With 23 stars, Valentina by C Indoctro-Landgraf I, from the legendary line 104A, is the next Holsteiner heroine whose story is told.
She comes from one of the most distinguished Holstein stud farms and fully lives up to this successful lineage: Valentina IX. She was born in Borsfleth at the stud farm of Prof. Dr Hartwig Schmidt in 2005. The successful breeder, who passed away in 2021, paired his Landgraf I daughter Thyra with the coveted bloodline of Capitol I via C-Indoctro. These genetics, which are anchored in line 104A, can be traced back to the foundation mare Retina by Ramzes (Fritz Thiedemann), born in 1952 and a two-time Derby winner, who is, amongst other things, the dam of the licensed stallion Capitano. Prof. Dr Schmidt continued to develop the line over generations and based a large part of his breeding programme on it.
Prof. Dr Hartwig Schmidt and Cornetino
Valentina’s dam, Thyra – herself awarded 31 stars in the Holsteiner broodmare ranking – ranks among the most successful mares of all time. For she is not only Valentina’s dam, but also produced two licensed stallions: Clapton by Caretino and Corland by Cor de la Bryere. Furthermore, Corland’s full sister, BB Corlanda (Willi Melliger), enjoyed success in show jumping up to 1.60 metres before making a significant contribution to breeding under Manfred Birchler (SUI). Among others, the licensed stallions Kantato by Keaton HV, Nerrado by Nekton (Hannes Ahlmann) and Acolord by Acorado I (Torben Köhlbrandt) trace their lineage back to the Thyra line. And, of course, Valentina, who has already collected 23 stars herself – one of which she earned through her own performances.
Cornetino and Ebba Johansson
Cornetino, Davenport & Lentina
The bay mare has given birth to eleven foals to date. The very first was destined for success. At the 2011 Holsteiner licensing, her son by Cornet, Obolensky – named Cornetino – left the Holstenhalle with his breeding licence. Under Maximilian Gräfe and Ebba Johansson, the strikingly handsome stallion competed in show jumping before moving to the Brandenburg State Stud in Neustadt an der Dosse. In 2011, Valentina gave birth to a son by Diamant de Semilly. Under the name Davenport VDL, the stallion enjoyed a successful show-jumping career up to 1.60 metres with Laura Klapphake in the saddle. Today, he competes under Khaled Almobty. And Lentina, a full sister to Cornetino, is based at Carmen Hinrichsen-Bockmeyer’s stables. Jonte Hansen is training the seven-year-old and has already placed her in 1.40-metre show jumping. Carmen Hinrichsen-Bockmeyer purchased the mare as a three-year-old and initially bred one foal out of Lentina. The son of Asterix de Couleur is licensed in Oldenburg.
Davenport VDL and Laura Klaphake
The legacy of line
104A “Val
entina has always been a super mum. In the herd, she likes to take on the role of the alpha. She is very dominant, but never nasty,” says Nicola Heyser-Burger, the stepdaughter of Prof. Dr Hartwig Schmidt, who took over his breeding programme following his death, describing the strong character of the Indoctro daughter. “Valentina has also passed these traits on to her offspring. Many are very much like her. You have to accept them a bit as they are, but then they win you over with their tremendous willingness to perform,” Nicola Heyser-Burger continues.
It is this willingness to perform that characterises the 104A line in particular. It is no coincidence that it has produced so many outstanding show jumpers; in addition to those already mentioned, we should also mention Carsten-Otto Nagel’s Corradina, the World and European Team Champion. Her granddam, in turn, is a half-sister to Valentina.
In recent years, Valentina has not become pregnant again. This season, however, two embryos were successfully flushed. “We very much hope that, in this way, we will succeed in preserving Valentina’s genetics,” said Nicola Heyser-Burger.
Photos: Janne Bugtrup/Stefan Lafrentz
