard going. One of the biggest lies in the industry I that the Thoroughbred can't jump....it's astounding this lie even grew feet, such BS. The source of the jump in the warmblood is their Thoroughbred and Trotter lines, not some mysterious continental horse they didn't bother to record....I traced the jump trait back through the ages and discovered most of the main modern jump lines go straight back to critical mass in Herod, an early Thoroughbred. The Thoroughbred never lost its jump and neither did the Trotter. Yet somehow we are to believe it died out in the source? How stupid are we? Wake up breeders and do some research like William has...the truth will reveal itself.
I have this boy in training with a showjumping trainer:
