Voltaire was really the first of the super star performance stallions to go on and prove himself equally as important as a breeding stallion. In the competition arena, he won at the highest level, winning Nations Cup classes at Calgary, Stockholm, sHertogenbosch, Lanaken, Helsinki, Wiesbaden and Wembley. In 1989 he won the Grand Prix of Berlin.

And yet he was a horse that no-one wanted! He was a bit small (just 162 cms) and had a problem with one hoof, and he was rejected by the Oldenburg licensing commission.
That didnt deter Jan Greve, a Dutch veterinarian with a passion for breeding jumping horses and his partner, Henk Nijhoff. They heard that the young stallion was for sale, liked his technique and took him home to The Netherlands.

The KWPN licensing commission was not much more enthusiastic than their Oldenburg counterparts, Voltaire was graded 14th out of the fourteen horses to complete the performance test. He received excellent marks for jumping (and stable manners!) but just made it to stallion status.

After a sensational performance career, Voltaire stood at Jan Greves picturesque stud De Watermolen, dominated by an ancient mill and water wheel, Voltaire started to prove that his explosive mix of the best of the French and the best of the German jumping lines, could weave a special magic.

Voltaire is by Furioso II, one of the first Selle Franais stallions to come to Germany. Originally called Vertuoso, the two and a half year old French stallion was imported to Germany by the great Oldenburg breeder, Georg Vorwerk. Voltaire is out of Gogo Moeve by the great Hanoverian stallion, Gotthard. Gogo Moeve was the dam of successful competition horses Fandango R, PS Falkan and Petite Fleur. Her dam sire is the English Thoroughbred, More Magic xx, who was the sire of 1980 Moscow Olympic dressage gold medallist, Mon Cherie.

Out of his first crop of foals Voltaire produced the approved stallion, Concorde, who after an international jumping career with Jos Lansink and Eric van der Vleuten (including the Dutch showjumping championship in 1994) is in the process of writing his name into the history books as a breeding stallion in his own right.

Voltaire is represented by a staggering 28(!) jumpers in the WBFSH standings for 2000/2001 - and is ranked 9th in the top 50 sires in the ten years from 1991 to 2000.
Jacques Verkerk of the KWPN, comments: "Voltaire produces roughly two types of horse; rather square exteriors with an articulate top-line; or big rectangular horses with a lot of bone. His progeny move with sufficient length of pace, but are a little slow and without optimum bend in hocks. The hind leg is often a little straight. Due to their nice type and good character a lot of riders can easily cope with them. They can make quite nice dressage horses for riders at rural level, although the KWPN doesnt recognize him as a producer of dressage horses.

The progeny of Voltaire mature late and, at the age of three, their jumping abilities are not easy to discover. The horses dont show a lot of technique and power in free-jumping like the Burggraafs do. When Voltaire progeny reach the age of five or six, the technique of jumping has developed thanks to riding. They jump with a lot of scope and have very good front leg technique, although the hind legs could be more elevated. Most of Voltaires progeny are very careful. He matches well with French Thoroughbred blood, such as Furioso xx. The daughters and grand-daughters of two of Furiosos sons, Le Mexico and Purioso also make a good partnership with Voltaire."  (quoted in Voltaire: last, but not least for KWPN by Leen Devocht, Breeding News, January 1997).

In an obituary in Breeding News, September 2004, Henk Nijhof commented on his offspring: "The Voltaires have the perfect attitude for showjumping horses. They want to get across the barriers, they have the nerve to do this and combine this with power and carefulness, two issues that are very important for good showjumping horses. Usually Voltaires have good manners for showjumping. But sometimes they are a bit short in the back, which you can see in the way they jump."

Voltaire a final tribute: Just three weeks before he died, we were lucky enough to photograph him out on his afternoon walk - and Roz Neave captured this wonderful photo of 'the master himself'...

 

We were also lucky enough to spend time with Jan Greve, as always marvelling at the depth and sublty of his thinking. This extract is only part of a longer piece that will appear in the next few months.

What has been the strength that Voltaire has given to jumping breeding?

Good character, his progeny are very willing to do the job right. They are very sound horses. They are very strong in the back, and when you look at conformation, that strong back is very important for showjumpers, even though he is an old horse he hasnt given up in the back. Thats what the Concordes have too, the strength in the back.

What sort of mares does Voltaire work best with?

Mares with a little bit of blood, and bold, very bold, strong characters maybe too strong characters. Mares that might be too bold and not careful enough. Voltaire was very very careful, sometimes that is his weakest point. Its very close the relationship between genius and the crazy one, and between careful and afraid there is just a little margin in there. Some Voltaires are too careful, too small hearted thats why a lot of them jump very tied up behind, when you freejump them. They are not bold enough to open up, they are very careful. You have to treat them right as a young horse, dont take the heart out of them. Thats why Voltaire needs a mare that is very strong Nimmerdor is a very good cross. A lot of Nimmerdors are very good as young horses, but when they get older, they are not careful enough, they are too full of themselves. Pilot works very well, Joost works well. Sometimes when you come back to the Le Mexico mares, but you have an in cross of the Furioso then.

Has Concorde been the best son of Voltaire?

Who can tell, he is the best we know of, there might have been better ones that we cut!

And it would seem that Voltaire's influence will continue not just through his stallion sons but through his fillies. The bronze medal in the showjumping at Athens went to Royal Kaliber - by Ramiro but out of a Voltaire mare.

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