Voltaire
Ancestry
Voltaire is the result of crossing two outstanding
bloodlines, Furioso II and Gotthard. Furioso II produced 200 state
premium mares and at least 68 approved stallions of which several
are standing at stud in other continents. One can easily say that
Furioso II has influenced the bredding industry worldwide. The
full brother of Furioso II is the French stallion Mexico, whose
son Le Mexico is a familiar name in Dutch breeding and frequently
appears in the pedigrees of successful showjumpers.
The dam's sire Gotthard is, now more than twelve
years after his death, almost a legend in German sport horse breeding
and his name is simply a synonym for the Hanoverian showjumper.
Who has not heard of Goldika, Goya, Queensway and Genius? Gotthard's
strength is continued in his sons (for instance Goldberg, Goldpilz,
Gottschalk, Goldstern, Gardestern and Godehard) and grandsons,
but also indirectly on the dam's side of for instance Grundstein
and Grannus, who died in 1992.
Vital in Voltaire's pedigree is the connection
in the third generation to More Magic xx (amongst others of Moscow
gold medal winner Mon Cherie) on one side and on the other side
Furioso xx (sire of the gold medal winners Lutteur B and Pomone
B).
Performance
As an 8 yr old Voltaire jumped 1.50m courses
with a great deal of success. He showed his prowess in international
jumping in 1988 in Calgary, Stockholm, Lanaken, Helsinki, Wiesbaden
and Wembly and in 1989 he brought his showjumping career to a
successful end by winning the Grand Prix of Berlin.
Progeny
Voltaire stands very high on the index for both
jumping and dressage. each year so far a son of Voltaire has been
approved for breeding in the Netherlands: Olympic Concorde, Damocles,
Equador, Farmer, Gershwin and in 1992 Haarlem. In Germany three
Voltaire sons were approved, along th the stallions Electro in
Sweeden and Forever in Belgium. Many offspring of Voltaire are
already awarded high premiums and, examplified by Hallo Hallo,
Fantast, Dante, Vivaldi, Especiale, Electra, Etaire, Don and Concorde,
are jumping 1.40/1.50, courses. It is no surprise that Voltaire
meanwhile received 'keur' predicate.