Harm Thormählen (78) is a legend. Listening to his stories makes you wonder how many lives he has had and how he has created such a dynasty in horse breeding.
He was a rider before he was a breeder. He was 10 when he started riding the mare Rappel. Rappel would go on to be the great-grandmother of the hugely influential Capitol I. By the time he was 18 years old he was already riding at international shows with the magnificent Gera, the great mare who started the bloodline of the best horse of the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez de la Frontera and Olympic Gold Medal winner of 2004, Fein Cera (Landadel). Fein Cera cleared four rounds with four different riders in that World Equestrian Games. This bloodline was also responsible for one of John Whitaker and Peter Moloney’s star horses, Ornellaia (Landadel).
Breeder of stallions
I think everybody in breeding knows that Harm Thormählen is the breeder of the now legendary Capitol I. Where would show jumping breeding and sport be without Capitol I? The influence that this stallion has had is almost unparalleled.
Jos Lansink celebrates the retirement of the great Cumano, grandson of Capitol I - World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen 2011 \ CHIO Aachen
The Grand Prix of Aachen in 2000 was won by Otto Becker and Cento, Jos Lansink and Carthago followed to win it, both stallions are by Capitol I. In Ireland there is Courage who is by Capitol I. Also the great stallions Cardento, Cassini I/II, Catani, Clearway, Indoctro, Carolus I/II are by Capitol I. As damsire, his influence is equally as far reaching through Corrado I, Calvaro Z, Lasino, Untouched, USA Today, etc. His grandson Cumano (through his sire Cassini) also became world champion in 2006 in Aachen, under the saddle of Jos Lansink.
Sheer luck
It was by sheer luck that Harm started to breed with the motherline of Capitol I. His father, Rheder Thormählen, purchased the mare Rappel for a very young Harm and he says of her: “When I was 10 years old we had the famous mare Rappel (Heinzelmann – Kandare x Lorbeer, Stamm 173) born in 1939. I started to ride her when she was 23, she was sound and still so fresh. At our first show we won the 1.10m class and became third in the 1.20m class, I won a bit of money!
“I was enjoying the riding. I owe Rappel a lot of thanks for returning to horses and she is the great-grandmother of Capitol I. With Rappel my riding career really started and I became successful. At 14, I qualified for the German young rider championship. I had to be placed in the top three in a 1.30m class, I achieved that placing at Dithmarschen where I rode against riders who were already competing internationally. At 16, I then rode in the German young rider championship. My father bought a Trakehner mare (Luna by Totilas – Loni x Lachteufel) for that, but unfortunately she was in heat at the time of the competition so I couldn’t compete. We covered her instead, and the year after I was in the final again with her. She was already quite a few months in foal and halfway around the course she stopped jumping! She was protecting herself and the foal. This mare became the beginning of the branch of the influential stallion Clinton (Corrado I).”
Generations
A few generations of the incredible line of Corrado I were in the hands of Harm Thormählen: “Corrado I’s great-grandmother is bred by my father,” he explains. “Her mother was a full sister to an Olympic horse. My father shaped the line of Clinton through the motherline and through his sireline.”
The world famous Cornet Obolensky is very much shaped through the area where Harm grew up. Not only through Clinton, but he also has Farn twice in the motherline, born a kilometre away from Harm. The Holsteiner horse was moulded by Thoroughbred stallions and that one very famous Selle Français stallion, Cor de la Bryère. Rheder Thormählen and Alwin Schockemöhle were responsible for discovering Cor de la Bryère. Harm says of him: “Cor de la Bryère changed the Holsteiner horse. He didn’t have the scope, but he improved the technique. “The scope typically came from Capitol I and the unbelievable willingness to work. Cor de la Bryère’s offspring were very careful.
