One of the most talked about horses at the Dressage World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Verden, Germany, was undoubtedly Kjento. The stunning black stallion, owned by Van Olst Horses, blew away the opposition to win the six-year-old title, ridden by none other than Britain’s Lottie Fry, who is based with the Van Olsts in the Netherlands.
This was Lottie’s second World Breeding Championship title, and if the career trajectory of her 2018 seven-year-old winner, Glamourdale, is anything to go by, we can expect to see big things of Lottie and Kjento over the new few years. Here are some things you should know about the exciting stallion as he embarks on his career.
1. He is by the same sire as the great Valegro
Kjento is by Negro, the Ferro son who also sired Charlotte Dujardin’s double Olympic champion Valegro, and out of the elite KWPN mare Zoriana. She in turn is a daughter of the great stallion Jazz out of a Juventus mare Poriana, so combining the very best in Dutch bloodlines.
2. He impresses the judges across the board
In the final, Kjento received marks of 10 for his trot, canter, submission and perspective, and an eight for his walk, and his total mark of 96% left him comfortably in the lead. He was the only horse in the six-year-old final to receive marks of 10 in any area, and judge Peter Storr commented: “I could just sum up the whole thing with one word, by saying ‘wow’.”
3. Kjento has showed huge potential all his life
The highest scoring three-year-old stallion at the 2018 KWPN autumn performance test, Kjento scored 8.5 for his walk, nine for his trot and 9.5 for his canter, and showed super ability to collect.
“He can naturally piaffe already. He hasn’t been trained at all, it’s just in him,” said Lottie last year. “He has huge movement, but also finds it so easy to collect. He’s a dream horse.”
4. Breeders already love him
Kjento is one of the most popular young breeding stallions in the Netherlands right now, and breeders across Europe have also been taking note. His first foals were born in 2020 and he has over 230 registered offspring to date. He stands at the Van Olst stud in the Netherlands, and is available to UK breeders via Stallion AI Services.
5, He loves to perform as much as Lottie doe.
It was easy to see from Kjento’s performance at the World Breeding Championships that he is a true showman, and Lottie confirms as much.
“He loves to work and he loves nothing more than to go in an area and show off: to know that he loves it as much as I do makes it so much fun,” said Lottie.
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