CE Da Vinci’s Aphrodite

CE Da Vinci’s Aphrodite brought together some of the most influential German and Dutch dressage bloodlines, with a pedigree combining young horse championship success, international Grand Prix performance and established sport horse breeding.

Her sire, our homebred CE Sir Fidermeyer, was by Sir Fidergold, a son of Sarkozy out of a Fidermark mare. Sarkozy enjoyed a successful young horse career, winning the 2009 Hanoverian Young Horse Championships and taking silver at the German Bundeschampionate that same year. He subsequently reached the final of the 2010 World Young Horse Championships in Verden. His sire, Sandro Hit, was himself a World Champion six-year-old dressage horse and German Bundeschampion in 1999, before establishing himself as one of the most influential breeding stallions in modern dressage.

The additional influence of Weltmeyer through CE Sir Fidermeyer’s dam brought another distinguished performance record. Weltmeyer won his stallion performance test in 1987, became German Bundeschampion as a three-year-old and was crowned DLG Champion in 1989. He was subsequently named Hanoverian Stallion of the Year in 1998, leaving a lasting legacy through his successful offspring and influence on Hanoverian dressage breeding.

On her dam’s side, Bonnie was out of CE Ekurante, by Warkant van ’t Gestelhof out of a Jazz mare. Warkant was a black Belgian Warmblood stallion by Ferro out of Oreal van ’t Gestelhof, by Furioso Z. Approved for breeding with both the Belgian Warmblood and Westphalian studbooks, he competed at Grand Prix dressage level, bringing proven performance credentials to Bonnie’s maternal pedigree.

Warkant’s sire, Ferro, was one of the most influential Dutch dressage stallions of his generation, winning team silver medals at both the 1998 World Equestrian Games and the 2000 Sydney Olympics under Coby van Baalen. Ferro subsequently became an important breeding stallion, producing numerous international dressage horses and influential sons.

Warkant’s maternal pedigree introduced an additional jumping influence through Furioso Z, a son of Furioso II. His dam, Oreal van ’t Gestelhof, also produced Turbo van ’t Gestelhof, who competed in showjumping at 1.60m. Warkant himself produced offspring successful across both disciplines, including Figaro van ’t Gestelhof, who competed at 1.50m showjumping, alongside Eblesse van ’t Gestelhof and Gizelle van ’t Gestelhof, both of whom reached 1.40m.

Further back in Bonnie’s maternal pedigree, Jazz added another significant Dutch dressage influence. Renowned for his expressive movement, athleticism and international Grand Prix career, Jazz became one of the most influential KWPN dressage stallions of his generation. His offspring achieved considerable success at international Grand Prix level, establishing his reputation as a sire of top-level dressage horses.

Together, these bloodlines gave Bonnie a pedigree combining German young horse championship success, Olympic dressage performance and international showjumping heritage. As a daughter of two of our own horses, she represented another generation of our breeding programme and the continuation of bloodlines we had carefully developed. Sadly, we only had the opportunity to have one foal from her who so happened to be a colt, and with this this specific combination of breeding lines has ended.