St.Pr.St.+Pr.St. In Zukunft

The most recent acquisition of the German mare In Zukunft is a major event for us, and the Trakehner breed in this country. We are very thankful to Inge and Frank Weisskirchen for the opportunity to purchase one of Germany's best Trakehner mares - and this is not an exaggeration! In Zukunft has a list of successes, in hand and under saddle. She will become Sunsprite Warmblood's flagship competition horse and we hope to see her at the top one day. Read below about this incredible horse, and welcome her with us to the United States!

EH Buddenbrock EH Sixtus Habicht by Burnus AAH Stradelle by Ibikus ESt Ballerina XXI Diamant by Erzsand *E* ESt Blinkicht by Burnus AAH SPS,PS+ESt Insterfee VII Kennedy EH Michelangelo by Pasteur xx Kordelia by EH Mackensen PS Indica Onassis by EH Consul ESt Inderin by Karwendelstein born 2000; Trakehner Verband and State Premium mare Mare family of O15A Italia (Scharffetter-Kallwischken/Hengstenberg) Breeder: Hans-Joachim Scharffetter, Schwanewede, Germany

The horse

In Zukunft means "in the future", and what a fitting name for this lovely mare and the big plans we have for her and us. Bred by Hans-Joachim Scharfetter, her career began in 2003 when she was the Champion mare of her inspection in Lower Saxony/North-West in a group of high quality horses. She was inspected with: 8 - 8 - 8 / 8 - 9.5 - 8.5 / 9 for a total of 59 points, which made her Germany's highest inspected 3year old Trakehner mare that year. She earned her ticket to participate at the Neumünster National Mare Championships that are held every year in conjunction with the International Stallion Market. Before that event, she was performance tested, winning her test with a score of 8.11. She concluded her year by taking a Ic prize at the National Mare Championships in Neumünster, and was also a selected riding horse in that auction.

Sold at auction to Inge and Frank Weisskirchen of Borken, Germany, she began her performance career immediately. To this day, In Zukunft has won and placed up to 3rd level in dressage, and in suitability classes in jumping and driving (!!) in Germany. She has jumped cross country and like everything else she does, with great style and apparently having a ton of fun! She was selected to represent the regional Trakehner Team for the Rhineland at the International Bundesturnier in Hanover and has many admirers and fans wherever she appears. In hand, she became the Reserve Champion mare of her class at the huge State Mare Show for the Rhineland breeding district in 2004. She has been under saddle and in shows for the past 5 years straight and obviously her soundness is a big plus!

In Zukunft is a dream come true for us, she is more than we ever hoped to have an opportunity to buy. She will travel to the US before the winter, and get a rest from her performance career and her travels before she will go back into training for the 2008 show season. And while this horse is really one in a million for us, it is her great, people-oriented personality that really "got us" about her. If there is something new to explore, rest assured, In Zukunft's nose will be in it. In fact, we have the feeling this mare is one of the few that thought the trips to the veterinary hospital for her PPE were actually great fun!

The future is about to start for us with In Zukunft and you should make sure to stop by here for updated photos, show info and stories regarding this new Sunsprite superstar!

In Zukunft's background is the private East Prussian stud of the Scharffetter family, which used to be located in Kallwischken. In Zukunft's 7th dam on her botton line was the model mare Italia (born in 1936 by Eichendorf), who pulled one of Scharffetter's trek wagons from East Prussia all the way to West Germany (Italia is pictured on the left). Her dam Ita was considered one of East Prussia's best mares of her time (1925-1935) and it was Italia who put this line on a whole new level after WWII. Italia's daughters were excellent brood mares, her most influential offspring however was the century sire Impuls, who sired 15 approved sons (among them Kassius, foundation stallion for the exceptional jumper line of Suchard - Balisto Z; the Schwalbe-brothers Schwalbenflug, Schwalbenfreund and Schwalbenzug; and the ATA's Mikado) and so many important daughters that the breed would simply not have the foundation it has today without Impuls. Just as examples, the dams of the stallions Hyalit, Ibikus, Infant, Intimus, Kassiber, Kastilio, Santiago, Valerian, Zauberklang, Seeadler or Mozart were all direct Impuls daughters, and their daughters in turn produced stallions like EH Anduc, EH Van Deyk, EH Heuriger, Humanus, Illuster, EH Itaxerxes, Kadre Noir, Stradivari, Showmaster, Schwadroneur or Sans Souci!

