Does Champion x Champion = Champion?

Breeding the best to the best and hoping for the best

This has always been the accepted philosophy -  and  logically this makes sense-  surely breeding two champion horses together would give you the best chance of breeding another champion. Breeders of all animals have done this for centuries and many have spent a fortune doing this very thing. 

Clark Shephard " but here is the truth -  that is a multi million dollar myth that costs breeders more than they would ever want to admit - this is breeding for marketability rather than performance."

Jack Glengarry said "Breeding the best to the best and hoping for the best is a formula for lifelong mediocrity."

Alot of research has been done in racing because that is where the money is. General research has shown that only 6% of horses bred for racing pay their way on the track.  Of that 6%, roughly 6% of those actually become champions - so less than 1% of racehorses bred world wide every year will actually have a hope of making any money.

This is largely a result of the best to the best theory.

Similarly as Heath Ryan has ways said, around 6% of warmbloods actually have the talent themselves to perform the GP movements

There would be the same  success rate in horses bred for any equestrian sport.

The ability for elite performance is not a tangible characteristic -  and it  is not directly heritable - it is a complex series  of  polygenic traits at different loci all working together -which then have to interact with the environment - where finding the right rider and the right team support will be crucial.

  It relies on the perfect combination of thousands of genes  and not just two elite parents. Mostly two champion parents produce horses that tend towards the breed average (regression to the mean) -  and not horses that are superior or anywhere near  to their own talent and ability. If this was all it took to breed champions, it would be easy.

Taking  a  champion mare to a top champion stallion– breeding the best to the best -  has overall been a failure. Stacking GP stallions  and top performers in a pedigree- such as  a mare with a pedigree of Don Schufro / Jazz / Belissimo M/ Ferro – is no more a guarantee of success. Similarly breeding with sires whose progeny have competed at the Olympic Games -  is another way of just stacking GP stallions on top of each other.

One of the greatest disappointments for breeders is taking the top champion mare to the best stallions of the day and getting very average results. Very rarely does the foals ability come anywhere near that of the parents. Often a champion mare is unable to transmit those same qualities that made her great because she may have a much looser pedigree structure with no close gene groupings

Clive Harper said "It is becoming increasingly clear that top horses are not made by having a collecting of top performing stallions in the pedigree."

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Other contributing factors besides finances are the breeder's level of knowledge on conformation, mechanics, bloodlines and genetic inheritance -  and  very importantly - an ability have a very critical view of  their own mares and  what they are producing.

Finances are particularly important  - rich breeders have the advantage of buying the very best mares with no regard to service fee prices.  

Many breeders struggle to afford the most basic of service fees and the failure rate is very high for frozen semen. Many times the stallion a breeder would like to use is out of their budget.

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Where does pedigree structure come in?

 Champion performers will often have a different pedigree structure to horses which can produce champions  -  they can have a much looser bloodline structure. They may have simply been the lucky recipient of the best possible combination of genes from their own parents - but often they are unlikely to have the genetic dominance to be good producers.

This is why breeding two champions  is not always successful.  Spectacular movement is not tangible, and it is not directly heritable.

There is a very big difference between being a champion performer and being able to breed champion performers . Unless they are the result of a good  pedigree structure with tight gene groupings - not many champions will be  capable of regularly reproducing their desirable characteristics in the progeny

Clive Harper said mares that are both champions and can produce champions are "scarce as hen's teeth"

In fact, there are often stallions which failed licensing or showed limited ability themselves who become better producers than their more spectacular counterparts, especially if they have come from a top mare family known for producing sport horses.  Many stallions who didn't reach the top are capable of punching way above their weight in this way if they have a more prepotent pedigree structure

Ken Mclean said, " Once we understand there is a marked difference between sport performance and transmission of sport performance, we can learn to appreciate the reason for certain stallions failing at stud. Champion colts and fillies which disappoint at stud usually have different pedigree patterns to those of their lesser performed horses that go onto glory as producers. They key is to look into the pedigree."

What is the answer?

Perhaps two champion parents would have a far great probability of producing elite performing progeny if a genetically compatible mating was planned for the champion mare. 

 The breeder can  take the time to learn the genetic dominance in their mare and then choose a champion stallion  which reinforces and complements her genetic strengths in some way.

This would be a far more reliable way of making the best to the best successful.

Stallions are not simply interchangeable just because they are champions or GP competitors - and not just any one of these will fit the bill

In simple terms, many champion mares are mated to the most popular or fashionable choice at the time- but they are not mated to the most genetically enhancing choice.  

Clive Harper said " Stallions tend to get their best progeny from mares that supplement and complement their own genetic structure"

Mating to popular champion  stallions is still putting the stallion first - and ignoring what support the mare actually needs to move her foals forward in terms of athleticism, type, temperament,  soundness and class.

Dr Carmen Battaglia " the best to the best fails to take advantage of what the science of genetics has taught us about inheritance and pedigree analysis"

Many  commercial breeders breed to sell foals only, this is their goal.  So, these breeders are going to need sire power to attract and tempt their buyers with commercial sires.    There are many champion stallions  each year  who competed at GP or 1.60m jumping - who fall into the marketable category

Summary

Pedigree compatibility and commercialism can still work together. A shortlist of champion commercial stallions can be drawn up for each mare - all of which complement her pedigree in important ways -  and then choose a stallion from that list - taking into account the all important elements of conformation, temperament and soundness. This is something that Grand Prix Pedigrees offers.

This is a more wholistic, strategic and far more effective way of breeding the best to the best. 

There will be a future study of  the pedigrees of  champions  -  where both parents were  also champions

Of course if your goal is to ride yourself or breed a filly to keep you have a much wider stallion choice than the confines of fashion would dictate.

Top riders who breed a couple a year for themselves to ride have a great opportunity to breed better foals with genetically compatible matings.  These foals will be born into an environment where they have the opportunity to succeed under saddle which is ideal - and   these riders are not bound by the confines of fashion,  and can freely choose the best stallion for the mare.