Interview with Natalia Bronnikova: in order to reach the heights, you need a horse that matches the world level!

On April 21, the Prokoni.ru team attended a stallion show, as well as a master class with Rainy Tevis, a Dutch horse breeder and trainer, and an open lesson with the Master of Sports of Russia in dressage – Evgeny Sharangovich at the KSK “Kartsevo”.

At the end of the event, we managed to talk with Rainy Tevis and the director of the Kartsevo equestrian center – Natalia Bronnikova! On the site you can find detailed information about the past show, as well as read the commentary of Polina Yarantseva, a student of Evgeny Sharangovich, who took part in an open lesson in tandem with Florence and an interview with Raini. Today we are sharing an interview with Natalia Bronnikova, in which we discussed not only the stallion show, but also touched upon important selection issues.

Etoile, Raini and Natalia

Prokoni: Please share your impressions of the event. Tell us, how many years has a stallion show been held in Kartsevo in a row?

Nataliya: I am very pleased that a large number of guests gathered at this show, among which were not just lovers of equestrian sports and horses, but also riders and breeding professionals. I am pleased that we were visited by one of the reputable horse breeders – Oleg Vsevolodovich Sheiko – the owner of the Elitar PKF, as well as the honored coach of the USSR and Russia Vladimir Ivanovich Kuklin, who trained 3 Olympic champions in skiing: these people know firsthand about the sport of high achievements.

Show 2019

The first show was held in 2012, we organize them every year. On the one hand, at the show we have the opportunity to show our stallions in the best light, on the other hand, this is a zootechnical event aimed at ensuring that breeders can decide on the choice of stallions for their mares before the breeding season.

We plan to hold the show annually and expand the line-up of producers. This year he was joined by a 4-year-old stallion – Kenrava with a unique and promising pedigree.

Prokoni: What qualities should a good dressage horse have?

Nataliya: I have always been guided by the principle that a good horse must have at least four qualities: correct conformation, excellent movements, excellent health and good character. And, if at least one of the qualities is missed, then we will not see a good dressage horse. All four qualities are very important.

Prokoni: Previously, KSK Kartsevo specialized in training and breeding not only dressage horses, but also jumping horses, why did the choice fall on dressage?

Natalia: Yes, before we even had three areas: dressage, show jumping and Friesian horses, but it is very difficult to be a professional in all three areas, and we decided to focus on dressage.

I think that dressage in Russia is more developed than other disciplines. And finding a good show jumper and trainer proved to be much more difficult than in dressage. For more than 10 years we have been cooperating with Tatyana Dorofeeva, a master of sports of international class, winner of Russian championships, multiple winner and prize-winner of international competitions.

Part of the Kartsevo team at the competition (Evgeny Sharangovich on Kartsevo Goldfinch – the son of Jazz)

Prokoni: What do you look for when buying horses for breeding? What qualities should a good dressage horse have, if we take into account the prospect of the level of European Championships, World Championships?

Nataliya: For us, breeding and sport are linked and go hand in hand. First of all, these are all the same qualities that I listed earlier: exterior, movements, health plus character and additionally pedigree, to which we pay great attention. And it is especially important for us that as many prize-winning horses as possible be concentrated in the pedigrees of our horses.

And speaking of standards, in order to reach the top, the horse you choose must be world class. No half measures. Only the highest goals.

Prokoni: In the pedigrees of many of the stallions presented at the show, there is an outstanding world-class stud – Jazz, why choose him?

Natalia: Actually, I’m a big Jazz fan. Jazz has long been the leader in the world ranking of stud stallions, which is maintained by the world association of sports studbooks. And he is perhaps one of the main stallions who produces horses for the Grand Prix level.

Photo: Jazz/The Horse Magazine

Yes, I know that the reputation of his foals is not always good: horses from him are not considered suitable for amateur riders, while they are very prolific in work, smart and talented, and also have all the prerequisites for a Grand Prix. These horses are very fast and sensitive, so if you have a little patience at the very beginning (and we are not afraid of difficulties), then you will get a good result at the end!

Prokoni: There are two licensed stallions among the KSK studs – Etual and Hammer, approved not only by the KWPN studbook, but also by the Hanoverian: what features do they have and what do they pass on to their descendants?

Natalia: In our farm Etual has been producing for the fourth season, before that he worked in the Netherlands for two seasons (37 descendants are registered from him there). Etoile is the son of Don Shufro, who, under the saddle of Andreas Helgstrand, became the bronze medalist of the Hong Kong Olympics in 2008, this is the horse whose descendants are distinguished by good work of the hind legs and all the makings for passage and piaffe, plus an accommodating character. Don Shufro produces at the Blue Hors stud in Denmark, where a huge number of horses are registered from him.

