DressageDaily: Donnerhall: successful in sport and breeding

Thursday, August 5 1999

Donnerhall: successful in sport and breeding

Donnerhall, owned by Gestut Gronwohldhof in Gronwohld, Germany, is the charismatic liver chesnut stallion with whom German Karin Rehbein conquered the international dressage scene.

The flamboyant Oldenburger by Donnerwetter x Markus symbiotically combined a career in sports with breeding. At age three Donnerhall became Reserve Champion of the Stallion Performance Test in Adelheidsdorf, Germany, soon followed by the DLG-victory in Hannover and numerous successes at international dressage competitions under Karin Rehbein. The highlights were his victory at the 1994 German Dressage Championships, the individual bronze and team gold at the 1994 World Equestrian Games of The Hague and the 1997 European Championships in Verden, and at the World Equestrian Games in Rome Donnerhall and Karin set for team gold and the individual fourth place.

18 year old Donnerhall has ended his sport career after Rome but still performs the piaffe and passage at numerous stallion shows and demonstrations. Even though his sport performances received all the attention, his breeding career was one not to be neglected. With more than 50 approved stallion descendants, an incountable number of Staats Pramien mares (St.Pr.St.) and highly paid auction horses (Diamant by Donnerhall switched owners for $500.000 at PSI auction) Donnerhall is probably the most dominant dressage sire in the world.

by Astrid Appels