by Fran Jurga | 8 March 2010 | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com
He’s the hottest dressage horse in the world; the greatest sensation since the late Blue Hors Matine danced her way through the 2006 World Equestrian Games and into our hearts. But unlike Matine, Moorlands Totilas is still sound and still winning six months after breaking all the records in Europe last summer at Hickstead and the European Championships.
And now his owners have announced that he is available for breeding, even as he campaigns his way toward the 2010 World Equestrian Games.
Yes, Moorlands Totilas is the #1 dressage horse competing in the world today, and he happens to be a stallion. His own sire, Gribaldi, died last month, quite unexpectedly. So Totilas enters the world stage of breeding, and we will see if he excels at that as he does at pleasing the judges.
Totilas will stand for a fee of roughly $7500 in US dollars. Three stations in The Netherlands are authorized to accept mares and inseminate them with his frozen sperm from now until September, but if you read the fine print in the contract, there is a provision for overseas breedings, with the semen to be shipped by air.
But all mares will need to be screened and approved before a list is compiled of those who will be receiving the semen this year.
Utrecht University’s Equine Clinic has been chosen as one of three addresses in the Netherlands where mares may be inseminated during the breeding season. The other two are Holstud in Harskamp and KI Station Dirckx in Weert.
For an application and to see what the terms of the contract entail, or just to dream of what the foal might look like if Totilas was bred to your mare, go to: www.totilas.nl.
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