Contenda represents the opportunity for horse breeders to breed to an athletic dual purpose sire.

Contenda has the rare combination of......

3 excellent dressage quality paces

Plus
sensational jumping ability with amazing scope and bascule

Plus
is a light modern athletic type with proven ability to gallop

Plus
has correct conformation with a beautiful head

Plus
has a quiet trainable temperament

but most importantly for the breeder

he is a prepotent, highly fertile sire who is passing these traits on to his progeny.

Contenda carries some of the most highly sort after bloodlines that the world has to offer. Each generation of his pedigree is filled with outstanding individuals who have gone on to produce the worlds leading showjumping, eventing and dressage horses as well as the next generation of supersires.

Contenda's sire, Contendro 1, is renowned for producing progeny that can compete on the world stage in all disciplines. Contenda's dam line of Bolero/Lugano, mixes proven dressage breeding with the athletism of the thoroughbred. The result is Contenda being the athletic mix of 75% warmblood and 25% thoroughbred blood.

Contenda is the ideal sire for those wanting to produce horses that are not limited to just the dressage or jumping arena but have the talent, athleticism and quality to succeed in either or both at the highest level. Contenda's progeny are equally known for their beautiful heads and elegant correct conformation making them highly successful in the showring.

As a competitor, Contenda has proven himself to be an outstanding athlete with wins in dressage, showjumping and eventing. His career has been focussed primarily on eventing where he has competed to 2* with Shane Rose with enormous success. Contenda has proven himself to be the ultimate all round athlete with dressage scores regularly over 70% and in 5 seasons of eventing competition he has only ever dropped 2 rails whilst show jumping. Cross country Contenda is brave, covers the ground effortlessly with his huge stride and has the stamina to regularly have the fastest time on course. Click here to view more photos of Contenda in action and read his resume

Contenda's progeny are constantly proving themselves to be highly versatile with winners in dressage, showjumping, eventing and the showring. His progeny are highly trainable and ridable being owned by professional and amateur riders alike.

Contenda is a modern, elegant and refined stallion that crosses equally well over thoroughbred, Anglo Arabian as well as heavier warmblood mares. Visit Contenda's Progeny Gallery to view how Contenda crosses over different bloodlines.

Contenda is a fully licensed stallion with the Hannovarian Verband, AWHA,  ACE, and ANSA. 

Sire Line

Contendro 1
16.1 1/2 hh Brown Hanoverian Warmblood

Contenda's sire Contendro 1 is cementing himself in breeding history as a highly sought after sire of both quality dressage, eventing and jumping horses.  In the 2013 World Showjumping Breeding Rankings he was 10th, he is also 16th in the World Eventing Rankings. In addition, Contendro I produces many talented dressage horses.His offspring have shown that he breeds athletes that can compete on the world stage in all disciplines.

Contendro received Premium status at the 1999 stallion approval in Verden, and then went on to be sovereign winner of the 100 day stallion performance test in Adelheidsdorf. Where he received the highest scores in all indices and was the absolute best in jumping. In 2001, he was placed amongst the best at the Holstein Reitpferdchampionat and was nominated for the Bundeschampionat for German Riding horses.

Contendro's pedigree leaves nothing to be desired. His sire, Contender, who also won his stallion performance test, is widely acknowledged as one of Germany's true elite supersires. His Grandsire Calypso II and great grandsire Cor de la Bryere need no introduction for their undeniable contribution to generations of elite jumping and dressage horses. Contendro's dam, Bravo ,produced the top sire, Caretano by Caretino. In 2003 Contendro II became her third licensed son. The grand dam, Ofarim had 2 licensed sons,Caballo and Conteur. Contendro has a double cross of the Anglo- Arabian stallion, Ramzes. This line has also produced the sires Capitano, Carloni, Carneval, Celano, Chico's Boy, Corland, Landego, Landego, Landetto, Laurin, Leuthan 1 and II, Lonely Boy as well as top international horses RetinaZ, Athlet 90, Corlanda and Athletico. This line  was uncompromisingly bred for jumping performance even before World War II.

Dam Line

Ballerina by Bolero/Lugano
16.2hh Chestnut Hanoverian Warmblood

Bolero, a classic foundation stallion in the Hanoverian Studbook producing  47 licensed sons including Brentano II, along with other top stallions Bismarck, Brentano I and licensing winner ,Buenos Aires. He has sired 317 registered broodmares, of whom 96 were awarded state premium status. Bolero has sired 3 winners of the 3 year old Riding horse Class at the Bundeschampionate, Boruschkin,Bini Bo and Bocaccio  all of whom went on to advanced level dressage. Three of Bolero's descendants medalled at the 2004 Athens Olympics ' Beauvalais, Bonaparte and Brentina. Bolero's son, Beltain, is the sire of the Champion six year old horse at the 2005 Bundeschamionate, Bellissimo. The highly successful Grand Prix dressage stallion, Don Bolero, ridden by Kirsty Oatley-Nist is out of a Bolero mother, and is one of most successful Australian -owned horses ever with scores around 70% at major European competitions.

Bolero's dramatic influence is made all the more remarkable by the fact that he died at 12 years old form a heart attack, when German breeders were just beginning to appreciate the potential he had as a sire. Bolero passed on his nobile attitude, type and excellent conformation and rhythmic gaits, producing outstanding elegant dressage horses. Today Bolero is recognised as  a wonderful sire of broodmares.

Bolero is by the elegant English Thoroughbred, Black Sky, who produced very rideable dressage horses. Black Sky's grand sire Djebe was a son of Djebel, sire of the great stakes winning sire, My Babu, who when exported to the USA established a winning line of hunter/jumpers. In Australia the My Babu son, Better Boy has been an influential sire of jumping horses. Bolero's dam, Baroness, in by another English Thoroughbred and traces back to Hyperion. Her dam's sire Athos was regarded as a good sire of dressage broodmares.

Ballarina's grand sire is Lugano 1 who is by the great eventer producing thoroughbred sire Der Loewe.