Londonderry - Breeders' Darling
Stallion of the year 2013

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He was celebrated like no other breeding hero before: The Celle state stud stallion Londonderry was nominated 2013 Hanoverian Stallion of the Year, and he obviously enjoyed jubilation and applause in the sold-out Niedersachsenhalle. The golden chestnut is one of the most important stallions, carrying  the valuable genes of his sire Lauries Crusador xx who only died four days before, at the age of 28. Londonderry’s breeder Klaus-Hermann Ehlen was happy to receive an oil painting of the artist Manfred Busemann and a well-endowed check. Once a year, the Hannoveraner Verband and the insurance company R+V/Vereinigte Tierversicherung donte this prize to honour an important Hanoverian stallion.

Londonderry was born on April 16, 1995, with Klaus-Hermann Ehlen in Nieder Ochtenhausen. The established breeder and raiser had discovered his dam, Windsor Queen by Warkant/Eiger, at the Verden Foal Auction in 1990. The star of the typey golden chestnut rose in 1997 at the stallion licensing when he became the celebrated winner and changed to the Celle National State Stud. He already shined at that time with his above-average, expressive movement and his perfect conformation. Following his stallion performance test, he was nominated best stallion of his age-group and honoured with the Freiherr von Stenglin-Prize before he moved into his stallion stall at the Ankum breeding station.  

Londonderry was already very popular with the breeders in his first breeding year. Meanwhile, he has been siring more than 2,000 progeny. 527 of his daughters have been entered into the Hanoverian studbook, 185 of them were nominated state premium mare. 33 sons were licensed for Hanover. And the qualities of his offspring under rider are hard to top. 195 of them were sold at one of the Verden auctions. Londonderry guarantees highest prices. His awesome son Lemony’s Nicket was sold for the incredible amount of Euro 900,000 at the 2011 Autumn Auction, the most expensive three-year-old horse ever sold before at a riding horse auction of a breeding association. Five years before, Londontime had created a sensation when he was sold at Euro 510,000.

Wherever Londonderry showed up, he made the h earts of the audience melt. The golden chestnut became Bundeschampion of four-year-old stallions in 1999, he shined again in Warendorf two years later with Wolfhard Witte, emerging Vice Champion of six-year-old dressage horses. Trained to compete at St. Georg-level, Londonderry’s solo presentations at the Celle Stallion Parades were always an absolute highlight.

He passes on his dressage skills to his daughters and sons. Liaison from his first crop of foals on the ground became 2004 Vice Bundeschampion of four-year-old mares and geldings. It was in the same year that the one year younger La Perla celebrated winning the title in the division of three-year-old horses. The two Bundeschampions Lemony’s Nicket, winning the Bundeschampionat with dream scores, and Locksley II as well as the top-ranked London and Le Noire round off Londonderry’s fantastic championship balance.  Meanwhile, approx. 500 progeny are registered as competition horse in Germany, 48 of them won and were placed at the advanced level. They all contributed to Londonderry’s fantastic FN  breed value of 139 points. Riding horse qualities are always included, however, the Celle state stud stallion clearly heads this statistics with 156 points.