On Friday 25th of April 2003 at the age of 31 years, Nimmerdor, the ‘KWPN Stallion of the Century 2000’, passed away quietly in his sleep sometime before 11am at the VDL Stud in Holland – a peaceful ending to an illustrious life for this great creature of old Holland.

This legendary bay stallion was out of the Dutch WB ster mare Ramona, which featured thoroughbred on her sire’s side (Koridon) and Dutch warmblood (grandsire Senator) on the dam’s side. Nimmerdor’s sire was the Holstein stallion Farn, an old-fashioned type, and when he was graded it was hoped he would improve upon the Dutch breed by siring good brood mare daughters. This he clearly did, but only when he was given lighter mares did it became evident that he was also capable of producing excellent show jumpers amongst his offspring. Farn, and therefore Nimmerdor, traced his ancestry to Achil – founder of the Holstein breed.

Nowadays of course, it is indisputable the tremendous influence Farn himself had upon Dutch breeding and several years after his death he was finally declared ‘preferant’ – the highest possible award for stallion recognition. Farn is known for his descendants in International Showjumping such as Odin N., Black and White, Design and Olympus, and has thirteen approved sons – Nimmerdor however remains his most famous son of all.

Nimmerdor was foaled in 1972 by Mr.Dijkstar of Woudend and was bought as a two and a half-year-old at a stallion show by Wiepke van de Lagewag. He was not approved at the time, nor was he vetted before purchase, but Wiepke felt confident enough in the stallion to part with the sum of 25,000 guilders.

‘He had something very special about him,’ said Mr.Wiepke van de lagewag. Wiepke originally started breeding only as a hobby in 1972, but perhaps realised upon seeing Nimmerdor that here was the stallion to take his venture on to a more serious level? Whatever the reason, with the purchase of Nimmerdor the VDL Stud was undoubtedly born.

When Nimmerdor was performance tested, he clearly excelled at jumping and so began his steady progression onto the world of International Showjumping. Ridden by Albert Vroom, he successfully competed in many World Cups and International Competitions, and he was accordingly invited to the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. Feeling however that the stallion needed to concentrate upon breeding duties, Wiepke declined the invitation. Wiepke certainly knew what he was doing, for Nimmerdor’s progeny have since proven themselves many times the world over.

His first ever offspring was a mare called Samantha, Keur Preferant Prestatie, and she is still alive and breeding. Nimmerdor now of course has a multitude of children including over 50 Approved sons. Ahorn, Daimler, N-Aldato, DBH Heartbreaker, Zadock, Nandor Fortuna and Coronel are but a small example.

(Photo left Heartbreaker) Ahorn was a reputable showjumper and his ability earned him the prefix ‘Olympic’ when he was short-listed for the Barcelona Olympics. He frequently jumped in the Dutch team and was consistently placed in World Cup and Grand Prix Competitions. He was renowned for being a top producer of sporthorses in his own right. N-Aldato’s wins include the Golden Equippe-Medal EK 1991 La Baule under Emile Hendrix and the Nations Tournament in Aachen. Heartbreaker’s record of success includes first at the Stallion Show in Brussels under Grant Wilson (January 1995) and fourth as a seven-year-old at the World Championships Lanaken – the list for the Approved sons of Nimmerdor goes on and is undoubtedly remarkable.

(photo right VDL Everest) Approved sons aside, Nimmerdor also produced over sixty international showjumpers including well-known names such as VDL Everest, Broere Goldenridge, Agrovorm’s Maywood, San Patrignano Avenir and Canadian Colours. Undoubtedly, Nimmerdor is one of the best show-jumper sires of the world. According to the VDL however, Nimmerdor was a touch discerning when it came to his women. ‘He didn’t want to do it with every mare!’ Obviously he sensed things that mere humans were unaware of!

‘He was certainly more intelligent than many people,’ continued Jack Lubbers, spokesman for VDL. ‘And he was very playful. He liked to bite people who came to see him!’

(Photo left Wellington) Nimmerdor also produced successful dressage horses including the international Zapata, as well as versatile offspring including Wellington, which competed at Advanced level dressage as well as International Showjumping - a very attractive prospect for breeders aiming for an all round sportshorse. Competition horses aside, Nimmerdor also sired many exceptional brood-mares and his daughters regularly finish ahead in the conformation category. Zancara (keur pref) was reserve champion for ridden broodmares in the Netherlands and was several times champion of Friesland at the Central KWPN show. His progeny also have excellent breeding results and he has a high degree of heredity reliability at 95%.

(His straws would have cost you 2.000 euros, but you’re too late! There are only a few left and the VDL, understandably enough, will be using them upon their own mares). He is highly placed in the Dutch jumping index and WBFSH Ranking.

Combine all of the above (and more!) and it is little wonder that this preferant stallion was approved by almost every sporthorse and warmblood breed society.

Even now his stature, through his descendants, is still growing and his influence on breeding is far-reaching. The stallion may have died but the legend- undisputedly – lives on.

Photography by kind permission of VDL Stud

Semen available from ICS Bloodstock