The damline of Andrea Etter’s promising seven-year-old stallion Mr Quincy B covers 40 years of family history through breeding and sport.

“My whole family is involved in this line,” says Andrea.

“About 40 years ago, my father, Gerhard Etter [a renowned horseman and dealer], purchased the KWPN-bred stallion Wandango (Legaat – Kitty Irene x Equator) as a three-year-old in the Netherlands. His dam Kitty Irene was already a very good sport horse, winning numerous classes in the Netherlands jumping at 1.40m level.

“Wandango himself was an unbelievable sport horse and he competed with my father and was his favorite horse by far. Also the Olympic, World and European Champion Jeroen Dubbeldam competed with him as a young rider. Switzerland has a very small breeding programme with not a lot of broodmares. Wandango has been leading stallion for probably 15 or 20 years in Switzerland. For a stallion that only had access to a small group of mares, he has bred a lot of successful horses.”

Wandonga was the first foal by Wandango. She was bred by Bernhard Hofer out of Elodie by Musketier. Andrea’s brother, international show jumper Daniel Etter, rode Wandonga, jumping at World Cups and Nations Cups. Crowned ‘Swiss Horse of the Year’, Wandonga finished third behind the famous stallion For Pleasure at the richest indoor Grand Prix in the world, CSI Zurich.

Following her retirement from competition, Wandonga made the journey to Belmont House Stud to join the breeding programme. Wandonga always wanted to give her best and was very competitive. “Overall she was a winner!” Andrea admits. “I can see it in her offspring, they are competition horses just like she was. They are also very intelligent, careful and scopey. They want to do a good job with the right attitude and mentality. Plus they are very kind and easy to work with.”

Wandonga’s first foal broke his leg, so he had to be put down. Her second foal was Lucy in the Sky B, by O-Piloth. She won the qualifier and finished second in the loose-jumping finals at CSI Cavan. Lucy in the Sky B is the dam of Mr Lincoln B and Mr Quincy B both by Aganix du Seigneur. Mr Lincoln B is competing successfully at 1.45m under Christian Ahlmann and is owned by world-renowned stud Zangersheide.

Friendship

Andrea Etter is good friends with successful breeder Luc Henry of Stud Hero in Belgium. Luc has an affinity with Ireland and was given the opportunity to breed with Dermott Lennon’s superstar Liscalgot (Touchdown x Tullah’s Pride xx, breeder: Terence Harvey). Luc was also a firm believer in the qualities of the SBS-bred stallion Aganix du Seigneur (Ogano Sitte – Cadix du Seigneur Z x Chellano Z, breeder: M van Langendonck).

From Aganix’s first crop of foals there are at least nine (according to Horsetelex) bred by Luc Henry, recognisable by the suffix Hero. Andrea recalls: “I used Aganix du Seigneur partly because of Luc. I was impressed by the stallion and I thought he would be a good match for Lucy in the Sky B.”

She is by O-Piloth (Epilot – Itanja x Burggraaf). O-Piloth was ridden by Jeroen Dubbeldam and retired to stud due to injury. At the age of five, O-Piloth came second at the Zwolle International Stallion Show of 2001 in the International Future Stallion Competition. “He stood here at Belmont House for quite a long time, he was very good to me.” Andrea reveals.

“He bred very competitive, careful horses, quick off the ground, with a good temperament and are easy to work with. I thought Aganix du Seigneur would be a very good cross on O-Piloth mares and it proved right. I know this mix very well because we had the mother, grandmother, great-grandfather, the grandfather on the other side. So this is a line I know really well. We also have another mare in our breeding programme called Irresistible by Radolin out of Wandonga. Mr Quincy B looks a lot like his grandmother Wandonga. He has more blood and is more modern than his grandmother but you can see Wandonga in him.”

Sport and breeding

Mr Quincy B was breeding during the 2021 season and also competed under Lennert Korsten in Belgium where he has returned for the 2022 season. Lennert and Mr Quincy B had excellent results in the recent CSIYH classes for seven-year-olds. Lennert says: “I have been riding Mr Quincy B since the end of last year. I started to compete him internationally a few times in the six-year-year-olds, and now several times in the seven-year-olds. He has made a good transition and has had many clear rounds.

“He is a very intelligent stallion, who knows when it’s serious and when it’s not. At home he is a real plaything and sometimes he challenges me! In the ring however, he knows it’s serious and he is a real fighter, who does everything for me. He has blood, he is easy to ride, he is clever and his power knows no limits. If everything goes well, this stallion will go far!”

Andrea used Mr Quincy B to cover a few of her own mares to see how he produces. She has some two-year-olds and yearlings: “They are a lot like him. I think he is breeding his type. A lot of them are chestnut with a big white face. Which is what you would expect because this comes back in all the lines. They look promising. I have two-year-old colts at home that could grow to be good stallions in the future.”

Mr Quincy B is winner of the qualifier and the final of the Young Irelander CSI Millstreet 2017, winner of the three-year-old RDS qualifiers and in 2018, ridden by Damien Griffin, finishing fourth at the CSI Cavan four-year-old Championships. In 2018 Mr Quincy B won the RDS three-year-old loose-jumping qualifier and placed fifth in the final at the Dublin Horse Show. In 2019 at CSI Mullingar Mr Quincy B, ridden by Damien Griffin, won the four-year-old final and qualified for the second time for the RDS. At CSI Cavan, Mr Quincy B was the winner of the preliminary four-year-old final and finished 3rd in the championships. In 2020, along with stud duties, Mr Quincy B qualified for the Cavan Champion of the Year five-year-old finals and over the winter has competed successfully at international young horse classes in Belgium.