Top dressage sire Rubin Royal OLD has celebrated his 25th birthday in the “best of health”.
The stallion (Rohdiamant x Grundstein II) counts grand prix stars of the British dressage scene Rosalie B, Rubins Nite and Rubin Al Asad among his many progeny.
“We are very proud that this main sire is enjoying the best of health,” said the stud’s operation’s manager Wolfgang Stagge, adding that it was “not an easy task at all” to get him to pose for a birthday photo.
“He [has] always [been] so full of energy and this joy of movement and willingness to perform certainly explains his own placings [at] grand prix and the outstanding successes of his offspring.”
Rubin Royal Old, known to his breeder Harli Seifert as “Rubinchen”, was standing at stud until last year (frozen semen is still available) and remains the star at Dressurpferde Leistungszentrum Lodbergen in Germany.
He was the first colt out of Harli’s favourite mare, Rumirell (Grundsetin II x Akzent II) — a direct descendant of top international eventing mare Chica (breeding name Rudilore II), whose progeny include 30 licensed stallions.
Rubin Royal OLD had a successful dressage career of his own, with top national results under Dieter Weichert before moving to Hendrik Lochthowe, with whom he achieved numerous top-10 international grand prix finishes.
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In 2015, he made it into the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses’ top-10 list of dressage sires for the first time, and was ranked third in 2017 and 2018.
Selene Scarsi investigates the factors that make up a stallion’s career, and asks whether it is breeding or competing that
His progeny are among British dressage’s top pairings of recent years.
Rubin Al Asad, owned by the Bechtolsheimer family, was crowned British Dressage national champion with rider Lara Butler in 2018. The consistent pair have rarely been out of the top placings at international grands prix and were also reserve for the Olympics, European Championships and World Equestrian Games between 2016 and 2018.
He has also sired successful showjumpers and eventers, including CCI4* (now five-star) eventer RF Demeter.
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
