When Geno became my horse earlier this year, I had no idea he came from prestigious sport horse bloodlines. I just knew he was a really cute pony that liked to cuddle and made me happy.
It’s been really fun going down the rabbit hole of his lineage; I’ve learned more about my pony’s legacy but also about the evolution of sport horses in general.
Carthageno Z
Geno was born in 2005 to the Morsink family in the Netherlands, and he went on to become a world champion jumper under their care.
He moved from Europe to America, where he finished his career as a Grand Prix jumper, reaching the 1.50m, before becoming my tiny little muffin baby.
Source: TeamMorsink.nl
Carthino Z
The Morsink family also bred Geno’s sire, Carthino Z, who competed at the Grand Prix level, reaching 1.70m, before retiring.
Carthino Z was born in 2000 and is double-registered with both the KWPN and Zangersheide studbooks, and he’s quite a handsome fella.
Source: TeamMorsink.nl
Visa Carthago Z
Geno’s grandsire, born in 1987, is the legendary Visa Carthago Z, who soared to 1.71m.
More commonly known as Carthago Z or just Carthago, Geno’s grandsire competed in both the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the 2000 Sydney Games.
He is quadruple registered with Holsteiner, Rhineland, Selle Français, and Zangersheide, though he spent much of his breeding career in the Zangersheide book.
Because he sired world-class Olympic and Grand Prix sons (My Lord Carthago, Old Chap Tame, and Crown Z, to name a few), along with extraordinary broodmares that produced legendary world-class horses like Emerald Van’t Ruytershof, Carthago was announced the flagship sire of the entire studbook.
He is now considered the definition of what it means to be a Zangersheide stallion: an Olympic-level athlete who passes on elite scope and technique to his foals.
Capitol I
Carthago’s sire is Capital I, born in 1975, registered with Holsteiner, and jumped the 1.69m. He is commonly recognized as one of the most influential sires in modern jumping.
In fact, Capitol I was the top stallion for the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses in both 2000 and 2001.
What makes Capitol I so legendary, especially in the Holsteiner book, is not just that he has produced 34+ licensed stallions worldwide, but that he achieved the rare accomplishment of being a dominant jumper without being crossed with other bloodlines.
Carthago is still considered one of Capitol I’s most notable progeny, having competed in both the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, but four of his other offspring also competed in the 2004 Athens Olympics!
Capitano
Capitol I’s sire is Capitano, who was born in 1968.
Capitano soared up to 1.62 m and is registered with both Holsteiner and Hessian (now known as Hannoverian).
Some mystery surrounds Capitano’s breeding.
The official record says his sire was Corporal, but because Capitano was grey and Corporal was bay, experts doubt that Corporal was his true sire since greys typically require two grey parents.
It’s suspected that Capitano’s real sire was a stallion named Grand Vicar who accidentally bred his dam, Retina.
Because of this uncertainty, I decided to stop documenting Geno’s sire line here - next up will be his dam line, which is equally impressive but…
You want to know what’s even more impressive than Geno’s bloodline? It’s the way he’s my most perfect baby angel.
World champion in the arena and world champion of my heart.
(Omg so cheesy, I better end this here.)