Giovanni

2014

• Winner of the KWPN Stallion Performance test with 86 points, scoring 9.5 for canter and 9 for self carriage. The KWPN stallion committee described him as follows:
  “Giovanni is an honest and reliable stallion with a very good temperament. The stallion is very willing to work and is very easy to work with. The walk is clear-cut with good scope. The trot is expressive, has good scope and the hind legs come powerfully under the body. The canter is uphill, very powerful with very good carriage and scope. Giovanni moves with good to very good elasticity and with good to very good self-carriage and balance. As a dressage horse Giovanni is talented to very talented and gives his rider a very good feeling”

2015

• Giovanni was purchased by Ingrid Malan Ockhuisen as a 4-year-old.
• The pair performed very well in the PAVO Cup placing 5^th overall with an 8 for the walk, 9 for the trot, 9,5 for the canter and 9’s for both harmony between horse and rider and potential as a dressage horse.

2016

• Giovanni competed at the World Championship for Young Dressage Horses under the South African flag

2017

• Winner of the first leg of the 2017-2018 KWPN Stallion Competition in Ermelo with 84 points. Judge Sanders praised Giovanni’s engagement from behind in trot and his power in canter. Giovanni also won the third leg of the 2017-2018 KWPN Stallion Competition with 82 points. Although Giovanni was the top scorer, missing the second leg of the qualifiers put him out of contention for the final competition ranking.

2018

• He made his debut as a 7-year-old in the Small Tour. He competed at the World Championship for Young Dressage Horses in 2018 where he achieved a splendid fifth place in the final with a score of 78.521%.
• “The powerful and chunky liver chestnut is a powerhouse mover, just like his stable mate Glamourdale and there are many similarities between the two horses. The stallion showed a good collected walk.  The trot had much power and spring.”
  Source: Eurodressage

2019

• Franka Loos and Giovanni competed at the Dutch Championships in Ermelo in the small tour class. The pair was rewarded 72,69% in the Prix St. Georges and achieved a worthy 4^th The duo placed 5^th in the musical freestyle and ended 5^th overall in the Small Tour final.
• Giovanni and Franka Loos won the Prix St. Georges in Nispen with 69,04%
• Giovanni and Franka Loos won the Prix St. Georges in Oud Gastel with 69,85%

2021

• Giovanni had reached Grand Prix level, but an injury—though rehabilitated—prevented him from competing at the highest levels again.

Giovanni was bred by C. Van Etten in the Netherlands and scouted by Gertjan Van Olst as a foal. Giovanni is a son from the first crop of the Van Olst stallion Chippendale (Lord Leatherdale x Negro). Chippendale is another example of the success of the proven cross of Lord Leatherdale – dressage horse producer par excellence – and famous preferent stallion Negro. Chippendale’s dam, the elite sport (dres) mare Ti Amo, is also well-known for being the full-sister of the successful Small Tour horse Straus and Isabelle Herter’s (FRA) International Grand Prix horse, Ushie.

Giovanni’s dam line is equally impressive with multiple generations of mares that have competed at the top levels of dressage and earned the prestigious KWPN Prestatie predicates- meaning they have produced top sport horses themselves. Giovanni’s dam Zarava is an Elite, IBOP, PROK, Preferent, Prestatie, Sport mare by the Olympic dressage horse and KWPN-stallion Scandic. Scandic is one of the best Grand Prix dressage horses in the world and in June 2011 he was the best stallion in the world rankings for dressage. Scandic won the bronze medal in the freestyle at the European Championships in Rotterdam in 2011 with Patrick Kittel. In 2013 he finished seventh in the World Cup finals for dressage. At his European Championship debut in Windsor in 2009 he finished eighth. In 2010 he finished fifth in the World Cup finals and Scandic represented Sweden at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky. The duo has since broken two Swedish records. In Falsterbo in 2011 they won the freestyle with no less than 82.78%. Scandic has an original pedigree for a dressage horse. After Michelangelo we see Akteur, Lucky Boy xx and Le Faquin xx in the pedigree. Both his sire Solos Carex and his grandsire Amiral excelled at the highest level in dressage. Great-granddam Eljenohve is also the dam of Billy Twomey’s showjumping star Luidam.

Back to Giovanni’s dam Zarava and her female ancestors: after having completed a very good mare test, she competed at Small Tour-level. Besides Giovanni, she produced a 3rd and a 4th level horse and another 2nd viewing stallion by Chippendale. Her dam Tarava competed at ZZL/ 4th level and carries the Elite, PROK, Prestatie and Sport predicates. She is by the Preferent Negro and besides Zarava, she produced two 3rd level horses. Great-granddam Nendyrava (s.Romancier) is also Small Tour-level and has the predicates Elite, PROK, Preferent, Prestatie, Sport. This mare is very convincing in breeding too, with offspring by Negro (2x) and Monaco who are competing at ZZL, ZZZ and Z2-level respectively.

Giovanni is an exceptional choice for breeders seeking to enhance movement quality in their breeding programs. With his powerful, uphill gaits and exceptional canter, he transmits strength and elasticity to his offspring. Known for his natural willingness and work ethic, Giovanni consistently improves the overall rideability and athleticism of his progeny

WFFS: Free