The first ever score of 10 was awarded at a British Breeding young horse evaluation earlier this month.
Furst Opera (pictured below), by Furst Heinrich (Westf) out of a Weltregent (Hann) mare, achieved a record score in the two-year-old dressage section of the Baileys Horse Feeds/British Breeding Futurity Young Horse Evaluation at Arena UK in Lincolnshire on 19 July.
The colt from Georgina Brett’s Gemini Stud was awarded a score of 10 for type and scored more than nine in every other section, giving a record overall average of 93%.
Georgina Brett said: Gemini Stud are thrilled to have achieved the first Futurity perfect 10 with our future dressage stallion Furst Opera.
Classic Primitive (pictured below) stood champion in the eventing two-year-olds, and reserve in the show jumping equivalent, to continue Gemini Stud’s success. He scored the highest overall average score across two disciplines for any horse since 2004.
The support of the futurity scheme has given us the confidence to take a long-term view of our British and continental breeding programmes,” explained Georgina. “We’ll continue to use its objective feedback as a firm foundation for the improvement and success of our lines. I feel certain that we can breed world-class dressage horses in the UK.
More than 60 young horses aged up to four years were presented for evaluation at Arena UK. Of the horses forward, 62% secured a first premium diploma with scores in excess of 80%.
The futurity scheme has been set up to identify performance potential in young horses and ponies with a view to nurturing talent for long-term competitive success. The horses are judged against a fixed set of criteria developed to assess whether these equine athletes are likely to be able to withstand the rigours of modern competition.
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