Harm Thormählen, breeder of Holstein legend Capitol I and Athens Olympic horse Fein Cera \ Susan Finnerty
“Landgraf I and Lord, both sons of Ladykiller xx, have done a tremendous job in shaping the Holsteiner breed. Before that was the Thoroughbred Cottage Son xx, who covered in Schleswig-Holstein from 1959 to 1963. If I reflect on that time, most of the valuable mares were kept alive and many other mares were culled because there was no place for them anymore because of the evolution of tractors. My father had a lot of mares going through his hands. When I took over the farm in 1973, I had five top broodmares including the family of Retina (Stamm 104A), the Capitol I family (Stamm 173) and the line of Fein Cera (Stamm 3615). Capitol I opened the door for me to the international breeding and sport world.”
Breeding goal
It is interesting to listen to Harm talk about his views on past breeding. But what are his current breeding ambitions?
“My goal with the breeding is to breed top sport horses,” he says. “At the stallion shows, I try to look at the stallions that have enough ability and can move well. The stallions must also have resilience and be active in competition sport. If they are not active in competition sport, then I want to know why not. I don’t really look at the results of young horse championships, because too much has already been done with training and it is no longer natural.
“The stallions have to have a five-star format for me to use for my mares. But it’s not easy because Come On, for example, had a five-star format, but the males didn’t show anything, only the females. I always look very carefully at the damlines of the stallions I want to use. I study up to five generations, the first two generations are not enough. Performance and resilience must be in the bloodline. Acodetto himself has unbelievable scope but he was very cheeky and that worked with a good, brave line. It is not wrong if the horses are a bit self-confident.
“Until now, I have almost always used Holstein stallions from good families for my breeding. I was enthusiastic about Cento, unfortunately his semen was not good. Balou du Rouet had already overtaken Baloubet du Rouet in the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses ranking, so I use Balou du Rouet. I also used his half-brother, Cornet’s Balou very early on (now known as Balou du Reventon). Employees of Paul Schockemöhle told me that they had very good offspring of Cornet’s Balou in Lewitz. Philipp Baumgart, my nephew, is very interested in international breeding and sport, but I still want to breed another top show jumping horse, like Fein Cera. I am sure I have a future star in my stable.”
A request from the author
Harm Thormählen has been a judge in Ireland for almost 10 years. I am looking to readers for anecdotes about his time in Ireland. You can send them to my email adrianavtilburg@hotmail.com.
Harm Thormählen (78) is a legend. Listening to his stories makes you wonder how many lives he has had and how he has created such a dynasty in horse breeding.
He was a rider before he was a breeder. He was 10 when he started riding the mare Rappel. Rappel would go on to be the great-grandmother of the hugely influential Capitol I. By the time he was 18 years old he was already riding at international shows with the magnificent Gera, the great mare who started the bloodline of the best horse of the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez de la Frontera and Olympic Gold Medal winner of 2004, Fein Cera (Landadel). Fein Cera cleared four rounds with four different riders in that World Equestrian Games. This bloodline was also responsible for one of John Whitaker and Peter Moloney’s star horses, Ornellaia (Landadel).
Breeder of stallions
I think everybody in breeding knows that Harm Thormählen is the breeder of the now legendary Capitol I. Where would show jumping breeding and sport be without Capitol I? The influence that this stallion has had is almost unparalleled.
Jos Lansink celebrates the retirement of the great Cumano, grandson of Capitol I - World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen 2011 \ CHIO Aachen
The Grand Prix of Aachen in 2000 was won by Otto Becker and Cento, Jos Lansink and Carthago followed to win it, both stallions are by Capitol I. In Ireland there is Courage who is by Capitol I. Also the great stallions Cardento, Cassini I/II, Catani, Clearway, Indoctro, Carolus I/II are by Capitol I. As damsire, his influence is equally as far reaching through Corrado I, Calvaro Z, Lasino, Untouched, USA Today, etc. His grandson Cumano (through his sire Cassini) also became world champion in 2006 in Aachen, under the saddle of Jos Lansink.
Sheer luck
It was by sheer luck that Harm started to breed with the motherline of Capitol I. His father, Rheder Thormählen, purchased the mare Rappel for a very young Harm and he says of her: “When I was 10 years old we had the famous mare Rappel (Heinzelmann – Kandare x Lorbeer, Stamm 173) born in 1939. I started to ride her when she was 23, she was sound and still so fresh. At our first show we won the 1.10m class and became third in the 1.20m class, I won a bit of money!