The connection to In Zukunft came with Ideale (by Totilas), who accompanied her mother Italia on the treck, and her daughter Irene by Humboldt (pictured right), a full sister to Impuls and dam of the mare Indra (by Anteil). Irene was a successful performance horser with a record in show jumping, dressage and eventing and passed her mare performance test (we're talking the 1950s here!) with a special "pulling willingness test", where mares were required to drag loads in harness up to a certain weight. Indra was a classical Scharffetter-bred mare with Humboldt and TB blood in the third generation (Stern xx and Paradox xx). She died rather young at age 15, but left her breeder with an exceptional filly: Inderin (by Karwendelstein), later to be named elite mare in Germany.

Inderin produced 10 foals for her breeder, among them the approved State Stud stallion Inkognito (by EH Consul), the approved Grand Prix dressage stallion Inspekteur (by Mahagoni) and the champion mares Idylle II (by EH Consul), Indiana III (by EH Consul) and Indica (by Onassis). Inkognito is the dam sire of the international Grand Prix dressage gelding Sachsenkönig, his approved full brother Sachsenwald (both by Handryk) and the approved 70 day test winner Herzog. Inspekteur had a great career under saddle and also sired several highly accomplished daughters. Maybe it is fate that we own one of his very few direct daughters as well, Coalesce. Idylle II produced the premium mare Imposante VI by EH Ravel, who herself has already 4 inspected main mare book daughters in Germany. Indiana III produced the ATA's approved Ichi-Ban (by Polarpunkt), who was also bred by Scharffetter, but imported to the US as a youngster. And finally, Indica was one of only three daughters of Onassis in Germany. She died very young, but left the breed with probably toda's most successful mare: the Verband and State Premium and elite mare Insterfee VII by the 1991 champion stallion Kennedy. To give you an idea of the high quality level, the dominant features and overall similarity of these three sisters, here are photos of the mares taken at the State Mare Show (which they won!):

Insterfee VII has produced 9 foals in 9 years, and she is again in foal for 2008. Fertility, although maybe not in high regard as a trait today, is one we pay very close attention to. Too much money can go down the drain with fertility issues. A dam line that has been this consistent over the past 80 years now, can surely only be considered a plus. Insterfee's first foal was the approved In Petto (by EH Buddenbrock). The stallion is stationed at Gestüt Webelsgrund and on his way to the S class in dressage. A year later, our In Zukunft was born. And when you get two foals of that quality, you just keep breeding the same match .... 2001 the chestnut In Flagranti was born, who was the NMS champion stallion in 2003 and is now an accomplished young dressage horse in Germany, with two ribbons from the 2006 and 2007 finals of the Bundeschampionat in dressage! 2002, another chestnut full sibling hit the straw, this time a filly, and again, a repetition of In Zukunft's initial success story: In Farbe was champion of her inspection and passed an excellent MPT. The last full sibling from this match was born in 2003, the black mare In Vita. Another champion title at the inspection, another appearance as a NMS auction horse, and qualified for the 2007 Bundeschampionat, where she competed with her brother In Flgranti (just in different classes). Proof of a thoughly bred mare line? Here it is:

And the sire? EH Buddenbrock was approved in Neumünster in 1996 and is Sixtus' most important son to this day. Himself an upper level eventer, he sired several approved sons, including two champions (King Arthur TSF, now a Grand Prix dressage horse; and In Flagranti), the exceptional Connery (already sire of several approved sons e.g. res champion Imperio), Blue Hors Armano, the ATA's Inamorato and an impressive number of daughters with premium titles in the German blooks. Buddenbrock is a full brother to the dam of Blitz und Donner (ATA) and his second dam Blinklicht also produced the Grand Prix dressage stallion EH Benz.

Even though breeding is not our primary goal for In Zukunft at this point, the fact that her pedigree boasts the most successful and important names in Trakehner breed since WWII, including much needed top quality Angloarabian and TB blood make her an excellent choice for a variety of stallions, and in her case we're certain the question will not be "what can the stallion do for our mare", but rather "which stallion will be lucky enought"!. Exciting times at Sunsprite.

At Sunsprite, January 2008