The snow-white senior at the Maas J. Hell stud farm, like all horses, automatically turned a year older on 1 January. Now aged 30, Calido I – who ranks among the world’s most influential sires in horse breeding – is the oldest Holsteiner stallion still active in breeding. In phenomenal form – lively, expressive and highly engaged – Calido I last appeared in November 2020 at the farewell event for Holstein’s breeding director, Dr Thomas Nissen. He is a perfect example of what good husbandry, genetics and meticulous care can achieve.

Exquisite genetics
: Calido I, by Cantus out of Baroness von Coriander (line 5064), was born on 2 April 1991 at the stud of his breeder, Matthias Kahlen, in Neuendeich. His pedigree features three appearances each of the stallion Cor de la Bryere A.N., the Thoroughbred Cottage Son xx and the Anglo-Arab Ramzes, and two appearances of the Thoroughbred Anblick xx. Both on his dam’s and sire’s sides, there is a line of exceptionally successful sport horses. Calido I himself has impressively demonstrated his breeding ability. The Holstein stallion, who was discovered and purchased by Maas J. Hell, has 83 licensed sons; more than 300 of his offspring alone have achieved success up to international Class S show jumping. His daughters too – including 68 State Premium mares – do their famous sire proud. The total lifetime prize money earned by Calido’s offspring, as recorded by the FN, now stands at around 4.3 million euros. Prominent examples include the licensed stallion Coupe de Coeur, who won the German Championships with Rene Tebbel and enjoyed success on the Global Champions Tour with Ludger Beerbaum; the licensed DSP Cashmoaker (Denis Nielsen); the mare Caleya (Kathrin Eckermann); and K Club Lady, winner of the Nations Cup in Aachen with Cian O’Connor (IRL). At the 2008 Olympic Games, Calido sired no fewer than three Olympic horses: Noblesse M (Pius Schwizer/SUI), California (Taizo Sugitani/JPN) and Cajak (Eiken Sato/JPN).

The “boss” in Klein Offenseth
Calido I has spent almost his entire life at the Maas J. Hell stud farm in Klein Offenseth, where he is the “apple of the eye” of his groom, Friederike Bünning, who has been looking after him for eight years. Generally speaking, the station’s older stallions are looked after with no less care than the young ones. Station owner Herbert Ulonska attaches great importance to this. Whether in the Holstenhalle or at the stallion presentations at the station in Klein Offenseth – the noble and confident 1.67-metre-tall stallion always attracts attention. He is the ‘boss’ in the stable and ‘he knows it too’, says Friederike Bünning with a smile. As is quite common with horses, the stallion values his daily routines: out first thing in the morning; eating is ‘super important’ – he’s happy to eat up to five times a day. Getting some attention, as well as inspection rounds in the paddock or the indoor arena, round off the day. Both outdoors and indoors, the stallion, like all horses, enjoys a good roll now and then and, despite being 30 years old, gets back on his feet nimbly and swiftly. “Standing still and being groomed isn’t really his thing,” says Friederike Bünning, and he certainly makes that clear. Calido is extremely charming when it comes to coaxing little treats out of “his people”, and he has a sort of “internal clock”: Any delays in the daily routine are ‘criticised’ in a way that’s clearly audible. When the connecting gates between the two large stallion paddocks in front of the stable are all open, he’ll sometimes gallop excitedly back and forth from one end to the other because he’s spotted something exciting. Friederike Bünning: “He sometimes behaves as if he were three rather than 30 years old, and as if he’d never seen a bale of wood shavings or a car before.”
Opposite the “boss” are stallions such as Acodetto, Canstakko, For ever Jump and the rising star Central Park; his immediate stable neighbour is the 26-year-old Selle Français stallion Lassergut Hym d’Isigny. The “chatty” Hym and Calido maintain peaceful relations from stall to stall. Just a few metres away, a great-grandson moved into a stall a few years ago following his licensing: the now seven-year-old Quiwi Capitol by Quiwi Dream, an outstanding winner of his 2020 stallion performance test who was awarded top marks, hailing from the famous Holstein mare line 173 – in other words, the generation after the one after the next.

Online stallion presentation on 7 February
The stallions from the Maas J. Hell stud will be featured in an online stallion presentation on 7 February at 11.00 am at www.clipmyhorse.tv, and will subsequently be available in the archive there. Calido I will also be back to be admired as he deserves, because, firstly, he has earned it, says Herbert Ulonska, and secondly, “he loves being the centre of attention”.

Press release from the Maas J. Hell Stud, photo by Janne Bugtrup