Evgeny Sharangovich and Etoile

When I spoke with the owner of Don Shufro, Mr. Esben Moller, he said that one of the most basic qualities of Don Shufro, which he passes on to his children, is not so much a predisposition to the Grand Prix, but that they are a “workable horse”. This means that the offspring of Don Shufro is distinguished by increased efficiency and good character.

When you look at Etoile, you can see that he is a licensed stallion with all the qualities that a Dutch and Hanoverian studbook wants to see: a stunning conformation and very good movements.

Etual

The breeding studbook of Dutch Bloodhorses considers thatEtoile can improve genetic diversity, hind leg work, height, size and line length. From him are obtained foals of long lines on a high leg, with a good exit of the neck and an expressive head.

If Etoile is German blood with a bit of Dutch blood (Don Shufro and Rubinstein), then Hammer (the son of Westpoint, who at one time was the World Champion in young horses in Verden) is more of a consolidated Dutch blood.

Last year Hamer’s first offspring was obtained in our farm – this is a filly with the necessary height, conformation and very good movements (high correct trot, rhythmic gallop). We are impressed with Hammer’s first bet!

Kartsevo Hammer and Evgeny Sharangovich

Prokoni: KSK “Kartsevo” has repeatedly participated in the World Championship for young horses, how did you manage to reach such a level?

Nataliya: This is the result of the work of the entire Kartsevo Dressage Team, which includes talented horses and riders, professional grooms, competent managers, doctors and farriers, physiotherapists and nutritionists. And the most important people are coaches. In our work, we use the advice of Dutch mentors: Laurens van Leeren, Kirsten and Anne-Marie Brouwer. Kirsten was the World Champion in Verden on a 6-year-old Dancer (from Vivaldi) and a multiple silver and bronze medalist at the World Championships. Recently, we have been cooperating with the head coach of the Dutch dressage team, Alex van Silfhout. And our head coach is Tatyana Vitalievna Dorofeeva. I believe that she is the most authoritative trainer in Russia who knows how to properly train horses.

The motto of our team: Team work makes the dream work!

Together with Alex van Silfhout

Prokoni: It’s no secret that the quality of horses born on the farm depends on the selection of good mares: tell us about the breeding stock of KSK Kartsevo. How do you choose mares, what selection system is in place?

Nataliya: As it turned out, the selection of mares is a much more difficult task than choosing a stallion or a sports horse, because in addition to all the above qualities, a mare must have an outstanding pedigree: it is desirable that all mares on the maternal side be marked with predicates (premiums), and also have good sports results.

All our mares are at least Elite titles, have exterior and movement scores of 80-85 points. All mares with this title have clean x-rays.

Thus, when choosing a mare, we pay attention to the pedigree, the presence of clean x-rays (health without remarks), the correct conformation and very good movements. As it turned out, choosing a good mare is even more difficult than choosing a stallion!

Prokoni: Can you describe in detail the ideal mare format for breeding? Make a portrait.

Natalia: For me, a certain ideal of a breeding horse is the main uterus of KSK “Kartsevo” – the mare Andy. We had the opportunity to purchase a mare from Hub van Helfort, the best Dutch horse breeder, and even the champion of the Netherlands (the highest title and achievement for mares at 3 years of age), who has all the titles for a breeding mare.

Mare Andy

Andy comes from a maternal family that has produced a huge number of licensed stallions and premium mares, she brings us foals every year. She has 10 descendants. Andy steadfastly transfers his black suit, she is beautiful, prolific, on chic movements. She was trained by Adelinde Cornelissen before joining our breeding team. Perhaps this is my ideal.

Prokoni: Which stud farms in the world are examples for you?

Nataliya: I am impressed with the results of the Danish breeding studbook and the Blue Horse stud is one of the highlights for me.

Prokoni: What is the secret of KWPN’s success, in your opinion? Is it possible to repeat their success in Russia?

Nataliya: Anything is possible if done right. If you take the work of the Dutch Union as an example, they used leading German and thoroughbred sires on Dutch mares, subjected their offspring to serious selection, and achieved such high results.

I think the key to success is the best producers, hard work and very strict selection. It takes a good eye and great talent to see the natural ability of horses.

Natalia noted that so far the leader of the Russian selection remains the Kursk stud farm – KFH “Traken”, where such outstanding horses as: Mr. X, riding under the saddle of Inessa Merkulova, Wax, showing good results with Marina Aframeeva, and Obolensky, who is in the work of Ella Ivanova.

Photo: Inessa Merkulova and Mister X/ Dressage Today

Prokoni: What are your future plans in breeding and sport?

Nataliya: We would like to expand the breeding stock (we are currently working on it) and the stallion depot. To make the procedure of artificial insemination of mares using fresh chilled semen more accessible, to master the embryo transfer procedure and to replenish the cryobank with the semen of the world’s leading manufacturers. We have the most ambitious plans in sports – victories in all tournaments where we will participate!

Thanks to Natalia for an interesting and detailed interview!

Photos provided by KSK “Kartsevo”.