“I was enjoying the riding. I owe Rappel a lot of thanks for returning to horses and she is the great-grandmother of Capitol I. With Rappel my riding career really started and I became successful. At 14, I qualified for the German young rider championship. I had to be placed in the top three in a 1.30m class, I achieved that placing at Dithmarschen where I rode against riders who were already competing internationally. At 16, I then rode in the German young rider championship. My father bought a Trakehner mare (Luna by Totilas – Loni x Lachteufel) for that, but unfortunately she was in heat at the time of the competition so I couldn’t compete. We covered her instead, and the year after I was in the final again with her. She was already quite a few months in foal and halfway around the course she stopped jumping! She was protecting herself and the foal. This mare became the beginning of the branch of the influential stallion Clinton (Corrado I).”
Generations
A few generations of the incredible line of Corrado I were in the hands of Harm Thormählen: “Corrado I’s great-grandmother is bred by my father,” he explains. “Her mother was a full sister to an Olympic horse. My father shaped the line of Clinton through the motherline and through his sireline.”
The world famous Cornet Obolensky is very much shaped through the area where Harm grew up. Not only through Clinton, but he also has Farn twice in the motherline, born a kilometre away from Harm. The Holsteiner horse was moulded by Thoroughbred stallions and that one very famous Selle Français stallion, Cor de la Bryère. Rheder Thormählen and Alwin Schockemöhle were responsible for discovering Cor de la Bryère. Harm says of him: “Cor de la Bryère changed the Holsteiner horse. He didn’t have the scope, but he improved the technique. “The scope typically came from Capitol I and the unbelievable willingness to work. Cor de la Bryère’s offspring were very careful.
Harm Thormählen, breeder of Holstein legend Capitol I and Athens Olympic horse Fein Cera \ Susan Finnerty
“Landgraf I and Lord, both sons of Ladykiller xx, have done a tremendous job in shaping the Holsteiner breed. Before that was the Thoroughbred Cottage Son xx, who covered in Schleswig-Holstein from 1959 to 1963. If I reflect on that time, most of the valuable mares were kept alive and many other mares were culled because there was no place for them anymore because of the evolution of tractors. My father had a lot of mares going through his hands. When I took over the farm in 1973, I had five top broodmares including the family of Retina (Stamm 104A), the Capitol I family (Stamm 173) and the line of Fein Cera (Stamm 3615). Capitol I opened the door for me to the international breeding and sport world.”
Breeding goal
It is interesting to listen to Harm talk about his views on past breeding. But what are his current breeding ambitions?
“My goal with the breeding is to breed top sport horses,” he says. “At the stallion shows, I try to look at the stallions that have enough ability and can move well. The stallions must also have resilience and be active in competition sport. If they are not active in competition sport, then I want to know why not. I don’t really look at the results of young horse championships, because too much has already been done with training and it is no longer natural.
“The stallions have to have a five-star format for me to use for my mares. But it’s not easy because Come On, for example, had a five-star format, but the males didn’t show anything, only the females. I always look very carefully at the damlines of the stallions I want to use. I study up to five generations, the first two generations are not enough. Performance and resilience must be in the bloodline. Acodetto himself has unbelievable scope but he was very cheeky and that worked with a good, brave line. It is not wrong if the horses are a bit self-confident.
“Until now, I have almost always used Holstein stallions from good families for my breeding. I was enthusiastic about Cento, unfortunately his semen was not good. Balou du Rouet had already overtaken Baloubet du Rouet in the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses ranking, so I use Balou du Rouet. I also used his half-brother, Cornet’s Balou very early on (now known as Balou du Reventon). Employees of Paul Schockemöhle told me that they had very good offspring of Cornet’s Balou in Lewitz. Philipp Baumgart, my nephew, is very interested in international breeding and sport, but I still want to breed another top show jumping horse, like Fein Cera. I am sure I have a future star in my stable.”
A request from the author
Harm Thormählen has been a judge in Ireland for almost 10 years. I am looking to readers for anecdotes about his time in Ireland. You can send them to my email adrianavtilburg@hotmail.com.
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