New live - Donatella D'Grandin Z (Dominator Z)

Ann Christin Rihm grew up in Stavanger (Norway) and has had horses since she was 9 years old. “Norway does not have a breeding tradition like in Belgium, but I have always been interested in pedigrees and dam lines. I competed up to 1.45m level myself, but when I was 18 years old, we sold my competition horses and moved to Oslo. There I started working on a career in the music and entertainment industry, which later landed me a job for MTV Networks in Europe and the US. But my love for horses was still there. In the years that I was no longer active myself, I still followed the championships and I still looked at the pedigrees. Eventually I started breeding. I registered the first foals with the Norwegian Warmblood and the Holstein Verband, followed 7 years ago by the first Zangersheide foals. Since then it has never been a question where I would register my foal. It is easy to register foals with Zangersheide, wherever you are in the world and the staff is helpful, service-oriented and friendly.” Ann Christin has now been living in Belgium for 6 years. “Recently we bought a small farm, breeding is now my whole life. My mother also has a passion for horses and has become increasingly involved in our horses and breeding in recent years.”

Donatella d'Grandin Z was born on March 29. “The mother is Twilight van't Roosakker, a 4-year-old mare by Chacfly PS x Vigo d'Arsouilles, which I bought from Marc Kluskens (van 't Roosakker) in the year she turned 2. She just came out of the meadow, but even as a fluffy 18 month old I could see that she was special and I immediately fell in love with her. 5 minutes later, while enjoying a cup of coffee, the deal was done. Twilight is a daughter of the 9-year-old talent Onatella van't Roosakker, who won the STX Cycle for 7-year-olds under Dieter Laheyne and currently jumps at 4* 1.55m GP level under Karel Cox. Her grandmother is a full sister of Marit Haarr Skolleruds 1.65m FEI World Championships 2022  Nelson van't Roosakker. Great-grandmother is Imke van't Roosakker, who performed at 1.45m level under Frank Schuttert and Therese Søhol Henriksen, and a half-sister of Zangersheide's mighty stallion Kassander van't Roosakker Z.

Twilight is very sharp, noble and has a lot of blood. At the same time she also has length which I find very important in a mare. She unfortunately suffered an injury as a yearling, so time will tell if the injury will prevent her from starting a sporting career or not, but I am 100% sure that she will continue to give me great pleasure as a breeder regardless. She has so much quality and of course a genius pedigree that is interwoven with the performance genes.”

Ann Christin chose the stallion Dominator Z for Twilight. “It is a stallion that simply captivates you and his offspring really impress me. I have loved Dominator Z for a long time and I was waiting for the right mare to cross him with. At first I had a different stallion in mind for Twilight, but when I saw her again just before we went to the breeding station, I got a strong feeling that I should use Dominator Z. Then it turned out that she was ready to be inseminated 2 days later. Thanks to Zangersheide's fast and service-oriented staff, we managed to get the semen on time. At the first attempt Twilight was already pregnant and 11 months later this black pearl was born. This was a very good crossing, which I will certainly repeat in the future!”

Donatella d'Grandin Z was born on March 29, on the photos she is 10 days old. “She is a very noble foal with a lot of blood, high legs, a lot of balance and movement. Just like my Dominator Z filly from last year, Donatella is a very curious and independent foal. Having a filly like this is a breeder's dream come true, but it also feels like a blessing that such a foal is the first to come out of your young broodmare!”

Ann Christin indicates that Donatella will probably be sold, even if that is a difficult decision. “Normally I wouldn't sell such a filly, but we expect 12 foals this year. 4 have already been born, all mares and we are expecting at least 2 more fillies. We need to keep and secure the bloodlines of some of our older sport mares this year so unfortunately I think Donatella will be for sale to the right buyer. It's a tough decision to make, but this is a breeder's reality. We cannot keep all breeding products: there are a lot of costs and ultimately also a lack of space. In addition, I believe it is valuable if the first offspring of young mares can be sold to good riders, who can develop the horse in the sport. This way I learn more about my mare, my offspring and at the same time the maternal line can continue to grow.”